This week, our 5 for Friday features Ashley Bloom, Land Product Council Chair and Senior Advisor with Sperry Van Ness Florida Commercial Real Estate Advisors based out of Sarasota, FL.
1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
My geographic region is on Florida’s Gulf Coast with land as a specialty. Our team is currently working through several significant land transactions with national developers & homebuilders that entail re-zoning or site plan development.
2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Keeping building your database and stay in constant communication with it. In 2013, we had a strong response to our e-blast campaign that resulted in not only new members to our database but closings with new buyers. As part of my effort in helping to launch SVN’s Land Product Council, we are working on a cooperative marketing program to highlight the SVN brand’s presence in land.
3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
The biggest change in how I run my business from a decade ago can be described as “leaner and meaner.” Obviously, the advances in technology in the past decade have allowed all of us to become more efficient. Besides technology, I continue to be conscious of controlling overhead as well as time management. My team has been focusing on high quality listings that are properly priced.
4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Dr. Viktor E. Frankl. It’s a book written by a Holocaust Survivor (he had the choice to escape but chose to stay with his family) and was completed in just 9 days shortly after he was liberated from a concentration camp. According the Library of Congress, this book has been named one of the 10 Most Influential Books in the United States. A favorite quote from the book is “Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue…”
5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
I recently volunteered to “crew” a local theater production of Peter Pan where I was responsible for “flying” kids.
*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.