How Playing Basketball with Ed O'Bannon Helped Me Find Real Estate Development Partners - Part 1
Real estate is a team sport. Find your team.
When you’re starting out, everything seems insurmountable. You don’t have enough capital, time, or knowledge to scale the mountain.
Since there are so many facets to real estate investment and development, the idea of the sole entrepreneurial real estate genius is a myth.
Real estate is a team sport.
So you might ask, how do I build the right team? This is a multi-segment post since finding partners for real estate development projects is vital to negotiating deals and ultimately achieving success in the business.
Let’s dive in…
In May 2000, I attended a free-agent camp for NCAA basketball players who had yet to sign a professional contract. It was a great opportunity to showcase my talent to numerous international coaches and sports agents.
Before leaving for the camp, my coach, Bob Hill, and I had a broad conversation that can be summarized as, “In life, always look for opportunities to help others.”
A day later, I boarded a plane to fly to the U.S. Basketball Academy in Eugene, OR. Upon arrival, we checked in and then headed to our dorm rooms. I walked into my bunk-style room, and sitting on one of the beds was Ed O’Bannon.
Now, Ed O’Bannon won the John Wooden Award for the best player in college basketball in 1995. He also led his team to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship that year.
So he is sitting there and says, “Does anyone have an extra pair of socks?” Recalling my conversation with my coach, I say, “Sure, I have a couple of extra pairs you can have.”
An hour later, we headed to the field house to see which teams we were on.
It turns out Ed O’Bannon is on my team. Our team also included three other guys from the University of Oregon.
Ed turns to me and says, “You’re trying to get a job playing, right? Those guys aren’t going to pass you the ball. Don’t worry, I will hook you up.”
Ed O’Bannon then proceeded to pass me the ball every chance he got.
Of course, I prepared for the camp like my life depended on it. With Ed passing me the ball and my preparation, I went on to outplay most of the guys at the camp and I got an agent and ultimately got a job playing in Australia.
What's the point of this story?
When you’re looking to build a real estate business from scratch, you need partners.
By selflessly helping others in our industry, you connect with them more meaningfully while also demonstrating your knowledge and passion for the business.
Over time, this generates goodwill, and it creates dividends in the form of opportunities.
I employed a similar method when I started my real estate development business. First, I told everyone I knew what I was up to, and then, not long after that, I was introduced to Andrew Consigli.
Andrew and I quickly learned we shared the same principles and values, building quality places for people to live and work, and an interest in building a real estate development business.
To begin our relationship, I spent more than a year looking for projects we could work on together. The time and effort invested demonstrated my commitment to working with Andrew and his business, Civico Development.
While looking for larger commercial and multifamily projects, I participated in a small condo conversion project with Andrew and David Oliveri, his business partner at Civico Development.
During that project, I showed how much I care about quality and the outcome of my projects in a variety of ways.
Andrew said, “When you called me concerned about the color of the front door on our small condo project, I knew you cared. That impressed me.”
Andrew, David, and I still work together on projects in the multifamily and mixed-use development space.
How do you find partners? Do you have stories you would like to share? If you do, please submit your story so we can share it with the audience. Email us at contactus@pushthroughmedia.com.
Stay tuned for Part 2 on how to find partners for your real estate projects.
Other notes: Ed O’Bannon is also well known for his lawsuit against the NCAA, which he won. This lawsuit paved the way for student-athletes to own their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), allowing them to benefit from their fame while participating in NCAA sports.
While you’re here, check out our new ChatGPT, Chaz, Your Fav Industrial Real Estate Bro, here. We uploaded the latest market reports with the latest rent, vacancy, and sales data in our markets. So he is more than just a pretty face. Let us know what you think!
Below is a video showing some of Chaz’s favorite concepts in last-mile distribution, such as drone delivery, multi-story, urban distribution centers, and driverless trucks.
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Commercial Observer - Where to Invest in the South Florida Commercial Real Estate
ZeroHedge - NY Fed Finds Medium, Long-Term Inflation Expectations Jump
Bloomberg - Biden’s Budget Expects Cooling Economy, Stubborn Inflation
It’s tournament time! If you’re a fan of college basketball, this is your favorite month on the calendar. I have been watching some SEC and ACC basketball as usual and trying to keep up with the goings-on of the Big 12 and Big East. It looks like Purdue is still on top as the favorite for the NCAA tourney. Bracketology now has Indiana State and their Rec-Spec wearing big-man as the Last Team In. I’m excited to see how my old league, the Atlantic-10 does this year. Dayton is strong in the league, while Richmond is on top going into the league tournament.
NBA basektball continues on. The Celtics are dominating their league. They won 11 straight. Then they lost 2 in a row and ESPN refers to it as “a slide”. LOL. Victor Wembanyama continues to dominate on one of the worst teams in the NBA (the Spurs). Luka Doncic recorded a record six-straight 30 point triple-doubles. Now that’s domination right there. And Anthony Davis put up a historic stat-line against the Minnesota Timberwolves of 27 points, 25 rebounds, 7 steals, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Wow…but who really cares since it’s the Lakers, and they are not that good this year. Until next week!