By Ligia Labrada
CREW-Miami’s Women at the Top panel – always a highly anticipated event as it spotlights Miami’s female business leaders – shared great anecdotes, taught us all lessons and prompted a few laughs.
We were fortunate to line up a stellar panel of women: Vanessa Grout, President of Douglas Elliman Florida; Myriam Marquez, Editorial Page Editor at the Miami Herald; and Michelle Villalobos, Founder & Lead Trainer of Mivista Consulting Inc. The panel was moderated by Raquel Matas, Associate Dean at University of Miami School of Law.
As the business world rapidly evolves, it’s important to have a direction in your career, shared Vanessa, whose legal background led her to land her first job in commercial real estate with Douglas Elliman.
For panelist Michelle, reinvention came early in her career as she left her position in the magazine Ocean Drive Español. Looking for a new direction, she realized she needed to create her own brand to market her services a as a business consultant in order to get noticed and draw new clients.
“Women’s natural skill sets are valuable as we step into a new era of business,” Michelle told the audience of CREW-Miami members and guests at the annual event held April 18 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Brickell.
Myriam Marquez took a different route. After building a solid career as a journalist, she raised her kids before taking on a management role. As the Editorial Page Editor at the Miami Herald, she is now developing a new facet of her career.
The panelists shared three great pieces of advice: to make decisions that are aligned with your values, to look for career opportunities in organizations that fit your career plans and, most importantly, to remember that you create your own opportunities.
Check out more photos of the Women at the Top luncheon
By Margaret Nee
When I walked into my assigned classroom at Young Women’s Preparatory Academy for CREW-Miami’s annual CREW Careers, I was welcomed by a group of young women dressed in their school uniforms that left a bigger impression on me than I could have left on them.
This attentive group of girls had already spent time reading my bio, learning about my career and had written out questions they wanted to ask me about my path, its challenges and the real estate field.
The beauty of CREW Careers, which we have been organizing for the past five years, is that we get to visit local schools and introduce students who are beginning to think about their post-high school lives about careers in real estate.
This year was particularly special because we had the opportunity to speak at Young Women’s Preparatory Academy in Little Havana, the only all-girls public school in Florida which is ranked fifth in the state.
A group of CREW-Miami members, including 2012 President Maria Juncadella, Karyl Argamasilla, Iris Escarra, Marti Mang, Diane Gilbert and Joy McKenna, served as speakers and we all had the opportunity to engage in dialogue with them during breakout sessions that lasted an hour.
The students had impressive questions to ask, were curious and genuinely interested in a field they had heard little about before.
With Miami’s real estate market sizzling, more international investment landing here and the pipeline of projects preparing to break ground in the coming years, there are excellent career opportunities for new professionals entering the various fields within commercial real estate.
I’m proud that as an organization, CREW-Miami is taking proactive steps with educational programs like CREW Careers and UCREW to teach the next generation, particularly women, about career options in real estate that can lead to great success.
Who knows…some of them might become the future leaders of CREW-Miami.
For more photos, check out our CREW Careers album
By Terri Echarte
While starting a business is a big undertaking, starting a new enterprise amidst the economic downturn takes a lot of courage.
Two of our panelists at the February luncheon, “Finding Success Amidst the Downturn,” did just that – and wouldn’t change a thing.
Tere Blanca, President and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, left a major real estate firm to start her own brokerage firm. Despite the challenging economy, Tere stayed focused on assembling a strategic team of professionals and pursuing new business opportunities.
She says thinking outside the box is important because owning your own business requires you to be creative.
Panelist Alexa Hartley, a former attorney, realized her calling wasn’t representing clients in the courtroom, but coaching them on how to improve their business operations.
Alexa, President of Premier Leadership Coaching, advises setting realistic goals that are aligned with the times to avoid self-frustration.
While for Marjie Nealon, Chair of Bilzin Sumberg’s Real Estate Capital Markets Group, the real estate market bust led to new opportunities for the firm.
As the distressed market grew, Marjie’s law firm focused on boosting its real estate department, re-training attorneys to tackle cases in this practice area. While other law firms were closing their doors or downsizing, Bilzin Sumberg was experiencing substantial growth.
Our panelists agreed that professionals out there looking for a new direction in their career, or to grow their own business, should tap into their business relationships and realize that people are willing to help.
Angel Cicerone, who served as the moderator, is another example of starting a new enterprise amidst the economic downturn. As President of Tenant Mentorship, Angel consults with retail tenants to help them evaluate and reposition their businesses.
Angel’s closing statement put it best: we are responsible for our own success.
By Louise Bendix
Miami’s real estate market is making headlines this week with the completion of what is sure to be one of the biggest deals of this year: Miami Herald Company’s new home in Doral.
CREW-Miami member companies Blanca Commercial Real Estate, law firm Bilzin Sumberg and Fairchild Partners all collaborated in this major transaction. We congratulate them on the execution of this complex office lease and land acquisition.
The daily newspaper, The Miami Herald and its sister publication El Nuevo Herald, will relocate from its longtime offices in downtown Miami to the former US Southern Command headquarters in Doral. The company is taking 158,265 square feet of office space and has an 119,000-square-foot production building slated for the adjacent site purchased.
As a leading commercial real estate association in South Florida, CREW-Miami’s vision has always focused on providing a platform where our members can build professional relationships that lead to deal making.
The Miami Herald transaction is the latest example of how members of CREW-Miami work together to make deals happen.
Every year, our organization recognizes members who partner on commercial transactions, from sales to leases, in our “Networking Deal of the Year” awards.
We are excited to start 2012 with several of Miami’s leading real estate practice firms coming together to execute this landmark deal on behalf of their respective clients.
We look forward to another successful year, with continued collaboration among our members and more deals!
By Cheryl Jacobs
In the words of national economist Dr. Hugh Kelly, change comes in many flavors.
In this unique economic environment, we have to be prepared to quickly adapt to change and, at times, expect the unexpected.
More than ever, our national – and regional – economies are susceptible to not only decisions made in Capitol Hill, but abroad (Latin America, Europe, Asia).
For 15 years, CREW-Miami has welcomed a new year with an economic outlook from Dr. Kelly, who is always candid and looks at the big picture when making his projections.
At this year’s economic outlook luncheon, Dr. Kelly underlined how Miami’s development into a 24-hr city will allow us to benefit from future investments at the national and international level.
“When capital flows in, Miami will capture it,” Dr. Kelly said in his presentation.
And in 2011, Miami’s real estate market definitely captured some of that capital. Of the US’s $170 billion in transaction volume, Miami accounted for $2.52 billion in the areas of office, hospitality, retail, industrial and multi-family combined.
This year, the spillover effect from Latin America’s economic growth, particularly in countries like Brazil and Argentina, should continue to positively impact South Florida’s economy.
As we look ahead, let’s picture Miami in 10 years, Dr. Kelly suggested. How do we see our city evolving demographically, economically and as a real estate market?
As business professionals, we should visualize how we see the Magic City – and ourselves – in 2022, so that it helps shape our business decisions today.
In 2012, let’s not dwell on the opportunities that have disappeared, but focus on finding new ones!
(To learn more, check out Dr. Hugh Kelly’s 2012 Economic Outlook Presentation)
In 2012, we are doing business in real time.
Our role as real estate professionals is evolving, not only as a result of changes in market dynamics, but due to a less expected factor – technology.
Today, most buyers begin their search for real estate assets online and, increasingly, more are using the aid of mobile real estate apps to learn about prospective properties and market facts.
New tech tools, from mobile real estate apps, to Google Earth and iPads, are transforming how real estate business gets done.
As we celebrate CREW-Miami’s 25th anniversary this year, our aim is to get real estate professionals and the larger commercial real estate community to understand and capitalize on the value that real estate technology tools and social media can offer in growing their business. For those who are hesitant to embrace these innovations, we want to remind them that the competition is not.
We are inspiring our members to tap into new technologies and embrace social media platforms to gain a true competitive advantage.
It’s time for the commercial real estate industry to be at the forefront of new technologies and social media tools that can lead to more successful transactions and help us build stronger professional relationships.
As part of our 2012 campaign initiatives, we are developing unique programming designed to educate our members on new technologies, real estate apps and social media tools.
We invite you to attend our programs to learn how these tools can help you grow your business and stay ahead of the curve.
The time to embrace technology is now!
It is no secret that today’s business environment has become increasingly relationship-driven, with people seeking to do business with those they know and trust. Now, as the economy begins its slow recovery, making sure your network is strong should be priority number one.
For many professionals, the first move toward achieving that goal is joining a professional association.
But while getting involved is key, simply showing up at a cocktail event or luncheon is not enough for those wanting to make lasting connections that can in turn, translate into business opportunities.
It is true that attending events with peers helps maintain visibility in the business community and stay up to date on industry trends, but active participation within an organization — for instance, volunteering or joining a committee — can deliver enormous potential to build new relationships and open the door to a new business or new job prospect.
Exchanging a business card and sharing a cocktail are, of course, important entrées to a new business relationship, but I’ve found there’s no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and working together with your peers to achieve a common goal.
In that regard, taking on a leadership role in an organization is an excellent venue for showcasing your talents, abilities and business prowess to your peers.
Whether you head up a committee, manage vendor and sponsor relationships, plan the organization’s budget or help recruit new members, getting involved puts your appetite for involvement, initiative and leadership in the spotlight among potential prospects and employers.
It is important that you do your homework to identify the organizations you’ll get the most value from.
Find an organization that provides professional development resources. Find one reflective of the diversity in your industry. Most importantly, find one whose members reflect the types of businesses and individuals with which you want to do business.
As you research, you’ll find that many associations offer membership drives, perks for new members, or programs to help new members become engaged within the organization.
For instance, at CREW-Miami, we offer ongoing programs aimed at connecting new members with more established colleagues in our organization to bring them into the fold, as well as a membership drive currently offering added benefits to new applicants.
The bottom line is this: the economy is beginning the slow recovery process, and there is no time to waste.
Engage your fellow industry professionals, get involved in the business community and associations, and focus on cultivating and building your relationships to be ready to roll when business bounces back.
Lyan Fernandez is executive vice president and chief operating officer of TotalBank. She also serves as president of professional association Commercial Real Estate Women Miami.
