Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where we explore the journeys that lead to success.
I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you
insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts who will share not just their expertise
but the milestone moments that have reshaped their journeys and led to significant achievements.
So if you're looking for motivation, you're in the right place. Subscribe now and discover the
milestones that mark the path to success.
Welcome to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership. I'm Sheila Slick,
Sheila Slick, your host. And today my special guest is Meghna Agarai. She is CEO and founder of Eagles M.A.L.L.C.
She's a global focus connector, a business matcher, author, certified business advisor, and speaker.
Welcome to the show. Thank you for having me, Sheila. So good to see you.
Can you share a pivotal moment that led you to where you are today?
Oh, yes. So I was born and raised in Albania and moved to New York City 21 years ago.
In 2021, I attended a real estate summit in Florida.
And there I met with a lot of business owners, learned a lot about how to invest in real estate,
learned a lot of the terminology. And in this three-day conference, I am going back and
analyzing and measuring all my accomplishments to date. And I was not happy with the answers
because one thing I've always been good at is being honest with myself. I never lied to myself.
I always say that's criminal because when you lie to yourself and nobody knows about it,
that's a recipe for disaster. So I started looking back at all these different accomplishments.
And not that I wanted to take away from them, but if every single thing was taken away from me,
what was I left with? If I was to get fired, let go from a job, if I were to start all over again,
how would I start? And if there's no paycheck coming in, would I still have a roof or not?
So I decided how important it was for me to give myself permission to move to a new place.
I decided to give myself permission to move to the next level of being this grown-up woman now
and take charge and take life versus life taking me. So that real estate conference really
was that moment where I had a lot of disappointments, but at the same time,
I knew that I was in the right room because of all of the success stories from all of these
years. And I wasn't that, I did not have a business under my name. I did not have a single real estate
investment. If I were to quit my job or get fired from a job, I would have no paycheck the next day
and I could not leave passively because my money was not working for me. So I realized I was doing
everything wrong almost. I know I'm being so hard on myself, but literally I said, if things are
going to change, I have to make them happen. So during that conference, I pretty much resigned.
I gave my two weeks notice. It was the end of December, 2021. So come January, 2022,
it was the first day for the rest of my life as a clueless entrepreneur. I'm like,
I don't know what this looks like. I have no idea what we're doing, but guess what?
We're going to try and we're going to find out one day at a time. So that was a moment for me where
I decided to start fresh, not necessarily start from experience because I wasn't an entrepreneur
before. I always worked for a company, but there was one way to find out. So that was the spark
that pretty much got me to give me a shot at being a business owner and so many more things
that I did not know because that's very true. And people say, you don't know what you don't know
until you try. And when you think that you're quitting and you're going to be an entrepreneur,
think again, think again, because so much more is going to happen for you. So for the listener,
I am not recommending that you all quit your W-2s, but I truly and highly recommend that you
get a piece of paper and start self-assessing your accomplishments to date. And if there is
anything there that you don't like that you can do more of, be more of, listen to your intuition,
listen to your inner voice and take action on it because you'd be surprised. So that's what did it
for me, Sheila, that self-measurement of what was I doing for 19 years. So yeah.
Well, and that was only your beginning because you have a lot of different roles going on.
You've accomplished a lot more than being an entrepreneur. So how do you balance these diverse
roles and what common thread ties them all together?
The common thread is a passion. If you don't have passion for life, for love, for people,
nothing will ever be tied together. Like there is no glue that can hold all of these pieces together.
There is so much that just a desire can do for things to happen. You need to have passion
and you always go back to that point of reminder, that reminder where why is it that I do this?
Because sometimes, including me, we question and we are in self-doubt,
wait, am I doing the right thing? Why is it that I'm doing this? But when it comes back to,
well, I nominated hundreds of women to be in book collaborations to share their stories.
I've been a part of their lives changing and their families' joy. They get to talk at tables.
They get to have their families back home, hear these women read their own journeys.
And somehow it comes back to point zero, which is Meghanna knocking on their virtual door saying,
hey, I've been part of this initiative. So should you because I'm a woman.
I'm saying, hey, I've been part of this initiative. So should you because it changed my life.
And I believe it will change yours with me being in my world, being in my network.
You don't ever have to wonder how is it to be in a book? I can only imagine. No, with me,
you don't need to imagine because I will tell you exactly how I got there.
And now you decide if you want to be a part of it or not. So how everything ties together,
it's a passion for people and the reward of changing people's lives and not just their lives,
but the lives of so many because we are inspiring people one person at a time.
And as far as managing all the different roles or switching hats, it's a matter of what's urgent,
what's priority because I could be the admin of my company every Friday, but sometimes
I am traveling on Friday and I wear on the CEO hat and I'm handling all the meetings.
So there is no formula for being the best manager out there and having the work life balance because
when you are in this world of loving what you're doing, it's never work. It's just a 100%
fun. And that's why I don't seek balance and I don't want balance because balance scares me.
Balance for me, it's very structured and it removes that element of surprise that I don't
welcome in my life because I'm all about, wow, I look forward to getting to know myself better
every day through the experiences of being on Sheila's podcast or being on Chatter or
or writing another chapter in another book. So it's like I said, it's a matter of what's
pressing today. And if we need to put together the 27 chapters because the publisher has a deadline,
that's going to take priority because we have deadlines to meet and everything else comes
secondary. And some days I work 16 hour days. I am on 10 zooms, 15 zooms. I live on zooms
and there are days where I am not on zoom at all. And all I do is do paperwork behind the scenes.
And I'm sure many entrepreneurs out there can relate. And I'm also learning how to manage time
better. But as far as work life balance, there's no such thing because it's not work for me. It's all
it's all passions and goals and visions and missions and whatever it's needed today, we're
going to handle today and whatever can wait until tomorrow, we're going to handle that tomorrow.
So we don't skip sleep so we can eat and have time for our friends, have time to be on podcasts and
enrich many lives as a result. So yeah, that's how I operate. Maybe it's the wrong thing,
but it's my truth.
Well, and you prioritize. So you've got your own system working for you.
Yes, yes. For me to get the podcast going, I did a time block because I saw a lot of people using
time blocks and that actually worked for me to make sure that I was consistent with the structure.
And now I'm incorporating that a bit more and I am you've just inspired me. I'm on the journey of
writing a book, my story and trying to find my voice to see, you know, how I'm going to frame it
or how I can help others sharing it. And today you've helped me reassure that I just need to
maybe do my own time block and make sure I get that out.
Happy to help if you need help because I'm working on group number six collaboration. So
I learned a few what not to do things in the process. I can save you a lot of time.
Yes, that would be so appreciated. I'm going to take you up on your offer.
Can you share a recent venture or a project that excites you?
Oh, my God. I have I have a magazine. I'm going to go grab it and be right back.
So I've always wanted to participate in a Miss Albania beauty pageant when growing up,
I would look up this beautiful women on stages walking the runway and I am like imagining these
things. And of course, I was super young when I left my country. Then I moved to the Bronx
working three jobs with no time for making my dreams come true. So as a result, a lot of
my dreams, as I call them, were like placed in this shelf of dreams and I would, you know,
collecting dust over the years. And when I decided to work with People versus a Company,
it brought with that a lot of flexibility and independence. And it made me go forward with a
lot of these dreams. I started opening this, you know, imaginary shelf, I call them, but all of the
dreams that I wanted to accomplish. So I can thank my parents for all the hard work that they've
done for me. I can thank my parents, my brother and my ancestors for their sacrifices through me
achieving some of the dreams. So they don't feel guilty for bringing us here and wondering if as
parents that did the right move, perhaps life would have been a lot better in Albania or not,
something that we will never know. So in order for me to say thank you, I'm grateful and I appreciate
you. I'm going to go and make my dreams come true because I believe I'm not a parent yet, but I
believe there's nothing more beautiful for a parent as a gift from their children when they go and
accomplish their own dreams. So then the parents feel that they've done something right, right? And
of course, that parent guilt never goes away. And because I couldn't be Miss Albania, I said,
why not participate in a Miss New York USA pageant? What's the worst that can happen?
And literally two days ago, I was in Albany and I participated in the Miss New York USA
beauty pageant with 170 women. I did not tell my parents, I did not tell my brother. I kept it a
secret from everybody for three months. I was accepted in March. My parents traveled to Albania
and here I am working in secret to buy the gown and everything else that was needed to participate
in the beauty pageant. Ended up in Albany a day before they traveled from Albania.
Pretty much told them I have extra tickets. I'm working the red carpet at Miss Universe because
I am on TV. So it was very easy to come up with that justification to which they're like, what are
we going to do there? What's a bunch of ladies walk on the runway? Like, no, and I'm like, please,
it's very important to me. Long story short, on Sunday, my parents end up in Albany.
And next thing you know, I'm telling my parents and my brother, I'll meet you guys later. Right
now I'm working in the back helping the girls, so on and so forth. And all of a sudden I am number
three on the lineup. So my parents, my brothers see me walk the runway as one of the participants.
Of course they're in tears. And that was my goal. My goal was not to post it all over social media
so I can win the people's choice. It wasn't for that. My goal was I wanted to surprise my parents,
to say thank you to them and to make sure they know how much I love them and appreciate them.
And none of this would be possible without their sacrifices leaving everything behind
so we could have a better life. And because that's been a dream of mine forever, I said,
I am the only one who can make this dream come true. So I need to take action because of them,
if not because of me. So here I am now in the magazine, number three, you can see this here.
And I get to check off another dream. And that excites me so much because when that person hears
this story, then they get to say, you know what, regardless how old you are, how you look, how tall
you are, those restrictions no longer apply. There's so much diversity. There's so much
inclusion. There is so much excitement and the different beauties coming together and you network
with these women. So I want to encourage all the listeners that if there is a dream out there
that is within reach, that is realistic, you can make it happen. You have to work hard. You have
to show up regardless how you feel. You have to show up because on the other side, you are going
to be so happy that you did. And then you can inspire others and others. So I did it for the
inspiration aspect and to thank my family for giving so much to me that I could never, of course,
give back to them. But every day I'm trying to do the best I can. So this is my most exciting
project that I've been waiting a lifetime. So I can talk forever about this, but it was so much
fun. So much fun anyways. Well, I'm glad you got to accomplish that. It was not easy. I promise you,
but I got it done and apologies for interrupting. I just want to show that picture. You're very
beautiful. Congratulations too, though, because it did get you out of your comfort zone and it made
you reach another milestone and goal. So that's huge. And speaking of milestones and goals,
what is your next milestone? I am pretty much taking it one day at a time. I am never been
the person that when I was asked, where do you see yourself in five years, in one year, in 10 years,
that question terrified me. So as far as milestones, currently I'm working on the third
volume of Real Women in Real Estate, where this is going to be our final of the trilogy of women
from all walks of life, from all over the world, sharing their real estate journey so we can inspire
the reader so they can start in their real estate journey and eventually live passively and not
depend on W2 alone so they can start building that legacy wealth for themselves and their families.
So I would say as far as plans, it's pretty much to connect with as many people as possible,
to match as many businesses as possible, because as a business matchmaker, nothing makes me happier
than to be that glue that puts the two parties together and hold them together so they can have
the best services and have a beautiful experience and have successful businesses that continue to
scale. And for me to be a part of that, I would say that why not help hundreds and hundreds of
businesses through my connections, through my relationships, through my leadership skills,
management skills and people skills to make life a lot easier for the business owners who are busy
handling so many other things. And I want to leave the relationship aspect to me because having a
strong power base and building a strong reputation for two decades living in this country, I feel like
I am that person that takes people on the elevator to that level they need to be versus them taking
the stairs. There is no need for people to take stairs to go to the second or third floor if
they only need to go to the fifth floor and skip the other three. And that way I can say,
yeah, come with me. Let's go into the elevator and let's meet the people you need to meet. Because
guess what? I've done the work for 20 years, for 10 years, for five years, and I've been
doing this for 10 years, for five years. So now I'm going to secure you that seat at the table,
that voice in the room versus you working for five, 10 years in order for you to get in front of the
right people that are the decision makers so you can have a successful business and vice versa.
So as milestone is to help a lot of business owners with their needs, help as many investors,
help them get a right position, help them with their business. So I do know that you will surely
come with me through this. But, I mean, this is a big company, I have鬼z from
eastern Africa that runs is a big company. In власти, there is a big company. There is also
server sharing where areas where in the workforce where they can't see誠实.
in my network and of course expand my network as well because I am looking forward to meeting
so many more amazing human beings so I can work with, collaborate with and create magic
together.
So yeah, that's in the plans.
So how can the audience connect with you?
Yes, I am very active on major social medias, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.
So it's very simple, my handle is migena nyc.
It's very easy to find me.
So M-I-G-E-N-A-N-Y-C.
Hopefully I have inspired someone today to go after your dreams because you are the only
one for the most part who can make them come true.
It starts with you.
And so my last question is, can you share one key piece of advice to successfully connect
with more businesses and professionals in today's market?
Absolutely.
Always ask.
If you don't ask, the answer is always no.
If you don't ask, you are leaving a lot of opportunities at the table.
My website is AskMigena, my podcast is AskMigenaShow and I cannot stress enough the importance
of the word ask.
Ask questions, be curious.
If you don't know something, ask.
So I feel like a lot of the reasons why I have accomplished a lot in such a short period
of time is because I have asked a lot of questions and I have surrounded myself with a lot of
whos in my life who add the answers.
So don't focus so much on the what, focus on the who and ask all of them because everybody
is an expert at something that could accelerate your journey, can make your dreams come true,
can give you a different vision that you didn't even see that you had or point out something
about you that you didn't even know that you brought to the table.
And unless you ask, for example, ask, Sheila, I love your podcast.
How can I be a guest on your podcast?
What it is that I can bring?
Can we talk?
Boom, you just ask and you open the door and Sheila could say absolutely yes or Sheila could
say, you know what?
Your story doesn't necessarily align with my audience, but I know five other podcasters
would love to have you a guest.
So you ended up now with five different opportunities only because you asked.
And then Sheila or myself would appreciate it because we're we love actually pouring
back into the people that take action in themselves and ask for themselves because when he asked
for you, you truly are asking for your entire community because once you're out there, game
on, you're exposed.
People know you and you never know who is going to listen to you and you never know
who is going to invite you into their book, into their podcast, into their business opportunity,
real estate opportunity, partnership.
You can end up in boards, you can be not for profits and the list goes on and on and on.
The opportunities that are endless and starts with a very simple task called ask.
That's it.
That's all you have to do.
Just ask.
Thank you so much and thank you all for joining us on another episode of Milestone Moments
in Business and Leadership.