TREC does an incredible job of connecting people in our city. The Young Guns’ new event, Rising to The Top, is another excellent example of this. Perched high above the city on the 42nd floor of Bank of America Plaza, nearly 100 Young Guns gathered on Tuesday, August 23, to hear from Lucy Billingsley, Billingsley Company, Ran Holman, Cushman & Wakefield and Joel Pustmueller, Peloton Commercial Real Estate.
The panel discussion, moderated by Deren Wilcox, Balfour Beatty Construction, offered a unique opportunity for the audience of young professionals to hear personal experiences and advice on shaping your career from respected real estate executives. Topics included lessons learned from the early stages of their careers, advice for how to conduct business during different economic and market cycles, how to build and maintain your network, and the importance of growing as a leader.
Two great themes of the evening were patience and diligence. The panel began with each member sharing one of the biggest mistakes that they made early in their career. When asked next, “What would you do if you were given $2 million at age 23?” Lucy Billingsley quickly responded, “Hold on to it!” All three panelists echoed the sentiment and the importance of patience in recognizing ideal market conditions and finding the right opportunities because “the easiest thing to do is lose it, and someone will be happy to take it!”
The topics of patience and diligence also went beyond transactions as the discussion turned towards advancing your career. Joel Pustmueller described how important it is to surround yourself with the right people as you build your career or start your own business as he did. Both Holman and Pustmueller discussed their own experiences and the value of identifying and building strong, mutually-desired mentor relationships. Holman continued, crediting much of his business acumen and success as a leader to his mentor relationship as a young professional.
“Know where you want to be, and work to see the world from that perspective,” said Holman. Shaping your career in this industry takes both vision and hard work. As a young professional and member of the Young Guns, TREC continues to provide unparalleled access to our industry’s top leaders through great events like Rising to the Top. Hearing from established leaders in settings like this certainly helps to shape that vision.
Tyler Berns has worked for general contractor, Austin Commercial, for over 11 years, and currently serves in their Business Development group where he focuses on new construction pursuits and preconstruction activities. He has been an active member of TREC for almost 10 years, and he was a graduate of the 2016 ALC class.
Insights from Industry Veterans
