"Fittest" might be a bit misleading, what he meant is "survival of the most nimble to adapt to change".I will have to support Patrick's assessment that wholesaling is very done for now - not just in Seattle.

I have an adaptable saying that sounds like: "I would rather have a good operator in a bad market than a bad operator in a good market."

They need experience in this space (adaptive re-use or work with commercial interiors) This can also come in the form of an integrated design/build firm.

Since this is your first time through, you need to adapt away from things that don't work for you, and revise your process for more efficiency and success.It's all an educational process. 

Real Estate is ever-changing and you need to adapt to current conditions constantly.  

I am one of those people who adapts well to change and I have prepared myself in that I have acknowledged that change is inevitable. 

- How did you adapt and grow from the expereince?

I do agree that there will be some major changes and we will all have to adapt. 

However, learning the techniques of an activity without a basic real estate knowledge means that (1) you will have no ability to adapt when the market changes (2) you will have no ability to adapt to the difference between different geographical areas (3) you will have no ability to understand or implement any other strategies and (4) you’ll have much less chance of success with the strategy you learned since it is based on the memorization of a technique rather than the foundation knowledge and understanding of why that technique may be successful.While stories abound of success by people with little real estate foundation knowledge, I’ve found that these successes tend to be either (1) wildly exaggerated or inaccurate or (2) of very short term and only until market conditions have changed or (3) the result of a random unsustainable run of luck.

Retailers and restaurants are adapting to lockdowns and re-openings (and re-closings), with curbside service, expanded takeout, and plenty of innovation.