2016 Women in Real Estate: Laura Brady

Laura Brady, Concierge Auctions

Name: Laura Brady

Title: President, Concierge Auctions

Email: [email protected]                    

Years in real estate: 14

Company Name: Concierge Auctions

Year Founded: 2008        

URL: www.ConciergeAuctions.com

Telephone: 212-202-2940

Twitter @laurahbrady

How did you get your start in real estate?

As a child, my parents were always invested in real estate, and my mother developed retail centers. I guess you could say real estate is in my blood. But, professionally, I began in commercial real estate in Dallas, Texas, where I obtained my license when I was 23-years-old and worked in management, leasing and sales.

What real estate associations or organizations are you a member of?

National Auctioneers Association

What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?

Our firm recently surpassed $1 billion in closed sales. This is a monumental threshold and proof of our consistent growth since our founding in 2008. I’m especially proud of our geographic growth — we’re now active in 32 states and 10 countries. 

What time management strategies do you find to be the most effective for you?

I schedule separate time for business, family and personal well-being. When I’m at the office, my only goal is to work on the business; when I’m with my family, I only focus on them; and, I have separate “appointments” to fuel myself personally, whether lunch with friends, massages (my favorite!), or just quiet, meditation time at the park. A strategy I find helpful at the office is to schedule standing meetings for consistent subjects. I have a weekly meeting with our management team and one with each person I lead, which mitigates a lot of daily back/forth.

What is the best advice you have received and who was it from?

The best motivation I’ve received was actually not in the form of advice but rather in a sort of challenge that I strive daily to prove wrong. A prior colleague once told me, “You’ll never get rich by being nice.” He didn’t think I was being tough enough in a negotiation, and this really struck a chord in me. In my experience, there is more than one way to get your point across. Everyone has different styles, and mine is to appeal to the other side and find common ground. I don’t want to ever sacrifice my integrity or kindness to get ahead. Besides, there is more to life than being rich, and there are many more riches in this life than money.

When you launched your business what were some challenges that you experienced?

An easier question would be what challenge did I not experience! We seem to have encountered every potential setback — debt, difficult employees, 100-hour work weeks, partner buyouts, health challenges, legal issues, unlawful competitors. The list goes on. However, we somehow managed to bootstrap it day-by-day and get off the ground. Now, as we prepare to scale even more exponentially than ever, the challenges are different but still never-ending. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart! But, I believe that every challenge breeds compassion — an enhanced ability to relate to others because I’ve encountered similar situations — and makes me a better manager, mentor, partner and friend.

What advice would you give to a woman who is planning to launch her own business?

Have courage and be kind. This is one of my favorite quotes (by Cinderella). While I wasn’t raised to think of my gender as a setback, I understand that many women were, and we must overcome this insecurity. Write down your goals, and believe that you can beat them. View your setbacks as fuel to keep pushing your forward. And, take risks! You’ll win some, and you’ll lose some, but if you never try you’ll never know the success you may have found.