How to trust yourself to find the right deals and people

<p>As entrepreneurs and leaders, we make a lot of decisions. Doubt has no place in our day and second-guessing will only stop us from growing.</p><p><br></p><p>Here to talk about building confidence in decision-making and taking the next steps is Deborah Smith, Co-Founder and Principal of The CenterCap Group, LLC. We hear about her unique approach to business: setting short-term goals and course-correcting along the way. Whether it’s hiring or finding deals, it all comes down to following our instincts to go for it and having enough trust in ourselves to know that we can pivot if something goes wrong. She also touches on the active adult community and why there’s a rising demand in the space.</p><p><br></p><p>Deborah heads the firm’s Strategic Capital and M&amp;A and Execution efforts. Prior to forming The CenterCap Group, LLC, Deborah was Co-Head of M&amp;A and a Senior Managing Director with CB Richard Ellis Investors (CB Richard Ellis's $40 billion AUM investment management business). She joined CBREI in July 2007 to co-head the build-out of the firm's M&amp;A efforts and led the firm’s negotiation and acquisition of a majority interest in Wood Partners (one of the largest multifamily developers in the United States) in 2008. From 1998-2007, she worked on mergers and acquisitions with Lehman Brothers, Wachovia Securities, and Morgan Stanley. She has been involved in more than $100 billion of mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring transactions. Deborah has a Bachelor of Economics, with honors, and a Bachelor of Law, with honors, from the University of Sydney.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Quotes</strong></p><p>• “If you plan long-term, you miss all the amazing opportunities that come along the way.” (6:27-6:33)</p><p>• “You can learn something new from every person. No matter who you meet, doesn't have to be related. They've got something that I don't know and I'd love to learn what that is.” (15:13-15:23)</p><p>• “ I don't sweat the small stuff. You win some, you lose some. And there are oppor