Commercial Is ALIVE AND WELL!

So you think you want to work in Commercial Real Estate? Heard the glory stories about whopping commissions and up front fees? That commercial is thriving while residential falters? I'm here to tell you it's no place for the faint of heart or lazy of behind.

WORK IN PROGRESS: I happen to have a few projects on my mind that in some cases have been two years or more in the planning. Meanwhile, I am also running a residential client service that runs the gamut. In a way, the commercial world is a welcome break because it takes me back into the corporate hard knocks school I trained in and I feel comfortable slinging the lingo ..hey it's also fun to be talking about millions not thousands. Before you hand in your residential badge, ask yourself if you are the kind of person who can work their backside off for a year only to be beaten out by some boys in Jersey who did a little more wining and dining than you did.

WHAT NO PERKS?I don't think it good business to grease palms. Call me naive but I think people respect business as business. We are so schooled in the residential world that we cannot legally offer kickbacks to Realtors or clients that I have taken on the 'no gifts of value' mission as my personal challenge! (I grow flowers in summer so most of my housewarming gift is fresh and free!) I am succumbing to the fact I might have to take up golf again...stay tuned on that. The only problem is some guys get a little miffed when the girl sinks a 30 foot putt and I'll be darned if I'll fake my putt!

COWBOYS GALORE: 'W' made a living on his swagger and pedigree. In commercial you definitely need a professional attitude, firm attack and thick skin. An MBA from Yale (a real one) wouldn't hurt either since it will be your job to write a snappy executive brief complete with statistical data. You quickly learn to trust your gut and cut your losses. One client called me predicably every time he was in deep doo doo. I would counsel with ideas and he would drift off...then come back another day for solace. I fully realized he was using me to negotiate terms with his bank but in the end his bank actually dumped him and by then he was so far gone he didn't have the fight left needed to carry on. A true killer instinct broker would probably have propped up the carcass! I learned to draw the line on some things.

DEVELOPER STIGMA? Actually, we have lots of great undeveloped places that would actually benefit from economic stimulus and environmentally conscious planning. Like creating real working wage jobs for folks in dying towns that happen to have deep water ports. Some greenophites would cringe if they knew certain areas were slated to go under the dozers. But hey --they will go under anyway! If I can have a positive effect on helping steer more conscious land use I'm at least contributing to the vision of better is better. You see a closet greenie like me does struggle from time to time with the meaning of life.

ARE YOU GAME? Does the hustle and bustle of the pitch or the closing the deal really thrill you? if so leap into commercial with both feet and give it a try. You might just enjoy it!