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As Vice-President for Southern Home Builders, Steve spent the major part of the last decade leading the company\\u2019s expansion into the Texas market with what was a new product at the time, the office condominium. A venture that not only led to great success but also resulted in countless valuable insights and lessons, which we dive into.\\xa0

Today, Steve Hextell has his sights set on exciting new ventures, both through his property management company called The Houston Office Company, and through a new development company called Tenet Developers, conceived to seize opportunities within the office condominium space, and beyond.\\xa0

In today\\u2019s episode, we dive into:

• What exactly is the office condominium product, what makes it unique, why it flies under the radar, and why it works.\\xa0
• We discuss marketing, storytelling, the significance of knowing your customer, we discuss managing trades and construction costs, we discuss the main attributes to consider when looking for land for development, and much, much more.

Email: steve@thoc-llc.com\\xa0

Website: www.houstonofficecompany.com/

Book referenced: The Tipping Point\\xa0 by Malcolm Gladwell

FROM THE EPISODE:\\xa0

ON OFFERING LIMITED OPTIONS FOR CUSTOMIZATION

\\u201cFirst of all, the product was really good. The floor plan was outstanding. And so there wasn\\u2019t a need to structurally change a lot of things.\\u201d

\\u201cPeople don\\u2019t like to make a lot of changes.\\u201d

ON KEEPING CONSTRUCTION COSTS LOW

\\u201cWhen you're recruiting trades, you have to find people that are the most value trades out there. You can get them to do your project if you can promise them consistent delivery of available ready units for them to get in and out.\\u201d

\\u201cConstruction costs are an ongoing management process of exploring and looking at trades, riding other projects, construction sites, constantly with your business card out looking for other trades that can come in and competitively bid.\\u201d

\\u201cWhen you layer on a general contractor and you layer on commercial trades and big trades, the numbers just don\\u2019t work. You almost have to be a 1-2 person show keeping your costs so low and driving your costs.\\u201d

ON MARKETING

\\u201cWe don\\u2019t advertise, there was really no awareness campaign at all because we knew who the target audience was.\\u201d

\\u201cWe had a really good brand. We knew early on in our first project that our website, our collateral, our image, our logo, everything had to be really first class.\\u201d

\\u201cWhen you do a good job well then you get referrals, and you don\\u2019t pay for referrals, you just ask people.\\u201d

\\u201cYour place has got to look great. You\\u2019ve got to build a good product, you\\u2019ve got to communicate, you\\u2019ve got to ask for referrals. But you have got to have a plan in place. A strategy to execute.\\u201d

ON FINDING OPPORTUNITIES

\\u201cOne of the key tenets is I always looked for land. I try to buy land in up and coming areas but buy it soon enough that it\\u2019s affordable.\\u201d

\\u201cBe prepared to get involved in the market\\u2026 You have to join the chamber, you have to join the economic development council, you have to talk to people, you have to ride the construction sites and get to know the trades.\\u201d

\\u201cI still think being there with the clients, talking to them and watching your costs every day is crucial.\\u201d

\\u201cHave your hands in every aspect of it. You could lose vast amounts of money really easily if there\\u2019s a mistake.\\u201d

\\u201cYou have to understand and know every penny that\\u2019s being spent.\\u201d

\\u201cThere\\u2019s an opportunity to be excited about what\\u2019s coming. And jump onto as much of it as you can. Be positive about it.\\u201d

\\u201cBe the positive person in the room. Be the positive person about the future of what\\u2019s coming.\\u201d