The founder and owner of Poma Retail Development talks why quiet offices are the best, the Stone Temple Pilots and why you should always make sure you have “all of the blueprints” on the jobsite.
What is the most cherished item in your home office?
I have a picture (collage) on my desk with my girlfriend, my two yellow labs, as well as my mom and sister.
What is your favorite time to get things done?
I am a morning person and I am in my office by 6 a.m. every morning. I get more done between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. than I do the rest of the day.
What is the soundtrack that plays in the background of your office?
I actually keep it quiet in my office. It helps me focus.
What does a typical work day look like?
In by 6 a.m., check on emails and do follow-up items. Go through my “to-do” list. Make all follow up calls. Join client calls as needed. Head home around 5 p.m.

How are you staying connected with your team? Customers?
Same as always without as many face to face meetings. ZOOM baby—lots of ZOOM calls.
Name the band you cannot take off your playlist.
Hmm. Lots of bands. I go from old school rockabilly like The Paladins to Metallica. Right now I am enjoying Stone Temple Pilots.
What is the craziest thing that has ever happened to you on a job site?
About 25 years ago I was building a Starbucks at the Del Amo Mall in Torrance, California. We had to do a demo in the middle of the night. It was about 3 a.m., and we had a backhoe removing dirt from a large trench. The operator went too deep and his bucket grabbed the main power feed to the entire wing of the building. We had music playing pretty loud and you couldn’t hear anything. When I saw the dirt moving well away from where his bucket was, I knew he had grabbed something he shouldn’t have. I had to basically jump on the guy to get him to stop. We were seconds away from a rather large explosion. Turns out the mall had given us an old set of drawings that didn’t show the main feed below our space. All’s well that ends well.
What are you binge watching right now?
Right now I’m on Season 3 of “Yellowstone.”

Favorite comfort food.
Probably Mexican or anything spicy.
Best advice you ever received?
Don’t take yourself so seriously.
Biggest influence in your life?
My Higher Power and taking things one day at a time.
What trait do you most admire?
Honesty and tenacity.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t give up; don’t ever give up. Shoot for the moon.

What is the first thing you are going to do when you are able to get back to some sense of normalcy?
I’d like to take the month off and do a road trip across the states with my girlfriend and the dogs.