Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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, that they would have had the situation that I had perhaps would have taken another direction or what have you. But I toughed it out.
Chapter 2: What challenges did Cindy face before starting her business?
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. 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.
I pursued a very large client and I just thought, if you're going to go, go big, right? So I pursued them and, you know, secure them as a client. And they were client for eight years. We all have, you know, kind of things that we found 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 school internet elvis ready today apple is going to reinvent the phone it's not over until i win the living your legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary the impossible oh that is sensational Welcome to another episode of the Living Your Legacy podcast, the Women in Power edition.
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.
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Chapter 3: How did Cindy turn adversity into opportunity?
Did I mess that up?
No.
Oh, thank God. It's Friday. So that's it. I'm going to throw in my get out of jail card. How was your filming experience today?
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 a great experience. I enjoyed it.
I got to ask, do you want to start your story with the everything in between, or do you want to start with the bad news or the good news?
Well, let's start with the good news. Right on. Let's do that. All right. So I've had my company now 20 years. Right on.
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Chapter 4: What strategies helped Cindy secure major clients?
I do retail consulting, so I'm a commercial broker. We have a commercial brokerage firm.
Cool.
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, yeah. I saw success on the other side.
Chapter 5: How has the retail landscape evolved over the years?
In fact, in my interview, I said, you have to dig deep and look inside and figure out what you want to do with your life and have the courage to be able to pursue that.
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. 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?
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 it get the 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 going to go, go big. Right.
So I pursue them and, you know, secure them as a client. And they were client for eight years. And we did some really amazing things. And I had, you know, 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 experiences. that I've had.
So, you know, for people who have either, you know, trying to figure out if they want to start a new company or perhaps have had setbacks in their life and don't know what direction to take, I'm like, you know, believe in yourself. And, you know, it's up to you. You know, you have the choice.
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Chapter 6: What role does belief and mindset play in business success?
You've got folks like me that have... Apple tattoo. Yeah. But it's more about the culture and, you know, like, you know, my fishing rod was an Apple computer, if you catch my meaning, you know, and I feel like I've learned how to fish because I'm Apple. Right. So I have my personal struggles and yada, yada, yada, which is what makes us like the reason why we're sitting here. Sure.
What are we to learn about you and your episode specifically?
Well, I think, you know, I, you know, 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 he 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. Right.
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. 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. I 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. And was there an HR person? Was this why HR was a thing?
No, it was HR was involved in whatever.
Particularly the company, not even you.
Yeah, I mean, it was their, you know, they wanted this other guy and I to work together, and they were going to protect this guy. It taught me a lot of things. It taught me politics. It taught me, you know, not all good things happen to good working people.
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Chapter 7: How did economic changes impact Cindy's consulting business?
And only the good people understand the value of what just happened to them versus a villain that's like,
Oh, woe is me. I could have done that, right? And it would have gotten me anywhere. And so I took another job with, you know, I'm based out of, you know, the Detroit area. And I took a job with the vice president of retail for the city of Detroit, for Detroit Economic Club. And the 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 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 some determined. And 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 that's what you got to do. If you're successful, you have something. That's part of what happens.
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 very much like a Vegas with a hybrid of L.A. 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, right? 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?
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 experience. So there will 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 you're starting to see evolve and really add locations in the United States. Some are from overseas. Some are local or United States-based. But it's happening. And I think you're seeing what I think is very exciting.
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