"Always say please and thank you."
"Maybe re-consider that plaid suit"
"Of course I'll come to your banjo recital!"
We all know mom knows best, but sometimes she knows more than we even realize.
She may have told us to mind our Ps and Qs when we were young. And she certainly never missed a hockey game or chess match. But her words of wisdom and support carry on through our adult lives too.
So, in honour of Mother's Day, we asked some respected men and women in the real estate industry to share stories of their moms' best advice — advice that has helped to shape and guide their careers.
Mimi Ng, Menkes
When I was in university, my mother bought an investment condo downtown. My father, who was conservative by nature, didn’t support the idea of buying an investment property at all. So she purchased the condo by herself with her own money. That was in 1996. And we didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the bottom of the market and actually the perfect time to buy as an investor. With that move, my mother taught me to be independent and trust my own instincts in real estate, and in life.
Simona Annibale, The Daniels Corporation
I’ll never forget what my mom said to me when I got my first job. She said, “Mona, save your money … Save it up and when you have enough for a down payment, buy yourself a home. You will never lose investing in real estate.” I’m so happy I listened to my mom, she’s a smart lady. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
Brian Brown, Lifetime Developments
“It’s not you I’m worried about ... it's everyone else around you.“
This was the standard phrase my mom would say to me anytime I left the house. At first, I took it for my mom just being over-protective. But over the years I started to understand that it meant so much more than that. While my mom trusted me to make the right decisions in life she knew that we could only control so much and after that it was up to the world around us. My Mom taught me to tread carefully in life, to look for the opportunities, to keep my eyes wide open at all times but most importantly to enjoy life and everything that it has to offer.
Funny enough, I now catch myself saying it to my own kids too.
Danny Roth, Publisher, Toronto Storeys
My mother’s earliest real estate lessons formed in me an appreciation for the importance of location, which was inevitable given the number of times she sent me to my room! She also helped me to recognize the unparallelled value of an ensuite, since we shared the upstairs bathroom when I was growing up. Finally, my mom instilled in me an appreciation for home staging, as she always insisted we clean the house before the cleaning lady arrived.
But most importantly, she instilled in me honesty, integrity and a sense of fairness — all vital to a life in real estate. I love you, Mom.
Barbara Lawlor, Baker Real Estate Incorporated
My mother always said, "Look after it and it will look after you." Sage advice!
Larry Blankenstein, Lash Group of Companies
My mother's influence ... Mmmm ...
Our house was run by two partners, my father running the family business and my mother ran the family.
She always had us there for dinner Friday nights. No exceptions.
She ran the household like a business.
She would never allow us to talk business at the dinner table.
She influenced me by being organized — especially raising four children.
Raising a family is like running a business. And she ran an efficient house.
She would also support me attending any special work events and site openings.
There wasn’t an opening she didn’t attend.
Babak Eslahjou, Core Architects Inc.
The education of all her kids was at the forefront of my mom’s goals. She always expected hard work and discipline from me. Most importantly, she was obsessed with organization and that is one of those assets architects aren’t really born with. So her three pillars of hard work, discipline and organization were very critical to the business end of my career. Without those three my creative side may not have been given the room to grow.
Peter Freed, Freed Developments
My mother was my first bookkeeper and gave me positive emotional support in the early days.
Blake Wyatt, Wyatt Development Group
She was always bringing me into work. She’d take the time to explain the creative process to me and allow me to see a design plan put into motion.
