Developing expertise in specialised markets

Celestine Eramo of ASL Real Estate joined CRE Success last year.

She is a fantastic example of how to get the most from our training and coaching program for commercial real estate agents.

And I thought this week would be a great time to invite Celestine to be on the podcast, because not only does she have some great insights to share on:

🚸 why she’s focused on childcare real estate,

➕ what she does to generate more inbound referrals,

⏳ how to manage your time while working remotely, and

💡 ways to accelerate your professional growth…

but also because we’re about to re-open the doors to invite new members into the program.

This will be one of the final times you’ll be able to join for just $100.

For Celestine’s take on what it’s like on the inside, take a listen to episode 133 of CRE Success: The Podcast.

Episode transcript:

If you think commercial real estate is just about those traditional core sectors of office, retail and industrial, today I want to open your eyes to a world of possibilities by introducing you to one of our members inside CRE Success. So, stick around.

Hello, and welcome to Episode 133 of CRE Success: The Podcast. My name is Darren Krakowiak.

I help commercial real estate leaders to develop their people and to grow their business. I always appreciate you taking the time to spend 15 minutes with us.

And if this is your first time joining us, welcome to this content. And if you've been with us for a while, I really appreciate you continuing to support us.

Now today, we're going to be talking to Celestine Eramo from ASL Real Estate. She's an agent in childcare, sales and leasing.

Before we meet her, you will note that during our conversation, we're going to be talking about some of her experience as a member inside CRE Success.

And I have a special offer for you because you've taken the time to listen to this episode.

If you want to get access to the live monthly training, the group coaching, the six module digital course, which is called Top Performer that we've created, especially for commercial real estate agents, plus tons of bonus content, which is all accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week via your desktop, or on your phone through our app, then all you need to do to get access to that is to open up your email and send an email to [email protected].

Just put in the subject line: $100. Because that'll tell me two things. One, that you've been listening to this episode, but two, that you're interested in finding out more about our special offer that allows you to get access to all of those things and get started for just $100.

Now I can only promise to be able to provide that offered to you until, let's say the 30th of June 2023.

So as long as you're listening to this within three months of us releasing this episode, you can get access to that offer.

Now, if you're listening to this after the 30th of June 2023, you can try your luck, and maybe the price will have gone up and perhaps I'll tell you that it's no longer $100 to get started.

But I'll still let you know how you can get some support from CRE Success.

But if you're watching us before the 30th of June, or listening to us before the 30th of June 2023, $100 in the subject line and send us an email at [email protected].

Let's get started with the interview.

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Darren Krakowiak 

Celestine Eramo of ASL Real Estate, welcome to CRE Success: The Podcast.

Celestine Eramo 

Hi, Darren. Thanks for having me.

Darren Krakowiak 

Well, I'm really excited to speak to you today because you come from quite a unique business as a real estate, as a unique position in the marketplace with a focus on some emerging asset classes within commercial real estate that I'd call the care sector, healthcare, childcare and aged care. I'm interested to know and I thought a good place for us to start is, when and how did you start your focus on childcare assets?

Celestine Eramo 

Yeah, sure. So, I've been in the industry for over 20 years now. But probably started focusing specifically on childcare about 15 years ago. And then more so into businesses that are in 14 years ago. So yeah, I've been very fortunate to be involved in a company that has some very interesting sectors that you can get involved in. And then I was had that opportunity in front of me and I run that and started to really enjoy it and just know more and more about it and get better and better on it.

Darren Krakowiak 

What were you focused on before childcare? 

Celestine Eramo 

I started off with a lot of people start in residential sales, and I trudged through the mud and put the boards out and all of that. And then I was doing some aged care. And then got into project management of retirement villages. And I spent quite some time doing that too which was really fun too.

Darren Krakowiak 

Excellent! Well, what makes childcare that attractive asset class for you as an agent, but also for your clients to invest in?

Celestine Eramo 

Yes. So, just as a little background of the of childcare just to explain what we do. We have a number of facets of the childcare industry. So, we sell businesses, we lease new centers, and we lease all centers that may have been vacated in one reason or another. We celebrate on investments where you've got a tenant, and you've got an investor who will buy that asset for return. And we also have a section which deals with the project management, which is actually starting right from the start getting the land or building the center, finding tenants, and then selling it at the end as well. So, what makes it attractive to me is actually did come from a primary school teaching background. So, I had an interest in that kind of sector anyway. And really dealing with interesting clients and a diverse group of clients. So, I might be dealing with a business owner who's selling a childcare business. Or I might be dealing with a developer who is going through the whole process of building we've seen seven.

Darren Krakowiak 

Okay, so childcare is different in some ways. But I guess there's also a fair bit about it that is quite similar to the core commercial real estate markets that most of our listeners are typically dealing with your retail, your office and your industrial. So, I'd like to talk a little bit about how you achieve results and how you sort of grow as a professional. So, with that in mind, can you tell me about how you grow relationships in the market? And how do you garner loyalty from your clients?

Celestine Eramo 

Yeah, the thing that comes to mind with that question straightaway is just to be honest and to be real with people. And very obvious but to tell the truth and give a real picture of things. And in that way, then the clients that I deal with come back to me, and then they also refer me to other people in the industry as well.

Darren Krakowiak 

Okay, so being honest, and trustworthy. How do you actually get those referrals? Is it something that you ask for? Or is it something that you find naturally comes to you? Can you give us some insight into how that might work?

Celestine Eramo 

I have sort of found that does come to you, but going one step before that is that you just have to stay in touch with people. So, the industry is very specific. There's lots to know about the industry. There's lots of regulations, there's lots of things in the news all the time, about the funding and all of those sorts of things. There’re things that you need to know about the buildings and what sort of regulations need to be followed by people who are building these buildings. There's lots of information there. And if you keep up to date with that, you become a good source of information for your clients. And then they feel comfortable that they can give you a call. And then you're always front of mind as there go-to childcare person. So, if it's not them that is needing the service at the time, then someone that they know they might be speaking to, like, 'hey, just give a call to sell stream.'

Darren Krakowiak 

Yeah, and I think one of the things that we talk about in the program is looking for triggers to be able to contact people for a reason. And if there's lots of things that are going on in your industry, that gives you the opportunity to share information that's valuable to your past clients. And that also why it adds value to the relationship but to it keeps you top of mind when they do see whether it's future needs for themselves or needs for people who they know that they can refer to you. So that's, that's really helpful. A couple of things that are interesting about you, one is that you work remotely for part of the week. How long have you been working remotely for? How many years?

Celestine Eramo 

So, right through COVID, I've worked remotely since we've all come back to the office, which is so as of last year, I've worked Mondays and Fridays at home. And then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday in the office. 

Darren Krakowiak 

Okay, so that's pretty typical. But were you living in the regional area before COVID? Or was that something that started during COVID?

Darren Krakowiak 

Yeah, so I wasn't in the regions before. And so, I was doing a lot of traveling. And yeah, so this was sort of a nice progression into working from home a couple of days.

Darren Krakowiak 

Yeah, okay.

Celestine Eramo 

I guess I consider it a privilege as well actually, it's been really helpful. 

Darren Krakowiak 

Yeah, so just for context you live about one of your homes is about two hours from Melbourne, where you're working Mondays and Fridays from there. And I think that's one thing that some of my clients struggle with is, as leaders, should we be providing that flexibility to our employees in this industry? But also, as employees, how can we make sure that we use that time to be productive when we're not in the office? So, I'd love to hear a bit from you about that. But also, you work with an assistant. And another common struggle that I get from people is, “how do I understand, how I can get the most with my own productivity and the productivity of my assistants, so I can save time, and so I can make more?” So, I'd love to hear a bit about your strategies for managing time with both of those things going on.

Celestine Eramo 

Yeah, so I like to think of the working from home as an advantage, particularly because my work takes me all over Victoria. So, I'm just not restricted to the CBD, or to any one part of Melbourne. So, you know, I might be in the outer Eastern Suburbs one day, and then I might need to go and do something in the West. So, you become very organized at your time management, so that you can do things that you need to do on the western side, when you go that way. And then during the week, you just manage your time carefully. And I think for me, working from home actually gives me back about four or five hours just in travel time, every week. So, you know, when you've got that time to and you use it wisely, that does a lot for your even for your mental health as well, because you're sort of less stressed and not tearing around the countryside. 

Darren Krakowiak 

And just to clarify for our audience was I know this, but they may or may not know is that you live in Melbourne for three days a week while you're in Melbourne those days.

Celestine Eramo 

Yes

Darren Krakowiak 

You're not commuting or four hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays.

Celestine Eramo 

Yes, in terms of working with the assistant and being out of the office, you do have to have a lot of trust and a lot of confidence in your assistant. But you also have to set yourself up for success too. So you have to make sure that you utilize what you can to make sure that everything's efficient. So we utilize a system called box and dice. And I use that for tasks. And we've got tasks that are all set up. We have little meetings, on the days that are not in the office. And I just make them our expectations very clearly and make my instructions very clear as well. And then we've automated a number of things. And this has come from Utah and actually is that we've put systems in place so that tasks that are done over and over again, are automated in our box and dice system.

Darren Krakowiak 

Fantastic! So, I'd love to hear a bit about the work that you've done with CRE Success. But before I ask you about that I'm just interested in generally, how do you look to continuously improve yourself as a commercial real estate professional?

Celestine Eramo 

Hmm. Okay. So interesting. I've been in the industry a long time, but it doesn't mean that I can't learn new things. And there are plenty of new things to learn all the time. So, I guess, you know, work life balance is really important to me. And commercial real estate sort of allows that, I think more than residential real estate. And you can kind of funnel your workload into your work days if you're organized enough. And of course, there are times when you've got late nights, and I do have a lot of late nights during the week. Because I make sure that we don't have to go and look at a childcare center after hours, just to make sure that I do that during the week. I scheduled it all in. Yeah. And of course, joined up to CRE Success to keep myself focused on what I'm doing as well.

Darren Krakowiak 

So, what was the decision that led to you becoming a member in the middle of last year?

Celestine Eramo 

I had actually joined up. I saw something on LinkedIn that I wanted to listening to that. So, I joined, I listened. I took so many notes. And I thought yeah, this is really good. This is some training that I definitely thought I could benefit from.

Darren Krakowiak 

And what have been some of the benefits for you since you've joined?

Celestine Eramo 

I think one of the things is setting goals, I think it's really important to set goals. And I haven't been advanced set up. But I am trying to be a goal setter now. Being accountable about those goals. And when I started with, I'm setting myself up with a goal. I gave myself about three months to achieve that goal. It's taken me nearly 12 months. But I've got there. So that's good. 

Darren Krakowiak 

I thought you're going to tell me that you did it within one month. But it's still a good story, because you've got there at the end.

Celestine Eramo 

I was a bit ambitious; I think.

Darren Krakowiak 

Okay, and what part of the program you like? You have a few different elements in terms of, you know, conversations that we've had, whether it's the online training, whether it's the monthly sessions, which one that's most valuable or impactful for you?

Celestine Eramo 

I think the one-on-one is really, really helpful. I think, a lot of commercial real estate agents, for me, personally, we don't know a lot of other commercial agents in the industry, because it's quite into it. And I'm doing what I'm doing. There are no other agents that do it. So, it's very handy to have another perspective and outsider's perspective on things. And so, the one-on-ones I really enjoy, and the monthly catch-ups are really helpful. Like I said before, I just take so many notes, and then I go over them. And then if there's some strategies, we can use the strategies and then even adapt them to your own situation as well.

Darren Krakowiak 

I think what's interesting about your personal circumstances is that you work in a very specific area of commercial real estate. And I do occasionally get some inquiries from people saying, "Oh, I don't work in the traditional commercial real estate markets, I'm doing this, it's quite specific." And I sometimes try and tell people, "You know, this is still a benefit for you. But I'm pleased to hear that, that is where potentially the benefit is, if you're working in quite a sweet, specific part of the industry that you will get some exposure and some networking opportunities with people who are in other areas of the industry, which may not usually happen if you're quite micro and specific." You've got any advice for people who are whether they're thinking about joining the program, or just thinking about investing in themselves generally?

Celestine Eramo 

Yeah, absolutely. Just don't even think about it, just do it, because the investment pays itself back tenfold immediately. And there's just fantastic things to learn, keeps you on track. And the training really keeps you focused on what you're doing. And it allows you to just focus on what you're there to do, which is to list and sell, to do that in the best way possible, and just drown out all the other stuff. That it's not really important that can happen in any kind of real estate. Just keep you focused and keep you accountable.

Darren Krakowiak 

Excellent! Well, since then, you've been a great member, you've been very focused and involved. And that's the reason why I asked you to come onto the show today. The last question I've got for you is for any of your fellow members who are listening were already in the program, what would you recommend that they do, if they're already on the inside to get more from the experience?

Celestine Eramo 

Just adopt some of the strategies that you suggest. Like, for example, one of the things that I picked up was to use is 'stop listening to the news 50 times a day'. And so now when I'm in the car, I mean, in the car for an hour, that leads to Tony anyway, so at 8:30, I just pop on the app, and I'll have a listen to, you know, for 20 minutes, half an hour until I get to work. But that was really great advice. It's just a really simple thing that you can adopt, that can make a big difference.

Darren Krakowiak 

Better than listening to a shock jock who's going to rile you up and get you focused on something else, as opposed to professional growth, 100%. Well, I really appreciate you coming on the show today. Thank you so much for being a member. And yeah, I wish you all the very best for the remaining few months of your first year in the program, Celestine. thank you so much.

Celestine Eramo 

Thanks so much for having me.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed meeting Celestine, our special guest from ASL Real Estate here in Melbourne. Really great to get an understanding of how this platform can support you even if you don't work in one of the traditional asset classes or the main asset classes if you like in commercial real estate. 

I guess if you're a mainstream investor, Commercial Real Estate is already an alternative asset class.

But within our world, childcare is an alternative asset class within what some people consider to be an alternative asset class.

As a reminder, if you'd like to get started in the program that Celestine is already in, you can type $100 into the subject line of an email that you send to [email protected] and we'll send you all the details of how you can get started in the program with us.

We would love for you to join. Thank you so much for listening. I will speak to you soon.