Jada Leo entered the world of real estate in the 1970s alongside his mother Mary Leo, a successful Huntsville real estate agent who started The Leo Agency. Over time, Jada Leo began developing small residential subdivisions and then custom commercial buildings. A significant turning point came when one of his tenants requested multiple facilities across different states, which led to a major project and the eventual sale of numerous properties.

Realizing his aptitude for real estate development, Jada established The Westmoreland Company, specializing in industrial real estate development across the U.S. and Canada.

Jada recently spoke with the Huntsville Business Journal to share his journey in building and leading The Westmoreland Company for more than three decades, all while balancing family life and active community involvement.

What do you enjoy most about being a business owner?

In my business, every day is new and exciting. No two days are alike. I’ve always had an inherent curiosity about how can we solve a business challenge for a client a little better. What else can we do? Is there another company we can approach to consult with about this challenge? I’m always thinking, what else can I be doing to be better to serve my customers and grow the business?

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

It’s a constant challenge for anyone who is a business owner. I’ve reached a point in my career where I have an excellent staff who can cover for me if I need to get away. It’s very challenging in the beginning when you’re trying to get ahead.

One of the interesting things about our society is that every generation has put a different spin on work-life balance. I saw a tremendous work ethic growing up and I think that I’ve passed that on to my children. But the reality is finding the correct work-life balance is a constant challenge I deal with every day. I’m never completely done but you must take time to be good to yourself, connect with your family, and rest.

What is a challenge you faced in business and how did you overcome it?

On more than one occasion, I’ve been confronted with challenges and setbacks that I really didn’t know how to handle. I’ve been about as low as you can be, and you learn from that. You develop strength, resilience, and confidence. But when you’ve never faced great adversity before, you can easily panic and really wonder how are you going to get by. By reaching out and speaking with people who have been there before, I drew knowledge, confidence, and strength from their experiences.

You need to have relationships with supportive people who are either directly in your industry or a related industry. You’re going to run into problems if you’re in business long enough. Seek out the counsel of people who have been there for advice.

What advice do you have for someone starting their own business?

Learn all you can, and be the best you can be in your field. Always be ready to learn something new and get outside your comfort zone. I’ve successfully gotten outside of my comfort zone and learned some powerful lessons. That’s part of the journey of life.

What I’ve realized in my career is that the greatest single element of success of any company is actually the people, not only the people that you work with but the people who you are serving as customers. I think if people recognize that you’re likable, trustworthy, and responsive, and provide them good value, you are going to do well.

I’ve been very fortunate in my career that I’ve been surrounded by great people in my firm. Their good work has allowed me to have the flexibility to be engaged with my family and with my community.

If you could talk to your younger self when you were starting your business, what are some things that you would tell yourself?

Keep breathing and remember, it’s a long-distance race. Try not to go crazy in terms of time and energy in the push to win. I consider myself a relatively competitive person, and most people who are in business today are very competitive. It’s easy to get so competitive and work so intensely that you lose sight of the other things that are important. Be sure you take time to be with your family. Take time to take a break and realize that your success can be measured in many ways, not only financially, but by the message that you’re sending to your family by investing time in them.

What is the secret to your success?

It’s not particularly one thing, but I would say, number one, try to be the very best in my industry. Number two, stay positive. You’re going to get knocked down. The question is, how quickly are you going to get back up? And, number three, try to take the time to engage with family and your community.