Michele and I discuss the anatomy of a land deal and how her professional experience has allowed her to excel in her career as a Commercial Site Selection Land Advisor. Michele also shares how working for the Land Advisors Organization sets herself apart from others in the industry.
In today’s episode of She’s Wild Podcast, I am eager to introduce you to our guest Michele Pino. Michele has been a commercial and site selection specialist with the Land Advisors Organization in Arizona since 2006. She helps school districts, solar developers, public entities, hospitals, medical, and other commercial users plan strategic location decisions. Not only does she have over 12 years of statewide experience in economic development, she also served 8 years in state government at the Arizona Department of Commerce as director of small and national business development.
Throughout the episode, Michele and I discuss the anatomy of a land deal and how her professional experience has allowed her to excel in her career as a land advisor. Michele also shares how working for the Land Advisors Organization sets herself apart from others in the industry. Tune in to learn more about Michele and why she was named one of the Most Influential Women in Arizona Commercial Real Estate in 2021.
Memorable Moments:
5:45- Years ago, deals were more fluid. People saw a piece of land, we could get comps, and we could identify it and make an offer. Both parties were realistic, and land was available.
6:54- I am representing some industrial deals, but you just have to be creative. And you have to take them in places where they might not have thought about before, in order to get it.
10:10- One of my backgrounds is I am a trained mediator. So I used to mediate for the attorney general's office for the state of Arizona, and there are a lot of mediation principles, as you know, in getting a land deal done.
14:22- I think site selection is huge, because the very lovely thing about land advisors is we have this great data, we have this great ability to look at the market and have a great overview of it.
15:44- I'm all about teams. Teaming is the way you get things done. You can be a land broker, but if you don't have an architect, an engineer, and some other folks, you know, you're never gonna get it done.
25:10- Get out in front and take the step, don't stand behind somebody and say, “Okay, I'm supporting you on this deal.” Get out in front and be the part of the deal, you know, negotiate the deal.
Connect with Nancy:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nancysurak
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancysurak/
Website: www.nancysurak.com
Connect with Michele:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-pino-a29841a/
Land Advisors Organization Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/land-advisors-organization/
Land Advisors Organization Website: https://landadvisors.com/
Michele’s Book/Podcast Recommendations:
Buddha at the Gas Pump: https://batgap.com/subscribe-to-podcast/
Learn more about Brene Brown: https://brenebrown.com/
Learn more about Mindvalley: https://www.mindvalley.com/programs
She's WILD Sound Production by:
Luke Surak, Surak Productions: surakproductions@gmail.com
Nancy Surak 00:00
Welcome to She's Wld the podcast for women and land in development. I'm your host, Nancy Surak. I created this podcast as a way to collect conversations of women in the land and development industry. I've been a land broker on the west coast of Florida for nearly 20 years. And I love to empower other women and to tell them about this amazing industry. But I find often that there just aren't enough women being featured on big stages, whether that's at local conferences, or nationally. So I set out to find these women myself that are killing it in my business across North America that are changing the communities that they live in every single day, whether they're building condos, multifamily, single family, office, or industrial projects. I hope that you will find this space to be inspirational, motivating, and educational. From time to time, I will feature women who are not only in my business, but also career coaches, and motivational speakers. Hi welcome to she's wild the podcast for women and land development. Today's guest is Michele Pino, with the Land Advisors Organization in Phoenix, Arizona. Michele, welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you. My listeners may know that I am the managing broker for Land Advisors here in Tampa Bay, Florida. But you are in our corporate office where all the major action happens. And I can't wait to dive into your background. And you get to share with us a little bit about what you do out there and how you came into this business. So once again, introduce yourself and we'll dive right in.
Michele Pino 01:41
Thanks, Nancy. What a great idea for a podcast. I wish I had thought of it. My again, my name is Michele Pino and I'm in the Scottsdale office and I in the commercial area for land advisors. I started my career really in site selection for the Arizona Department of Commerce I was I headed up their business development division. So it was a natural transition for me when our CEO called me and said, I'd like you to do site selection, commercial site selection for us Atlanta advisors. So for the past 16 years. That's what I've been doing in the fields of medical office. Now industrial and we'll talk about that later, because it's such a hot market, and public schools and charter schools.
Nancy Surak 02:25
So bring me back to the beginning. How did you originally transition it? Was it just how did you get into economic development and site selection originally?
Michele Pino 02:36
Yeah, you know, it's, you know, career paths are crazy, as you know, you kind of do this thing that you think, oh, gosh, I'm meandering. And then at the end of it, you go, Oh, yeah, it all works out. Right. So I, I basically started my career as a paralegal. I was a paralegal for 12 years, major law firm, loved it. But then decided to go to graduate school, and I got my MBA from a Thunderbird. And was going to do international and sort of did that for a little bit for Department of Commerce. And Department of Commerce was where I got the economic development background. So going from law to, you know, the, the governmental entity. And then it was just great, because I loved it. I loved working with companies I loved, you know, trying to find them a site throughout the entire Arizona area. And our CEO got wind of it and said, I'd like you to come here and do site selection for us. So that was kind of my transition. And what helps with that. Now looking back, is I've got the legal perspective. And now I have the cities and town perspective. So there's not one city manager, economic developer that I don't know. And that helps me a great deal with deals as you know, which are very hard right now.
Nancy Surak 03:53
Oh, yeah. Now, that's a great segway into the land business like no doubt, because earlier in my career, I served on Economic Development Council, I was a board member. Yep. And I used to always bring my experience on the deal side to the table. And I would say, well, here's what you're here. Here's what I'm hearing in the marketplace. And so I always have a very special place in my heart for economic development, folks, you know,
Michele Pino 04:17
I love them. And you can't get a deal done without the city. I mean, let's face it, but but I always tell study people that we know the transactional side. So don't try to be real estate brokers, because you'll make some big mistakes along the way. It is a team approach. But know your lane, stay in your lane, and it'll get done.
Nancy Surak 04:35
Yeah, I just had a deal where it didn't work out and I had to actually call the economic development office and I was like, hey, so like, a deal didn't work. But he I wanted them to understand why right now and what happened through the whole process. And I like, because they could only really see one side, you know, and they were working with the buyer. I represented the owner. And you know, it just collapsed. But I was like, okay, sometimes that happens, but here's why it happened.
Michele Pino 05:04
Cities and Towns have their own view of the world, you know, they they see a site and they go, Oh, this is what we need. And an owner goes, well, I get it. But that's not till 10 years. And then the neighbors are like, but this is what we want. So you've got these three groups that you have to satisfy. And that's the anatomy of the deal today, as you understand, it's real estate today is not what it was a year ago, or even five years ago.
Nancy Surak 05:30
Yeah, so let's talk about that for a bit. What are the biggest differences that you see now? versus, like, 15 years ago?
Michele Pino 05:39
Well, let's see. 15 years ago, you know, we rode one cycle. And, you know, about, I would say, probably eight years ago, you know, deals were more fluid, you know, people saw a piece of land, you know, they, we could get comps, and we could, you know, identify it make an offer, both parties were realistic, and land was available. Right. And so, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't, you know, real estate is not brain surgery, but it is about, you know, making the deal between two parties. Now, there are so many other factors in play, and one is scarcity, you know, land is scarce. And owners it is it a seller's market, for sure. And then once you know, it's a seller's market, and you're representing a brand, that is not what is the high point in today's market, which is industrial and multifamily, and your medical, and you know, assisted living and even school districts, it becomes tougher because you can't meet the price, and you can't meet the time. And so what I've noticed is industrial is really hot right now. And multifamily is really hot in the Greater Phoenix market. And, you know, it's, it's I am representing some industrial deals, but you just have to be creative. And you have to take them in places where they might not have thought about before, in order to get it.
Nancy Surak 07:03
So let's talk about that too. Because I tell folks who don't really know what we do for a living, they think they know, they have sort of an idea. I always say, you know, I have much more influence as to what's happening on a vacant piece of property than I think I have ever really given myself credit for, until probably like the last five years, right? Like now I'm like, oh, yeah, you know what, I targeted that company, because I thought they would do well in that location. So let's talk about like, when you have an assignment or a piece of land, that you are controlling the land I you have the listing, how do you go about like looking at do you guys have zoning out there?
Michele Pino 07:43
We do have zoning, and, you know, zoning starts with the zoning overlay, you know, which is not a hard zone, and then it and then it goes to, you know, sometimes it's zoned, but other times this is where if it's not a zoned piece, which half the time it's really not it's a it's a default zoning, or it's got an overlay that says industrial or commercial or residential. But you know, that's where the city has control. And that's where the city has a say. So, you know, it's very funny that you say that, because I'm working on a, I guess it's about 30 acres of land that was once supposed to be a regional hospital, right? On 42 acres of land. And I looked at it and I finally got the listing, I was kind of like second or third in with a New York group. And I looked at it and I said, this is not a Regional Hospital. And we're gonna have to do some work on this. So the economics of you know, let's just do a deal buyer and seller meet meeting of the minds, cops, boom, we're in, we're in escrow. All those rules are gone, particularly with this site. I've had meetings with the city, I've brought a zoning attorney in. I've got I've sat down with the city and said, Why do you think this is a regional hospital? Let me prove to you that it's not now what's it going to take to get this deal done? And then talking, talking, talking to say, we need to rethink we need to reimagine the site. So I, I put it with my my, you know, owners, and I said, we got to reimagine this site, I went to the city kept using the word reimagine this site. Now we're reimagining the site, and it's going to take a whole zoning process, and then it's going to take a rezone, which is going to take a year so the final part of it is neighbors, right. So you can't rezone without neighborhood approval. So again, I went to the city and I said, Alright, they all wanted a regional hospital. But really, what do they really want? And then they told me and I went, Okay, so now we have the process of re envisioning and let's go in that direction.
Nancy Surak 09:48
I think you love it when you when you're sitting at the table with everybody and you're like, okay, like we need to go have these conversations. Right in people like I don't want to have that conversation. Well, they're or they're on comfortable or they think that they're gonna hit Get
Michele Pino 10:02
friction? Well, and yes, and I mean that, that, you know, and you can keep beating your head against the wall or it's not going to work, you know, I am, one of my backgrounds is I am a trained mediator. So I used to, I used to mediate for the attorney general's office for the state of Arizona. So, you know, I get that, you know, there is a dynamic behind mediation, which is, what do you want? What do you want? What do you want? Okay, let's talk about that in that context. And there is a lot of mediation principles, as you know, in getting a deal done. And so, you know, again, when we talk about that crazy path to where you end up that crazy path, where I thought was like, Okay, I'm a mediator here, I'm a paralegal here. I'm a, you know, I'm an economic developer has paid off in terms of the skill set that you use, you know, in your current job.
Nancy Surak 10:52
Now, that's, that's great. So take me all the way back, like way back to like college, because I know you have a great story. They're, like your first degree. Tell us what that is.
Michele Pino 11:04
Yeah, my first degree is, you know, this is why, you know, like, I just love hearing from other women, because they just have such great careers. And now I look at people in Congress and in the CIA. There's a reason I'm gonna mention that. Now, because I had their career path at the same time. They did you know, so, you know, I graduated from the University of Arizona, and I majored in Russian and Political Science. My father was in the military, we had lived all over the world. And he actually spoke Russian, when we were in Germany, he would interrogate defectors. Weird, weird, weird. And I then grew up in the area of the Cold War, you know, in the 70s, you know, the SALT talks, and all of that stuff. And I said, I'm going to study Russia, I'm going to be the next ambassador to, you know, for the United States to Russia. And yeah, so I've studied, you know, all the different folks that have been in power, and I interviewed with the CIA, the National Security Agency, all of that stuff, because of your Russian background, they really want you but it's really kind of just language stuff. And that's not the best use of my skills. So, you know, I just didn't end up going that route. But I did go live in Russia for you know, six months, worked for the American Medical Center. So I did a lot of business trying to reorganizing their American presence in Russia, to give health care to people. And that was fascinating. And I loved it. And they wanted me to live in St. Petersburg and run a hospital. And it was like, wow, this is a crazy environment, as we now know, today. And so, you know, I just kind of migrated back to Arizona and, you know, started my business path, you know, locally.
Nancy Surak 12:47
So I think it's, it's one of my funnest questions to find out where people's backgrounds are from. And, shockingly, I've already had three women who either have a Russian studies background, or, or war history background. And I think, I mean, maybe a couple dozen, like, recorded by the time this gets aired. Yeah, you know, will be probably 18 or so in. It's, it's like, shocking to me, because I have an international degree. And I've also interviewed other women, not those women, not you, who also have an international business degree. And like, is that the theme? Are all this young, you know, these women who studied international business, we all ended up in real estate. What is that? That's the best of every
Michele Pino 13:34
world, right? You know, because you control your destiny, you negotiate your, you're solving a puzzle, which I love to do your strategy, strategizing. So it really uses all your skill sets.
Nancy Surak 13:46
Yeah, it really does. So talking about your skill sets, what do you think, are the top couple or three skills that you think somebody needs to really have command off to be successful in our world? Yeah,
Michele Pino 14:00
I mean, I think you have to, first of all, you have to know that you have a ready willing and able buyer. And, you know, you've got to really ferret that out and be you know, very diplomatic about that. Because, you know, in this in this market, particularly, they've got to be able to pull the trigger, right. And so, and the second part is to just lead them to that, you know, I think site selection is huge, because the very lovely thing about land advisors is we have this great database, we have this great ability to look at the market and have a great overview of it. And the comment we get all the time is nobody knows the market like we do. And so you have to have a really good command of the market. You have to know your client commanded the market and then be able to really get them to the finish line because it is about closing we don't get paid till it's close. And that's a negotiation skill and that's an ability to know how to how to keep you know your your, your buyers interest or seller, for that matter, at the heart of things but no one You've got to strike a deal. That's the right deal to get it closed.
Nancy Surak 15:04
Yeah, no, great. Thank you for sharing that. So tell me what's been your absolute favorite deal you've ever worked on?
Michele Pino 15:10
Well, that's my favorite deal, obviously, because it, you know, it just has implications for the community is we, we worked for what happens to be the county hospital here, we help them with their bond rollout, they got a bond allocation to redo the hospital system. And my partner and I got the job of re reorienting them again, strategically to find the best places for them throughout Greater Phoenix. And within one year, after we got our marching orders, and we had this big team, I'm all about teams team is the way you get things done. You can be a land broker, but if you don't have an architect, an engineer and some other folks, you know, you're never gonna get it done. So I don't operate in a vacuum. But we did nine facilities in one year. And one was 220,000 square feet was behavioral health facility, we did one behavioral health, we did about a mo B's. So we we did we perform for them in one year, because they had that bond allocation, and they had to spend the money. So they're they've got a new look, a rebranding, and we were part of that process, and part of it for the community. So that was my favorite one.
Nancy Surak 16:25
I think your favorite one because of how much you did in a short period of time, or because you really feel like you made such an incredible impact on the community that you live in.
Michele Pino 16:33
You know, I think it's both I mean, I don't think we are happy in our jobs unless we feel like, you know, we're we're giving back, you know, and so, I think you know, valleywise is a great at, you know, they've got a burn unit, they do emergency services that are incredible. And number one in the nation, great people. And again, I would add that I want to work with great people. I don't have time in this world to work with people that are just not nice people, you know, so it was that it was giving back to the community. And it was we were successful in one year. And we made decent money doing that. So that's all you know, a win.
Nancy Surak 17:12
Yeah, that's really impressive. That's a lot. That's a lot. Yeah, in a short period of time, with I would imagine a pretty heavily regulated client.
Michele Pino 17:21
It Right. You have to get appraisals on everything. Right. You can't you can't close the deal without appraisals. And remember, market isn't always appraisal, right? Especially now, but thank God we did that two years ago. Because if we would have tried to do it in this market, not sure what's gonna happen?
Nancy Surak 17:38
Yeah, no, I just challenged a trainee appraisal trainee. 10 days ago. Yeah, kinda like toe to toe. I read the appraisal, and it came in low. And I was like, um, yeah, so your appraisal has like tons of things wrong with it. Let me train you on why? Well, and they'll listen to you. And again, the young man who I worked with, honestly, was phenomenal. He was all ears, he really wanted to learn what I was seeing that he just didn't have the depth of experience. And I took my time, you know, I, I'm like, Okay, if I teach him once, he'll never forget this experience. And so the next time, these are the things that he's going to make sure he does in his work.
Michele Pino 18:23
And you know, that's really good advice. Because you take the calls, you take the calls from the appraisers, you take the calls from people who want to meet with you, and you say, are we wasting our time? Or is there something that we can do together? And sometimes you just go because it leads to other things. So yes, with an appraiser, you take the time, you know, to educate them, and they appreciate.
Nancy Surak 18:45
They usually reciprocate, which is great, because I'm always like, hey, like, I will spend as much time as you need, but I need all your other comps. Yeah, cuz that just helps me. I mean, like you made a reference to our database, we have great research team. But, you know, it's always helpful to get an appraisers report or comp early, because I get a little bit more color on the deal that I might not unless I was involved with it, I might not otherwise now, say
Michele Pino 19:09
I can use all your resources. There's more than just us. We're not the be all and end all but we're pretty good.
Nancy Surak 19:16
So tell me what's been Tell me about a deal where you feel like you've learned a major lesson, what's been a challenging deal, or you're, you look back and you you're thankful that you had the experience, but he was challenging.
Michele Pino 19:29
Well, it was an industry it was a recent industrial deal. And unfortunately, I did lose the client, but you've got to be you know, confident enough to say, Hey, I'm not the right person for you. And if I'm not the right person for you, I want you to be successful. And this was a this was a group semiconductor industry. They are very big, very spread out International. And they wanted to find a you know, a piece of land first they wanted to lease then they wanted to buy I have an existing building, and then they wanted a piece of land. So we went through the transition of all of it. And they had a lot of advisors that were advising them. I think what I learned is, lanes, again, stay in your lane, you're a lawyer, and you're telling them they need to buy or lease or whatever. I'm telling you, that's not what this market is saying to you. So, you know, at the very beginning, I would, I would say, to a client, you know, we need to be very clear at the beginning, and don't move from lease to building to land and then back again, because we're all over the map. And we were all over the map with this client. And then the market got crazy, the industrial market got crazy. And numbers I was giving them a year earlier, we're double A year later. So, you know, I have to be more forceful in my advice to them. And I learned that and I have to say, your advisors are your advisors, but they're not real estate people. So those were the two lessons I learned, and they still haven't found a site. And I, you know, I'm sorry about that. But this market is so crazy. You know, it is what it is. And but I learned, I learned that you got to be more forceful. And you got to say, do it now. Or you might be sorry. And they are.
Nancy Surak 21:25
So ya know, I have a group out of New York that I work with. And you know, my advice last year to them was okay, if you really want to come in and make a splash in the market, like this is what you need to be prepared for. Because everyone's coming in with tons of money in the Florida market. And you're seeing it out in Arizona too. Like that's not enough in my market, don't tell me you have a billion dollar fund like nobody cares. There's, there's like a bunch of them. Or at least people are claiming that there are claiming to bring something else, either either an emotional appeal to that owner or a legacy appeal or time, you know, that sometimes you gotta move faster than anybody else and pay as much as they're willing to bet.
Michele Pino 22:11
That's exactly right. And it's so sad. I mean, I'll just give you one quick example, I'm doing a swap a land swap with a school district, and they don't have any money, they have to go out to the voters to sell a piece of land that doesn't work for them. So I said, Let's do a swap, you can do that. According to statutes, let's do a swap. So again, it's an industrial piece. I had many, many offers, and then I had to swap it into another piece, where it's family owned, very wealthy, don't really need to do the deal. So what did we do emotional pill will give you naming rights. You know, here's what we need to do. It's all of that sort of stuff. It's being creative, to get that deal done. Well,
Nancy Surak 22:46
and it's like you said earlier, it's knowing your clients, right? So it's not only knowing your buyers need or your sellers need, but it's the other side, too. I have to say that's where the magic happens in our world.
Michele Pino 22:57
It does, because the seller owns it, man.
Nancy Surak 23:02
Oh, my God in listening is so important. Because people, I mean, I don't know about you, but when a seller and a buyer are together, like there's this weird jockeying of position, and I have some sellers that refuse to get on calls with buyers, they will not do it. And so then I'm really running that, you know, that mediation role, like I'm in the middle, and I'm like, okay, how am I gonna, I've had days where I've literally had to, like, stop, take a walk around the block, clear my own head and say, Okay, this is how we're going to get this deal done.
Michele Pino 23:34
You know, you realize that you're you raise a very good point is because sometimes I have to step back from the computer and say, take a breath. This isn't about you. It's about seeing that two people are going to win in a transaction. And if if one of them is like, so adamant about it, sometimes you do have to walk away. And you know, you walk away from a commission, you walk away from a lot of things, but you have to understand what's in the best interest of everybody, not just yourself. So you just step back.
Nancy Surak 24:06
Yeah, I learned that early on in my career, that it was never really about me, ever. And that if the deal could get close, then it was a win for me. Yeah, but that if I was going to have any sort of decent career, it always had to be for my clientele. That 100% Yeah. And I would say most people in our business, I think, prescribe to that, but not all, in our company. I would say everybody I've ever met in line advisors is a phenomenal individual.
Michele Pino 24:35
16 years, I've been at land advisors may one was 16 years CEO, sent me a text message and said, thank you for all you do for the community. And yeah, I mean, it was really nice. And I had forgotten, and I thought I'm only here for 16 years because I swore I would never be a broker. And what am I a broker and I've been one for 16 years because of the company I work for.
Nancy Surak 24:57
So tell me why did you swear that you would know ever be a broker?
Michele Pino 25:01
Well, because you're on commission, right? That's scary. You know, I think the lesson I learned is catch, you got to just get out in front women, I think this is a woman's issue is get out in front and take, take the step, don't stand behind somebody and say, Okay, I'm supporting you on this deal, get out in front and be the part of the deal, you know, negotiate the deal. And that has been so empowering for me. I love my independence. I love it now. But before you know, I worked, I worked for other people. I worked for a law firm, I worked for state government. And then it was like, you're on your own, you know, you you whatever you do is your commission, right? And that tonnage,
Nancy Surak 25:43
if you don't hunt it, and kill it, you're not going to eat.
Michele Pino 25:46
Yeah, I was not going to use that term. But yes, that's it.
Nancy Surak 25:48
That's exactly right. Because people ask me, I, because I got into brokerage mid career, I was 35. When I got into the major agent side. And now and I had some savings, not a ton, but enough, you know, but I crafted this, like, deal with my husband, I'm like, Hey, this is how much time I need, because I might not make any money. But it was like the risk was worth it. You know, like I was willing to take that gamble. And I've heard women just in brokerage general, not even in land. But in commercial real estate brokerage, say very similar things like you have to get out of this mindset of, I need my salary. Yeah, you know, but it but it's, it's challenging, you know, because a hit is I've had, you know, months and months where I'm like, I still haven't closed the deal this year yet, though, that this year as we're speaking, but I've had years where I get to like the third quarter, and I'm like, all of my deals are in the fourth quarter. And I'm freaking out.
Michele Pino 26:44
Right. But you get used to it over time. And you're like you I came in late to use look at I had had a career as a paralegal and economic development. So I came in when I was, oh, gosh, anyone tell me tell you my age, but probably mid 40s. So, you know. And it was just I was in the right environment with the right people, you have to create a name for yourself. And then the deals do come for you. You have to prospect a little but for the most part, you know, as you get into this later stage, people know you, you know, and that's what I love. And I love the people that know me, and I love what I can do for my community. And I love my independence. So, you know, we just
Nancy Surak 27:24
do with it, I think it's a little bit easier, right? Because it's you're not fighting, getting up every day. Because it's it's it's a challenging business that we're in. Especially right now. I'm like I you know, cuz people go, Oh, you must love it right now. And I'm like, I hate it when the markets like it is right now. And they're shocked. They're like, why? And I'm like, because it's great. The hardest part of being a lamb burger, because there's so many people in my space that really have no business being in my lane, like you said, you know, and I have so many landowners that are getting advice is really not good advice exactly see up at night, like I worry for those people. I'm like, oh, man, they're getting taken advantage of
Michele Pino 28:03
but and I've you know, and I've kept, you know, really good clients by saying you have your piece of land. Now you need a team, here's a lawyer you need. Here's, I'm not going to make a commission off of it. Because they've already they already, you know, either negotiated it previously and then called me in. And I said stay there. But here's your here's your group. So I think that you do have to be really clear about what the market is all about and really be knowledgeable. Because I think it's so easy to go here's piece of land you want to buy it. Well, why why do I want to make the case for me? What is the demographic? What are the demographics look like? What who are my competitors, the all the other things that you have to do to be that much above your regular run of the mill car salesman? I mean, sorry,
Nancy Surak 28:50
but you do have to? You absolutely have to. Okay, so when you look back at your whole career, yeah. What are you most proud of?
Michele Pino 29:01
Wow. You know, I'm proud of the way I've solved problems in almost every aspect of my career when I was a paralegal. It was the very beginning of paralegal, you know, document scanning and coding. And I was at the top of all of the electronic zation. That's a word of things. So I was like it the premier part of that. And I was known for that in the paralegal world. When I got to the Department of Commerce. I was director of small business development before I became director of business attraction. I downsize that into a mechanized form of small business people coming on to a computer website and doing something I pulled a team together and I said, we're too labor intensive. How do we make this electronic it went down to one person managing that division. Then I moved, you know, so I successfully figure out How to Make either obsolete or you know, the job a little bit better. And so, you know, I'm proud of that, and my career, I'm proud of being a solution oriented person. And, you know, now we are where we are. And we created the first medical group, inland advisors. And you know, we've been, we've been pretty successful, we initiated a business plan and are trying to launch it nationally. So everywhere, I've tried to figure out what the problem is and find a solution.
Nancy Surak 30:30
Awesome. Okay, so I'm going to wrap up, I always ask three questions at the end of every podcast. These are my favorite ones, I think the they're all my favorite, actually. But these are really good ones, too. Okay, so if a young woman or young person called you today and said, Hey, Michelle, I am thinking about being a land agent or land advisor or land broker, or I want to get into economic development. What is a piece of advice that you would give that person?
Michele Pino 31:00
I would basically say, Are you a sales related person? You know, do you like to talk to other people? Do you like to cold call people? Do you know, are you shy, you know, if any of that is, is really something you don't like to do, you don't belong, because it's sales, you know, we what we do is sales, and you have to really love what you do. But also love, you know, talking about it and meeting other people. And if you don't like doing that, specially in real estate, don't do it. And if you don't mind, you know that you're gonna have a rough one year to 18 months commission. So those are the two things I would say, and then get with the right team. So if you have to be an underling on a team of two that are very successful in the market, do it, you're gonna learn so much from them.
Nancy Surak 31:47
Great advice. Okay, so what is a inch inspirational or motivational book that you've either read recently, or even a podcast that you've listened to? that you think would be worth? My audience and our listeners to check out?
Michele Pino 32:03
Okay, so I did write that down. Because you that was one of the questions that you asked for me. And, and, and they are podcasts. Look, look, I've read great books, you know, but I really like a couple of podcasts. And one is Buddha at the Gas Pump. And it is a very inspirational How do you find your balance and centeredness and it's really, really out there concepts about finding you the best you. So I highly recommend Buddha at the Gas Pump, I recommend Brene Brown, she's funny, she helps you understand that you are imperfect, and start with the belief that you are imperfect, and then peel away all the crap that you know, you got to just admit, that is you. And that's why I like her. And then the final final is I take courses all the time, and I am a member of Mindvalley. So I'll take you know, courses on nutrition, I'll take courses on energy, I'll take courses on meditation. So all of those are motivational. You got to have that stuff, or you're never going to get through the stress.
Nancy Surak 33:02
Oh, that's great. And I actually just started Brene Brown's book. She's just been really hooked on like, yeah, and I'm like, I catch myself if I'm, you know, going out to the mailbox, I'm putting my air pods in, because I'm like trying to get, you know, a minute and because,
Michele Pino 33:18
you know, walk your dog, walk your dog and listen to a podcast. That's
Nancy Surak 33:21
what I actually that's actually what I do every morning, I wake up at 530 and really was the inspirational? Well, one of the inspirations for this podcast is that I was running out of content that I wanted to listen to, right at my 530 walk with my dog. And I was like, okay, so I started looking for content of women in our space. I couldn't find it. Yeah. And I was like, Where, where are the podcasts for women and Linda development, it couldn't find it couldn't find it. And I searched for about probably four or five months off and on and I was like, You know what, this doesn't exist? Yeah, I'm gonna create it, get into that space. Before it. There's gotta be other women who will also be happy consumers of it. So Okay, final question. Really easy. If someone wanted to follow you on social media. Are you active on social media, LinkedIn, or anything else that you'd be willing to share your? Yes.
Michele Pino 34:10
So I am on LinkedIn. I'm not a huge participant on LinkedIn. I'm a voyeur as they say, but I am on LinkedIn and I am on on Facebook. But you know, just saying that land advisors is on LinkedIn, very active. And I'm on LinkedIn. So you can find me there. So yeah.
Nancy Surak 34:28
All right. Awesome. Well, that's it. And I really again, I appreciate you joining and sharing your background, your story that gets really important. I'm getting lots of feedback from women across the United States and Canada. About the podcast in I literally went for coffee yesterday morning, and like two guys grabbed me a coffee bar. No one of them generally. And he brought me he goes, hey, I've been listening to your podcasts and I'm like, it's for women. Yeah, you know what, it's for? Me Yeah, yeah. I'm glad I learned.
Michele Pino 35:03
I love what you're doing. I'm proud of you. And thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
Nancy Surak 35:09
It was a lot of fun and I appreciate it. And I look forward to seeing you here in the fall when we get together in person. Yeah, okay care. Take care. Bye bye. Thank you for joining us for another episode of she's wild the podcast for women in land and development. If you enjoyed today's show, please go out and rate us so that we can be found by other women in our industry. And if you know women who are working in land and development, please share this podcast with them. And if you know a total rock star woman, badass chick who is killing it in land and development anywhere in North America. I want to know who she is. Please reach out to me so that I can feature her on an upcoming episode.