Dive Brief:
- Stewart Perry Company Founder and President Merrill Stewart spoke to an Auburn University Master of Real Estate Development class last week, offering valuable advice on succeeding in commercial building and related businesses.
- To succeed in real-estate development — and the related businesses, like construction — he said it's critical to build a personal brand and credibility.
- He also told them that success is going to be hard without flexibility, because with so many moving parts in a project, unexpected changes are almost guaranteed. Keep trying to do a better job for your clients, looking for innovations that will help them meet their goals and build business for you down the road.
Dive Insight:
Auburn runs a two-year graduate program that confers a degree the school calls "Master of Real Estate Development." It's a joint project run by the College of Architecture, Design and Construction and the College of Business. The background for the other advice the students got from Merrill Stewart was to look for another career if they don't love what they're doing.
