Each year we take on interns at Major Properties. These young men and women are usually college students looking to learn about the inner workings of the real estate brokerage business, and about what is going on in the exciting world of Downtown Los Angeles.
Our office is located one block from LA Live, Staples Center, Nokia Theater and the rest of what is happening in the new Downtown. The excitement has grown and the demand to intern here has has taken on new meaning for these young minds.
Many of our interns come as undergraduates from USC, but others have come from as far away as Michigan. Over the years, we have had 100 or so young people intern here, and I think most left us much better off than when they arrived.
It has been our company policy to build from the ground up. We like to bring in people while they are young and teach them our system of success in the brokerage world. It’s much like baseball’s farm system or the Lakers bringing in the next Kobe.
One of the signature things I like to do with my interns is to expose them to real opportunities where they can actually make a difference in the business world right away. For example, I had a new intern named Arash. He had been here a few days and I asked him to cold call potential buyers from a list I had compiled. His job was to call and ask if they had any interest to purchase what was then the Moustache Cafe building in Westwood. If an intern actually found a buyer (or seller, depending on the assignment), they would get a finder’s fee of 10% of the gross commission upon closure of the deal. Well, you can just imagine the motivation. On his 4th phone call Arash found a buyer and made a few thousand dollars. The deal had also gone smoothly and he got addicted to the real estate business.
Six years ago, Brad Ross, just 22 years old at the time, came to Major Properties after driving to Los Angeles from Michigan with his girlfriend (now wife). He had no idea what an escrow was, or a lease for that matter. However, after our training program, Brad went on to become Salesman of the Year in 2010, and sold or leased millions of dollars of Downtown Los Angeles real estate. In order to improve himself further, Brad recently left us to pursue an MBA degree at UCLA.
This year, we have Sara, Jesse, Jeremy and Sam (my son). They are all learning about the various ins and outs of industrial real estate. But, as much as they learn from the program, my salespeople and I are also learning from them. For example, they are web savvy and know sites that can help us find information or people. They also know about modern likes and dislikes that might identify a potential buyer or tenant that we, older and more stuck in our ways, might not consider.
This summer, my interns have been instrumental in finding various potential buyers for a variety of different projects and properties. They are full of life and dreams, and eager to show they can make their mark. Their atitudes energize our office and clients really enjoy meeting and working with them.
As I ponder the future of the real estate business and my company, I am confident that the young talent of today will provide a great and everlasting continuation of what my father Arnold started: a business built on honesty, integrity and loyalty. I have no doubt that Major Properties will be a force in Downtown Los Angeles for many years to come.
