Erika Bjork has been an associate at Cushman & Wakefield since June 2009. Before that, she was in the engineering industry for 12 years with two locally owned companies, Ellis & Associates and Connelly & Wicker Civil Engineers. She was responsible for business development and marketing in those organizations.
Getting in the business
Bjork left Ellis and Associates at the end of 2008 and had some time to reflect on what it was she wanted to do with the balance of her career.
“I’ve always had a passion for real estate, whether it was commercial or residential development.”
In the 1990’s, Bjork worked in property management for Arvida and then decided to get her real estate license, but after working in the engineering field for so long, she let it lapse.
At the end of 2009, she decided get her real estate license again and get back into real estate.
Her new job
As a six-time board member of the local chapter of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, Bjork worked very closely with the commercial real estate industry. Through those relationships, she met Buddy Register and Bob Retherford of Cushman and Wakefield, who had made a transaction which allowed Cushman and Wakefield to create a corporate office in Jacksonville. Register and Retherford were looking for someone with longevity to cultivate the office brokerage team at the corporate office and Bjork was a perfect fit.
Her specialty
Bjork specializes in office leasing and sales.
Her progress
“I’m optimistic. I think we will be stuck where we are for the balance of this year but we will see a little more activity in 2011. While my predecessors left the business in the last two years, I see it as an opportunity. There are still lease transactions that need to happen. There are not a whole lot of sales transactions on my level. People are looking for deals, but I am focusing on leasing at this point.”
Her mentors
Bjork works closely with two senior directors, Register and Retherford. “They are my partners in the office brokerage services. Here at Cushman and Wakefield, we operate as a team, such that their deals are my deals and my deals are their deals. I’m essentially the junior partner in that group. Buddy and Bob have worked together for 30 years.”
What she likes
“The flexibility and the freelance style of doing business and the ability to truly get out of it what you put into it.”
Woman in a man’s world?
“Ultimately the clients that I work with respect what I bring to the table regardless of gender. With respect to working in a man’s world, I came out of that in the engineering industry, which is predominately male. I think I learned through my associations that I’ve always played better with guys.
“I was a bit of a tomboy when I was a girl. I have a keen interest in the more competitive aspects of business, which is what attracts me to this industry. I think that the fact that I am female and choose to capitalize on those components that make us uniquely different than the male population is important. I have an intuitive nature. I think I am compassionate. I think I can hear, see and read body language a bit differently perhaps. I think there are a lot of reasons that I can capitalize on the fact that I am a female in a man’s business.”
Bringing to the table
“I already had the network that opened the doors and continues to open the doors through business development in the engineering community. Some of the professional relationships that I was able to develop with key developers here in town are now people who have properties that I bring my prospects to, so the relationship kind of smoothes the way for the negotiation process because there is a level of confidence and respect for one another because we are already acquainted. I think that has served me very well. Over and above my experience, I was born and raised in Jacksonville, so I’ve been able to call on others that I grew up with or I’ve know through the years on my meandering career path which helps to open up doors as well.”
Professional organizations
Bjork is involved in NAIOP, the Associated Builders and Contractors Women’s Council and Chamber’s Cornerstone initiative.
Best professional advice
“It is about production. You have to be regimented to be a producer. I’m not waiting for the phone to ring. My consciousness has come to be about production. It’s about marking your calendar when you are going to set aside those hours in order to make those calls. Set a benchmark for yourself and follow through with your plan.”
Lessons learned
“Perseverance.” Bjork said to apply yourself day in and day out and don’t take no for an answer. She said if you do get a definitive no, keep moving on.
“Pick up the pieces and just keep on moving on because there is another opportunity out there to work with someone and help them secure what it is that they are looking for and help them grow their business.”
Advice to a new agent
“Be an avid reader and observer of what is really going on in the industry. Don’t just look at what is going on in your backyard. Get plugged into what is happening with the financial institutions, mortgage markets and industry trends. The more versatile you are on all these subject matters will give you an opportunity to really identify with your client.”
Family
Bjork, whose name and descent is Finnish, is a single mom to Shelia, 17.
- by Michele Gillis