"My advice is for business leaders everywhere is to obtain feedback from their employees and truly listen to their concerns."
Elizabeth Hicks Tweet
Elizabeth Hicks is a professional in the real estate tech industry with extensive experience in operations, private equity, and accounting in the Fortune 500. As a Forbes under 30 Scholar and Global Goodwill Ambassador, Elizabeth has been able to utilize her innate ambition to intersect both business and philanthropy through the creation of her real estate company, 11:11 Investment Group.
The chief aim of the business is to deliver greater value to the clients in order to reach their real estate investing goals. The company has a strong commitment to environmental and historic preservation as well as affordable housing initiatives in the markets in which it serves.
Elizabeth is very engaged in the Miami community in which she resides and advocates for historic preservation and social impact through the work of a variety of organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, she serves as Advisor/Guest Faculty to the USF Muma College of Business. Elizabeth is passionate about Web 3.0 and is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the space.
In the near future, she aspires to become a major real estate developer and politician. Her hobbies include philanthropy, gardening, travel, and bodybuilding.
Elizabeth has been featured on multiple podcasts and article interviews. She also has previous academic affiliations with the Harvard Business School, and an appointment to the BNY Mellon Enactus Student Fellows Program. Despite the accolades listed here, Elizabeth asks that you engage with her work to judge her competence: may the impact she leaves during her time in this world be her legacy.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Elizabeth Hicks: I’m a real estate tech professional and started my own real estate investing company servicing primarily land and commercial clients, with plans to expand in the near future to SFR and MFR. My company and passion for real estate was born from my dreams of being a real estate developer. Since I was young, I have been very entrepreneurial. I am very passionate about Web 3.0 and impacts on the real estate industry, and I love philanthropy.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Elizabeth Hicks: In the real estate industry, now is the best time to invest as the pandemic has changed people’s perspectives on life. Human behavior has changed and as a result, investing trends changed. We now value larger acre plots, community, and residences in more suburban areas outside of the city over the previous status quo of city-life. As a result, mid-size cities are thriving as we see more people move into them. As an investor, it’s important to understand the trends and use it to your advantage.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Elizabeth Hicks: It’s true that the pandemic has disrupted many service providers. As a service provider, my advice is to continue to first focus on mastering how your company provides service and value to the customer and pivot where necessary.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Elizabeth Hicks: The pandemic rocked the real estate industry for many reasons, including supply chain issues, supply shortages of homes, and large wave of movers out of big cities. All contribute to the exponential spike in land and real estate value.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Elizabeth Hicks: The pandemic was a revolutionary time for everyone wherein we all started learning more about ourselves. 2022 is a year of expansion. More business growth and more opportunities to execute on the ideas planted during the pandemic. If I gave myself advice in 2020, it would be to continue to hold your goals close to your heart and take massive action to bring them to fruition.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Elizabeth Hicks: In 2022 we are seeing even more online dominance. Human behavior in the workforce has changed. Elite hires want work-life balance, which means remote work. Companies need to adapt to the workforce or get left behind. On the flip side, online dominance has created a new economy for people who previously relied on a 9-5 to solely support them. It’s allowing people to have more freedom.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Elizabeth Hicks: The majority of them. I balance my life by picking up fitness, painting, philanthropy, reading, and traveling.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Elizabeth Hicks: Anecdotal examples and stories are often the best ways to exert influence, authority, and charisma as an executive because it invokes an emotional response. Utilize any opportunity you can find to increase the emotional response and develop an empathetic relationship with others in business, and you will hold power over others.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Elizabeth Hicks: On a micro level, my company will continue to see challenges and obstacles in the pandemic as opportunities to conduct better business and provide more service to our clients.
To discuss business on a macro level, I believe people can be their most creative and impact society the most when they are secure in their livelihoods. As we are entering a recession, I know it will be difficult for some to find opportunities to start businesses and become creatives. I hold steadfast to the belief that human nature is to persevere.
When pushed up against a wall, it’s human nature to fight back. While advocating for those in need is critical during this historic economic moment in time, it gives me hope to look to other negative economic events in history and see that individuals with innate entrepreneurial talents have created many influential businesses as a result of their struggle in the economic event that have withstood the test of time.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Elizabeth Hicks: I am incredibly passionate about Web 3.0 and the impact on the real estate industry. I have projects in development at my company that aim to innovate in this area in real estate. I see the vision of Web 3.0 and how it will decentralize and give the power back to the people. It’s the greatest wealth transfer in human history.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Elizabeth Hicks: It’s no doubt that human behavior drastically changed during the pandemic centered around the workforce. As a business leader, it’s hard to not think everything is perfect at your company, while others may have a different experience. My advice is for business leaders everywhere is to obtain feedback from their employees and truly listen to their concerns. Discern what changes can be made to positively affect the business regarding the workforce.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Elizabeth Hicks: My business superpower would be to stay in my zone of genius 24/7. I do what I can to remain in flow as much as possible, but everyone is human.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Elizabeth Hicks: Success in the traditional sense has a different meaning for everyone, as we all have different goals and life ambitions. I think Earl Nightingale puts it best when he says, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal”. The key is to pick a goal that is worthy of your time on Earth — something impactful, bold, and purposeful. Work towards it every single day, and you will be successful at achieving it.
This method of goal achievement helps me define my own success as achieving goals I have set for myself in various areas of business, life, fitness, and community.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Elizabeth Hicks for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Elizabeth Hicks or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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