Just over two months ago, David Haug and Heidi Dunn were working for different employers. Haug, 34, had four years in at NAI MLG, a company he considers to be a benchmark in the commercial real estate industry. Dunn, 32, was in radio sales for Clear Channel Communications, but had a history which included sales for Veridian Homes and property management with JSM Properties. Business acquaintances had introduced them months earlier, about the time Haug admitted he was beginning to feel like he needed a change.
He was, after all, no stranger to business start ups. There was an Internet/Web business he started in the 1990s, then a home sanitation company he had hoped to franchise before realizing that he just didn’t have a passion for cleaning homes. Then he helped his wife, Jahna, open an interior design business. So the notion of starting his fourth business, on his own, in commercial real estate, was somewhat less daunting. “This was the first time I started a company where I knew what I was doing,” he laughed.
As Haug explains it, when the opportunity arose to start a new company with the “right” team, he decided to take the plunge and used a good portion of his personal savings to start his new business. Dunn was the first person hired.
Significant to the start up was real estate developer Roger Bowden of Smith Bowden Real Estate, who had been a mentor to Haug for several years. It was Bowden who suggested they team up on a new venture. Now Bowden is also a partner, and the two companies share office space. Team meetings occur on a weekly basis.
Lighthouse CRE, a third-party commercial real estate brokerage company, opened for business on June 23, the morning after Haug resigned from NAI MLG. And despite reports of gloom and doom in the economy, Haug and Dunn are finding business to be brisk. “It’s not bad for brokers right now,” Haug said. “We thrive on change. [There’s a lot of] right-sizing, expanding, and contracting going on, but it’s tough for property owners.”
Since hitting the ground running, both Haug and Dunn have faced the usual start-up pitfalls, including finding time to get “the little things done.”
But Dunn said they have been celebrating benchmarks all along: When they decided to move forward with the lighthouse as a marketing brand because, they said, it symbolized safety, stability, and a firm foundation; when they got their new business cards; then when they procured their first listing at 1617 Sherman Avenue. As of this writing, the company has seven clients, including three listings. One happens to be the entire 4.25-acre Mautz Block on East Washington Avenue. “We’ve had significant interest there,” Haug smiled.
Haug and Dunn work on 100% commission and must pay for their own benefits. They get paid at closing or when a lease is signed, so while the upside to opening the business is the notion that the “sky is the limit,” the down side means they’ve yet to receive a paycheck. But with two deals currently in negotiation, that day could come soon. They’ve set a goal for two closings or lease signings every month, each hopefully valued between $750,000 and $1 million.
“We expect to work with a lot of banks,” Haug said, adding that he anticipates an increase in commercial real estate needs in the next few years as the industry braces for a wave of CRE foreclosures — an unfortunate economic fallout that appears to be looming. “You can’t be under water all over the place and not have problems happen,” Haug said, pledging support if that happens here.
“In commercial real estate, every single opportunity is a unique puzzle. There’s always someone who needs help. It forces you to always be creative and think out of the box so you can play a crucial role in helping others be successful.”
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