How I Enrich My Business: A Love Letter to Retail Spaces
By Roger Porter and Olga Brandeis
One of the primary challenges of a long and successful career in commercial real estate finance, or any career for that matter, is to maintain momentum and excitement for your work. Sure, we all start out with energy and passion and there are big moments throughout the decades-long path, but waking up each day with zeal for the work can fade with time. I love what I do; I love my clients and colleagues; I love helping people build communities with their real estate ventures. In twenty years of this work, I’ve developed a few methods to help me tap into my excitement, conjuring a burst of energy for focused work that is at once inspiring and exciting.
I love tapping into my excitement for commercial real estate by evaluating a retail strip mall in my home city of Los Angeles. These collections of shops, boutiques and storefronts are the community watering holes that make neighborhoods thrive in big cities like LA. They bring neighborhood folks together for mingling and chatting, shopping, and connecting. From florists, laundromats and nail salons, to sandwich shops, donut and coffee shops, these are the lifeblood of neighborhoods where community bonds bring us together.
My analysis of retail centers like these go beyond the numbers.
The deal must have the right financing structure in place, but it transcends the numbers on the page. The inherent value of the retail property lies in the resources and stability it offers the community through the curated collection of retailers and the goods and services they provide. My work as the mortgage broker is to match the right lender to the retail space and financing structure to achieve these positive results. I take so much pride and love and joy in being the collaborative force that makes this connection and partnership happen.
I’ve brokered a number of deals over the years for these types of real estate assets, and every time I visit them I’m filled with excitement, joy and passion for the lively communities who thrive in these neighborhood spots. My senses come alive – I smell the fresh flowers, savor the delicious foods, and relish the families and friends out and about. This kind of sensory experience and curiosity for a particular project is what fuels the excitement for my work. Tapping into our senses to feel the rush of life is what author Gretchen Rubin’s book “Life in Five Senses” is all about.
Rubin’s work is a how-to guide for experiencing the richness of life through our five senses for deeper connection and awareness to the world around us. “Now, perhaps, I had found a way to shake myself out of my chronic fog of preoccupation,” Rubin writes with exuberance for feeling our way through life with our senses. “I would undertake to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the world around me so that instead of staying in my head, I would live more fully in my body.”
The first way to harness the power of our five senses is through movement.
I don’t mean movement in the sense of high-octane, adrenaline-pumping kinetic energy, but movement through steadiness and focus. When we slow down and focus on feeling our way through, our bodies come alive to the sensory elements. The old adage of stopping to smell the roses applies here. To slow down and let her senses take the proverbial wheel, Rubin performed a simple experiment: she lived close to the Met in New York and walked to it every day for one year.
She learned that her journey took her the same way each day, but slowing down and taking in her surroundings through sights and sounds allowed her to discover new things. The insight is that we may take familiar roads, but if we move our bodies with care and intention, we’ll uncover whole new experiences. The same applies to my work in commercial real estate – taking the time to chat with the local proprietors brings my body into the present. My interactions with the local community and my clients is a visceral experience, restoring my energy and bringing joy as I create new relationships and deepen existing ones.
Mindfulness tip: We are typically in a hustle and zip in and out of our local retail strip centers - grabbing coffee, getting nails done, finishing laundry, etc. Perhaps moving slower and noticing something new will inspire you and your work. Slow down to sip your coffee or nibble a sandwich and savor the moment. These moments of gratitude will most definitely reset your day.
Another way I utilize my senses is through silence.
When we quiet the sounds in our world, our thoughts, and our mind, we come alive to the faint whispers of magical moments. The low hum of the laundry swirling in the dryer, the turn of a page in my book, or potato peels falling into a bowl as I prepare vegetables in my kitchen. “Our hearing anchors us in the world; it tells us what’s happening behind us, above us, in the dark, and before we’re born,” says Rubin. “Sound pumps me up, calms me down, and transforms my moods in just a few seconds.”
But sound exists on a spectrum and life can sometimes turn up the volume, especially in a city. At the retail center, the cacophony of parents corralling their children, the chatter of pedestrians moving down the sidewalks, and the steady buzz of traffic when the light turns green remind me that this slice of real estate supplies daily necessities to the community. Folks come and go and return to their nearby neighborhood. Allow yourself to feel the silence – and in some cases the sounds that come from a bustling city – and your mind and body will follow.
Mindfulness tip: Create space and time in your day (even if just for a moment) for stillness and quiet in your mind - to observe and listen to outside sounds. As you do this more, it illuminates and strengthens your senses to hearing more and being in tune with the magic of the city you live in. Our sense of community and belonging increases when we can “hear” each other.
The last way to harness the power of your senses is through curiosity.
Curiosity gets us out of autopilot mode, the easy switch so many of us flip on to hum along through life. We notice new things, feel with greater awareness and create meaning in our lives. “Nevertheless, to enjoy ourselves, we usually try something new,” writes Rubin. “Novelty is more work but also more interesting, which is why new forms of music, art, and fashion catch our attention.” Curiosity is what lets us experience something novel. It may require more work, but that work is what allows us to come alive to our senses and soak up the full experience of our lives in real time. I lead with a curious heart when I tour a new property and work on a new loan financing project because it keeps me open to a richly rewarding experience – all my senses on high alert that spark my creativity in executing the project.
Mindfulness tip: Develop a closer attention, awareness and love for your community. Explore a new coffee shop down the road or perhaps try something new at your regular spot. Our brains love new ideas and action and will reward us with new inspiration.
Our lives are unraveling before us. We’ve been given these five senses to take it all in and make meaning out of the experience. When I slow down, get silent and curious, the world opens up, unfurling itself like a blossoming flower – undulating and pulsating with bright new discoveries that are at once exciting and novel. Rubin concludes the book with her “[waking] to a profound truth: I had my one body and its capacities right now, and I wouldn’t have them forever,” encouraging us to get out into the world and to use what has been given to create a wonderful life. I harness the power of Rubin’s truths to build excitement for my work and share that with my colleagues, clients, and friends in commercial real estate. This excitement sustains me for continued success.
How do you maintain excitement and energy for your life and work, dear readers? Share your insights in the contact form – I’d love to hear from you!
