Gordon Lamphere is joined by Tamar Turner, host of the Down 2 Business podcast, to discuss small business trends and how entrepreneurs intersect with the commercial real estate community. Tamar’s Down 2 Business podcast has produced over 100+ episodes and three live events. Guests on the Down 2 Business come from a wide range of professional backgrounds, including international entrepreneurs. On the Real Finds Podcast, Tamar Turner discusses his experience interviewing successful businesses, his own success story, WeWork, and the power of networking.
Real Finds Podcast Introduction
0:00:00 Gordon Lamphere: Hi, I’m Gordon Lamphere with The Real Finds Podcast. The podcast is where we have in-depth interviews with key entrepreneurs, activists, and scientists shaping the real estate industry and, as a result, the world. In today’s episode, we talk with the down to Business podcast host Tamar Turner. Over the podcast, we discuss key instances of running a small business and tips and tricks to getting by in the business world.
0:00:53 Gordon Lamphere: We also discuss more in-depth views on coworking and how important it is to meet and network within the physical workspace. Hey, guys, we’re here with Tamar. He is a phenomenal podcaster that’s coming up in the business world. He will give us a unique insight into both kinds of the business world and how it meshes with commercial real estate. Tamar, great to have you on the podcast. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Getting To Know Tamar Turner
0:01:28 Tamar Turner: Absolutely, Gordon. Thank you so much for having me, man. Very excited to be here. A little bit about me. My name is Tamar Turner, currently reside in Tampa, Florida. I am 26 years old. I did my undergraduate studies at East Carolina University and communications and journalism. Really had a fondness for just writing and talking to people and things like that. Then, I took it one step further and went to Syracuse University to get my Masters in Broadcast and Digital Journalism and Sports Communications. Leaving from there, you wouldn’t have told me that I wouldn’t be your next Shannon Sharp, your next step, and A, I wasn’t going to have my own show, wasn’t going to do all of that. But the pandemic had other plans for us, and ultimately I had to pivot a little. I had to have some redirection. I was in Philly for a bit, unhappy working at Target, filling out many job applications, and then getting an offer in North Carolina. It actually got rescinded. We had to wait a little bit and backtrack. I took a leap of faith and moved to Tampa. About two years ago, I moved down here. Really started working for Amazon first.
0:02:26 Tamar Turner: But I started a podcast even before the move to backtrack a little bit. I just wanted to find a way to brand myself and continue the skills I learned in grad school. So I recognized that I was surrounded by a lot of people doing a lot of great things, from clothing to a medical who made her own dog treats, to hair to skincare, to you name it, health law, anything. I just started sitting down and talking to these people because I wanted them to, you know, give the exposure they deserve and be household names like many of these other companies. Since then, I’ve been able to amass about 118 19 episodes. We’ve done three live events in Charlotte and had a great time. Been able to connect with many different dope individuals and meet people. And I’m excited. Eventually, one day, you become a full-time podcaster and everything like that. And then I also with moving to Tampa after I finished with Amazon and started working for a company called WeWork.
0:03:14 Tamar Turner: I came across the job posting online. It really sounded fictitious. It just sounded like, wow, a day in the life here. I would love this. So instantly applied three interviews later, and here I am. It opened my world up to the idea of remote work, the idea of just setting up shop on the go, the concept of flexible core space, and the introduction to real estate. So been doing that for about a year and a half now. Been able to make some doper connections here, just with many business owners, entrepreneurs, big companies, small companies, you name. So really just been having a blast down here in San Fernando. Complaints.
Working At WeWork
0:03:47 Gordon Lamphere: So you touched on WeWork, and there’s a lot of myths about WeWork, and a lot of that comes from some of the stuff that was written during previous eras about the WeWork company. Some of the stuff written regarding WeWork in the past couple of weeks and months, regarding the documentary and kind of mockumentary that came out about.
0:04:09 Tamar Turner: WeWork, what’s it like working at WeWork these days? I love it, man. As I said, I always tell people that there’s just a specific type of vibe it gives you. There’s just a certain type of people. There are certain companies there that there’s really no in-between. You’re not going to come in, and you’re not going to be leaning on the fence here. You’re not going to either love it or hate it.
0:04:31 Tamar Turner: You’re all for it. You understand this concept. You know what we have to offer, and then you understand just the coworking idea in general because there are a lot of other competitors out there. But I love it. As I said, we own three floors here in Tampa, so we’re responsible for, I couldn’t even tell you, over 100 companies, very small, you name it. But it’s been amazing to see that people are not necessarily in a cubicle location or in your typical nine-to-five setup. They still come and are very much productive. They still fit in here. We do various events, from networking to happy hours to lunch and learning to bring people in to speak. So it’s been fantastic to mix and mingle with so many different companies. The companies that started internationally are now building offices here in Tampa with companies that were headquartered all around the world. Suddenly, they’re just moving and trying to grow their Tampa team. So some of these companies I had never even heard of. I did google searches. I was doing research to figure out what they did.
0:05:24 Tamar Turner: So the fact that we have so many industries accounted for here, it’s been a fantastic experience.
Florida & Tampa Business Climate
0:05:29 Gordon Lamphere: Yeah, West Florida is a great place to be these days. Nobody’s going to debate that. So on that what’s it like. I know you moved to Florida. Is there a particular reason why you moved to Florida specifically?
0:05:44 Tamar Turner: So honestly, man, if I had to have it my way, no, Florida was not on the map. It was, you know, I love Florida. I wasn’t looking here. Going to school in North Carolina opened my eyes to many different cities. There is charlotte, the RBU area, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and everything like that. And then Atlanta was the hub for places. So, no, how Florida came about was my college roommate. I met him back in 2014. We ended up living together in 2015, so we graduated in 2018 when I went to get my master’s. He moved down here to Orlando originally. So Orlando is about an hour away from Tampa. So then, eventually, he ended up getting his spot in Tampa, and then we talked a lot from there. He recognized that he saw how unhappy I was once I finished grad school. I was working at target. It wasn’t what I wanted to do. Finding a job and being propelled into this industry wasn’t as easy as I thought. So he really just threw it out there. One day. He said, why not just move down here?
0:06:43 Tamar Turner: He said you would come down here. You could work for me. He’s working on different things like that. So if there’s one person you don’t say that to, it is me because I’m the type of person I’ll save up. I’ll do what I must: get the car and make it happen. So what did I do? I saved up. I bought a car, and I made a road trip. Stopped in DC. We stopped in North Carolina, stopped in Atlanta, and eventually met in Atlanta, and we drove to Tampa. So really, he didn’t look back. Really just took a risk. He took a chance on me. So I appreciate him for that. But, yeah, it was just full speed in my head after I left.
0:07:14 Gordon Lamphere: That sounds like a fantastic roommate and somebody with your best interest in mind, which you can’t say for everyone.
0:07:21 Tamar Turner: Roommate in the world, right? Right.
Tamar Turner & The Down 2 Business Podcast
0:07:23 Gordon Lamphere: So on that, you move, you move to Florida, and you start a podcast and tell me a little bit about the down-to-business podcast because there are a lot of podcasts out there, right? Like everything you can imagine under the sun and podcasting. What makes the down-to-business podcast unique?
0:07:40 Tamar Turner: I would say we’re unique just because I tell people, and I don’t know how many people will be familiar with this reference, but I tell people we’re like the Black Mirror of Podcasts. So those people know Black Mirror. Black Mirror was a show that you could essentially watch and pick up on at any point, and you didn’t just do a thing; you could watch it from front to back. You could start at the last season, the first, but essentially no episode had anything to do with the other. So it was a preference thing. If this was your favorite episode, you could tap in with that. If you see season three, episode nine, and you want to start there randomly, I don’t know why, but if you just wanted to click that, go ahead. So I tell people my podcast is just the same. Whereas, you know, we started back in 2019. If you’re discovering us now, after this interview, even with this interview, before this interview, if you’re finding us anytime after 2019, you haven’t missed a beat. Yes, you can go back in and tap in with those business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives to see what they’re doing. But essentially, we’re rolling. As I said, I’m 119 episodes, and that’s over 119 120 business owners and entrepreneurs doing different things.
0:08:39 Tamar Turner: We’ve been international interviewing someone in Australia, so it’s been amazing. We’re unique because we always have the interviewee’s best interest in mind. I don’t prepare any questions beforehand. I do my due diligence. One has to know their brand, website, and what you do. You want everything to be a conversation, whether you’re family, a friend, or somebody, I just met via social media, email, or my scheduling link. I want us to really develop that connection. As you told me before the interview, you want people to be comfortable. You want people to, you know, feel like it’s no secret or no hidden agenda. Is there anything important just with whether you’re a podcast and whether you’re talking to people nine to five, business ownership? That’s so important. So with us, that is down to the businessman. We have no pun intended; we strictly want to get to business. We’re going to have fun, we’re going to laugh, we’re going to joke, but at the same time, we’re going to get you and your craft and your business and what you’re passionate about the rightful exposure.
Tamar Turner On Choosing Podcast Guests
0:09:30 Gordon Lamphere: That sounds awesome. And so, on that note, getting the proper exposure. I think what’s unique about your podcast, and I’d like to dial into it, is how do you figure out to who you want to give that exposure? Because look, there’s a lot of small businesses out there in the world. How is it that you choose your companies?
0:09:50 Tamar Turner: Interesting question. That is a fascinating question. When I first started back in 2019, I took all social media platforms, so Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even LinkedIn, and pretty much just posted the announcement, posted that I was doing this. This is what I wanted. If this sounds like you, or if you know somebody like this, send them my way. And essentially, I got a lot of feedback, so much so that I still have a book back in 2019 that I still haven’t talked to or got lost in translation or different things. I get it through a lot of word of mouth. Our work helped a lot with that. Being that I’m a traveler, I love to travel. So coming from being born in New York, raised in Philadelphia, undergrad in North Carolina, grad back in New York, and moved back to Philly. I’ve seen a host of different things, seen met a host of other people, and been able to come across a lot of different people.
0:10:39 Tamar Turner: And then ultimately, too, I tell people I shoot my business. Shot a lot. I see your page, and I’ve come across it on social media email. Or do you have a booking link? Do you have a booking agent or somebody I can reach out to or help with a page or subscription? I’m going to do it now. Does it always work in my favor? No, but that’s okay. But that’s why, as you said, there are many different people out there.
0:10:57 Tamar Turner: And then something I also do is sometimes it’s extended to me. So people will come on the podcast and say, yeah, I know somebody who would be perfect for this, would love to have them on. But then, other times, I challenge people. Hey, if you know anybody who would be perfect for this opportunity, if you have anybody in mind who you think would want to share this experience, please bring them on the platform. I tell people that. Initially, I was very gung ho, or you must have a business. You have to have something to your name. But now, ultimately, if you’re passionate about something if you can speak to a niche if you can talk to a field if you can speak to something that one, I don’t know about two, real estate, law, medical, anything like that. Mental health, let’s talk about it. Because I may not know something or the same way you may come on here and teach me something about real estate, I’m sure you’re going to teach my followers the same thing, my owner against the same thing. So it’s really just a host of I have a lot of supporters, I have people who shown a lot of love along the way, and I’m always looking and thinking myself too.
Tamar Turner On The Best Episodes
0:11:49 Gordon Lamphere: So, regarding being taught something, what’s one of the most exciting or unique things you’ve been conducting recently on the down-to-business podcast? Because I’ve gone through some of the podcasts, I know there are many extraordinary kinds of topics and businesses that you’ve discussed. Is there something that you can highlight? One of our listeners could go back and say, hey, this gives you a good perspective on the business podcast.
0:12:18 Tamar Turner: Honestly, and this may sound a little cliche. All of my episodes give me some jump, some niche, or something that you take that nugget and apply elsewhere. It’s going to really take you further. But even more so. More recently, one of my favorite episodes, and I believe it was with Niamir Beauty, I cannot remember the episode name, but the episode name is Reset, Revamp, Rebrand. And so essentially, we’re big on like new year’s resolution, setting new year’s goals, waiting for that end of the year to really happen, and you hit the ground running.
0:12:56 Tamar Turner: Something she just put in my head. Why wait for that? Day one could be tomorrow, day one could be right now, today, and Friday. We need to set goals. We have different aspirations and things that we want to hit. Why do you have to wait for a fresh start, a ball to drop, a new year, and unique numbers to get into it? So for me, that elevated me; it was just like I was big on that. I was big on just setting the goals right in. The vision board is doing all that, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But why do I have to wait for December 31 to transition into January 1? I could do that now. So for me, she put a 180 on things. For me, I started writing stuff down, I started applying some stuff, and I started tackling stuff now. So that way, when the new year gets here, I’ve already had a foundation built, and I’m already running on the ground. Anything I pick up on top of that is just a bonus. So, yes, definitely.
0:13:42 Tamar Turner: I’ve been very keen on all my episodes, just about what they have to do, what they have to offer, how they go about their processes, and things like that. But that was a big lesson for me because something that I tell myself about the podcast, I feel like I waited. I made a lot of excuses back then in grad school or even after I graduated or different things like that. I made many reasons why it took me so long to get on YouTube and why I’m not on TikTok and other stuff like that. But instead of doing that, try it out. Just do it. Some things are going to be for you, and some aren’t.
0:14:10 Tamar Turner: So that’s an excellent centralized message from down to business.
Tamar Turner & Getting The Job Done
0:14:13 Gordon Lamphere: Look, that’s terrific advice. There’s a guy who’s no longer but was transitioning out of the Seals and who was a local bartender. And we have this unique thing here where we have Great Lakes Naval Training Center and several Navy Seals on a Seal team transition out. And I was talking with him once, and he said one of the biggest things they teach you in Special Forces is that you have to take care of complicated things.
0:14:41 Tamar Turner: Immediately when they come up.
0:14:42 Gordon Lamphere: You must take care of it because the longer it waits, the harder it becomes. And so look, that’s terrific advice. I couldn’t. I couldn’t say it better than you did that we have so many challenges in our life and you just got to jump on them, right? So on that of jumping on challenges, I’ll challenge you one more time. Besides that podcast, is there anything you learned related to real estate that our listeners could take? Because there’s a tremendous amount of real estate knowledge that happens on real estate podcasts where brokers are talking to brokers, and sometimes that’s less useful than you would think because what we really should be hearing from are people who are business owners.
Commercial Real Estate Meets Business
0:15:31 Gordon Lamphere: So what do you see daily on the podcast business owners talk about in relation to real estate?
0:15:39 Tamar Turner: So. More so would be. I’ve noticed a lot of people, whether they be on the podcast themselves or be audience or fans of it, they’re trying to get into real estate in any capacity or trying to learn more from I see a lot of people signing up to me realtors now or getting that license. I see many people trying to get into Airbnb and automation and learning more about that. I see many people, even myself, trying to learn more about investment properties because I told myself that while I’ve been out here for two years, one will probably remain out here for another three to four.
0:16:07 Tamar Turner
My trigger to go and move on is when I get some property when I have something that I can return to if need be. But two, something that could be making money for me without me having to do anything, set it up here. So a lot of people are really, with a plethora of information out there, a lot of people are just realizing, well, where do I need to start? What do I need to do well? This person has given me their path and their journey along.
0:16:28 Tamar Turner: But how does that relate to me? Would that work for me? They’re in a different location. How can I the curiosity of getting a real estate license in New York or whether when you come to Florida or Webb, when you go to PA, how does that translate over the rules, the regulations, and everything? So people are really having a lot of conversations. One because they see the promise. They see people who’ve been in it for a while. The shows like Selling Tampa, selling Sunset came out, and really, because I’m not going to lie, selling Tampa has my eyes wide. Like, these are the percentages, these are the deals. But then people are also thinking about the back end. Well, is it always going to start? Because I’ve even had a couple of friends who got involved with it, say it started slower than they would have thought, for it wasn’t what they were advertised, in a sense. So people are just curious about how to do it. What are the ins and outs of it? How do I get multiple properties? How can I get into Airbnb? I’m always on the app, booking it well. How can I make somebody able to come to book me to make money from it? So the conversation around real estate has been heightening, too, especially with the markets. The markets are looking wild right now. I just moved into a townhouse this past week, and I would want to avoid reading the debt process ever having to do that with this time. So some people are talking about things going to crash or things going to fall? How does that relate to me? Well, what if I move?
0:17:39 Tamar Turner: Okay, so I think a lot of things are really circulating now just because of the host of information that’s out there. But that’s what I’ve been noticing daily, from reposts on Instagram and people asking questions. Even some of the people I’ve talked to as guests on my podcast.
Business Myths
0:17:53 Gordon Lamphere: There’s a ton of real estate information out there, just like there’s a ton of business information, but there’s a lot of myths that come with that information, right?
0:18:01 Tamar Turner: Correct.
0:18:01 Gordon Lamphere: So what’s the most common myth you see about business? And remarkably, how does that relate to the podcast? How does that common myth get turned on when you start talking to business owners?
0:18:17 Tamar Turner: So, a big thing that I used to think just growing up and not really because my generation specifically, we took that leap into entrepreneurship. And I don’t know if not that I don’t know. But the pandemic had a lot to do with that because people were sitting at home, laid off, and without jobs. So for us, it was just like capital. You need that money. Talks like you’re not going to do anything business related, entrepreneurial-related, or creatively-related without some cash. People ask me all the time, like, well, because, you know, I was looking at podcasters and different setups, from the Joe Rose to your Gary beads to your million dollars worth of game, your Im athletes, they have these elaborate in the studio, the lights, every angle are flipping every five.
0:19:02 Tamar Turner: They’re getting all these phenomenal guests. And, wow, we have some charming conference rooms. Hence I’m in one right now. I love this, but I need the angles. Yes, I have my selfie stick in my truck. I set it up right now on my phone, and I have my microphone here, but I need more. I need the backdrops. I need the lights to be fading in and out. I need the angles and all that. I’m just like, I can’t. If I don’t come all the way, I might as well not do it. And that relates for me, for the podcast, but that refers to people for business.
0:19:29 Tamar Turner: People feel like if I don’t have a studio to start if I don’t have the most excellent camera, if I don’t have the best car, if I don’t have, you know, the pro version of zoom or the pro version of these websites of things, I can’t do that. And I tell people I have three essential pieces I use for my podcast all the time. This microphone, this laptop, and a phone or a camera or a ring. That’s it. That cost me a total of, well, I don’t know how much the laptop is, and I’ve had this laptop for quite some time, but the microphone was 90, the tripod was 20, and the ring light was 15. So I tell people that it’s not really about having the most, having the best, having the greatest of the greatest because then I go a step further to say if you start with the best, how do you get better?
0:20:08 Tamar Turner: If I went out and bought the nicest mic, if I went out and got the nicest set of tripods, and had 80,000 different lights, then how would my 119 episodes have shown progress or have differentiated from one another? But I may have started only audio and then transitioned into video, but now I’m on a different platform. Now I love direct with people. It gives people something to look forward to. So I think just in general, like, people have to realize that you have to start.
0:20:31 Tamar Turner: This advice that I didn’t take that now. Not to say I’m kicking myself or regret it, but what if I had started early? What if I had moved to YouTube before. What if I didn’t make excuses every week at Target when that Paycheck hit instead of buying games and bringing the money? So many people get tied up in this money thing, and they see social media as a glamorous tool you look at every day and catch the best of it. Nobody’s going to post.
0:20:53 Tamar Turner: What’s going wrong was failing. What’s not happening. One of the biggest myths to debunk is that while money talks, capital is essential, and while it will take you very far, it’s not the end-all deal.
Tamar Turner & The Power Of Grit
0:21:05 Gordon Lamphere: Yeah, there’s a lot of truth to that. Capital and money talk, but grit talks the loudest, right? Yeah. So on that note, I hope our podcast ends up being as prolific in going out there and producing content. Reaching 100 episodes and more is a lot to be proud of. Right. So on that, what is the podcast, and I hate doing this and saying maybe one or two, but is there a podcast in particular that you’re the proudest of that you put out?
0:21:45 Tamar Turner: The episode that I’m the proudest of that I would say I put out, I would honestly say it has to be my first live event. So episode 93. So it’s titled Big. It’s based on B-I-G-G-E-S-T. But essentially, how this episode came about was I want to give away and practically my friend who I went to Syracuse with, she’s she runs an event planning company. So shout out to Serrate. And so, the giveaway got to have an event planner for them. So all I had to do was very cool.
0:22:12 Tamar Turner: All I had to do was pick up the venue. So I told her what I wanted to do, where I wanted to be, and how I wanted to do it. And I’m nervous. This is my first because when I started this back in 2019 if you had asked me what I wanted to do, oh, to have it my way, I want to sit across from everybody. So that means if I’m at this table, I want boarding right here next to me. I want to see your reactions in real-time and bump you if I need to or just for dramatic.
0:22:33 Tamar Turner: But obviously, we had to adjust. I had to adapt. So the fact that I was able to find a venue in a different city, two, bring out people from that were family, that were colleagues of mine, that were friends, that were people who were just in the neighborhood, things like that. And then three, really have a successful four-hour event from a DJ to an interview to giveaways. Even afterward, we went out to eat and things like that.
0:22:55 Tamar Tuner: That was amazing to me. And it really set the tone for the next two that I did. So in March, I did that, and then I did another one, Labor Day weekend, and then I just did one this past weekend, December 3. So the fact that I was overwhelmed with emotion, I cried outside, like most people probably don’t know, but I said sincerely out, just because it was a lot to think about, 92 episodes before that. To think about having to change locations, almost taking a hiatus from the podcast and not producing as much as I wanted it, thinking about all the content, maybe not getting all the likes, the shares, the repos, and things that I may have wanted to think about. The ratings that I didn’t get, that I thought would just come in like that. Like that. But to see all of that come together to live and direct and to really have genuine vibes, people asking questions, I’m seeing people networking come together, and all sorts, and I was beyond proud of that. I was beyond that. So while I definitely tell you every single episode is unique, I love you all. You all definitely made things happen. 90 readers have a special place in my heart because that was after the turning point for the Downside business podcast.
Getting to 100+ Podcasts
0:23:50 Gordon Lamphere: Hey, look, that’s really cool, really cool podcasts. And look, I hope to do a live event sometime in the future, but it’s a lot of work, so that’s off to you. So concerning a lot of work, one of the biggest things that you’ve done over 100 podcasts allows you to start gathering trends in the industry and trends with small businesses. And one of the biggest trends I’d like you to touch on is what’s holding back small business owners?
0:24:27 Gordon Lamphere: Is a set of trends holding them back? Because we here in the real estate business talk to small business owners all the time, and they’ll talk about various things. But I’m curious because you spoke with many successful business owners over this swath. Is there a trend that sticks out?
0:24:48 Tamar Turner: Two come to mind right now. So one education and then two resources go hand in hand for me. So more so when I say education, I think of that. I’ve talked to many different people, and we were both outsides of WeWork before I moved down here. Those who just felt like they didn’t know everything they needed to be in their industry didn’t know where to go. They spent countless hours on, as we call it, YouTube University, Google.com, and just different things like that, really trying to find here and there and almost ultimately always coming back, telling what they felt was a dead end or just a lot of information overload and not really knowing what to pick and choose and how to relate that. And often, and this kind of segues into the resources part, things are right in front of us. Things are right around us. Items are made available to us, from funding to people who want it, students, interns, help, and other things. And sometimes, we must figure out where to go to get that information, how to get it, who to get it from, and who to talk to. And that’s why the power of networking is so important sometimes for me. I’ve met so many people, and we work here from having a simple conversation and asking, did you need anything? How are you? Or what’s going on? Or staying late one day to help with an event, or perhaps just asking a question, or seeing a company that I had never heard of, and when they get some free time, what do you all do? Or how does that relate to so and so or this and that?
0:26:06 Tamar Turner: And sometimes it’s just about talking to people. So I think that I spoke to a host of different people who feel like if they would have known this sooner or if they would have done this or if they would have gone that or maybe asked the right questions or maybe talked to this person one way or maybe kept a connection that they feel like they would be much further on. And I’ve spoken to many people who feel like they’re just at a loss. They need to figure out where to start. If I had this and more people on my team, I would be doing bigger and better things. Well, I tell myself the same thing. I’m a one-person show.
0:26:34 Tamar Turner: But I had skills, so I went to grad school to learn how to video that. I got certified in Adobe Premiere and learned how to use Photoshop and just different things like that because I recognize that I can’t find the staff right now. I need help finding people who I need. But that’s not to say that the resources aren’t available for me to help with that. So a lot of the trends are people just more so, not knowing where to go, where to start, it is so much out there. A lot of these industries, from clothing to makeup to hair, they’re so populated, they’re so popular that when you look at somebody’s success story, you can’t really tell how they maneuvered or what happened or what didn’t go right or where did they go.
0:27:09 Tamar Turner: It’s all about just that glitz. That glam that the money, the happy clients, and everything. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes we really need to hear those nitty-gritty stories of how you did what, and then a lot of times, especially in the minority community, we feel like it’s very competitive. Instead of collaborating, we’d rather compete. We’d instead think, oh, I’m just using an example. If I have a clothing brand and he has a clothing brand, oh, no, I have to sell more than him. I have to be better than him. I have to do it.
0:27:36 Tamar Turner: Whereas, no, he has a great design over there. Maybe I should ask him where he got his vendor from, but let’s say I do take that step to ask him, okay, where did he get that vendor from? He wants to keep the information private because he feels like this vendor. Although thousands of people use this vendor, he feels like this is specific to you. And if he doesn’t know that, then I can’t share. So a lot of times we clash with one another just because we learn these secrets, we understand these tips, we know these tricks, and then we want to compile it all together in an expensive workshop. Or an expensive webinar or general knowledge that you may have gotten from somebody else that you didn’t have to pay for, that you didn’t have to go through the ringer to get. Now you want to kind of gateway it or gatekeep it, in a sense. So I think that sometimes we’re just in our own way, simply put, there’s a lot of education out there. There’s a host of different resources out there. There are even people in your field who you could look to. I listen to podcasts, maybe not as much as I should, but I listen to them just to get you, get ideas, and get motivation.
Finding Help In Competitive Industries
0:28:30 Tamar Turner: And I think that we should do that a lot more within our industry, just become more, like I said, more collaborative instead of competitive.
0:28:37 Gordon Lamphere: Hey, look, I’m into that. I’d say my one tip that I would throw out there to everyone who’s listening to podcasts, regardless of where you are or what industry you’re in, is if you’re afraid that you might be in a competitive relationship with somebody in your industry and you don’t want to reach out to your next door neighbor. That guy in the town also does a similar thing. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and instagram. There are all sorts of folks all over the world that have industry knowledge.
0:29:07 Gordon Lamphere: Reach out to somebody in a completely different part of the world or in your space that knows something about your industry, and they’re going to give you all sorts of tips and comments in a much freer and open way because they’re not competing against you. And that would be the number one tip I can give anybody. Because look, there always is that sense of competition that exists in all sorts of industries, and we see it in real estate all the time, but reach out because, look, there’s a tremendous amount of folks all around the world that are willing to help, reach out. And particularly if they’re not in your place in the world, they’re going to be much more willing to help. So that’d be my two cents at somebody because there’s a lot of good out there.
Covid-19 & The Modern Workspace
0:29:59 Gordon Lamphere: I’m going to shift the topic a little bit, and I know I elaborated a little bit on that, but one of the things I think is particularly interesting that I’ve heard you talk about on a couple of podcasts is what’s going on in the world of business post-COVID-19. So what’s the biggest post-COVID trend that you’ve seen with your business?
0:30:21 Tamar Turner: I would say flexibility. Whereas, you know, even I spoke to kind of the WeWork model earlier about how we’re not your traditional, just nine-to-five setup, just from all the glasses, just from the internal conference, just from the vibe, just from the community area. So I would say for business owners, for me specifically, it’s flexibility. It’s being able to. Okay, maybe one day I have to be here, but the next day, I need to be recording over here, or the next day, I need to travel. Or then maybe I need to slide over here. Or maybe I need to reach out to him and or maybe I need to kind of switch up the way I do things a little bit because I think that there was at one point in this COVID-19 epidemic, pandemic, whatever you want to call it, where we were literally waking up, and there was a different headline. You didn’t know what you were going to wake up to, what news was going to happen, what Dr. Pouchy was going to say, what the CDC was going to say, what the World Health Organization was going to say. You didn’t know where any of this was going, or it was headed, but the fact that you still had to live life, keep your head on a swivel, will still maintain your business, businesses, family, social life, everything of that, to some capacity. I think that that really taught us how to be flexible, how to take the good with the bad, the ugly with the pretty. And that’s something I’ve really noticed about business, how people are.
0:31:29 Tamar Turner: I’ve watched a lot of small businesses in Philadelphia have to close or have to close down or have to set up shop differently, or maybe whereas they were at a storefront now, now they have to switch to online. Or instead of being online, now they have to come and do different pop-up shops or different marketing events and networking places and travel a little bit. So I think that this has really, and even with the podcast, I’ve been in three different locations since I started this podcast. I’ve recorded closets, I’ve recorded at dining room tables, I’ve recorded on the floor. I’ve recorded it.
0:31:58 Tamar Turner: I started this in my guy’s basement, which is now a studio so it’s just like the fact that so much has changed around and we still had to. Whereas you just worked the typical nine-to-five job that you clocked in and out to everybody. You know that every day, no matter what happens. When I was working at Target, I knew that every day I was punching in in that back room, I was going to punch in, and then I was going to walk to the back to the electronic section, I was going to get behind the register, and I was going to read my task of what I needed to do for the day.
0:32:24 Tamar Turner: That’s not the case today. I can come into Weebly. I work three days and four days. This week, I had four different days. Met a plethora of different people, met some people from around the world, travelers. I had three interviews for the podcast. We talked to three different people in three different places. So the fact that we’re still just everywhere, still just making it happen, but it has shifted the norm, in a sense, I think that’s the biggest thing in regards to flexibility. I would have never in a million years thought that so many people would be working remotely. So many people would just be working from home for the day. I don’t want to come in two days. I’m off for three days.
0:32:56 Tamar Turner: That sounds like life. I tell people all the time. The only way, the only way I would get out of WeWork, the only way is if you just gave me a fully remote, fully benefited. Like, it has to be something like this has to be almost, like I said, fictitious. Because I was reading the WeWork post, this did not sound like a job. And people ask me all the time to work at WeWork. I say, I mean, I wouldn’t call it to work. I love what I do, you know. It’s not me waking up and dreading having to go contracting. It’s me waking up. Who am I going to meet today?
0:33:25 Tamar Turner: I won’t pass CEOs. I’ve been shaking hands with people who started their companies overseas. And now, to be able to kind of be face to face with you in an environment that I would have never thought. But the fact that it’s a host of us around here, creators, just networking and talking. We’re talking with some representatives who do HR and, like, payroll and stuff here, and some of the companies needed that. And had we not had this event, had we not had this gathering, they would have never met each other, they would have never crossed paths. So I think that this, honestly, is just the flexibility, I keep repeating it, but it’s just because it’s so unique right now.
0:33:55 Tamar Turner: It’s so unique. I see so many high-rise buildings, and as I said, we own three floors here in this 20-story building. But there are companies above us, and there are companies below us. All totally different things. Law firms, recruiting, communications agencies, everything. The fact that we’re all housed in the same locations, it’s amazing to me.
Tamar Turner & The Final Four
0:34:14 Gordon Lamphere: And the network effect is real, right? It really is. So on that note, I think we’re going to go to our Final four, and the first one relates to everything that’s changed in the world. So ten years from now, maybe you’re still at WeWork, right? Maybe you’re somewhere else. But what do you think is going to be changing the most about how businesses interact with the real estate industry ten years from now?
0:34:48 Tamar Turner: I feel like there will be a lot more understanding of how things work. I feel like right now, not to say that I just feel like there’s a misunderstanding or there’s just miscommunication or things, but I feel like, you know, as a business owner, you may not understand the idea of flexible code. As a flexible coworker, you may not understand how you can adequately suit an entrepreneur, how you can adequately suit a business owner, how you could adequately take a 20-person company that is used to being in cubicles all day and transitions them into office space or conference or anything like that. So I think ten years because I only feel like this coworking industry is going to continue to populate. I’m even thinking about some of the competitors that we have here. These are some companies I had never heard of, the pipeline, Regis, and Embark Collective, like, but companies that are populated all around the world. So I think that as this just continues to multiply, this will only just allow for more businesses, more productivity, more. I’ve never met so many people who started elsewhere, whether it be in the North, Midwest, or West Coast, who are trying to build teams in Tampa now because Tampa seems to be growing. So I also think it’s a location thing. I think depending on your city, depending on where you are, depending on the landscape of it all, it could really benefit. It could bring not only a lot more business but a lot more money and a lot more people. Because even for me, moving here two years ago, I’ve noticed the traffic in Tampa is now.
0:36:01 Tamar Turner: And then when school comes back in session because we’re right by USF and University of Tampa, UT, two very great schools, noticing that it’s just more noticing students in here now, I’m noticing grad students, medical students, different things like that. So I think as we continue to move and grow as coworkers, I think real estate will only do the is real estate is going to be. As I said, the curiosity and interest in it now are only going to continue to rise. It’s only going to continue to peak. But I think as businesses start to understand that and we communicate more, and we find out where we can work with one another in different models, it’ll only get better. Who knows from that?
0:36:32 Tamar Turner: I feel like it’ll really go from that traditional like you’re clocking into a certain place to you could be in this high-rise building today, but we could be on five floors in this building today, or you could be overlooking this. So I really think that it’ll start to mesh a bit more than it is right now.
0:36:45 Gordon Lamphere: Right. I think that there’s just a tremendous amount that’s going to change in terms of flexibility in the industry. We’re seeing it right now within our own portfolio. We’ve seen a shift over the last five to ten years away from more traditional offices to much more of what we call executive suites, individualized offices in kind of a Semico working space. And the world is all about the network effect, and the more people that you can meet, integrate with, and really develop those connections will just help you grow your business and just the way in which you see the world. Right. So couldn’t agree more with that.
Tamar Turners Advice To Himself
0:37:29 Gordon Lamphere: Things are changing. I want to go back in time and say, okay, tomorrow, when you’re starting out when you were in, let’s say, let’s go back to high school. Because, you know, most folks we have on the podcast are a little bit older. You’ve seen tremendous success early in life but go back to high school. What kind of advice would you give a young you?
0:37:56 Tamar Turner: I would honestly say, man, just be patient and give grace. I feel like a lot of times, like, I had such high expectations and high hopes for myself, and I think we all do, in a sense, we’re our worst critics, but at the same time, we’re our worst critics, but I don’t always feel like we’re our biggest cheerleader. It is like we’re as much as we were quick, too, because I even did it with my first episode. I think about or even let’s take it back to high school, as you said. For sure. For sure. I think about things I did wrong immediately, but didn’t think about all the things I did right. Because I had to take one test to get into this high school, only certain people I went to an all-boys private high school, so only a certain population of people were allowed to be there. One, two.
0:38:42 Tamar Turner: We had to dress a certain way. We had to wear ties and slacks and everything like that. So it was really about presenting it and maturing myself into adulthood, things that I didn’t recognize at that. But then what? Where it really became surreal to me is when I went to East Carolina University, and a teacher posed a question to the class and said, how many of you all felt adequately prepared for college?
0:39:01 Tamar Turner: And honestly, I was one of three who raised their hand in, like, a 40-person class, and the one thing that everybody else had in common who didn’t raise their hand as they went to public school. So I didn’t think about things like that when I was in this private school when I was kicking it with my boys every day, playing football and all that. I was just really living in the moment. But I should have just been more patient, taken it all in, and given myself graces.
0:39:25 Tamar Turner: We all mess up. Nobody’s perfect. As you said, things happen, and things change. I would have never thought back in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, five years, ten years later, we’d be living how we’re living now. So I think to a young tomorrow man, I think for as ambitious, and how go get it, I was just slow down. The slow and steady wins the race. The tortoise and the hairs. It’s such a relatable story these days because it’s just like you don’t always have to be that young gunner. You don’t always have to just go get it or hop on every single opportunity.
0:39:55 Tamar Turner: Some things you have to let pass you by. Some things just aren’t for you. Some things you have to mess up that I don’t see, whereas I used to see L’s as just we got to stay away from that. We can’t be taking L’s now. I turn L is a lesson. It’s just I learned what not to do. I learned maybe what didn’t work at that moment. So I would definitely tell a young tomorrow, look, I love what you’re doing. I love what you got going on. You are doing your thing on the football field, but slow down.
0:40:18 Tamar Turner: Just slow down. Just have patience with yourself and give grace to yourself. Celebrate the small things and celebrate all the bad things just as much as you celebrate when life is gross.
Best Down 2 Business Books
0:40:27 Gordon Lamphere: Hey, you know what? Great lesson there. And regarding studying, one of the things that we always try to educate our listeners on the podcast is what’s a great real estate or business book that has taught you a lesson and influenced your career?
0:40:48 Tamar Turner: Real estate or business book? So the business route okay. That’s a good question. And I don’t know if this would be considered a business, but I’m going to throw it out there anyway. So there was a book, and honestly, I read it back in high school, and I still remember it’s called Freakonomics. So looking at it, looking at it from my perspective back then, I look at this book, I saw this book is about to be full of jokes like this. Look at the COVID, I believe, orange peel, and it’s half missing. In the middle is an apple or something,.
0:41:30 Tamar Turner: I started to really get into this book. I began to look at some of these because I’m the studies of a significant number like the proof is in the put-in type guy. So the fact that a lot of the things that I had never heard of, never researched, never really took time to, I guess, Google or even overlook it was like, wow, look at this, or look at how that was based on this. I feel like Freakonomics as a whole really taught me to just be more in-depth, and more intentional with things.
0:41:57 Tamar Turner: Don’t just say you know what you know, and you’re fine with knowing that. Be okay with learning, be a sponge to everything, to everything around you. And that’s part of the reason why, with the podcast, I don’t prepare things. I want to be a spun. I want people to ask me at my most recent live event, how did you do that? How did you sit there and talk to her for an hour, and you didn’t have anything in front of me? I said I had my ears. Thus, I listened to everything she said. I said I might have come in there wanting to talk about certain things, wanting to hit certain points, but I said when she said something, I knew there was a follow-up opportunity that went out the window. If it came back, it was meant to be. If it didn’t, it didn’t. So free economics taught me to go in-depth, to ask those questions, because that book got deep. It just pulled up study after study. It proved it here.
0:42:38 Tamar Turner: Some of the stuff was just common knowledge, but it was like, did you take that extra step, and did you really draw that connection? That was definitely a book, and I encourage everybody to read it in some capacity. It’s very long, but it’s one of those songs that keeps your attention because it’s so much happening that you’ll get it. But it taught me to soak everything up, to be okay with not knowing certain things, and to stand on what you do know. Because there were some times where, you know, I doubted my own knowledge, or something I don’t speak on or something that in my head, I knew it was right, but I wouldn’t say it, or I wouldn’t be outright with it and come to find out, that was it.
0:43:11 Tamar Turner: So freaking, that was something that I recommend. Now, real estate, I’m going to ask you, can you give me a suggestion for any books on real estate or where I should start? Because I think I’ve dabbled only a little into any real estate books.
0:43:23 Gordon Lamphere: So I would say in terms of real estate, one of the books that shaped me the most would be, as one would say, a real estate book. It’s the whole idea.
0:43:42 Gordon Lamphere: The E- Myth and the whole idea of how you use your time, how things are done right. That’s really the book that would really change my perspective on that. The other book is the number one book I am looking for, and I suggest every young person in real estate sales uses how to Win Friends and Influence People. It’s just a sales book. It’s a terrific book in terms of understanding how you talk to people and how you really understand how interpersonal communication works. And then, I have a book behind me that I’ve really enjoyed reading recently, which is one of the biggest things about real estate is the whole idea of negotiations. And there’s a guy, Chris Boss, who talks about negotiating, and it’s called Never Split the Difference.
0:44:39 Gordon Lamphere: Terrific book about understanding negotiations from an FBI hostage negotiator’s perspective. Look, there are a lot of real estate books, and I always hesitate to give an actual estate-oriented book because the real estate books I read for commercial and industrial real estate are so different than someone who’s in multifamily. And I don’t give somebody a book about industrial HVAC systems or how you syndicate a large industrial deal when they’re flipping houses.
0:45:12 Tamar Turner: Got you.
0:45:12 Gordon Lamphere: So I’d say those are the ones that I would throw at people, mainly how to Win Friends and Influence People. It’s as old a book as it comes, but it’s a goodie. I like that a lot.
0:45:23 Tamar Turner: Okay, I’m going to take both. I’m going to take both of those.
Tamar Turner’s Real Find
0:45:26 Gordon Lamphere: So the last one, I would say, is, and this is, I think, the most important one that we ask folks because, you know, a group of people that I don’t know, and the whole idea of the real finds podcast is to find people who have interesting knowledge and exciting perspectives on the world and help create that synergy, that network effect of reaching out and finding somebody new. So in terms of who you know, is there somebody you know influencing the real estate world that we should interview?
0:46:04 Tamar Turner: Oh, absolutely. I can give you about four, off the top of my head. The ones that have come on the podcast that I know are definitely making statements, and Stand, my boy Costar. He’s out of Charlotte right now. I talked to a gentleman. Khalil dance. So he’s actually based in Texas. He was born in North Carolina but does a lot more, so he has many Airbnb properties. He’s doing a lot in real estate, but I know that’s just his interest on both sides. And then a woman I’m actually about to tap in with this weekend, Eliza Paris is out of Charlotte real estate agent and things like that. And then because they aren’t here at WeWork Acropolis Realty group. So Acropolis actually started up in Syracuse, New York, but. They now have a team down here as well. And I’ve been able to meet each other because of Syracuse, but when I started to find out what they do and how things have worked, we’ve been able to have a happy hour with them here. I’ve been able to see their team, meet their team, and figure out what they do because, as I said, I’m very interested in getting involved in real estate in some capacity. You’ll surely be in good hands between a logical Kalil and Acropolis Realty group.
0:47:12 Gordon Lamphere: Great. Phenomenal to have you on the podcast. Where can people reach out to you or the down to Business podcast?
0:47:22 Tamar Turner: We’re on everything, so from YouTube to Anchor to Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google, wherever you get your podcast music, anything like that, you can find us at down, the number two in business. So sometimes people think it’s to or to. No, it’s number two. That’s one of my favorite numbers. So I kind of see. But yeah, we’re on Instagram. I’m on Facebook just tomorrow. Turner LinkedIn Twitter. Feel free to connect with me and reach out. But yes, you can definitely find down the business, any central platform, any streaming platform where you kind of get music or listen to the podcast yourself. So if anything stuck out today to anybody or you want to reach out or talk a little bit more, I would love to have you. As I said, I’m open to any and everybody.
0:48:04 Gordon Lamphere: Thanks again to Tamar Turner. We appreciate the insights he shared today. If you enjoyed the podcast, please give us a five-star rating or review your comments, interactions, and subscriptions matter for the podcast algorithm and help us continue to get guests our viewers want to listen to and learn from. You can follow us on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. I’m Gordon Lanfier with the real Finds Podcast. Thank you for listening.
