Meet Michelle Pauley | Commercial Real Estate Broker, Business Broker and Team Leader

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Pauley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
I’ve been listening to a book by David Epstein called “Range” and in Chapter 6 Epstein says this “No one in their right mind would argue that passion and perseverance are unimportant or that a bad day is a cue to quit. But the idea that a change of interest or recalibration of focus is an imperfection and competitive disadvantage leads to a simple one size fits all ‘Tiger story’ (or) pick and stick as soon as possible. Responding to lived experience… is less tidy, but no less important. It involves a particular behavior that improves your chances of finding the best match but that at first blush, looks like a terrible life strategy.” I’ve had a VARIETY of life goals and professional experiences, all of which have made me a better professional to date. I’ve quit plenty of things and did so when I’ve felt uninspired, trapped, or threatened. But I don’t look at quitting as a failure. I look at it as the learning experience that it was. Glean knowledge and experience for yourself, calculate your risk and then jump. Do the next right thing for you and your family. And sometimes that looks like quitting. The harder aspect of the question you asked is actually understanding when to stick with something. In those situations, I look at the risk-reward balance and asses my own personal fulfillment with the project to determine if it can remain viable beyond where I am with that project today. Question whether something is inevitably doomed to failure or can, with a little more sticking power, be a success. Cull the crap. Persevere with the good.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m a Commercial Real Estate Broker, Business Broker and Team Leader. I broker business or commercial real estate deals of any size, any asset class (e.g. multifamily, retail, industrial, land, etc) and any representation type (landlord/seller or tenant/buyer). Commercial real estate (CRE) is notoriously competitive, I’m about the least competitive person I know. I jumped into this endeavor to be counter-cultural to the norm in CRE. Where other Brokers are cut-throat and unnecessarily cruel, I’ve worked hard to be generous and engaging. I already had advantage of working under the umbrella of a brokerage that is incredibly agent centric and agent empowering, so launching a team under that umbrella seemed like a natural fit. There are only so many hours in a day, and I’m pretty good at lead generation so instead of simply being more selective with the clients I worked with, I started selecting agents to help me work with more clients. I certainly subscribe to the rising tides raises all boats philosophy and that’s why I started my team. I’ve had a wide range of professional and personal experiences that have helped shape where I and my business are today. Most recently, I was making great money in residential real estate, but I was miserable. I found that I worked better with investors and entrepreneurially minded clients than the first time homebuyer, so I considered the move to Commercial Real Estate. That is not something that a woman in her 40’s just does. It’s an industry filled with super competitive dudes who’ve been there since they were newly minted college grads. But I took the risk and have literally never looked back.
One of the challenges I’ve faced in my business is that CRE is an industry where you’re only considered a success if you close the largest transaction. I think of success differently. I believe success is the culmination of doing the right thing at the right time which produces a positive outcome. Sometimes success looks like closing the largest transaction in your firm or in the metro area and sometimes, it looks like not lying to a customer to land the listing.
Another challenge I’ve faced is the temptation to be inauthentic to pretend to professionally be something that I’m not. I’m successful because I’ve remained true to myself. I have fully leaned into the philosophy that I need to be my true authentic self and that is what will continue to bring me success in my career. I know that there are people who may not like me, may not like the way I act or think, they may not like my approach to business to problem solving and that is okay. Those people are not my people and I’ve reached the age where I simply don’t care anymore. For every one person that may not like me, there’s 10 more that do like me and most importantly, I like me… and that is all that matters in the end. If I am confident in myself, I will attract the right people to me. I will attract success.
I named my firm Success Commercial Real Estate. Because I am intent on not only being successful in commercial real estate brokering but also because I am intent on making my clients successful because of commercial real estate. My tag line is “CREating legacy” and my goal is to help clients do just that, create a legacy through commercial real estate (CRE) that can be left to family or charity when we’re no longer here. When your goal is to make other people successful, you will inevitably be successful yourself because you are constantly innovating, constantly looking for new ways to add value, constantly attracting success. It’s a ton of fun!
The legacy I’m CREating for myself is to buck the industry standard in CRE of making the most money so I can have the most nice things I work ridiculously hard every single day, not just so that I can make money, but so that I can make money so that I can use that money to buy properties and develop transitional housing for the homeless. I’m not there yet, but my personal goal is to own transitional housing complexes throughout every major metropolitan area in America.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Places to eat and drink: Vecina, Nook, House Brasserie, Le Grande Orange, Chelsie’s Kitchen, Buck and Rider, El Chorro, Tia Carmen, Lon’s at Hermosa Inn

Day trips to: Gates Pass in Tucson, Sedona, Superstition mountain range, Star gazing at Kitt peak.

To do around here all the time:
MIM, concerts, art shows

Seasonal to do:
Spring training games, Barrett-Jackson car auction, equestrian shows, WM Phoenix open.

Luxuries:
Spa day at mountain shadows,

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To my Husband: Rev. Perry M. Pauley, PhD. For always encouraging me to pursue my goals and dreams even when they terrify him.

Website: https://successcre.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle_pauley_cre

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-pauley-mbaandcreexpert

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/@SuccessCRE

Image Credits
Brian Whitt