MWM panelists agree: 2020 inspired new opportunities, perspective

Nearly 100 Kansas City-area commercial real estate professionals gathered at Stone Pillar Vineyard & Winery on Wednesday for MWM’s annual KC Market Forecast event.

The event was moderated by Randy Bredar, executive vice president and Kansas City office director of JE Dunn Construction; featuring panelists Sheryl Vickers, CCIM, CEO and vice president of project partnerships of Select Sites LLC, president of Complete Construction Service and co-founder of Women in Real Estate Development (WIRED); Rob Welker, president and partner of Hoefer Welker; and Chad Stafford, president of Occidental Management, Inc.

Lessons from 2020:

As a solopreneur, Vickers emphasized how the past year has reminded her of the importance of having a source of passive income when a crisis arises.

The pandemic created opportunities for Vickers to turn long-term rentals into short-term AirBnB rentals because customers preferred to stay in places with fewer people, opposed to large hotels.

“It provides relief in times like this. I feel poised with an expanded network to grow exponentially,” Vickers said.

Thanks to Stafford’s aggressive approach at Occidental Management, his company was able to provide tenants with expanded resources in information and services.

“The past year did cost us some leasing deals so we had to do a hard pivot to engage with our tenants. We hired a marketing firm to help. It’s all about communication,” Stafford said.

For Welker the past year created opportunities for new activities, including launching a plumbing/electrical unit and using the PPP funds to hire new people.

“The biggest thing for us was getting back in touch with clients. We started a daily executive council ‘happy hour’ to share information and knowledge and act as a sounding board. We didn’t hide; we outreached and outreached and outreached some more. The key, though, is that outreach has to have value,” Welker said.

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