Everybody has had a childhood dream. We often hear many stories about the people who have made it big in their dream careers. And, when we were younger, we ourselves have very likely daydreamed about someday walking in the shoes of giants or living the kind of lives we could only imagine at the time.
For Jasmine Tran, co-founder and CEO of Scale My Loans, a team of experts in mortgage lead generation, this was the case. But the difference between most of us and people like Jasmine was that, as a child, her chances of achieving that success were almost impossible.
At least, that was what she assumed initially.
Early dreams of entrepreneurship
Tran was born on the 20th of November in 1995 and was raised on the in Vietnam for nineteen years. Growing up in the post-war era when Vietnam still struggled to boost its economical growth, poverty was a common theme where Tran lived. Her circumstances at the time weren’t ideal. Her family would sleep in the kitchen of their 38-square-meter home each night, and during the flood seasons, they were used to getting soaked in their own home. Tran’s early circumstances greatly impacted her outlook in life.
She loved the idea of being an entrepreneur from her childhood. At the age of five or six, Tran would excitedly peep through her neighbor’s window to catch a glimpse of their television. One of her favorite programs involved investors who would plan projects with the aim of elevating the quality of life for people living in less urbanized areas. As someone who recognized financial struggles at such a young age, Tran knew the significance of this kind of work. Deep down, she wanted to be like them, to leave the same mark in the world as these onscreen investors did.
“Scientifically,” Tran said. “Blood is composed of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and so on. But let’s forget about the human anatomy for a second – my blood is made up of three components: entrepreneurship, real estate, and books.”
Tran’s change of plans after her move to the U.S.
At the age of nineteen, however, Tran had ‘matured’ somewhat under the influence of the traditional schooling system. She pushed her dreams of entrepreneurship deep down and, when she emigrated to the U.S., her vision of the future had changed.
She attempted to major in Business Administration in Arizona but later opted for a health and wellness course. As a young mind maneuvering through the uncertainties of the future, Tran then decided to put her focus on cellular and molecular biotechnology – a stark contrast to her initial plans. She followed through with this major, but halfway down the road, she paused.
“I always had the feeling that I was boxed in the fixed identity of being a lab technician or a scientist, which required me to stay in a lab and glue my eyes to the microspectrophotometer day after day,” Jasmine recalled in an interview.
She wasn’t happy. She started to ask herself the all-important question: why did she give up on her childhood dream?
It was that question which changed the course of Tran’s life.
It took a risk and a whole lot of courage for Tran to finally decide to drop out of school. She took on a part-time job as a real estate investor, which she still maintains today. Over time, she went on to co-found Scale My Loans, a company dedicated to providing lead generation services to its clients. To date, it is the
Of course, building a company from scratch is no easy feat. Tran didn’t have ample money or connections to give her an edge in the industry. It’s also noteworthy that Scale My Loans is the first company which guarantees live transfer leads. Live transfers are often viewed as a huge risk in the real estate and mortgage industry, but Tran has certainly faced worse than the struggles of building a business. To her, the gamble is worth it.
And indeed, the efforts of both Tran and her team have paid off to date. They have experienced a 210% in ROI over a six-month timeframe, and their highly-trained team of professional in-house Inside Sales Agent live transfer team have certainly snagged the attention of many clients.
An impossible dream and an unyielding spirit
Jasmine Tran’s struggles with poverty were not the only things that stood in the way of her current success. Like many others, Tran, too, wrestled with her confidence. Growing up poor, she believed it was her destiny to continue living the way she did. Her failures in her attempts to acquire new skills tempted her to stay put on the ground.
“My advice to those who want to pursue a similar path is this: prepare your container,” Jasmine asserted on the matter. “Entrepreneurship is hard. You need to train your mentality to a point that it’s so strong, you enjoy enduring countless sleepless nights trying to beat a deadline or trying to find a way to fund your business. Otherwise, the stress will eat you alive. Don’t let something you love become what you hate.”
Indeed, despite all her tribulations, Tran’s love for her career hasn’t dampened. From the fears she faced in taking the risk to leave the traditional education system in favor of her risky dream, to the constant hurdles she still has to overcome each day, Tran is proof that everybody deserves to pursue their passions.
All it takes is a dream and one person’s immovable willpower.