The 2023 NextGen Session kicked off at the Irgens BMO tower featuring a panel of Wisconsin
developers including: Brian Adamson (ICAP Development); Jerry Franke (Franke Development Advisors, LLC.); Ryan Holzhauer (Wangard Partners) and Joe Stanton (Three Leaf Development). The session was the first of nine classroom discussions with leaders from various sectors across the commercial real estate spectrum. Founders 3 Real Estate is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 NextGen session.
Several take aways included:
- An important success factor for developers is managing all stakeholders involved in a project
- Working to leverage community impact for any development project
- Crunching the numbers – making sure everything works seamlessly for the investors and users
- Focus on direct development activities and to make sure time is managed effectively
- Every day is different and every day is exciting. You have to love what you do.
- Golf has been very beneficial to many deals – knowing that you are with someone for four hours – you can see how they face challenges, opportunities and how they play the game.
- Being a developer takes discipline to follow the active projects and prospects.
- When meeting with so many people – make sure the meetings matter!
- Discipline is required to following active projects and prospective projects.
- Collaboration is important – so everyone knows what is going on. Information is EVERYWHERE – even with competitors.
- As a developer you are like a conductor of an orchestra. You don’t know how to play all the instruments but you know what they should all sound like and you know how to make them all work together.
- You have to have patience when you’re on the development side.
- The entitlement process continues to be the most difficult and challenging. To overcome objections figure out the most influential people on both sides and speak with them directly. Do more listening than talking.
- Trust in your team is key. Surround yourself with people you trust.
- There are some characters in commercial real estate – everyone is interesting – and different depending on motivation and outlook.
- Construction costs and interest rates remain challenging – managing client and investor expectations is becoming a larger and larger priority.
Advice:
- Trust your consultants to do what they do better than you. But you can’t give them full latitude because they are only one piece of the process.
- Be decisive – make a decision and stick with it. Get all the information you can get from all the people you can – and make the decision.
- Manage expectations of all stakeholders.
- Talk to your peers – ask their perspective – lean on others related to their expertise.
- Don’t talk so much – but listen! Even the people in the audience
Quatable:
- “If you don’t make a mistake you’re not trying.”
- “Like a snowball – rolling and rolling and adding on – eventually they make a snowman”
- “If at first you don’t succeed – try another approach.
What are the biggest challenges changing:
- Technology – exel spreadsheets
- Social media
- Rents have not kept up as the market has changed
- Parking lots
- Electric Vehicles – following where and who has electric cars
- Work from home – change how you look at a unit from a design perspective.
Traits for success:
- Underpromise and Overdeliver
- Think on your feet
- Attention to detail – Devil is in the details
- Adapt and get creative
- Stand out
Learn more about the NextGen program and the Class of 2023 HERE