Over the course of the last five years with Lee & Associates, Mike Plumb has established himself as one of the top young industrial brokers in the Chicago market. Through his hard work and dedication to his profession, Mike has been able to grow his brokerage business to service not only the entrepreneurial users and owners throughout the greater Chicagoland area, but some of the largest institutional owners in the United States.
“As an undergrad in college I developed an interest in commercial real estate after completing an informational interview with a real estate broker from my hometown as part of a college project,” Plumb said, senior vice president at Lee & Associates. “From that point on, I was hooked. I like the strategy involved in the deal making process, the consultative approach on overcoming problems, and the ability to interact with the client on a face to face basis. Many of my clients and colleagues I also consider friends, which makes going to work every day enjoyable.”
A priority Plumb would like to accomplish this year is make principal at his firm. Yet his biggest accomplishment to date in his brokerage career is earning the trust and respect of numerous institutional owners, leasing officers and asset managers.
So how does a diligent, hard-working person like Plumb manage stress?
“By realizing that no broker closes every deal,” he said. “The more deals a broker has in the pipeline; the better off that broker will be, and ultimately the stress of each individual deal is diluted. After a dozen years in the business and surviving the recent recession, I have developed a thick skin.”
“I conduct business based on a Warren Buffet quote I read many years ago, ‘It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.’ So far this attitude and perspective has allowed me to stack success one deal at a time.”
His advice to new brokers entering commercial brokerage is find a mentor, and don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as possible.
“Every real estate “mistake” you encounter early in your career will be expensive; learn from those mistakes and don’t make them twice,” said Plumb. “Be the first in the office and the last to leave, because the harder you work the luckier you will be, and we all need a little luck to get these deals across the goal line.”
