life lessons.

lesson 1. be curious

i vividly remember my 1st tour with a client scouting locations for expansion of a national shoe store.  the client rattled off terms like cold dark shell and LOI. I had no idea what he was talking about. with any new venture, there’s a vocabulary specific to each industry.  needless to say, he had a grand ol’ time teaching me the definitions.

lesson 2. be genuine

all it takes is the right attitude. commercial real estate has many ups and downs. one day you may have a call for a new partner. the next, you may have lost 2 deals at lease. this industry is for the patient and the hungry.  as they say in the world of restaurants, if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

lesson 3. do your homework

there’s nothing worse than receiving a call from a leasing agent presenting a property to you when you have a location nearby.  conversely, when i am scouting new partners to work with, i am 120% aware of where their locations are and how i can help them grow their concept.

lesson 4. listen.

my kids laugh when when i remind them one of my favorite sayings, “you have 2 ears and 1 mouth.” What does that mean? You should listen more than you speak.  Most of my time is spent riding in cars with partners looking at real estate and learning about them. in the service industry, it’s best to ask just enough questions to elicit a response and then your client/partner share their stories.

lesson 5.  follow up.

my best partners came from diligent pursuit.  it was always interesting to me how many other brokers a potential client/partner spoke with before me and it is ALWAYS my follow up that helped me secure their business.  well, and maybe a bit of my fun personality too!

lesson 6.  tenacity

if something fuels you, don’t give up. while i love doing deals, the hunt for the space and the hunt for new partners excites me. it makes me feel like a private eye, finding the treasures and putting the story together.