"Everything excites me about this industry" - Gladstone

Gail Gladstone is the owner/broker of Long Island Business Brokerage, Inc. and Gladstone Real Estate Corp. Gladstone has received the following awards/recognition: 2001 Coldwell Banker Rookie of the Year, 2001 Coldwell Banker President's Elite, 2006 Long Island Commercial Network and Long Island Board of Realtors Commercial Realtor of the Year. Some of her career achievements are: Staying in business as others are dropping by the wayside; maintaining my honesty and principles, growing in a declining market. Gladstone is affiliated with NAR, NYSAR, LIBOR, IBBA, NYBBA, LIA, and the Huntington Chamber. What makes you an innovator? My father was the inventor/originator of "franchise," the dollar bill changer and a slew of other inventions and I am never satisfied with the status quo...there is always something better I can do for the consumer...I am never satisfied with "what is." I do residential and commercial real estate, have a business brokerage and a property management company and still looking for more areas of expansion. What obstacles have you overcome to get where you are today? Being a woman was the first...I had my "today" attitudes when women were about reproduction and washing dishes and fought for my individualism and rights. I raced cars when women did not do such a thing. What motivates you to succeed? If I knew that, I would harness it and market it on the Internet. My #1 priority is to be of service to the consumer, even if it means I am helping them to eliminate a need to hire me. It is NOT about me! How do you stay ahead of the curve? It's in the genes. Seeing the invisible end of the road that is at the end of the curve ahead is something I was born with. I am grateful for this and use it to assist the consumer, not me. Who/what has been the strongest influence on your career and why? My divorced mother. She raised three children on her own in a climate when women without a man were considered below sub-humans. She did it working four jobs and taught us that honest work was honest and that anyone could do anything they set their minds to, woman or man....it didn't matter. She taught us that hard work wasn't really hard. What impact has social networking had on your success? I was into the internet long before most Realtors realized there were computers on their desks. That gave me an advantage of getting my name out there ahead of the game. Social networking is just one more innovation that I have embraced. It allows me to be helpful to the consumer in yet another forum...I don't care how my message gets out there...it's the end that's important and I will always embrace new technology. How has the need to create a more sustainable environment influenced the way you do business? I believe I have always done business with our environment and the future or my children in mind. We impact our environment and must take on the responsibility of that impact. What excites you most about this industry? Everything excites me about this industry. I love what I do or I would not be doing it. We have no ceilings...we have no walls. As Realtors and real estate agents we must be grateful...the world is our oyster...it's there for us...we have no limitations except within ourselves. My goals for the future are.... Keep on finding new and as yet undiscovered innovations in marketing to serve the selling community. The biggest challenge facing the real estate industry in 2010 is... To focus on what we are doing and how we are doing it and stop listening to the doom and gloom reports that are out there. We disconnected our television eight months ago and life gets better every day. The "silver lining" in the cloud of the current economy is... The current economy is personal...the silver lining is that I am staying focused on my business and business is good. Gail Gladstone is the owner/broker of Long Island Business Brokerage, Inc. and Gladstone Real Estate Corp., Huntington N.Y.