We recently connected with Emily Dempsey and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Emily with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I would say my childhood upbringing had a significant influence on my character development. I am the oldest in my family with two younger brothers, who happen to be twins. Growing up in a household with young parents and three small children meant constant activity and occasional chaos. While navigating these dynamics, I learned to be self-reliant from an early age.
Aside from that, I have always been incredibly self-motivated. I am my toughest critic. I have set high expectations for myself throughout my professional career. Some of my past bosses advised me that my expectations of myself were too high and I needed to be more realistic. I think it is important to have lofty goals and big dreams. You only get one life and it is up to you to show up and turn your dreams into reality.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Who I am Professionally:
I work in Commercial Real Estate as a Broker. My job is essentially an eat what you kill sales function and I love it. I am a true self-starter with a strong entrepreneurial drive. I focus primarily on retail assets. Before the pandemic, I worked as an executive in NYC’s fashion industry for nearly a decade as a buyer, my dream job from childhood. After 10 years in the fashion industry, I became disenchanted with the industry and was craving change. The timing lined up with the pandemic and I moved to Miami and pivoted into commercial real estate.
How BBB Was Started:
I decided to relocate to Miami in 2022. During my time in NYC, I worked as a fashion executive at esteemed companies such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Barneys. In addition to my fashion career, I created a fitness community under the handle @detox2retox, where I shared studio reviews, workouts, and organized in-person events across the country.
When I moved to Miami, I didn’t know where to go to get a manicure or get pants tailored. I also didn’t really have a close group of friends. I was craving community and connection. That is how the Brickell Babes started.
The Brickell Babes:
Last year, we hosted 37 events. The year prior, we hosted 54 events. We do everything from happy hour, fitness classes, entrepreneur meetups, manifestation workshops, soundbaths, to beach cleanups. The event that I am the most proud of is What She Said, our partnership with W Hotels. We hosted a female empowerment seminar in November with over 120 attendees, 2 panels, 8 speakers, a sound bath, and interactive, instagrammable events. We are looking at recreating this on a seasonal or quarterly basis.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Hard work, communication, and negotiation.
On hard work: There is no way around doing the work. If you show up every single day consistently, eventually something is going to click for you. It usually doesn’t happen as quickly as you’d like it to (there is always an outlier).
On communication: Communication skills are the single most important thing in business. Whether you a communicating up or down (to your boss or your assistant) communication is everything. Read as many books as you can on the topic. Attend as many workshops. Absorb all that you can!
On negotiation: this could technically fall under communication, but I wanted to break it out separately. Negotiation comes into play whether you are negotiating with contractors, business partners, romantic partners. Negotiation skills as essential to every day life.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I have had some incredible mentors along the way in my career. I will say I didn’t find them out of the gate. I had to fight for them. In both commercial real estate and fashion, there are a lot of lower quality people that are only out for themselves. Meet with as many people as you can and eventually you’ll start to identify people you connect with that see a little bit of themselves in you and want to help.
