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A
I've been in business 20 years and not one day did I have to look for a client. They found me. I started my company after having two challenging situations and, you know, some that could have been career changing or, you know, somebody that, you know, they would have had the situation that I had perhaps would have taken another direction or what have you. But I toughed it out. You have to dig deep and look inside and figure out what you want to do with your life and then have the courage to be able to pursue that.
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B
Cindy Serra is a resilient, strategic and visionary entrepreneur and the founder of CC Consulting. Through her work, she helps cities and commercial developers attract premium retail brands to revitalize urban spaces, creating a lasting legacy of purpose.
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A
I pursued a very large client and I decided if you're going to go, go big, right? I pursue them and, you know, secured them as a client and they were a client for eight years. We all have, you know, kind of things that we follow in our life, be it a saying or whatever. And my saying has always been there's so much power in believing it will all work out. And that's basically what I decided. It spans the globe like a super high cold Internet.
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B
Elvis Preston, five for free.
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A
Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win.
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B
The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has been.
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A
Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.
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B
Welcome to another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast, the Women in Power edition. For. For Inside Success, I am Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is Cindy Suarez Sierra. Sierra. That's right. I already messed that up. Went CC Consulting. Did I mess that up?
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A
Nope.
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B
Oh, thank God. It's Friday, so that's. I'm going to throw in my get out of jail card. How was your filming experience today?
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A
It was great. It was great. Kofi was wonderful. We walked through my path that I've taken. Right on the good news, the bad news, and everything in between. And it was. It was a great experience. I enjoyed it.
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B
I gotta ask, do you wanna start your story with the everything in between, or do you wanna start the bad news or the good news?
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A
Well, let's start with the good news.
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B
Right on.
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A
Let's do that. All right. So I've had my company now 20 years. I do retail consulting. So I'm a commercial broker. We have a commercial brokerage firm.
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B
Cool.
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A
And I do Retail consulting. So I have some clients I just consult with and I have a wonderful team. I've got great clients. I've been in business 20 years and not one day did I have to look for a client. They found me. So it's all good news. I guess if I had to pick. The bad news or whatever is I started my company after having two challenging situations and, you know, some that could have been career changing or, you know, somebody that, you know, they would have had the situation that I had perhaps would have taken another direction or what have you. But I toughed it out. I toughed it out when my daughter was an infant. And, you know, I just, I saw success on the other side and I was. And I've been. In fact, in my interview, I said, you know, you have to dig deep and look inside and figure out what you want to do with your life and then. And have the courage to be able to pursue that.
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B
Some folks turn struggle and pain into a motivation and turn that energy into a purpose without saying much too much, because you've said a lot without saying much, which is great. Sales type picture talk about how you use that energy and turned it into the person you are today versus someone that goes, oh, I can't, I've struggled. And dude, like, the pain, the line of pain starts around the corner. Like, you know what I mean?
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A
Yeah. Well, I mean, when we have situations that are tough, I mean, we can deal with it in one or two ways. I mean, we can let you get the better best of us or we can turn it into a positive. And I was just. I grew up with a family, with a dad that was in sales for a cargo airline. And. But he, he had a hard time weathering the economy, the highs and lows. And so as a result, my family frequently studied, suffered financially. And so this just made me just feel so, I don't know, like I just had to find a path in which I was successful and stable and sound and I was going to be successful. I just made up my mind I was going to do it. And so that's the path I took. And we all have, you know, kind of things that we follow in our life, be it a saying or whatever. And my saying has always been there's so much power in believing it will all work out. And that's basically what I decided. And I pursued a very large client, which would have been my first client, and big company, billion dollar company. And I just thought, if you're gonna go, go big, right?
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B
Wow.
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A
So I pursued them and, you know, secured them as a client, and they were a client for eight years, and we did some really amazing things, and I had a lot of other clients jump on board, and it's been a wonderful ride for 20 years. And so it's an exciting journey. But if I would have gotten caught up in the beginning with some of the roadblocks that I had, I would never have seen the success that I've had or never have had the experience that I've had. So for people who have either trying to figure out if they want to start a company or perhaps have had setbacks in their life and don't know what direction to take, I'm like, believe in yourself. And, you know, it's. It's up to you. You know, you have the choice.
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B
I always found that folks can always get behind a story, and then that story transcends into a brand, and then that brand becomes a village, which then becomes a legion. So there's a sense, definitely an ascension, but it's. This is, it's, you know, Apple has finet that tune, that, that, that voice. And, you know, their, Their products are essentially like bullhorns. You know, I'm an Apple fan. You got folks like me that have Apple tattoo.
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A
Yeah.
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B
But it's more about the culture and, you know, like, you know, I, but my fishing rod was an Apple computer. You catch my meaning? You know, and I, like, I've learned how to fish because of Apple.
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A
Right.
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B
So I, I have my personal struggles and, and, and yada, yada, yada, which is what makes us, like, the reason why we're sitting here.
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A
Sure.
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B
What are we to learn about you and your episode specifically?
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A
Well, I think, you know, I, you know, the, the setbacks I had. I had two. The first one, I had a guy. I became a vice president at a very young age. I was 30. And I had a lot of success behind it, and I became a vice president because of the successes I had. But the company hired a counterpart for me, and that counterpart, boy, he didn't like me for whatever reason.
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B
Aren't you D2.
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A
He did not like the fact, I think I was on the executive committee. I was, I'd been successful. I was, you know, the company admired me and respected me, and I think he wanted to be, you know, probably the king of all. And. And he started these really unbelievable emails. Like, just really all started, like, as bully, and they just progressed to totally inappropriate toxicity. It was unbelievable. I mean, it was just like, you know, and at the end of the day, I didn't know how to deal with it. Just didn't know. I was young, I didn't know how to deal with it. So I got legal advice and I told the ownership. I got legal advice and the minute I did that, I was fired, of course.
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B
And was there an HR person? Was this boring? HR was a thing?
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A
No, it was, HR was involved in whatever and, but particularly the company.
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B
Not even you?
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A
Yeah, I mean, it was, it was their, you know, they wanted this other guy and I to work together and they were going to protect this guy.
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B
Sure.
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A
It taught me a lot of things. It taught me politics. It taught me, you know, corporate drama. Not all the good things happen to good working people and so bad things need to happen.
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B
The good people understand and learn and grow.
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A
So you. Absolutely.
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B
Only the good people understand the value of what just happened to them as, as a person versus a villain. That's like, oh, is woe is me doesn't want to stand.
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A
I could have done that, right. And I would have gotten me anywhere. And so I took another job with, you know, I'm based out of, you know, in the Detroit area and I took a job with the vice president of retail for the city of Detroit for Detroit Economic Club. And next thing I know, in the newspapers, I mean, literally weeks after I accepted this position, it started talking about the illegal dealings in real estate in this department. And I just, you know, so I went from the fire frying pan into the fire and went, oh my God, what I do not again. And within a very short period of time. And so, you know, you really, at that point in time, I was like, oh my God, you know what, you know, am I going to, is my name going to be mud in the industry or, you know, how do I rebrand myself? How do I come out of this? And you know, you just have to try to figure it out. You have to set your goals and objectives. And I just, I, maybe I was just undetermined. So, you know, I wasn't going to let you know, some idiot or illegal dealings, you know, hold me back. And so I did. And I'm glad I did. I'm glad I didn't decide to go into another field or be a stay at home mom. My daughter was very young at the time and toughed it out, but, but that's what you got to do. You know, if you're successful, you, you know, you have set that part of, part of what happens.
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B
When I think of like retail spaces and like commercial spaces, I think of cities like Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami is just now catching up. I feel like Miami is like a Vegas with a, with a hybrid of la. But when I think of big retail, I think of like, you know, the mad men of the world. And I know that's a very ancient, very old, old archaic way of doing any sort of business. But I think of like these big gothic looking retail spaces now. Everything's so sterile in Amazon and in cardboard boxes. How is the landscape right now when it comes to your work and how have you seen it evolved? Has it degraded? Has it gone better? Like how's business?
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A
Well, I'll tell you what the good news is, there will always be retailers because retail is that kind of a thing. It's an experience. You go to a store you want to experience. So there'll always be new retailers. The good news about it, yes, there's Amazon. People are shopping online. There's all those reasons, you know, why it has evolved. But the good news is for everyone that shops online, there is another retailer coming to the forefront. And there's a lot of really exciting retailers that are coming that you're starting to see come evolve in really ad locations in the United States. Some are from overseas, some are local, are United States based. But it's happening. And I think you're seeing what I think is very exciting. You're seeing some retailers that are concerned about the fabric, where it comes from, it's sustainable.
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B
Yep.
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A
They're concerned about, you know, that it's not child labor putting it together. And I mean you're seeing these really ethical, environmental friendly companies coming to the forefront and going into great properties. And like in one other thing you mentioned, you mentioned about malls, the malls, there are too many malls in this country. We were too over mall. And so what happened is, you know, the BMOLs or the sea malls are going away, being repurposed. Many times you see residential becoming part of it or you see office becoming part of it. They're evolving. But the E malls are more successful than they ever have been.
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B
Really.
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A
I mean I think in the Miami area you're seeing like Dave hopping. That's like. And they're going to be in and
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B
that's the real money.
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A
They're going to be. They get the latest and greatest retail. I mean you've got Miami Design Center. I mean there's just killing it.
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B
I mean there's just Brickle center is killing it.
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A
List of people that want to be there. There's Brickell. I mean it is Miami is a good example of all those retailers that are looking for a location and they're selecting Miami.
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B
Now is this, do you find this being like a seasonal thing where like you know, come in for five years and you move out almost like a nightclub? Or do you, are there like, are they here like for, for decades? Because I almost feel like when you just said, what you just said is so sustainable for, sustainable for just a few years because the way the human psychology moves so quickly now, I feel like we're going to move on to something bigger and greater.
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A
Well, I mean retail does run its course depending upon the brand. So that does happen. But I think, you know, the retailers are investing. I don't think anybody says we're going to go in for five years. Sure it is too expensive. If you're going to grow a brand and you're going to create, you know, go into multiple locations at your side can tell you landlords aren't signing two year leases. That's not going to happen. They're signing five, 10 or older or more. Um, so everyone goes in with the idea that they're going to be around for a while. And you look at some of the brands that have been around some a hundred years or more. But I think that the good news is there's so many new brands. More than probably any time in my career. You're just seeing so many brands. I mean it's just, it's so exciting because there's so many and now you know, they're going to social media and you're seeing, you know, all the different, you know, the different brands are starting to really break into different. Are seeing a lot of overseas companies that have been successful in many, you know, for many years in their country not coming to the US you're seeing a lot of this and, and I think you know the, the beauty of retail is it can coincide social media and buying online in brick and mortar stores they all can co create, you know, they're, they can all coexist. But you know there's a purpose for each one. And I think our lives, you look at it, I'm sure you shop online from time to time. I'm sure you go to stores from time to time. I'm sure you, you know that's, and that's how we are.
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B
I go to, I go to Target and get a coffee. Well because we have a Starbucks There you go. And then I just kind of walk around. It's like an hour of just like look at colors, look at things, get a dopamine high just like to toy section or Looking at Lagos, it's a good example.
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A
They like to put the latest and greatest, you know, so.
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B
And Best Buys evolved as well.
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A
Yep.
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B
Yeah, they've come a long way.
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A
I was like, huh, it's another great example. You look at Stor stores that are like Kohl's, you know, they put Sephora stores in there, you know, and. And then all of a sudden, like, Sephora is doing a billion dollars of business in little temporary stores.
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B
Sure.
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A
So, you know, retail always evolves and that's what makes it exciting and fun.
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B
Yeah. Remember Circuit City or the, the megatons? Like, what was that incredible universe or whatever they built it down here in Miami?
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A
That's right. Yeah. You look at, you know, just in. A lot of it has to do with our technology. I have to like, remember how many Blockbuster stores were there?
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B
Oh, God. And everyone's kind of like dying to
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A
find new ones upon thousands. Exactly.
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Nostalgia.
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A
And all of a sudden, like, we didn't rent videos anymore.
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B
Yeah, yeah.
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A
Like, oh, we can stream or we can, you know, whatever. So you see that, you know, retailers changing based on, you know, what's going on in technology. But there's still, I mean, for every one of those Blockbuster stores, there's somebody else in the store now.
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B
Oh, for sure. That's for sure. And it's cool because to your point that Blockbuster, when you think of Blockbuster, you think of retail, but then you also think about the experience to candy, the walking through the aisles and the whole vibe. It's like, if there's a way to like put that feeling and monetize it, then yeah, for sure. Like a Blockbuster Papa would do really, really well, I believe, and just be like, here's a nostalgia in the end.
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A
Exactly.
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B
Just go through it and just come in.
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A
Oh, that was cool.
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B
That's what dad keeps talking about. Whatever, whatever, whatever. What's the future for you? Like, what is your next big leap?
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A
Well, it's kind of exciting. I'm getting into different areas of retail and different venues.
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B
Cool.
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A
So I just signed a contract with a company that is going to do. I'm going to do retail in their convention centers. Nice. So, you know, you're going to have all new people. It's not going to be a mall, it's not going to be a city. It's not going to be a misused development. It's a convention center. So different need. So I'm doing that and I. So I'm. I work in multiple states across the country, but I want to continue because my brand, my company is more valuable when I can say to XYZ retailer, you should go here and here and here and here and here. And I have clients in those areas. And so that's what I want to continue to expand just geographically for myself.
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B
Wow. What's your day to day hustle? Like how can folks, you know, discover about you, your journey? Do you have a book? Do you start writing a book?
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A
Maybe I should start writing a book.
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B
You really should.
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A
I mean I think, you know, it's, it's funny in my industry a lot there's LinkedIn is where you find out about, you know, like changes in, you know, just in, you know, that's always changing and who doesn't change the head of real estate, you know, move for here or there. So LinkedIn is really important. And LinkedIn I have my corporate page and I have my personal page. So LinkedIn is important. But I think, you know, Facebook pages and Instagram, I mean it's, we all know we're all on all those venues and but that's important, you know, to find it. And then you can always go to my website which is, you know. CCC consultgroup.com consult group.consult ccc consult group.com well, very cool.
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B
Well, I hope you enjoyed your lovely Friday work with a friend.
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A
I did. This is wonderful.
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B
And Kofi is wonderful as well.
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A
It's been great deal us@.com again cc consultgroup.com great.
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B
I just want to make sure you end like a nice estimate. That concludes yet another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast. That Women in Power edition For Inside Success. I am Riga Tears.