Latest / Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam / A Coffee with Bronwyn Scrivens, SIOR from JLL Canada

Transcript

A Coffee with Bronwyn Scrivens, SIOR from JLL Canada · Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam

• 0:14
  Well, hello, everybody, it's Cam here from the ABA Coffee In The Park.
• 0:18
  And I am here today with my co-host extraordinaire, Jennifer Herrick, the Executive Director of the Acheson Business Association.
• 0:26
  Hello, Jennifer.
• 0:27
  Hi, Cam, how are you today?
• 0:29
  If I was any better, it's one of those kind of misty, snowy kind of days.
• 0:34
  Kind of awesome, I really like it.
• 0:35
  It is, but it does mean winter is almost here.
• 0:38
  It does mean winter is on its way.
• 0:39
  But we are in a beautiful spot in the Wall Coffee Roasters in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson.
• 0:47
  So if you hear some noise in the background, maybe a coffee thing purring or a kid screaming or whatever it might be, it's because we're doing it with a whole bunch of people.
• 0:54
  Cam, I have some exciting news to share from the Wall Coffee Roasters.
• 0:57
  Okay, is this Christmas news?
• 0:58
  It is Christmas news.
• 0:59
  I'm excited.
• 1:00
  Give it to us.
• 1:01
  New holiday drinks dop tomorrow! Holiday drinks.
• 1:05
  And do we know what they are?
• 1:06
  We sure do.
• 1:07
  So come on down to the Wall Coffee Roasters and experience the Peppermint Mocha.
• 1:12
  Oh, Peppermint Mocha.
• 1:13
  The Eggnog Chai or Latte with real eggnog this year.
• 1:17
  I know, not that syrup stuff.
• 1:18
  This is the real deal from eggs.
• 1:21
  Yes, eggnog from eggs.
• 1:23
  This is awesome.
• 1:24
  And new this year on the menu, a gingerbread latte.
• 1:28
  Gingerbread.
• 1:28
  Oh, like a little gingerbread man type thing.
• 1:31
  Well, I don't know.
• 1:32
  Oh, cool.
• 1:33
  Talk to Michael about that.
• 1:34
  Yeah.
• 1:34
  And is there another one?
• 1:35
  Well, that's it.
• 1:36
  Well, that's it.
• 1:37
  I was all excited.
• 1:38
  I thought there was more.
• 1:40
  It's great.
• 1:40
  Yeah, it's awesome.
• 1:41
  Michael has expanded his holiday menu.
• 1:43
  That's right.
• 1:44
  You need to come down to the wall coffee roasters.
• 1:45
  By the way, a lot of people don't know this, but they are open on Saturday from, I think from nine to three.
• 1:52
  Yes.
• 1:52
  If that's what if I understand.
• 1:54
  And so yeah, so if you can't come during the week and you want to come to beautiful downtown Acheson on a Saturday, nine to three, sit, enjoy one of these new flavored lattes.
• 2:02
  It's awesome.
• 2:03
  Jennifer, tell us about some very important people to this podcast.
• 2:06
  First, Cam, we would like to thank our gold corporate sponsors, which include the MyShak group of companies, Genics and Parkland County.
• 2:11
  We want to thank these individual businesses for all that they do and their continued support of the Acheson Business Association.
• 2:17
  Yes.
• 2:18
  Thank you, everybody.
• 2:19
  Because without you, we would not be able to do this.
• 2:22
  So we thank you very much.
• 2:23
  And Jennifer, I'm very excited today about our guests.
• 2:26
  This is awesome.
• 2:27
  I've been waiting for this one.
• 2:28
  This is good.
• 2:29
  Introduce our guests.
• 2:30
  Our guest today.
• 2:32
  Guest.
• 2:33
  I was in the plural there for a second.
• 2:35
  We only have one guest.
• 2:36
  We have one guest.
• 2:36
  Yeah.
• 2:38
  Our guest today is Bronwyn Scrivens.
• 2:40
  So Bronwyn is the current vice president of JLL, which is real estate for anybody that does not know that, and she'll get into that.
• 2:49
  She was a Women in Leadership nominee at our awards gala this year.
• 2:53
  Is that true?
• 2:53
  It is true.
• 2:54
  Wow.
• 2:55
  I forgot that.
• 2:56
  That's awesome.
• 2:57
  I tell you, she's got a long list of awards to her name.
• 3:00
  Okay.
• 3:01
  Yeah.
• 3:01
  So she's good.
• 3:02
  She's a mover and a shaker.
• 3:03
  She's a mover and a shaker.
• 3:04
  Yeah.
• 3:05
  So hey.
• 3:06
  Welcome Bronwyn.
• 3:07
  Thank you for having me, guys.
• 3:08
  Good to have you.
• 3:09
  We're excited about this.
• 3:10
  This is awesome.
• 3:11
  I feel like you might be excited about most things.
• 3:14
  Well.
• 3:15
  I get that vibe.
• 3:16
  Not some things, but other than that, everything else is really pretty good.
• 3:19
  So it's good.
• 3:20
  Yeah.
• 3:20
  Great way to live.
• 3:21
  Thank you for being with us today.
• 3:22
  We appreciate it.
• 3:23
  We sure do.
• 3:24
  Yeah.
• 3:24
  All right.
• 3:25
  Let's kick it off.
• 3:26
  Bronwyn, tell us about yourself and where you grew up.
• 3:30
  So I am one of the people like many in Acheson that grew up in Spruce Grove I am a glorified Acheson folk, I guess.
• 3:40
  Achesonite.
• 3:42
  We coined it.
• 3:43
  Jennifer coined this.
• 3:43
  Okay, I did.
• 3:44
  You're an Achesonite.
• 3:47
  And once the condos get built in beautiful downtown Acheson, you could move here.
• 3:51
  That'll never happen.
• 3:51
  Is it going to be a rooftop patio?
• 3:53
  Yeah, that's it.
• 3:54
  We'll give you the penthouse suite.
• 3:56
  You can overlook the industrial park.
• 3:58
  That's actually what I would love to do is overlook all the people I'm going to be cold-calling.
• 4:02
  That's right.
• 4:02
  Like, where am I stopping next?
• 4:07
  So I grew up in Spruce Grove I have two brothers, two older brothers, one of which people probably know from, if you're a hockey fan, one of my brothers is named Ben Scrivens.
• 4:17
  Yes.
• 4:19
  He was here during a very dark, dark, dark, dark time.
• 4:22
  He played for the Edmonton Oilers.
• 4:26
  For those who are Edmonton.
• 4:27
  You don't like to bring it up.
• 4:29
  Yeah, I know.
• 4:30
  It's okay.
• 4:31
  It was a mourning period, but we came out of it.
• 4:33
  But he was a great player.
• 4:34
  He was a goalie.
• 4:35
  We like to think he was on the team that took us out of that.
• 4:39
  That's right.
• 4:41
  He was a builder.
• 4:42
  That's what he was.
• 4:42
  He was a builder.
• 4:43
  A foundation guy.
• 4:45
  Totally.
• 4:47
  There's always a positive for everything.
• 4:48
  Yeah.
• 4:49
  And I have one other brother named Adam.
• 4:51
  He was down in Calgary now, and he's a lawyer.
• 4:52
  And my folks are out in Spruce Grove still.
• 4:56
  So yeah, I take the highways between Edmonton and Spruce Grove, and I pass Acheson a lot.
• 5:01
  Right on.
• 5:02
  Right.
• 5:02
  I love to go through it.
• 5:03
  And now I can come to the wall and have coffees on the way.
• 5:06
  So do you take Highway 16 or 16A?
• 5:11
  I'm only asking because 16A is a mess.
• 5:13
  That's really beginning to bother me.
• 5:15
  Unless I have a reason to take 16A, I'm a 16 I know.
• 5:18
  It's just bothering me.
• 5:20
  Anyway, that's a whole other podcast.
• 5:21
  That's a whole other podcast.
• 5:22
  Sorry to interrupt, but that's a pet bee.
• 5:24
  So you were in Spruce Grove.
• 5:26
  Which high school did you go to?
• 5:28
  I went to the one that was not Catholic.
• 5:32
  So the comp.
• 5:35
  How quickly we forget what high school we went to.
• 5:38
  There was only two.
• 5:39
  There was a Catholic one and a non-Catholic one.
• 5:42
  Names don't matter, Catholic or not.
• 5:44
  I didn't have to take religious studies.
• 5:47
  I went to the comp.
• 5:48
  I grew up there.
• 5:49
  I went to University U of A for two years, the school of business.
• 5:54
  And then I decided that I needed to venture outside of Edmonton and go abroad and I finished my degree in New York State at Cornell.
• 6:02
  Okay.
• 6:03
  At Cornell?
• 6:04
  Yes.
• 6:05
  Okay.
• 6:06
  Cornell.
• 6:06
  There's some very famous alumni from Cornell.
• 6:08
  There are.
• 6:08
  No, there is.
• 6:09
  Yes, I agree.
• 6:10
  There's Andy from The Office.
• 6:13
  Actually, that's the only one I know.
• 6:15
  Yeah, that's the only one most people know.
• 6:17
  He's a, he's a, yeah, well, we allow him.
• 6:20
  Yeah.
• 6:20
  But that's pretty cool.
• 6:21
  But Ivy League School?
• 6:22
  Yeah, that's pretty cool.
• 6:23
  Bill Nye, the science guy, is a graduate of Cornell.
• 6:25
  I didn't know that.
• 6:26
  So that I know too.
• 6:27
  Okay.
• 6:27
  Oh, Bill Nye.
• 6:28
  See, these podcasts for me are learning.
• 6:30
  You learn a lot, don't you?
• 6:31
  I walk away going, this is amazing.
• 6:32
  Exactly.
• 6:33
  Anyway, so Bill Nye and Andy from The Office.
• 6:37
  But that's pretty impressive for now.
• 6:39
  It is.
• 6:40
  All joking aside, that's pretty cool.
• 6:41
  I took a business degree there.
• 6:43
  Essentially, I finished my business degree.
• 6:45
  I had a focus on it.
• 6:47
  But I had a major in commercial real estate studies.
• 6:50
  So I knew I wanted to work in commercial real estate.
• 6:53
  I just didn't know in what capacity.
• 6:56
  Ended up coming back to Edmonton because I had an opportunity to get into, I wouldn't recommend it, but I got into banking.
• 7:04
  Okay, we've had some bankers on the line.
• 7:07
  We've had a few guests and they all say the same thing.
• 7:12
  I'm now a garbage man, but I was in banking.
• 7:14
  Much better now.
• 7:17
  No, it was commercial real estate financing, and I was like, okay, well, at least it's in the right field.
• 7:22
  I was quite confident I was not going to like it.
• 7:26
  I was correct.
• 7:26
  I did not like it.
• 7:27
  How many years did you do that?
• 7:29
  As minimal as possible, one year.
• 7:31
  Just enough to get some on my resume.
• 7:32
  Yeah, just figured it out.
• 7:33
  Okay, you don't want to name the bank, do you?
• 7:36
  No, it doesn't matter.
• 7:37
  Don't name the bank.
• 7:38
  No, no, no.
• 7:39
  We don't have lawyers in case we get sued.
• 7:41
  Yeah, no slandering, right?
• 7:43
  No.
• 7:43
  It was more just like the nine to five structure of it.
• 7:46
  Like be in your desk between these hours, don't leave.
• 7:49
  Like it honestly felt like if I worked my butt off for two hours or 12 hours, it didn't matter.
• 7:56
  So that was very unmotivating as a young, recent college grad that felt like I could take on the world, blah, blah, blah.
• 8:03
  So what did I do?
• 8:04
  I went traveling.
• 8:05
  Traveling is good.
• 8:07
  This is good.
• 8:07
  This is yeah.
• 8:09
  Like every young, 20 year old.
• 8:11
  Totally.
• 8:11
  Yeah.
• 8:12
  Ex-banker.
• 8:12
  Yes, ex-banker.
• 8:14
  Exactly.
• 8:15
  Trying to find themselves really.
• 8:16
  Where did you travel?
• 8:17
  Where did you go?
• 8:18
  I took, I got actually, I was able to go for about nine months.
• 8:22
  I went to Southeast Asia.
• 8:24
  So I did like Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, that kind of spiel.
• 8:29
  I did Australia, New Zealand.
• 8:31
  And then I randomly did a tiny bit of Eastern Europe, like in Belarus.
• 8:36
  Right.
• 8:37
  It's just a super random place to go.
• 8:39
  Not too many people traveling to Belarus.
• 8:41
  Europe's wide open.
• 8:42
  And Belarus, okay.
• 8:45
  Random, yeah.
• 8:47
  Crazy story is I actually, so I went to go watch my brother.
• 8:51
  He was in like the IHF World Hockey Cup.
• 8:54
  Oh yeah, okay.
• 8:54
  I was planning for Canada and it was in Belarus that year, and I wasn't working, so I had time.
• 8:59
  And I took a flight from Australia to Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam, into Belarus, and then back home the same way.
• 9:08
  But the flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur was the same flight, literally the same flight that 30 days later got blown out of the sky.
• 9:18
  Do you remember when the Russians slash Ukrainian GED, it was the Russians, I'm pretty sure, but blew the flight out of the sky with a passenger jet.
• 9:27
  It was the exact same flight 30 days later.
• 9:31
  I was like, that's actually insane.
• 9:34
  Okay.
• 9:35
  So anyways, back to Canada.
• 9:40
  I'm not even sure what to say about all that, other than I'm glad it wasn't 30 days later, or you wouldn't be here.
• 9:46
  Yeah, that's fantastic.
• 9:48
  Wow.
• 9:48
  Yeah, great.
• 9:49
  It was great.
• 9:49
  I didn't die that day.
• 9:50
  Yeah, no kidding.
• 9:52
  So anyway, I came back, and I knew I still wanted to work in commercial real estate.
• 9:56
  So I started kind of investigating options and was able to meet some people that worked at one of the commercial firms in Edmonton and got hired there.
• 10:06
  So I ended up going straight into industrial real estate, kind of by fluke.
• 10:11
  That's where there was an opportunity to work on one of the teams.
• 10:15
  But it was the best fluke that could have ever happened.
• 10:18
  Sometimes they say it's luck or hard work or a little bit of both.
• 10:22
  Or fate.
• 10:23
  So being an industrial has been the best thing ever.
• 10:26
  So basically what I do is I help businesses, industrial businesses to find the perfect functional buildings for their operations so they can grow their revenues, so they can expand, they can scale, they can shrink if they need to, if they need to get equity out so owners can retire.
• 10:43
  Whatever their business strategy is, the best thing about industrial, well, the reason I love it is, A, it's actually the most interesting thing in the world.
• 10:52
  The same reason you guys love doing these podcasts.
• 10:55
  I get to go view the operations of these businesses, many of which are in Acheson Industrial Park, and most people just drive up the highways like we're talking about, right?
• 11:06
  They have no idea.
• 11:07
  They have no idea what's actually going on behind the four walls of the manufacturing facility or the distribution center or the, you know, any number of operations.
• 11:18
  Well, for us, you know what?
• 11:19
  We always say that Acheson is the best kept secret, that people have no idea the businesses that are here.
• 11:25
  And what they do.
• 11:26
  And what they do.
• 11:27
  I mean, we've got the Amazon, you know, that's everybody knows, and the Champion Pet Food.
• 11:32
  That's really cool.
• 11:33
  But Acheson is full of these amazing businesses.
• 11:36
  Nobody has any idea.
• 11:38
  It's incredible.
• 11:39
  Well, part of the reason nobody has any idea, and this is, I would say, even broader, Edmonton-wide or Alberta-wide, is because I do believe that, A, we're a very, very entrepreneurial place.
• 11:51
  Yes, 100%.
• 11:52
  We have a lot of people that are...
• 11:57
  They understand and are willing to take the risks that are required to start and run businesses.
• 12:02
  A lot of places are not as entrepreneurial as we are here, and we have a lot of very skilled trades and labor, and just very intelligent people.
• 12:11
  And now tech sector, very...
• 12:13
  Yeah, it's growing.
• 12:14
  So we have that, and then we also have...
• 12:17
  I also find that people here are very humble.
• 12:19
  And so they don't broadcast what they're doing.
• 12:23
  Don't we know that?
• 12:24
  We do.
• 12:25
  They don't.
• 12:26
  And so, like, I'm...
• 12:29
  She's looking right at Cam.
• 12:33
  Hey, I'm not saying anything.
• 12:34
  I'm just saying, think of the people that we meet out here and the business owners and how humble everybody is.
• 12:39
  Yeah, no, nobody's out there tooting their horn.
• 12:41
  Nobody's tooting their horn.
• 12:42
  They are.
• 12:43
  I mean, other than to sell their product or to get their product out.
• 12:46
  Of course.
• 12:47
  But in a very authentic...
• 12:48
  Yeah, very authentic, real way.
• 12:49
  Totally.
• 12:49
  I think you're right.
• 12:50
  I think there's something about Albertans in that.
• 12:52
  Totally.
• 12:53
  Albertans are extremely hardworking, entrepreneurial, nose to the grindstone, just do their job.
• 12:59
  And let's see what we can do.
• 13:01
  Totally.
• 13:01
  Let's see what we can create.
• 13:02
  100%.
• 13:03
  Yeah.
• 13:04
  It's like, for context, I do a lot of cold calling and door knocking and visiting businesses to just meet them and hopefully build relationships.
• 13:14
  I'm not trying to sell anything to them.
• 13:15
  No, no, but that's what you do.
• 13:17
  You gotta build a relationship.
• 13:18
  It starts with making friends and making sure people trust you and believe that you're coming from a good, authentic place, as you said.
• 13:25
  But when I'll go into these shops, like nine times out of 10, the owner is working in the shop.
• 13:31
  Or has the coveralls on.
• 13:33
  Or you wouldn't be able to tell the owner versus the laborer.
• 13:37
  Like, it's very hard.
• 13:39
  It's funny you say that.
• 13:40
  Because, no, it's true.
• 13:41
  Like, you go out here, out in Acheson.
• 13:43
  And we get to connect with owners and CEOs.
• 13:47
  And you walk into the office, and just a minute, I'll go get them.
• 13:50
  They're in the back.
• 13:52
  And that's really cool to me.
• 13:54
  They don't think they're somebody to just sit in their office all day.
• 13:57
  They're actually involved in it.
• 13:59
  What a great observation.
• 14:00
  That's a wonderful observation.
• 14:01
  It's part of the reason I love working in the industrial field so much, is it's just a very, it's an inspiring place to work, because you just, I get to go see how things are built, and just how everything operates out here, and everybody has to their own story.
• 14:23
  Yeah, it's really, really interesting.
• 14:25
  So I got into the industrial sector, and I basically help, the other thing about industrial owners, is that they are busy running their business.
• 14:36
  So this is where I try to help them out, is like, you have so much on your plate already, like doing the accounting, and doing the operations, and getting shipments out, and ordering this in, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 14:46
  There's so many different things, and they are experts in that field that they operate in.
• 14:52
  And I am an expert in the field of commercial real estate.
• 14:54
  And so all I want to do is basically be a part of your team for the time that you need assistance with your real estate, whether it's on renegotiating a lease, making sure you're getting fair rates, making sure you're not overpaying for something, making sure that if you need to expand, if I'm bringing a property on the market that's right beside a guy, I'm going to call and be like, hey, just so you know, we're taking this to market.
• 15:16
  If you need to, whatever, just making sure people are aware of their options, because you just only have so much bandwidth in your brain to be able to focus on that type of stuff.
• 15:25
  So, in looking at all of your accolades that you have, and I was reading this, there's many accolades.
• 15:32
  I mean, it's unbelievable.
• 15:33
  People like to give out awards now.
• 15:35
  I know, but my initial thought was, how many hours a week do you work?
• 15:41
  I got asked by someone the other day, like, what do you like to do?
• 15:45
  What are you passionate about?
• 15:46
  Because I was bugging them because they were so passionate about it.
• 15:48
  I'm like, you really love hockey, hey?
• 15:49
  They knew all the stuff.
• 15:50
  I play hockey as a sideline.
• 15:52
  So the guys on my team, they have endless statistics in their head.
• 15:56
  Then I'm like, how do you remember that?
• 15:59
  How do you remember that?
• 16:00
  Well, what do you passionate about?
• 16:02
  I'm like, honestly, they're like, don't say your work.
• 16:03
  And I'm like, I truly am though.
• 16:05
  Like, I love it.
• 16:06
  It's so interesting.
• 16:07
  It's really, really interesting to just like, it can be as minute or small as like, I don't know, what's that building made of over there?
• 16:18
  To like, what's the macroeconomic energy policy that Trump's going to enact with the keystone that's going to affect our energy policy?
• 16:25
  How are we going to rebound from that?
• 16:27
  And what's our premier doing?
• 16:28
  And what's like, do I mean, it can be as big or as small as you want it to be?
• 16:31
  Right.
• 16:31
  My career is impacted by that.
• 16:34
  And so I just find it interesting.
• 16:36
  But I think too, I think you've really been your own entrepreneur and really have taken steps to set yourself apart.
• 16:43
  So when you kind of first started out, you were like forecasting things that people weren't even talking about yet, which is so cool.
• 16:50
  Like you were talking about data centers before data centers were even a thing.
• 16:55
  Yeah.
• 16:56
  But that goes to, I think what I like to do.
• 16:59
  So I write a commercial real estate blog, and that is part of its dual purpose.
• 17:04
  A, I find it interesting and I get to learn about the trends and the things that are coming down the pipeline.
• 17:09
  And generally, as much as we hate to admit it, Canada is not usually the trendsetter.
• 17:13
  We are more of a follower of these things that are coming along.
• 17:18
  It is what it is.
• 17:18
  It's fine.
• 17:19
  I shouldn't say, I mean, we are a trendsetter and we are the creators of so many products and services and everything here even.
• 17:25
  But with data centers as an example, those were happening elsewhere.
• 17:31
  And I was just kind of, I like to look at these big picture concepts, especially as they relate to the industrial real estate field, and just say, you know, could this happen in Alberta?
• 17:42
  Does Alberta have the mechanism to support this type of emerging industry or this type of asset class?
• 17:49
  And that is one example.
• 17:51
  Well, your forecast is coming to fruition.
• 17:54
  It is coming, yes.
• 17:55
  I know even out here, we're talking about, we were in conversations yesterday about data centers in Acheson.
• 18:00
  And so it is, your forecast is truly coming to fruition.
• 18:04
  It's, yeah, reading between the lines of what's happening and other places in a broader global scale and saying, okay, well, we're not using less internet.
• 18:15
  We're not using less data.
• 18:17
  Also, more than anything, like every warehouse, I don't know if you've been inside the Amazon warehouse out here.
• 18:22
  Only during the construction times.
• 18:24
  They won't let us in now.
• 18:26
  Hey, Amazon, if you're listening.
• 18:28
  Yeah, we'd like a tour.
• 18:29
  We'd still like that tour.
• 18:30
  Yeah, yeah, anyway.
• 18:31
  I mean, I can maybe get you guys in.
• 18:33
  Oh, that would be awesome.
• 18:35
  Yeah, even especially before Christmas.
• 18:37
  And then I could shop.
• 18:38
  Anyway, no, I'm just kidding.
• 18:39
  Yeah, you're not allowed to.
• 18:41
  But maybe that's why they won't let me in.
• 18:43
  The reason I bring it up, though, is that that is the main floor has a bunch of conveyor belts and obviously automation, but the top four floors are robots.
• 18:53
  And by robots, it's not like iRobot with Will Smith.
• 18:56
  It's like little Zumba.
• 18:58
  Yeah, the Roombas?
• 18:58
  Yeah, the Roombas, yeah.
• 19:00
  Yeah, I couldn't think of what they were called.
• 19:02
  But they basically go under, pick the packages and they have their own automated systems.
• 19:06
  But that all requires so much data and so much power.
• 19:10
  And so more and more industrial businesses are integrating these automations and these systems, this AI technology into their warehousing space.
• 19:19
  Well, AI is, that's yeah.
• 19:21
  I mean, it's interesting you say that.
• 19:23
  I did tour it while they were building it.
• 19:24
  And everything was being built for automation, everything.
• 19:28
  And they've figured it out.
• 19:29
  They have, you know, they know how to do it.
• 19:31
  But you're right.
• 19:32
  It's that's for them.
• 19:33
  That's the future is automation.
• 19:35
  And I think that's the future.
• 19:37
  Yeah.
• 19:37
  So many businesses are going.
• 19:39
  Which is scary.
• 19:40
  A little bit scary.
• 19:41
  It's the scary part is probably how do we, how do we as people reinvent ourselves and find our purpose.
• 19:48
  There are other, there will, we adapt.
• 19:50
  We always will adapt.
• 19:51
  That's what human beings do.
• 19:52
  You just find different ways to make use.
• 19:56
  And I don't know, it is interesting though.
• 19:59
  I mean, I'm, my job could get taken over by robots.
• 20:03
  It's possible, right?
• 20:04
  I don't know.
• 20:05
  It's, there's different jobs that are more likely.
• 20:07
  I don't think I'd want to buy a building or lease a building from a robot.
• 20:10
  You know what?
• 20:10
  I don't know.
• 20:11
  It's more so, you're right.
• 20:13
  And I agree.
• 20:14
  I think sales, I also think I'm irreplaceable, but.
• 20:16
  Well, yeah.
• 20:17
  I think there are certain things where relationship, and this is what I think is so amazing about you.
• 20:23
  You build relationships.
• 20:24
  Strong relationships.
• 20:25
  Robots can't build relationships.
• 20:26
  They're cold.
• 20:27
  They can provide the data and the context.
• 20:30
  So there are certain things, I think, that will never go down that road because of relationship.
• 20:34
  Yes.
• 20:36
  Agreed.
• 20:36
  And you're great at that.
• 20:38
  There's nothing more reflective of this than when you're trying to call Telus.
• 20:43
  Yeah.
• 20:45
  And you cannot get connected to a human.
• 20:47
  And you're like, human, human, get me connected to a human.
• 20:52
  It's the worst.
• 20:53
  But you're right.
• 20:54
  There is something that, you know, we've course, we've overcorrected in some areas, you know, automation.
• 21:01
  It's driving people insane.
• 21:02
  Well, I think right now, it's figuring out the balance.
• 21:05
  Yeah.
• 21:06
  I think that's what it is.
• 21:07
  Yes.
• 21:07
  What works with AI or automation?
• 21:10
  Yeah.
• 21:10
  What doesn't?
• 21:11
  And so we're figuring out that balance.
• 21:12
  Absolutely.
• 21:14
  Yeah.
• 21:14
  So, so yeah, sorry.
• 21:17
  I also might have a bit of like ADD where I go on multiple different tangents.
• 21:20
  Yeah, no, that's fantastic.
• 21:21
  I mean, what was the first question?
• 21:23
  Yeah.
• 21:24
  It's all right.
• 21:24
  No, on this podcast, there is no first question.
• 21:27
  It just all was.
• 21:28
  Yeah.
• 21:29
  But as as kind of an entrepreneur, because what you do is entrepreneurial.
• 21:33
  It really is.
• 21:35
  What do you find has been your biggest challenge kind of throughout this journey?
• 21:41
  Hmm.
• 21:42
  The biggest challenge, I think probably that many people experience is like, it's truly how you differentiate yourself because like you can't just be right.
• 21:52
  You can't just be a cog in the machine.
• 21:53
  Yeah.
• 21:54
  If you want to really excel.
• 21:57
  Right.
• 21:58
  And I do.
• 21:59
  I'm very like motivated and driven to excel and to, but also to educate.
• 22:04
  And I think that's where I found differentiating has been helpful.
• 22:07
  And what I've done well is when I try to put out content or when I try to put out A, I try to put out content.
• 22:14
  So that's one thing.
• 22:15
  Yeah.
• 22:15
  A lot of people within the commercial real estate, it was a bit of an older industry as far as the sharing of information.
• 22:25
  It's changed quite a bit even in the last five years.
• 22:27
  But being informative and educative and trying to provide literally just nuggets to people that are like, oh, like this is, you know, this is what this means.
• 22:36
  And this is how you do this and whatever.
• 22:38
  It's not just a black box that you can't see inside.
• 22:43
  And then trying to create a presence for yourself or to try and create a name for yourself.
• 22:48
  When I came into the industry and working in industrial, there's very few women.
• 22:52
  I was going to say there's very few women.
• 22:56
  Can we go down that road for just a sec?
• 22:58
  Because the ABA, of course, is huge in women in leadership.
• 23:02
  You were nominated in our Women In Leadership category.
• 23:05
  Thank you for that.
• 23:06
  Tell us about that.
• 23:07
  Was it breaking into an old boys club?
• 23:10
  So yeah, and I want to be careful and I try to be cognizant because all of my clients are men, all of my colleagues are men, all of my coworkers.
• 23:21
  And honestly, everyone has been very supportive and excellent.
• 23:25
  I think that the mindset in the industry today, in the industrial sphere too, like out here, for the most part, is the best man or woman win.
• 23:36
  It's not about like, oh, we need to hire more women because we need to check that box.
• 23:42
  Let's just hire the best people for the job.
• 23:43
  And oftentimes it is women.
• 23:45
  And oftentimes it's men.
• 23:46
  It can be whatever.
• 23:47
  But what I didn't want to have happen because it was so male-dominated was I didn't want to be perceived as the token female.
• 23:57
  So that was what prompted me to start writing the blog and putting out content because I was like, well, if I'm going to be in the room, I want to at least be the most informed and prepared.
• 24:10
  And like, I may not be the most experienced, but I will be the best prepared.
• 24:14
  That's what I always say.
• 24:15
  Like if I'm on a panel or something, I will be the best prepared for this.
• 24:18
  And I think the best thing about all of that, from just listening to you and knowing now a little bit about you, is you are a leader and you are also, I think, an example to young women.
• 24:28
  Well, thank you.
• 24:29
  Who will say, you know what, I can do that too.
• 24:31
  I can do that.
• 24:32
  Whatever field it is, maybe it is in the industrial real estate field, but you're...
• 24:38
  It's find your niche, right?
• 24:39
  You're a trailblazer to some degree, I think, which hopefully other women will follow in behind.
• 24:45
  I hope so, yeah.
• 24:46
  And I think there are more and more coming, even looking at the real estate programs at the universities, it's pretty equal mix, right?
• 24:52
  So as much as people are advocating for a more diverse work environment for everybody, it doesn't happen overnight.
• 25:03
  And so it's just a matter of making sure that the foundation is there, that there is an opportunity for anybody to succeed, skin color, gender, whatever.
• 25:14
  And also, that doesn't mean that white men can't succeed also.
• 25:18
  Because that's another part of it too, is that there's a bit of this like, like taking that down a notch.
• 25:25
  And that doesn't need to happen.
• 25:27
  It's just equal play.
• 25:28
  It's an equal inclusion.
• 25:29
  It's an equal inclusion.
• 25:31
  Yeah, everybody, man, woman, like you say, race, doesn't really matter.
• 25:35
  It's an equal inclusion.
• 25:36
  Everybody on a playing field.
• 25:37
  But I think again, going back, I think you're opening the door to some women who may have thought, that's, I don't want to, I can't go there.
• 25:44
  Yeah.
• 25:45
  I want to go there, but now you're showing, yes, you can.
• 25:47
  Well, and I do believe that you don't have to be one type of person to succeed in sales.
• 25:53
  For sure.
• 25:54
  Or to succeed in industrial real estate or whatever, in fabrication or manufacturing or trucking.
• 25:59
  Yes.
• 26:00
  The winner of the award. Yes Tamara You can be anything, and there are different ways of doing business.
• 26:06
  For sure.
• 26:07
  I don't have to be ultra masculine and powering through to win a pitch.
• 26:12
  I just have to do it in a way that, as you said, finding your niche and doing it that way.
• 26:18
  Yeah.
• 26:18
  I think that is changing in all industries, which is great.
• 26:22
  For sure.
• 26:22
  So what's next for Bronwyn?
• 26:25
  Yeah.
• 26:26
  What's next for me?
• 26:27
  Yeah.
• 26:28
  So I'm still working, obviously.
• 26:30
  I'm about 10 years into the industry with industrial real estate as a broker, and I love it.
• 26:38
  My doors are always open as far as looking at opportunities.
• 26:41
  I always take meetings and coffees because I think it's silly to not.
• 26:45
  Yeah.
• 26:46
  I don't know.
• 26:47
  I mean, I've probably, like other people have thought, do you stay in Alberta?
• 26:51
  Do you stay in Edmonton?
• 26:52
  Do you stay whatever?
• 26:53
  I actually can't imagine not being here.
• 26:56
  Like, I love doing business in the Greater Edmonton region.
• 27:01
  I love, I actually love Acheson so much.
• 27:03
  It's the best.
• 27:04
  It's really truly like my favorite industrial park.
• 27:07
  It's just so...
• 27:07
  Well, we agree.
• 27:08
  Yeah, totally.
• 27:09
  I know.
• 27:10
  It's the, it's the, I always say...
• 27:11
  I'm saying it publicly.
• 27:12
  Yeah, though it's the best, the best kept secret that we're wanting, we're wanting.
• 27:17
  And I think with your help and other people's, we're wanting to get the word out.
• 27:20
  Absolutely.
• 27:21
  It's one of the most diverse, it's one of the most diverse industrial parks in the region.
• 27:27
  Variety of businesses.
• 27:28
  Great place to do business.
• 27:30
  Good land prices still.
• 27:31
  Great tax rates.
• 27:33
  Working with your municipality isn't a real pain.
• 27:35
  No, it's honestly great.
• 27:37
  Yeah.
• 27:38
  It's great.
• 27:39
  Which is why the vacancy is so low.
• 27:42
  Just why you cannot find a building if you actually want one.
• 27:46
  And I think we've really built a strong business community out here.
• 27:51
  And more so, it's not just a bunch of competitors.
• 27:54
  People do really support and care for one another and want to see each other succeed, which I think is fantastic.
• 27:59
  Yeah, and those aren't just words.
• 28:00
  That is the truth.
• 28:01
  No, it is the truth.
• 28:01
  It really happened.
• 28:02
  And we get to see it on a regular basis.
• 28:04
  The ABA, of course, is a huge part of that and promoting that and being a catalyst for that.
• 28:09
  So it really is.
• 28:10
  Acheson is an amazing place.
• 28:12
  It is.
• 28:12
  It really is.
• 28:13
  I agree.
• 28:14
  So, yeah.
• 28:14
  100%.
• 28:15
  We just need people to build some more buildings.
• 28:18
  Our condominiums.
• 28:23
  Yeah, I don't know.
• 28:24
  Anyway, we just need it to grow.
• 28:27
  And it is growing.
• 28:28
  It is growing.
• 28:29
  We got lots of land still, so we're able to build.
• 28:32
  That's the thing.
• 28:33
  The holdup in the building has been that there is a lot of land.
• 28:37
  There's lots of farms around here.
• 28:38
  But to get the land to service, subdivide it, industrial grade.
• 28:43
  But again, I think that's where the municipality is doing it.
• 28:45
  They're doing a decent job.
• 28:46
  I mean, the fact that they have a highway that's torn up right now.
• 28:49
  That's right.
• 28:49
  They're putting two light switch sets in.
• 28:51
  For more industrial.
• 28:52
  I got to take that every day.
• 28:53
  But it's going to support what you want at the end, right?
• 28:55
  Which is more industrial.
• 28:56
  Can they not just build an overpass?
• 28:58
  Well, can they not just build an overpass?
• 29:01
  How often do we say that?
• 29:02
  That will come.
• 29:03
  Yeah, that should be your next t-shirt.
• 29:05
  Yeah, that's right.
• 29:05
  Trust me, it would be the t-shirt for the past eight years.
• 29:09
  When are you building the overpass?
• 29:10
  It never goes out of style.
• 29:11
  No, that's right.
• 29:12
  For sure.
• 29:12
  It's coming next year.
• 29:14
  Well, Bronwyn, this is fantastic.
• 29:17
  Yeah.
• 29:18
  We love talking to you.
• 29:19
  We think you're a great person.
• 29:20
  For sure.
• 29:21
  We have one more final question, and that is, what is the best piece of advice you've been given, either personally or professionally, that you carry with you to this day?
• 29:32
  So this one sounds kind of funny and maybe a bit egocentric, but the way I read it is not that way.
• 29:42
  So I remember growing up, my dad is very entrepreneurial.
• 29:45
  My dad is my biggest mentor, probably like many people, again, out in this park.
• 29:49
  I grew up with a strong, entrepreneurial father figure.
• 29:52
  And he, to this day, has told me, make sure when you walk in a room, people know your name.
• 29:58
  Make sure people know who you are when you walk into a room.
• 30:01
  And so that is, again, going back to why I do what I do with so much of the educational and speaking on panels and the words and this and that.
• 30:10
  I just want people, when they think of industrial real estate, to think of Bronwyn Scrivens.
• 30:15
  And I think it's coming, but it's obviously localized, but that is why I do everything, is making sure that when I walk into a room, people know who I am for the reasons that I want them to know.
• 30:25
  Right.
• 30:25
  I think that's fantastic.
• 30:27
  I really do.
• 30:27
  I think for all of us who feel we have something to do in life and we have a mission.
• 30:33
  Yeah, we want people to know who we are and what we do and why we do it.
• 30:38
  Exactly.
• 30:38
  What's your why?
• 30:39
  What's your why?
• 30:41
  It's really great.
• 30:41
  I think that's wonderful.
• 30:42
  So Bronwyn, if somebody wants to do some business out here in Acheson, if they're looking to buy or sell a building tell us where they can find you?
• 30:50
  So I'm literally all over the internet.
• 30:55
  In good ways.
• 30:56
  Just Google.
• 30:58
  But my name is Bronwyn Scrivens and it's a kind of hard name to spell.
• 31:02
  But the thing is people will remember it once you meet me because it's a weird one.
• 31:06
  But if you just Google or go www.industrialedmonton.com, that's my website.
• 31:13
  That's my first one.
• 31:14
  Work at JLL.
• 31:15
  But yeah.
• 31:15
  Wow.
• 31:15
  That's it.
• 31:17
  This 30 minutes has gone by too fast.
• 31:19
  Super fast.
• 31:20
  This is amazing.
• 31:21
  I could do another 30 on this.
• 31:22
  This is fantastic.
• 31:23
  I can tell you about this other plane crash that I did.
• 31:25
  Yeah, no.
• 31:27
  No more plane crashes.
• 31:29
  No, no, no.
• 31:30
  Anyway, this has been absolutely fantastic.
• 31:33
  Thank you.
• 31:33
  Yeah, so much.
• 31:34
  Thank you.
• 31:34
  It's great.
• 31:35
  Yeah.
• 31:35
  Thanks for doing this, honestly.
• 31:37
  Jennifer, any last words, parting words we got to tell anybody or everybody?
• 31:40
  We sure do.
• 31:41
  So we have officially launched our Christmas Campaign in Acheson.
• 31:46
  So for the past 19 years, businesses in Acheson have come together to collect new unwrapped toys and food for the Parkland Food Bank.
• 31:54
  The Stony Plain, Kinsman and Spruce Grove Connets Christmas Hamper Program.
• 31:58
  So we are challenging all businesses in the Park to get involved, to collect whatever you can for families in need in our community.
• 32:06
  And also new this year, we are doing a Festival of Trees.
• 32:09
  Yes, this is so exciting.
• 32:11
  At Western Star Trucks North, our friends.
• 32:13
  Yes, we're going to have a collection of trees.
• 32:15
  So if you want to have a little team building, a little friendly business competition, go to our website at achesonbusiness.com and sign up to decorate a tree, at which time we're going to be live auctioning off some of those trees on December 6th, which is our collection date.
• 32:32
  And the proceeds will go back to the Christmas hamper program, but Cam.
• 32:35
  That's right.
• 32:35
  We're raising a bucket load of money for the kids at Christmas.
• 32:38
  What else are we auctioning off?
• 32:39
  We are auctioning off one more thing.
• 32:41
  And this is amazing.
• 32:42
  You will want this.
• 32:43
  So you will need to tune in.
• 32:45
  I don't know how we're all going to do it, but we're doing it that day.
• 32:48
  We are.
• 32:48
  We are going to auction off lunch with Jennifer and Cam.
• 32:53
  That's right.
• 32:54
  Lunch with us.
• 32:55
  We will actually sit and have lunch.
• 32:57
  You can hear our story behind the story.
• 32:58
  That's right.
• 32:59
  It will be a five-course meal.
• 33:00
  Gourmet.
• 33:01
  Gourmet, but it will be lunch.
• 33:03
  Some of it is all you can eat.
• 33:04
  That's all I'm going to say.
• 33:05
  That's all I'm going to say right there.
• 33:07
  And so all the money raised to have lunch with Cam and Jennifer, you can ask us anything you want at that lunch, sort of, almost anything.
• 33:16
  And all that money is going to go to the kids.
• 33:18
  That's right.
• 33:18
  We're going to raise money for the kids.
• 33:20
  So it's awesome.
• 33:20
  So thanks everybody for listening.
• 33:22
  Appreciate it.
• 33:23
  It's been a great day.
• 33:24
  We can hardly wait to see you next time.
• 33:26
  So wherever you get your podcasts, make sure you tell your friends, your neighbors, your enemies.
• 33:30
  If you don't have any friends, make one to tell them about the podcast.
• 33:33
  Or you can go to www.achesonbusiness.com and we'll see you next time.
• 33:38
  Thanks everyone.
• 33:39
  See you next week.
• 33:40
  See you later.