When we were at the SIOR conference in Lisbon this past month, Puja and Julia asked me a question I needed to think about. What advice would you give an intern starting out? For Europeans, an important clarification is that the U.S. is a highly transactional market where I see Europe as being service focused. The advice I give you may not be accurate for your needs.

Find deals. The surest way to make a living in this business is deals. It’s not for everyone because there are disappointments. The stars of the business turn rejection into an opportunity.  Get a specialty. I’ve been lucky because I settled on Los Angeles industrial. Los Angeles is a vast area, with an historical basis of high fees. One small deal will exceed the annual median wage of most workers in the County (yes, there are splits). I’m doubly fortunate because my “farm area” is only a few miles from LAX, the Los Angeles Port Complex, and all the central warehouses. We call it the South Bay. It’s very dynamic with vibrant deal flow. I’m geo-based and if you go that direction, pick your location carefully.

The big money is earned by making the big deals. Big deals require strategy, intelligence, and relationships. One colleague of mine focused on large office buildings and every so often he would get a break and sell a high-rise or a campus. My big deals came from selling land to developers, buildings to investors, or a long-term tenant lease. If you can retain large clients who do multiple deals, you’ve hit the jackpot.

In terms of balance, you could say the South Bay pays my bills and big industrial deals build the wealth. I’m training a team to take over South Bay so I can focus on MrWarehouse.AI in my remaining years. Data management and hiring outside programmers is one area that sets me apart for a small firm. We have a large database and it’s been a tremendous source of leads.  For us, AI is an amazing opportunity. Make sure to nurture personal relationships.

Please stay in touch and hope this advice will help.