Uptown breathes life into Dallas. Frisco has its $5 Billion Mile. Plano shines with its Legacy West.
The commercial real estate projects that bring office buildings and shopping centers are economic engines in North Texas.
“Real estate has really become a recruiting and retention tool,” said Christine Perez, senior communications specialist at Cushman & Wakefield in Dallas.
“People really care about their surroundings, how they're spending the bulk of their time during their day, so they want to make it as nice as possible to really recruit those talented workers.”
"There’s enough of the pie for everybody,” said Brettany Schovanec, a tenant representative for corporate real estate company Fischer.
Schovanec is one of the young women finding success in commercial real estate through a free networking group called Ladies in CRE, a supportive circle for commercial real estate women in their 20s and 30s.
“The reality is this was a very male dominated business for decades, and now you've got females and younger females trying to break in and pave their way and it's hard when you're on your own,” said Allison Johnston, a leasing agent at Gaedeke Group and founder of Ladies in CRE.
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Johnston was one of those young women trying to break in. As she started her career in commercial real estate, she found herself jumping from one lunch meeting to another trying to develop business. She realized other young women in the business were doing the same thing, so it made sense to Johnston to meet in a group environment.
Ladies in CRE started 2012 with 35 members. Five years later, more than 400 women come to find personal and professional connections.
“When you can build a network where we you can support each other and help each other do that, you achieve success a whole lot quicker and help others along the way,” Johnston said as she pointed to successes among members.
“They connected with someone and got a job out of it, or they connected with someone and got some business out of it and now they refer business,” she said.
The women are a powerful force in an industry traditionally dominated by men.
“One of the first things I noticed when I walked into some of the professional meetings was that it was filled with almost exclusively white men. There were very few women in the room and even fewer minorities,” said Perez.
She wrote about commercial real estate in Dallas for almost two decades before joining the other side. She markets property for Cushman & Wakefield and sees an industry changing with the time.
“The industry is definitely aware, and the industry definitely cares,” said Perez. “Companies want to recruit women and minorities. They want their workforce to look like the clients they serve.”
Perez says a program called REAP helps minority candidates in real estate and other professions find opportunities in commercial real estate. She also sees the industry aggressively recruiting not just within its ranks and on college campuses but outside the profession as well.
“They’re starting to look at other industries; large retailers for retail industry professions, people who may work in logistics for industrial positions; other professionals in large corporations like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, to to recruit them to the office side.”
“You almost always see a female on a team now which didn't use to be the case,” agreed Johnston. “We bring attributes and talents to the table that might be different from men but we can complement each other when you're work as a team."
Johnston and others in her group rely on those who’ve been there to get where they want to go; women like Tanya Little, founder of Hart Commercial.
“My peers would say we have all grown up in the business and kind of paved the way, if you will, for women in commercial real estate,” said Little who shares her 25 years of experience in the business to empower the next generation.
“We see it as our season to give back and seeing them grow up in the business, us still being part of the business, we're able to help them take those next steps,” said Little.
“She has been there for me when I've hit a roadblock and am not sure what to do in a situation because I haven't been there before,” Johnston said of her four-year mentor/mentee relationship with Hart. “I love having someone I can turn to who has been there.”
Mentoring is a big part of what Ladies in CRE provides for its members as well as a connection to community.
“We just don't want to be this girls networking with each other over cocktails,” said Johnston. “We want to have an impact on our community, too, primarily, women-focused charities where we can help other women.”
And through it all, says Johnston, women gain confidence and understand their talents and attributes are needed at the table.
“The cool thing about this group is there are a lot of girls that would like to help each other but don't know how or have that opportunity,” she said. “It’s helped me grow my network in a short amount of time. I now have trusted business confidantes where we share information and share deals that I might not otherwise established.
“I feel very fortunate that at 30 years old, I get to get up every morning and do what I truly love.”
Ladies in CRE kicks off 2017 with its first meeting on March 1. The theme this year is Stiletto Network, based off a book of the same name that explores the power circles among women and how they are changing business.
