March 6, 2025 • 25 mins
Join us for an engaging episode featuring Allison Weiss, an inspiring leader in the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. As the founder of CRE Recruiting and Women Speak CRE, Allison shares her unique journey, the imperative of storytelling in recruitment, and the critical role of women in propelling the industry forward. Discover her insights on building meaningful connections and navigating the complexities of networking within CRE.
Allison reflects on her entry into the commercial real estate landscape, illustrating how her diverse career path shaped her approach to recruitment and client relationships. Her initiative, Women Speak CRE, tackles the gender disparity in leadership and representation at industry events, creating essential visibility for women professionals in this space. This conversation not only addresses the benefits of inclusive recruitment practices but motivates listeners to step out of their comfort zones and take charge of their career trajectories.
Get ready to be inspired by the powerful stories and actionable insights shared in this episode. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting in CRE, Allison’s advice on cultivating relationships and embracing challenges will resonate with you. Don’t miss the chance to connect with us, subscribe to the podcast, and join the movement toward greater representation in commercial real estate!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Heather Ewing, the CRE Rundown.
I am your host, heather Ewing,and today I have a lively,
vivacious guest you are going tomeet none other than Allison
Weiss.
Allison is the founder of CRERecruiting and Women Speak CRE.
Welcome Allison.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thank you so much, Heather.
It is so fun to be on thepodcast of someone who is a
Wisconsinite.
I went to high school andcollege in Wisconsin and so I
love the Midwestern energy andI'm excited to be here with you
today.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Terrific.
Well, let's jump right in,because you know women real
estate speaking what more do youwant in a fulfilling life right
.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yes, yes, well, I've known you for, oh, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
No, go ahead.
I've known you for a couple ofyears, so share with my audience
, though, more about you.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
For sure.
So I found my way intocommercial real estate kind of
on accident.
I initially started working ata small private equity firm
family office in Milwaukee theMarcus family, marcus Theaters
and Hotels so worked for them alittle bit, so got some initial
exposure to commercial realestate and then took a
circuitous path back when Ijoined Marcus and Millichap,
(01:24):
working out of their corporateoffices.
I did broker recruiting, teamsof brokers, identified small
acquisition targets and dideverything from that first cold
call all the way throughonboarding, negotiation,
integration with our businesses.
I also set up campus recruitingprograms and then I did a
similar thing at Colliers beforeI went.
I like the work, I like what I'mdoing, but I don't necessarily
(01:47):
love the environment.
So let me work with othercompanies that are maybe, you
know, smaller, midsize companiesthat want to compete with some
of these big firms and arelooking for best practices.
They're looking how to how tocreate leverage in their
business and also to treatpeople with just as much care as
they do their property.
So that's really what I've beendoing for the last 10 years is
(02:10):
the people side of commercialreal estate, and this will be
our sixth year with CRErecruiting.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
That's terrific, and what an ingenious idea.
Right, it's finding the gap andfilling it with great service.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Thank you.
Yeah, it's been a wild ridebecause I think I started CRE
recruiting maybe six monthsbefore COVID, so I technically
have started the same businesstwice.
But it's been so much fun and Ilove the people that I get to
work with and I've always workednationally, so it's very fun
for me.
Whenever I travel I havefriends, clients and candidates
all across the country, whichmakes every trip that much more
(02:49):
entertaining.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, I'm sure, and there's nothing that replaces
meeting people in person.
It's nice to connect throughLinkedIn and social media, but
just having that face to face isreally a new level.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Definitely, so what are a few things that you look
for when you're taking on newclients?
Are there any things that jumpout at you to share?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, good question.
I would say I really love tohear the story.
I like to hear the why behindthe company and kind of what
greater overarching goals thatthey're trying to achieve.
I think these days, especiallywith younger generations and
talking about Gen Z, who's inthe workplace and coming into
the workplace with even moreforce these days, they're really
(03:34):
looking to align themselveswith companies that match their
same values and they want tounderstand how their role
contributes to the overallpicture and mission of a company
.
They want to have that kind ofconnectivity and that alignment.
So I love to hear fromcompanies why they got started,
what's their vision for thefuture, how they're planning on
growing and all of those things,because really good recruiting
(03:57):
is storytelling and matchmaking.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Right, which ties in with sales right.
It's all story and and it'salso identifying the needs and
connecting it to the rightperson, the right resource, the
timing and everything else which, like yourself, I think it's
very fun.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So, with the busyness , the travel throughout the
nation, all these differentpeople, needs, wants, desires,
what mindset do you employ andhow did you cultivate that
mindset?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Good question.
So I think the biggest mindsetthat I have and it's something
that started when I was reallyyoung was that I have never met
a stranger.
I grew up moving all across thecountry.
My dad was in the military, soby the time I got to Wisconsin
in high school, I was 15.
I had lived 13 places beforethat.
So for me it was all aboutgetting to know people,
(04:52):
understanding what made themtick, finding a connection point
and building that relationship.
So for me, that served meincredibly well in my career.
It initially was a necessityfor me right In my life.
I had to very quickly makefriends and get to know a new
environment and new people.
But that mindset I think ofI'll always have something in
(05:13):
common with every single personthat I meet makes me feel like
every single conversation, everysingle person is just a friend
I haven't met yet, and I thinkthat that's an incredibly
liberating way to go throughlife and especially to with all
the division that we see todayin our country and all the
(05:33):
travel that I've done the lastfour years I've been living this
RV life all across the countryand traveling from state to
state is you realize that wehave so much more in common than
we have different from oneanother, and so I think those
two mindsets really have beencrucial for me in my work, but
also just my happiness as aperson.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Oh, definitely, and I think one of the things that
fascinates me and in talkingwith the various people in the
podcast deals and in networkingand everything else, is really
how past experiences fuel yourfuture.
Right, and I think sofrequently it's easy to take
that for granted or you don'tthink about it with the busyness
(06:11):
of life.
But as you take a step back andlook at it from a bigger
perspective, it's really neat tosee how different aspects plug
and play, and something that'sreally been surfacing for me in
my life and career too, that Ithink you'll relate to, is how
certain skills will they'll bustyou out of a certain level,
right, and they'll put you uphere and then you start
(06:34):
realizing, hmm, maybe it's timeto replace those again and
continue that level up process.
So what's something you wouldsuggest for people you know,
different firms, careers, all ofthat for identifying that and
taking the next step to up level.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
For sure.
So I used to get in my careerwhen I was still in corporate,
this like two and a half tothree year itch.
I would start to feeluncomfortable, complacent, I
wasn't learning and growingenough anymore and I really
needed to kind of take onsomething new and challenge
myself.
Well, it's very common for us,I think, to expect that all of
(07:16):
these different opportunitiesand all of this education is
just going to come our waybecause we've been spoon fed it
our entire lives as part of thetraditional educational system,
whether we're in elementaryschool, middle school, high
school, and then, you know, forthose of us who went to college,
we kind of would sit back andall we had to do is physically
go attend class and we'd learnthings.
I think, as we get older, wereally need to be responsible
(07:40):
for our personal andprofessional growth and we need
to identify you know what arethe areas that are right at the
edge of our comfort zone.
So for me, I know, when I startto feel a little nauseous, when
I start to feel a littlenervous, anxious about something
, that's a sign, that's anopportunity for me to go explore
that and to go to the edge ofmy comfort zone, because that's
(08:02):
where the growth is, and I thinkwhenever I get that feeling,
that's just a guide for me toknow that I'm on the right track
, I'm pushing myself forward,I'm growing, and so getting
comfortable with that unease andthat discomfort I think is so
important for our professionalgrowth.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I agree completely and I think one of the things
that really attracted me tocommercial real estate is that
it's an endless emporium foreducation growth.
You know I've often joked too.
It's probably one of the mostchallenging but it's probably
one of the best self-developmentprograms you can choose to
enter.
And I just remember, you know,especially those first five
(08:43):
years is they were grueling andthen there's something about
that five year mark and it'slike, oh, thank God, it's like
finish the marathon, but it is.
It is a really neat arena.
So what I've noticed too andit's happening obviously Madison
, midwest, throughout thecountry is, you know, you always
(09:04):
hear the term sexy withcommercial real estate, and I
just remember I always laughedat that right.
But anyways, I see it as veryartful.
But there's a surgence of theyoung 20-somethings graduating
from college, or maybe some thatjust decided the standard path
is not for them.
What are a few tips that youwould give them as they're
(09:27):
searching out their initialbrokerage firms to work for, or
maybe another arena withincommercial real estate?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Absolutely so.
I would encourage anybody who'sthinking about commercial real
estate as a career path to treatit like a scientist and do as
many experiments as theypossibly can.
So getting out there andmeeting people from all
different walks of life withinthe industry I think going and
putting themselves again in theuncomfortable spot of maybe
going to networking events whereyou can find a wide variety of
(09:58):
career paths and differentniches within the business I
think is really important, and Ithink asking people to not just
the good about their careerpath but what have you really
struggled with or whatchallenges have you faced and
asking them really deep andprobing questions, and and also
being willing to listen, to takeadvice and then to follow up on
(10:22):
that advice.
I am constantly asked to giveadvice, whether it's to entire
classes or real estate societiesor even young professionals
groups within commercial realestate, and it is the very rare
percentage of people that willfollow up after the fact to say
hey, Allison, I know youmentioned this book, I read it
(10:44):
and I wanted to tell you.
These were my three favoritetakeaways, and I have one more
question for you.
Would you mind sharing with meX, Y and Z it's?
It's a great way to bememorable.
It's it's the extra mile, isnot very crowded, as they say,
and it's something that I'veseen over and over that those
are the people that arememorable to me.
(11:04):
Those are the people that whenI do have a search that I go to
immediately to say, is thisperson interested?
Because I know that this personis someone who has great
follow-through, they have greatcommunication skills, they're
really engaged in the process.
So I would say be a scientist,experiment, go to events, try
new things, have lots of deepconversations, but follow up
(11:28):
after the fact to let thatperson know what you learned,
what you took away, and ask themone more question and you will
be amazed at how much peoplewant to help you.
One of the things that BenjaminFranklin used to write about
way back hundreds of years agowas that people actually like
you more if they're able to doyou a favor, and so I think
(11:51):
sometimes we hesitate to reachout and to ask for help, but
really it ingratiates us tothose individuals and they're
happy to have had theopportunity to help you and
they're, in fact, more engagedand want to help you more in the
future.
So use that law, you know, inyour benefit and definitely be a
scientist.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Definitely and tying in with that, you know, reminds
me of the Napoleon Hillstatement too, you know, to the
point of the razor's edge of the1%.
It really is just that one tinything that that takes you beyond
.
But I think something, too thatI've noticed and something that
I would share with others ismake sure you have your
(12:34):
non-compete reviewed by acommercial real estate attorney
that specializes in labor andcontracts.
And I hear this in deals too,and I cringe every time and I
always give people theforewarning of like, I don't
care if your aunt or your cousinor your husband is an attorney
(12:54):
if it's not in that arena,you're not putting yourself
forward for your best win.
So great tips.
I love all of those ales.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
And I just had to chime in on that one.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
No.
That's a great tips.
I love all those ales and Ijust had to chime in on that one
no that's a great one.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
I do think we sign a lot of things without reading
them and I think our phonescondition us to do that right.
Here's the terms and conditions, except, you know, we have to
be really careful and hopefully.
I know it's gone back and fortha few times with the FTC and
banning non-competes, but that'sstill under review and so until
if and when that day comes, youknow, you you really need to
(13:30):
know what's in your agreementand you need a labor and
employment attorney and, andhopefully, someone who also has
real estate experience, to takea look at that.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yeah, definitely so.
Switching gears again thebusyness, the fun, the wild.
How do you de-stress at the endof a day, or maybe throughout
the day, right, when you justneed one of those timeouts?
What's your tricks of the trade?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Good question.
So you can't see them right now, but I have three dogs.
I have one specifically who'snaughty and has been trying to
interfere with this call theentire time.
So for me it's getting outside,it's taking the dogs on a walk,
maybe tossing the ball around.
For them it's it's being innature.
I think that's a big part ofalso why I love this RV
(14:17):
lifestyle and I've been doing itfor, you know, four years now.
It's been so fun for me to beout of doors.
I also really love to read againback to the owning, your
personal development andeducation.
I love to read, I love to learnnew things documentaries,
history, podcasts, things likethat.
I also am a very creativeperson, like you, who I know
(14:40):
paints and has a variety ofdifferent creative outlets.
I went to school to be an artteacher and so for me, even just
knitting and crocheting youknow doing things like that or
drawing, sewing I love the arts.
I love, you know, craftsmanshipand all of that.
(15:01):
So for me, there's almostnothing more satisfying than
creating something with your twohands and watching that you
know kind of process develop.
So that's really what keeps megrounded and sane when it gets
really busy, mind, or?
Speaker 1 (15:16):
you had an inspiration or something came
through, and then you have thatphysical gift that you either
get to give or, you know, put iton the mantle, or for me, like
this is one of my paintings onthe wall, and it's something
(15:36):
that you get to enjoy for months, years to come, and I agree
it's very gratifying, and Ithink too with with all the
deadlines and the pushing andthe going.
It really is nice to have theyin and the yang of all of that.
Absolutely, Before we run outof time, share with the audience
a little bit more about yourWomen.
(15:58):
Speak CRE.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
For sure.
So this is something that I amprobably more passionate about
than anything else that I'mworking on at the moment, and
I've always had this feeling.
When I joined commercial realestate, I really looked around
and went wow, there's not a lotof us women here and there's, as
you go up the ladder, there arefewer and fewer, and I was
(16:21):
always really jealous, I think,of my male colleagues and their
friendships with each other, andI noticed a huge disparity,
especially when I went to eventsthat women we were attending
much less frequently and also wewere on stage.
You know a scant percentage ofthe time when you compared us to
our male counterparts.
And so one night I was onTwitter I tend to be a little
(16:45):
bit of a late night doomscroller and I saw my friend,
dali Becker, who I believe youare also friendly with, and Dali
had posted that she was goingto be a speaker at a one day
commercial real estate event inAustin.
She was the only woman out of14 speakers, and I am not great
at math, hence the art degree soI did the little math and I was
(17:06):
like 7%.
7% of the speakers at thisevent are women, and that, to me
, was just a galvanizing momentwhere I went.
We have to do better than this.
It is 2025.
We are 51% of the populationand we, you know, we're a long
way from parity, but we shouldbe better than 7%.
(17:28):
And so at the time, I didn'thave anything constructive to
say about it.
But the next morning I thoughtwhat are the reasons that this
is happening?
Because I know these women areout there, I'm friends with
these women, I meet them atconferences, we're LinkedIn
buddies, all of these sorts ofthings.
So I said what if we took awaythe excuse that you know I hear
(17:49):
so often, which is that I don'tknow a woman who does industrial
development, or I don't know awoman from Chicago who does
triple net, or you know,whatever that excuse might be?
I said let's take it away.
Let's create a database ofthese women who I know are out
there, who want to speak, whowant to be more visible, who
want to comment in the media,and let's make it free, let's
(18:12):
make it easily accessible, let'smake the signup process for
women real quick, let's make itlook professional.
In the space of just, I think, aweek, we had 100 women sign up,
and so what I was initiallythinking was going to be like a
Google spreadsheet that we justhosted and you know people could
go in and download.
I thought this needs to bebigger.
(18:33):
This is a movement and we needto create a better experience so
we can really attract theseconference organizers and
podcast hosts and you know theReal Deal and Globe Street and
all of these other great mediaorganizations in our business.
And so my original post inresponse to Dali's post was, I
(18:53):
think, october 28th or 29th, andwe launched Women Speak CRE
three months in a day after that.
So it was a really really fastreally fast and plus, we also
had, in that amount of time,Thanksgiving, Christmas, New
Year's, all of that craziness,but I just really felt compelled
.
I also had the help of a couplewomen who did a similar list
(19:17):
and platform for hospitalityexecutives that are women, and
so we put that all together andI we were sharing prior to
recording that we have actuallyalready helped 21 women land
speaking opportunities at one ofthe most premier events in our
industry that happens everysummer Globetrotts Women of
(19:38):
Influence event.
And I want to be clear this ismore than just for women's
events.
We want to, you know, ensurethat everyone is using it to
book conferences.
Again, it's free.
There's no reason anyoneshouldn't use this, and the
feedback has been incrediblefrom the conference organizer in
the quality of the women on thelist, the diversity of the
(19:58):
women on the list, you know, thereal practitioner level, skill
set and all of that, which isvery exciting.
And so there are moredevelopments to come in the
future for Women Speak CRE.
But I'm tremendously proud ofwhat we've done so far and it's
been all developed and createdby women for women, all, every
(20:20):
single part of it, from thebrand identity to the back end
of the system to.
You know the website.
All of it has been done bywomen.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Congratulations, and two.
I mean that was a very quickexecution you know, three months
from the idea popping intoexecuting that's terrific.
And you know, three months fromthe idea popping into executing
that's terrific.
And you know something I'vethought of, because Madison's
(20:51):
small and I think there'sprobably only seven women, but
it's one of those two.
What's interesting, though, isthe women are because to make it
, you have to be a hard hitter,right Like if you're not
delivering.
If you don't know what you'redoing, you're not going to make
it and you're going to be outafter year one.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
So they're all hard hitters.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And what's interesting is, I would say
there's there's, for the mostpart, two of us, maybe three,
that are on different speakingforums and things like that, and
I feel fortunate that I dospeak and represent the Madison
market and that I'm in Milwaukee, or you know, different radio
things and things of that nature.
How much do you think it is ofbeing able to create visibility
(21:28):
through media, through, you know, your different connections and
network?
Do you think that's also whereit's falling down?
Like what do you think aligns,you know, in that?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
down Like what do you think aligns, you know, in in
that?
Yes, it's definitely avisibility problem and an
amplification problem.
It's not a supply problem.
I think the women are out there.
I think some of it is also theway that we're conditioned as
women to not speak up about ouraccomplishments and to, you know
, not be too proud or not be tooboastful or what have you.
So I think you know we're maybenot putting ourselves out there
(22:04):
as much.
I think there's also just thisthing that I've seen with these
events, where the same peopleare asked to speak on the same
topics over and over and over,and they're done through a small
network of relationships andthere there isn't a lot of you
know fresh voices being broughtinto that environment.
So I do think it takes womenstanding up and saying and
(22:27):
declaring this is what I want.
I want to be more visible andalso stepping out there on their
own, whether that's in socialmedia or attending events, or
even just making it known totheir networks you know their
support systems that this issomething that they're looking
for.
I feel like when you declare itout loud and you take those
daily actions to make it happen,we've seen it pay off.
(22:50):
We've seen this work and even afun, fun story.
So there there's a woman whogot a speaking opportunity
through the platform.
I personally had to tag her andsay I think this is something
that you should do.
And she said, oh, I reallydon't want to do it, like I'm
really uncomfortable, and I saidyou know, I think you'd be a
(23:11):
great speaker.
I think you've got a lot toshare.
She's also one of the wittiest,funniest, most entertaining
people that I know, justpersonally, and so it was a
little outside of her comfortzone.
And what I'm also finding iswomen like to self reject.
We like to say, oh, maybe nextyear.
I'm not ready for that, I havemore work to do, I have more
(23:33):
learning to do, I want to getthis certification.
We delay kind of the resultsthat we want because we want
that permission slip slip or wewant to be more qualified so we
aren't judged or criticized oryou know what have you?
We're, I think, more riskaverse maybe than men in that
(23:53):
way, and I think we'reconditioned to be that way.
But I do think that if we'rewilling to step up, if we're
willing to start to share ourstories, those stories resonate,
they help other people, andthat's the first step in
amplifying your voice and beingmore seen and more visible means
more opportunities and, at theend of the day, more income,
(24:14):
which is something that all allwomen and all people are looking
for all women and all peopleare looking for Definitely and I
think you nailed it of moreopportunities, but also people
taking the opportunity to getuncomfortable and grow in a safe
environment.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And I remember years ago I threw myself into
Toastmasters, yeah, and it's,it's one of those.
It's kind of like you got tofeel the pain and discomfort if
you want that next level right,because it's not going to just
suddenly descend upon you andyou are an eloquent speaker.
So I love that you've createdthis to give visibility, and I'm
(24:52):
excited for women tocontinually step out of that
comfort zone and just rein it inand share that expertise.
So, allison, thank you so muchfor joining me.
It was a true, true joy toconnect and I look forward to
connecting with you soon.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Me too, Heather.
It was such a pleasure to joinyou and you're such an
inspiration, I think, for allwomen in stepping out, putting
yourself out there and reallyleading from the front.
So thank you for everythingthat you do Well my pleasure,
thanks so much, Alison.
Yeah, all right, bye.
Welcome to Heather Ewing, the CRE Rundown.
I am your host, heather Ewing,and today I have a lively,
vivacious guest you are going tomeet none other than Allison
Weiss.
Allison is the founder of CRERecruiting and Women Speak CRE.
Welcome Allison.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Thank you so much, Heather.
It is so fun to be on thepodcast of someone who is a
Wisconsinite.
I went to high school andcollege in Wisconsin and so I
love the Midwestern energy andI'm excited to be here with you
today.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Terrific.
Well, let's jump right in,because you know women real
estate speaking what more do youwant in a fulfilling life right
.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yes, yes, well, I've known you for, oh, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
No, go ahead.
I've known you for a couple ofyears, so share with my audience
, though, more about you.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
For sure.
So I found my way intocommercial real estate kind of
on accident.
I initially started working ata small private equity firm
family office in Milwaukee theMarcus family, marcus Theaters
and Hotels so worked for them alittle bit, so got some initial
exposure to commercial realestate and then took a
circuitous path back when Ijoined Marcus and Millichap,
(01:24):
working out of their corporateoffices.
I did broker recruiting, teamsof brokers, identified small
acquisition targets and dideverything from that first cold
call all the way throughonboarding, negotiation,
integration with our businesses.
I also set up campus recruitingprograms and then I did a
similar thing at Colliers beforeI went.
I like the work, I like what I'mdoing, but I don't necessarily
(01:47):
love the environment.
So let me work with othercompanies that are maybe, you
know, smaller, midsize companiesthat want to compete with some
of these big firms and arelooking for best practices.
They're looking how to how tocreate leverage in their
business and also to treatpeople with just as much care as
they do their property.
So that's really what I've beendoing for the last 10 years is
(02:10):
the people side of commercialreal estate, and this will be
our sixth year with CRErecruiting.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
That's terrific, and what an ingenious idea.
Right, it's finding the gap andfilling it with great service.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Thank you.
Yeah, it's been a wild ridebecause I think I started CRE
recruiting maybe six monthsbefore COVID, so I technically
have started the same businesstwice.
But it's been so much fun and Ilove the people that I get to
work with and I've always workednationally, so it's very fun
for me.
Whenever I travel I havefriends, clients and candidates
all across the country, whichmakes every trip that much more
(02:49):
entertaining.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, I'm sure, and there's nothing that replaces
meeting people in person.
It's nice to connect throughLinkedIn and social media, but
just having that face to face isreally a new level.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Definitely, so what are a few things that you look
for when you're taking on newclients?
Are there any things that jumpout at you to share?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, good question.
I would say I really love tohear the story.
I like to hear the why behindthe company and kind of what
greater overarching goals thatthey're trying to achieve.
I think these days, especiallywith younger generations and
talking about Gen Z, who's inthe workplace and coming into
the workplace with even moreforce these days, they're really
(03:34):
looking to align themselveswith companies that match their
same values and they want tounderstand how their role
contributes to the overallpicture and mission of a company
.
They want to have that kind ofconnectivity and that alignment.
So I love to hear fromcompanies why they got started,
what's their vision for thefuture, how they're planning on
growing and all of those things,because really good recruiting
(03:57):
is storytelling and matchmaking.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Right, which ties in with sales right.
It's all story and and it'salso identifying the needs and
connecting it to the rightperson, the right resource, the
timing and everything else which, like yourself, I think it's
very fun.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So, with the busyness , the travel throughout the
nation, all these differentpeople, needs, wants, desires,
what mindset do you employ andhow did you cultivate that
mindset?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Good question.
So I think the biggest mindsetthat I have and it's something
that started when I was reallyyoung was that I have never met
a stranger.
I grew up moving all across thecountry.
My dad was in the military, soby the time I got to Wisconsin
in high school, I was 15.
I had lived 13 places beforethat.
So for me it was all aboutgetting to know people,
(04:52):
understanding what made themtick, finding a connection point
and building that relationship.
So for me, that served meincredibly well in my career.
It initially was a necessityfor me right In my life.
I had to very quickly makefriends and get to know a new
environment and new people.
But that mindset I think ofI'll always have something in
(05:13):
common with every single personthat I meet makes me feel like
every single conversation, everysingle person is just a friend
I haven't met yet, and I thinkthat that's an incredibly
liberating way to go throughlife and especially to with all
the division that we see todayin our country and all the
(05:33):
travel that I've done the lastfour years I've been living this
RV life all across the countryand traveling from state to
state is you realize that wehave so much more in common than
we have different from oneanother, and so I think those
two mindsets really have beencrucial for me in my work, but
also just my happiness as aperson.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Oh, definitely, and I think one of the things that
fascinates me and in talkingwith the various people in the
podcast deals and in networkingand everything else, is really
how past experiences fuel yourfuture.
Right, and I think sofrequently it's easy to take
that for granted or you don'tthink about it with the busyness
(06:11):
of life.
But as you take a step back andlook at it from a bigger
perspective, it's really neat tosee how different aspects plug
and play, and something that'sreally been surfacing for me in
my life and career too, that Ithink you'll relate to, is how
certain skills will they'll bustyou out of a certain level,
right, and they'll put you uphere and then you start
(06:34):
realizing, hmm, maybe it's timeto replace those again and
continue that level up process.
So what's something you wouldsuggest for people you know,
different firms, careers, all ofthat for identifying that and
taking the next step to up level.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
For sure.
So I used to get in my careerwhen I was still in corporate,
this like two and a half tothree year itch.
I would start to feeluncomfortable, complacent, I
wasn't learning and growingenough anymore and I really
needed to kind of take onsomething new and challenge
myself.
Well, it's very common for us,I think, to expect that all of
(07:16):
these different opportunitiesand all of this education is
just going to come our waybecause we've been spoon fed it
our entire lives as part of thetraditional educational system,
whether we're in elementaryschool, middle school, high
school, and then, you know, forthose of us who went to college,
we kind of would sit back andall we had to do is physically
go attend class and we'd learnthings.
I think, as we get older, wereally need to be responsible
(07:40):
for our personal andprofessional growth and we need
to identify you know what arethe areas that are right at the
edge of our comfort zone.
So for me, I know, when I startto feel a little nauseous, when
I start to feel a littlenervous, anxious about something
, that's a sign, that's anopportunity for me to go explore
that and to go to the edge ofmy comfort zone, because that's
(08:02):
where the growth is, and I thinkwhenever I get that feeling,
that's just a guide for me toknow that I'm on the right track
, I'm pushing myself forward,I'm growing, and so getting
comfortable with that unease andthat discomfort I think is so
important for our professionalgrowth.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I agree completely and I think one of the things
that really attracted me tocommercial real estate is that
it's an endless emporium foreducation growth.
You know I've often joked too.
It's probably one of the mostchallenging but it's probably
one of the best self-developmentprograms you can choose to
enter.
And I just remember, you know,especially those first five
(08:43):
years is they were grueling andthen there's something about
that five year mark and it'slike, oh, thank God, it's like
finish the marathon, but it is.
It is a really neat arena.
So what I've noticed too andit's happening obviously Madison
, midwest, throughout thecountry is, you know, you always
(09:04):
hear the term sexy withcommercial real estate, and I
just remember I always laughedat that right.
But anyways, I see it as veryartful.
But there's a surgence of theyoung 20-somethings graduating
from college, or maybe some thatjust decided the standard path
is not for them.
What are a few tips that youwould give them as they're
(09:27):
searching out their initialbrokerage firms to work for, or
maybe another arena withincommercial real estate?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Absolutely so.
I would encourage anybody who'sthinking about commercial real
estate as a career path to treatit like a scientist and do as
many experiments as theypossibly can.
So getting out there andmeeting people from all
different walks of life withinthe industry I think going and
putting themselves again in theuncomfortable spot of maybe
going to networking events whereyou can find a wide variety of
(09:58):
career paths and differentniches within the business I
think is really important, and Ithink asking people to not just
the good about their careerpath but what have you really
struggled with or whatchallenges have you faced and
asking them really deep andprobing questions, and and also
being willing to listen, to takeadvice and then to follow up on
(10:22):
that advice.
I am constantly asked to giveadvice, whether it's to entire
classes or real estate societiesor even young professionals
groups within commercial realestate, and it is the very rare
percentage of people that willfollow up after the fact to say
hey, Allison, I know youmentioned this book, I read it
(10:44):
and I wanted to tell you.
These were my three favoritetakeaways, and I have one more
question for you.
Would you mind sharing with meX, Y and Z it's?
It's a great way to bememorable.
It's it's the extra mile, isnot very crowded, as they say,
and it's something that I'veseen over and over that those
are the people that arememorable to me.
(11:04):
Those are the people that whenI do have a search that I go to
immediately to say, is thisperson interested?
Because I know that this personis someone who has great
follow-through, they have greatcommunication skills, they're
really engaged in the process.
So I would say be a scientist,experiment, go to events, try
new things, have lots of deepconversations, but follow up
(11:28):
after the fact to let thatperson know what you learned,
what you took away, and ask themone more question and you will
be amazed at how much peoplewant to help you.
One of the things that BenjaminFranklin used to write about
way back hundreds of years agowas that people actually like
you more if they're able to doyou a favor, and so I think
(11:51):
sometimes we hesitate to reachout and to ask for help, but
really it ingratiates us tothose individuals and they're
happy to have had theopportunity to help you and
they're, in fact, more engagedand want to help you more in the
future.
So use that law, you know, inyour benefit and definitely be a
scientist.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Definitely and tying in with that, you know, reminds
me of the Napoleon Hillstatement too, you know, to the
point of the razor's edge of the1%.
It really is just that one tinything that that takes you beyond
.
But I think something, too thatI've noticed and something that
I would share with others ismake sure you have your
(12:34):
non-compete reviewed by acommercial real estate attorney
that specializes in labor andcontracts.
And I hear this in deals too,and I cringe every time and I
always give people theforewarning of like, I don't
care if your aunt or your cousinor your husband is an attorney
(12:54):
if it's not in that arena,you're not putting yourself
forward for your best win.
So great tips.
I love all of those ales.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
And I just had to chime in on that one.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
No.
That's a great tips.
I love all those ales and Ijust had to chime in on that one
no that's a great one.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
I do think we sign a lot of things without reading
them and I think our phonescondition us to do that right.
Here's the terms and conditions, except, you know, we have to
be really careful and hopefully.
I know it's gone back and fortha few times with the FTC and
banning non-competes, but that'sstill under review and so until
if and when that day comes, youknow, you you really need to
(13:30):
know what's in your agreementand you need a labor and
employment attorney and, andhopefully, someone who also has
real estate experience, to takea look at that.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yeah, definitely so.
Switching gears again thebusyness, the fun, the wild.
How do you de-stress at the endof a day, or maybe throughout
the day, right, when you justneed one of those timeouts?
What's your tricks of the trade?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Good question.
So you can't see them right now, but I have three dogs.
I have one specifically who'snaughty and has been trying to
interfere with this call theentire time.
So for me it's getting outside,it's taking the dogs on a walk,
maybe tossing the ball around.
For them it's it's being innature.
I think that's a big part ofalso why I love this RV
(14:17):
lifestyle and I've been doing itfor, you know, four years now.
It's been so fun for me to beout of doors.
I also really love to read againback to the owning, your
personal development andeducation.
I love to read, I love to learnnew things documentaries,
history, podcasts, things likethat.
I also am a very creativeperson, like you, who I know
(14:40):
paints and has a variety ofdifferent creative outlets.
I went to school to be an artteacher and so for me, even just
knitting and crocheting youknow doing things like that or
drawing, sewing I love the arts.
I love, you know, craftsmanshipand all of that.
(15:01):
So for me, there's almostnothing more satisfying than
creating something with your twohands and watching that you
know kind of process develop.
So that's really what keeps megrounded and sane when it gets
really busy, mind, or?
Speaker 1 (15:16):
you had an inspiration or something came
through, and then you have thatphysical gift that you either
get to give or, you know, put iton the mantle, or for me, like
this is one of my paintings onthe wall, and it's something
(15:36):
that you get to enjoy for months, years to come, and I agree
it's very gratifying, and Ithink too with with all the
deadlines and the pushing andthe going.
It really is nice to have theyin and the yang of all of that.
Absolutely, Before we run outof time, share with the audience
a little bit more about yourWomen.
(15:58):
Speak CRE.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
For sure.
So this is something that I amprobably more passionate about
than anything else that I'mworking on at the moment, and
I've always had this feeling.
When I joined commercial realestate, I really looked around
and went wow, there's not a lotof us women here and there's, as
you go up the ladder, there arefewer and fewer, and I was
(16:21):
always really jealous, I think,of my male colleagues and their
friendships with each other, andI noticed a huge disparity,
especially when I went to eventsthat women we were attending
much less frequently and also wewere on stage.
You know a scant percentage ofthe time when you compared us to
our male counterparts.
And so one night I was onTwitter I tend to be a little
(16:45):
bit of a late night doomscroller and I saw my friend,
dali Becker, who I believe youare also friendly with, and Dali
had posted that she was goingto be a speaker at a one day
commercial real estate event inAustin.
She was the only woman out of14 speakers, and I am not great
at math, hence the art degree soI did the little math and I was
(17:06):
like 7%.
7% of the speakers at thisevent are women, and that, to me
, was just a galvanizing momentwhere I went.
We have to do better than this.
It is 2025.
We are 51% of the populationand we, you know, we're a long
way from parity, but we shouldbe better than 7%.
(17:28):
And so at the time, I didn'thave anything constructive to
say about it.
But the next morning I thoughtwhat are the reasons that this
is happening?
Because I know these women areout there, I'm friends with
these women, I meet them atconferences, we're LinkedIn
buddies, all of these sorts ofthings.
So I said what if we took awaythe excuse that you know I hear
(17:49):
so often, which is that I don'tknow a woman who does industrial
development, or I don't know awoman from Chicago who does
triple net, or you know,whatever that excuse might be?
I said let's take it away.
Let's create a database ofthese women who I know are out
there, who want to speak, whowant to be more visible, who
want to comment in the media,and let's make it free, let's
(18:12):
make it easily accessible, let'smake the signup process for
women real quick, let's make itlook professional.
In the space of just, I think, aweek, we had 100 women sign up,
and so what I was initiallythinking was going to be like a
Google spreadsheet that we justhosted and you know people could
go in and download.
I thought this needs to bebigger.
(18:33):
This is a movement and we needto create a better experience so
we can really attract theseconference organizers and
podcast hosts and you know theReal Deal and Globe Street and
all of these other great mediaorganizations in our business.
And so my original post inresponse to Dali's post was, I
(18:53):
think, october 28th or 29th, andwe launched Women Speak CRE
three months in a day after that.
So it was a really really fastreally fast and plus, we also
had, in that amount of time,Thanksgiving, Christmas, New
Year's, all of that craziness,but I just really felt compelled
.
I also had the help of a couplewomen who did a similar list
(19:17):
and platform for hospitalityexecutives that are women, and
so we put that all together andI we were sharing prior to
recording that we have actuallyalready helped 21 women land
speaking opportunities at one ofthe most premier events in our
industry that happens everysummer Globetrotts Women of
(19:38):
Influence event.
And I want to be clear this ismore than just for women's
events.
We want to, you know, ensurethat everyone is using it to
book conferences.
Again, it's free.
There's no reason anyoneshouldn't use this, and the
feedback has been incrediblefrom the conference organizer in
the quality of the women on thelist, the diversity of the
(19:58):
women on the list, you know, thereal practitioner level, skill
set and all of that, which isvery exciting.
And so there are moredevelopments to come in the
future for Women Speak CRE.
But I'm tremendously proud ofwhat we've done so far and it's
been all developed and createdby women for women, all, every
(20:20):
single part of it, from thebrand identity to the back end
of the system to.
You know the website.
All of it has been done bywomen.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Congratulations, and two.
I mean that was a very quickexecution you know, three months
from the idea popping intoexecuting that's terrific.
And you know, three months fromthe idea popping into executing
that's terrific.
And you know something I'vethought of, because Madison's
(20:51):
small and I think there'sprobably only seven women, but
it's one of those two.
What's interesting, though, isthe women are because to make it
, you have to be a hard hitter,right Like if you're not
delivering.
If you don't know what you'redoing, you're not going to make
it and you're going to be outafter year one.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
So they're all hard hitters.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And what's interesting is, I would say
there's there's, for the mostpart, two of us, maybe three,
that are on different speakingforums and things like that, and
I feel fortunate that I dospeak and represent the Madison
market and that I'm in Milwaukee, or you know, different radio
things and things of that nature.
How much do you think it is ofbeing able to create visibility
(21:28):
through media, through, you know, your different connections and
network?
Do you think that's also whereit's falling down?
Like what do you think aligns,you know, in that?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
down Like what do you think aligns, you know, in in
that?
Yes, it's definitely avisibility problem and an
amplification problem.
It's not a supply problem.
I think the women are out there.
I think some of it is also theway that we're conditioned as
women to not speak up about ouraccomplishments and to, you know
, not be too proud or not be tooboastful or what have you.
So I think you know we're maybenot putting ourselves out there
(22:04):
as much.
I think there's also just thisthing that I've seen with these
events, where the same peopleare asked to speak on the same
topics over and over and over,and they're done through a small
network of relationships andthere there isn't a lot of you
know fresh voices being broughtinto that environment.
So I do think it takes womenstanding up and saying and
(22:27):
declaring this is what I want.
I want to be more visible andalso stepping out there on their
own, whether that's in socialmedia or attending events, or
even just making it known totheir networks you know their
support systems that this issomething that they're looking
for.
I feel like when you declare itout loud and you take those
daily actions to make it happen,we've seen it pay off.
(22:50):
We've seen this work and even afun, fun story.
So there there's a woman whogot a speaking opportunity
through the platform.
I personally had to tag her andsay I think this is something
that you should do.
And she said, oh, I reallydon't want to do it, like I'm
really uncomfortable, and I saidyou know, I think you'd be a
(23:11):
great speaker.
I think you've got a lot toshare.
She's also one of the wittiest,funniest, most entertaining
people that I know, justpersonally, and so it was a
little outside of her comfortzone.
And what I'm also finding iswomen like to self reject.
We like to say, oh, maybe nextyear.
I'm not ready for that, I havemore work to do, I have more
(23:33):
learning to do, I want to getthis certification.
We delay kind of the resultsthat we want because we want
that permission slip slip or wewant to be more qualified so we
aren't judged or criticized oryou know what have you?
We're, I think, more riskaverse maybe than men in that
(23:53):
way, and I think we'reconditioned to be that way.
But I do think that if we'rewilling to step up, if we're
willing to start to share ourstories, those stories resonate,
they help other people, andthat's the first step in
amplifying your voice and beingmore seen and more visible means
more opportunities and, at theend of the day, more income,
(24:14):
which is something that all allwomen and all people are looking
for all women and all peopleare looking for Definitely and I
think you nailed it of moreopportunities, but also people
taking the opportunity to getuncomfortable and grow in a safe
environment.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And I remember years ago I threw myself into
Toastmasters, yeah, and it's,it's one of those.
It's kind of like you got tofeel the pain and discomfort if
you want that next level right,because it's not going to just
suddenly descend upon you andyou are an eloquent speaker.
So I love that you've createdthis to give visibility, and I'm
(24:52):
excited for women tocontinually step out of that
comfort zone and just rein it inand share that expertise.
So, allison, thank you so muchfor joining me.
It was a true, true joy toconnect and I look forward to
connecting with you soon.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Me too, Heather.
It was such a pleasure to joinyou and you're such an
inspiration, I think, for allwomen in stepping out, putting
yourself out there and reallyleading from the front.
So thank you for everythingthat you do Well my pleasure,
thanks so much, Alison.
Yeah, all right, bye.
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