Shauna Mattis, Senior Vice President, Retail Brokerage out of Los Angeles, leads client management and leasing services of retail space throughout Southern California. Her clients include REIT’s, developers, receivers, institutional and professional shopping center owners. Through her portfolio of properties, she has successfully completed leases with many of the active retail chain tenants in the industry.

Shauna looks at her career as another opportunity in her life to help others. At home she helps her family learn, be better students and community members and provides support to her husband and children, but her desire to help doesn’t stop there. She does the same thing at work with her peers and clients. From helping clients find the right tenants, and tenants find the right location – she uses her skills, passion and commitment to put together not just a deal, but the ‘right’ deal.

Many may wonder how she keeps up with her huge portfolio of business. “I’m a wife and mom first, and a broker second. But ultimately I multi task all day, every day. And this allows me to be efficient at work and at home,” she shares.

Being a mom and wife at home and having a certain amount of authority is one thing. Trying to be a mom at work without the built-in authority hasn’t always proven so successful.  So naturally, one of the challenges Shauna faces is framing her content properly and understanding her audience. Her goal is to change her message from “do as I say because I said so” to “here’s what I’m thinking, here’s what I’m hoping to achieve, and here’s how you can contribute – is this something you’re interested in doing?” She’s learned that framing her messages helps yield more collaboration, support and autonomy. (And, in case you are wondering, this challenge is a work in progress.)

A lesson learned early on in her career is the importance of honesty and integrity. “You have one chance to make a first impression and build a reputation and the minute you compromise yourself, you can never repair that,” Shauna states. Shauna was fortunate to work with someone early on in her career that urged honesty versus closing a deal. Instead she focuses on being fair, equitable, and honest – even sharing information openly with other brokers.  This approach to deal making has helped her cut to the chase and close more deals.

The deal Shauna is most proud of – which exemplifies her commitment to honesty and integrity – was The Mix at Harman Campus in North Hills, CA. The client purchased an industrial/office property and questioned if the addition of retail was something they should consider or not. Her experience in the trade area allowed her to properly identify the need for additional food and services to the market.  She convinced them to give her 90 days to prove her belief for the project.  At the end of the 90 day period, she was able to land a 37k sf LA Fitness deal and 2k sf Chipotle Mexican Grill. The client was convinced she was correct and doubled the balance of the food service spaces at the property.  To achieve 100% lease up prior to end of construction, she told Chipotle straight out that they could get a slightly reduced starting rent if she was able to use their name on her future marketing efforts.  They agreed and as a result, she was able to achieve overall starting rents almost 30% higher than anywhere else in the trade area and has completed leases with Jersey Mikes, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Waba Grill, Ahi Poki, The Pizza Press, T4 Tea For You, and DRNK/QWENCH.

Shauna’s advice to other women in the industry: “Be cognizant of your communication standards (verbal and nonverbal) and build a personal network of men and women. Although it’s valuable to have a network of women that you can bond with and help each other thrive, it’s also important to have a broad industry network containing leaders, mentors and peers that inspire you and help you gain inspiration from a variety of different perspectives.”