News
Women On Wednesday: The Secret to Success
September 28, 2011
| Real estate has always been a relationship business. But women in New York's commercial industry have an advantage: they work in a region where so many people want to be. Wanna leverage that?Network. |
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| AREW has been a chapter of the 8,000-member, 74-chapter CREW Network for a short time, and many out-of-state members have business in New York. Case in point—after JLC Environmental Consultants' Jennifer Carey, AREW's prez, returned from the CREW National Convention (above, held Sept. 14–17 in DC), she received two calls: one from a major Silicon Valley tech firm looking for dealmakers, architecture, construction, and design references in NY; and one from a CREW member in Louisiana looking for an environmental inspector for five buildings her firm owns in NY. |
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| “How can we benefit from that?†asks Jennifer, above. So AREW is bringing in Farer Fersko's Ann Waeger (a CREW national director) to discuss CREW and networking benefits to AREW's members on Oct. 4 at a lunch titled “The Power of 8,000.†Not only will AREW members be in attendance, but NYCREW, CREW Philadelphia, NEWIRE (Boston), CREW CT, and ICREW NJ members were also invited. (It's a big family reunion with more business cards and less awkward stories.) CREW facilitates many of these connections through CREWbiz, an online portal that Jennifer likened to Facebook for commercial real estate's women execs. (There are 250 members between local chapters AREW and NYCREW.) |
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| Howard Wechsler |
| Another connection Jennifer made in DC was Boston Properties national director of acquisitions and development Ray Ritchey, who gave some CREW members a tour of 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, the REIT's new 850k SF, Pelli Clarke Pelli-designed, LEED Silver office building. Now the firm is in discussion with AREW on being a part of one of AREW's monthly lunches to discuss New York development later this year. Above, Brookfield Office Properties'Ronne Hackett and PNC Real Estate's Diana Reid speak at one of AREW's lunches. |
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| Maintaining strong contacts has been key to profitability and more, as business associates often become lifelong friends, says Prudential Douglas Elliman retail chairman Faith Hope Consolo. Faith is an AREW and NYCREW member, among a myriad of other organizations. But it's not just about attending events and shaking hands. Building those relationships takes work, she tells us. When she first started in the industry, she not only joined every relevant industry organization she could find but volunteered at each. “No job was too insignificant, no committee a waste of time." |
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| Above, Faith hosts the Women in Real Estate Special Industry Group at ICSC's annual Vegas RECon conference in May (joining J. Crew's Holly Cohen, Target's Terri Simard, Luxor and Excalibur Hotel & Casino's Renee West, and Wynn Resorts' Elaine Wynn). Volunteering at organizations has allowed her to meet—and in many cases, befriend—major figures in real estate, she says. By working the check-in desk at Young Men's Real Estate Association (at the time she was one of three women members; it's now the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association), she was introduced to industry giants like Lew Rudin and Larry Silverstein. “I later did many deals with them, their children, and their colleagues, creating business partnerships and genuine friendships that last to this day.†|
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| Rob Klein |
| Above, Transwestern's Lindsay Ornstein, a YM/WREA governor, volunteers with 13 YM/WREA members at a Habitat for Humanity project in July. The greatest advice Faith can give to others in the industry, particularly women: while attending events sponsored by organizations is a fine way to meet people, it isn't enough. Attending events creates acquaintances; working for organizations and events builds the relationships and friendships and constitutes the real networking that helps succeed. Her closest personal and business relationships have come through volunteering on industry and charity committees.“This work will introduce you to the most senior professionals in the business and give you a chance to show them your knowledge and skills." |
