Stephanie Smith
Stephanie Smith is a successful real estate developer, professional bohemian, birthday party expert, a wife and mother to five children. Widely recognized as a Queenpin, she says that she is a queen pin at home and work and not as a cannabis landlord. Stephanie legally changed her name from Stephanie Darcy to Stephanie Smith. Although she has become to be widely known as one of the largest property owners in California, Stephanie comes from a poor background from which she inherited determination and love for work. Stephanie was raised in Minneapolis by a single mother. While growing up, she dreamt of becoming golf pro and artist. She also has a passion for painting.
Stephanie studied marketing in Boston. She also has a degree in liberal arts. She used her artist’s eye to flip houses in the Phoenix area. Stephanie felt the need to pursue something different and moved to Arizona to pursue her dream of becoming a golf pro. She later moved to Southern California in 2005 to attend business school at UCLA.
Stephanie Smith ventured into a controversial industry which started as a favour. Stephanie ventured into commercial real estate decades ago when the housing market was in a crisis. She realized there was a demand for property to grow marijuana in 2009 when she bought a property that was initially a pawnshop in Los Angeles. She renovated the pawnshop and turned it to a laundromat by upgrading the gas, water, and power system. After the renovation of the building was complete, she advertised it on Craigslist. She received an inquiry from a potential client who offered her double the rent she was asking for if she allowed him to use the building to grow marijuana. She thought she was leasing her property to only one person growing Cannabis in Los Angeles. She did not have any idea of what was happening in the market at this time. However, after doing some research into the cannabis market, she started increasing her portfolio to include more cannabis-friendly tenants. She also enjoyed the experience of leasing to her first cannabis tenant. Today, Stephanie manages 50 cannabis properties and repurposes industrial spaces for processing, manufacturing and extraction and not just indoor cultivation.
She saw it as an opportunity to use real estate with social justice and take a role in pushing the marijuana issue in such a way that it would be effective. She holds her tenants responsible for things like legal compliance, insurance, and paperwork.
Steph is also an advocate for cannabis regulation and land use in California. She advocated for the sale of legalized weed. Steph Smith has acknowledged being an advocate for the commercial sale of legalized weed and has led efforts to place legalization measures on several city ballots and is actively suing several cities, including Colton, over their cannabis policies. She has also demonstrated a history of fighting for children’s rights and helping disadvantaged communities. Often Steph has engaged herself with people and practice that helps build strong resistance on unfair practices like unfair policies. Fighting against marijuana policies makes her an outstanding woman. Even though her building has been raided, plants confiscated and workers arrested Steph remains strong in the fight against unfair practices and policies. She also advocates for the use of Psilocybin for various uses, including spiritual, religious, personal, medical, and therapeutically. Steph has invested her time and effort into making her firm to become of the biggest Cannabis landlords in California. Steph has previously described herself as a cannabis activity that plays a politicly active role of challenging government legislation and protecting civil rights at its maximum.
Stephanie is also a successful entrepreneur. Her company, Industrial Partners Group (IPG), owns two million square feet of industrial space, mostly in California. IPG focuses on small to mid-size properties in California that need renovation to stabilize tenancy and rental income. As the founding principal, Steph Smith manages the company’s acquisitions, operations, and operations. With over 15 years of experience in real estate development, Steph has a passion for the environment and pushes the company projects forward with green building, solar, water, and reclamation systems.
Currently, Stephanie has 45 full-time employees from disadvantaged backgrounds, including students at Operation New Hope Charter. Among her tenants are a Walmart, an airplane parts maker, a commissary for food trucks, a company that makes roll-up doors and another that sells attachments for heavy equipment.
Steph is also a philanthropist who participates in available programs and organizations that seek to help both women and children. She has joined and become a member of the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club. She has also become a member of the Everychild Foundation, an organization that aims at collecting and raising funds to help the needy children. Therefore, Steph is not only a real estate business person but also a mother who cares not only her children but also the welfare of other children.
Stephanie’s daily schedule revolves around picking her children from school. When not in the office, she is at home littered with toys and caring for her family. She names her property-holding business, Bubbas Likes Tortillas, after her daughter. Stephanie values relationship. She is not driven by the huge amounts of money she gets from her property. She values her relationship with her tenants. As a result, she only leases her property to tenants she believes are likely to succeed in the space. She believes the value of relationship is essential in real estate and the cannabis industry.
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