I’ve known Lev Lubega since the early 90’s, back when he and I used to kick it at St Agatha High School in the Detroit suburbs. After graduation in 1994 we headed to different colleges and lost touch for a long while. Last year, while indulging in a slight burst of nostalgia, I decided to go on a mission and try to reconnect with some of my long gone High School buddies. Lev was on top of my list and after a quick search and a couple clicks, we were friends again (gotta love Facebook for that, folks).
Little did I know what he had been up to after all these years, and how successful he had become; from aspiring tennis pro turned tennis teacher, to real-estate developer turned sustainable energy advocate, I found his atypical career path fascinating. It's further proof that you can find success just about anywhere if you put your mind to it. I thought it was definitely worth an interview, to which Lev gladly agreed.
A short biography of Lev
After making a living as a tennis teacher, Lev left the world of sports and reinvented himself as a leasing agent for a commercial real-estate firm. Dedication to his newfound passion obtained him an executive position and in 2005 he joined the board of director of Crown Real Estate LLC, a company specialized in commercial real-estate services.
Today Lev is vice-president of An Atlas Holding Inc; a company specialized in helping construction businesses use clean energy and implement safe production processes for humans and their environment. The company recently expanded its operations to Russia.
“The way we perceive, react to, and approach any given challenge is determined mainly by our mental status. Therefore, too much emphasis cannot be put on the importance of studying and learning to harness the power of one’s mind.” - Lev Lubega.
Interview
Keith Banks: Lev, tell me how your career in commercial real-estate started.
Lev Lubega: Well Keith I actually started my career teaching as a Tennis Professional in Maryland. One of my students was a successful real-estate broker who would try and persuade me to get a real-estate license. He thought I had a lot of potential, but I still wasn’t sure. Then other people in the industry started to communicate similar ideas, saying they thought I was in the wrong business and should explore other options.
Keith: Is that when the light came on and you decided to make your move?
Lev: Well I was teaching tennis in this esteemed club and was scared to let go of the dream of owning my own club some day. But I opened up to new ideas and soon found myself working for a commercial real-estate company owned by a different student.
Keith: That was a big and unlikely career jump, from tennis pro to real-estate developer.
Lev: I guess I would still be teaching tennis today if I hadn’t trusted that something good could result from being open to alternatives. I learned, then, never to be so stuck on my ideas that the possibility of new options is stifled.
Keith: Most people assume there is a lot of money involved in real-estate development. Was it what you expected when you started?
Lev: I did expect that I would automatically start making a lot of money. I thought I would, at least, double my income. The opposite happened. As a leasing agent I made less than half of what I got as a Tennis Professional. My income slowly increased but came nowhere near where I wanted it, despite working very hard.
Keith: It must have been discouraging especially since you had given up one of your lifelong goals. How did you react?
Lev: I stayed committed and decided to ask my boss for a raise.
Keith: Was he receptive?
Lev: My boss suggested that my goals may not have been clearly defined and that I should review them. I was offended at first because I knew that I worked harder than anyone else around. I was often the first in the office and was willing to perform any task. I made several attempts to write what I thought my goals were but I was never fully satisfied.
Keith: How frustrating!
Lev: It actually caused me to self-reflect. I decided I wanted to be more than just a real-estate agent. I also began to notice that I was getting more out of the work than first realized. I was privileged to be able to work closely with the boss and learn the art of being an entrepreneur first hand.
Keith: That must have been a valuable experience for you.
Lev: It was priceless. I was privy to how deals were structured and how problems were best handled. I spent three years getting firsthand experience in the board room. I would never have realized these gains had I not learned to set goals. I learned the importance of continually reviewing my goals while upgrading and changing them as necessary.
Keith: As Vice President of An Atlas Holdings, how have those early lessons helped you become a successful real-estate developer today?
Lev: There are innumerable variables at play when one is working toward a goal. After deciding to pursue a project, we spend hundreds of hours planning and preparing exactly how it will be developed. A new project cannot be realized without a clear understanding of how we will get there. On a daily basis we review, upgrade and change our goals as necessary.
Keith: You went from leasing agent to VP of your own company. That’s impressive. Talk to us about that journey.
Lev: Negative thinking use to be my longtime nemesis. So in order to build a company that could compete against other commercial brokerage firms, I had to learn to overcome my fears and negativity. The realization of the importance of mind control in the workplace is very important. This realization dawned on me one day when my boss and I were discussing a major problem that had emerged while working on an impressive commercial real-estate deal. Its downward turn really got to me, I was really worried and my demeanor showed it. My boss, on the other hand, was not only composed but was so positive that the thought of failure had not even crossed his mind. What I perceived to be an insurmountable obstacle was merely fuel to motivate him to find a solution.
Keith: He completely welcomed the challenge.
Lev: Exactly. My negative vibes had absolutely no affect on him whatsoever. And with that great lesson, I vowed never again to succumb to fear. Instead, I would identify it, and fight it until I became as impervious to it as he was. It is a task that I still work at consciously. Being completely positive and composed in dire circumstances is a very good sign that one is a successful human being. In fact it’s been a key principle that has allowed me to start my own firm.
Keith: So you’re saying it’s vital to tame your emotions as much as possible to focus on the job at hand?
Lev: Let’s say it is impossible to build a business from scratch without a positive optimistic conviction. Don’t worry about things that are beyond your control. Just remain focused and composed. It was this mind state that helped me open my first business, Bliss Enterprises in 2002 which evolved into Crown Real-estate Services, a full service commercial brokerage company which has continued to provide a platform for development and growth beyond our wildest imaginations.
Keith: Before we started this conversation you mentioned what being a “closer” in business means to you. Could you elaborate on this?
Lev: One hundred percent commitment to the project or goal is the key to success. One must be thoroughly informed about all aspects of the Project and willing to do whatever it takes to see it through to completion. Advanced preparation is key so it’s important to be able to listen, learn and store information connected to every aspect of your agenda. One way of doing this is by seeking out the most experienced people and learning from them as you work. Challenges are constant and unrelenting. Decisions often must be made suddenly and urgently and yet the consequences of those decisions could be dire to the project. Therefore all players must be on the same page. This applies no matter what the economic climate is in and outside the country. We must never be discouraged but see every situation as an opportunity to grow and never give up.
Keith: What are some of the latest opportunities Crown Real-Estate has seized upon?
Lev: Lack of fear and open mindedness led us to start work in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We simply ignored the naysayers and forged ahead. We searched relentlessly for investors and after about a year our efforts were rewarded when we landed a major investor who has committed to backing some of our initiatives. That commitment has allowed us to purchase a Russian technology company and secure a foothold in Eastern Europe. Each door we open leads to opportunities that we never imagined.
Keith: You ignored the naysayers and stepped out of your comfort zone.
Lev: Exactly. Most people have sets of rules that govern their behavior. These rules are often imposed by others but success, it seems, belongs to those who are not bound by the rules of others but instead, do their best to create their own rules. Review the stories of great men like Henry Ford, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, Paramahansa Yogananda and, most recently, our esteemed president, Barack Obama – all of whom together with so many others did things the rest of us thought were impossible.
Keith: L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson, implores his players to literally visualize victory before games. How do you go about preparing for a major real-estate project?
Lev: Well in project development, models are built so that others can also see our vision and be sources of encouragement. The ability to “see” our completed goal even before its manifestation gives our team confidence and motivation to stay focused. Visualization is a good tool to use in working towards one’s goals.
Keith: Earlier you mentioned Eastern Europe and Central Asia. What’s the most difficult part about developing international projects?
Lev: When our company decided to develop international projects we found that the hardest thing to do was to act. We knew that it was a good idea and that it was a great niche but we were apprehensive about taking that first step. Our first action was to travel so that we could build international relationships. Two years after visiting several countries and meeting with countless officials, we’re now comfortable with the relationships we’ve established across the world.
Because of our actions, all of our communicating and negotiating skills have been enhanced simply because we took that first step. Had we not then we’d still be in the planning phase instead of holding over a billion dollars worth of impressive development projects in our portfolio.
Keith: The past few years have seen challenging economic conditions worldwide. Heading into the future what obstacles lie ahead for entrepreneur real-estate developers?
Lev: Perhaps the biggest challenge to the industry still lies in the status of our current global economy. Most people will say that banks are not lending or people are not buying, therefore the economy is almost standing still. But I believe the real issues are based on our understanding the variables of working in a global economy. As a project developer and entrepreneur, I realize that I have to be open to understanding the people in China who are financing a project, or the architect in Germany who is sketching it, or the client in Africa who will use it. Globalization means that we have new opportunities and many, many options.
Keith: So you’re saying globalization is ultimately good for the American economy?
Lev: What I’m saying is we can’t pretend we are isolated from the rest of the world anymore. The clothes that we wear and the toys that our children play with bear testimony to the fact that we are connected. This means as business people we have a responsibility to fight injustice and inequality no matter where it is. We are the forefront, the leaders of a brilliant future. Therefore we must work hard to break barriers. We must work hard to overcome the challenges that confounded leaders who came before us.
