Since joining Latitude Commercial last November, Associate Broker Rob Beardsley has been dedicated to making a tangible impact on his community, one property at a time. He views his career at the full-service commercial real estate firm as about more than transactions. For him, it’s about how he can help spur revitalization and growth across the Region.
Beardsley’s interest in real estate was sparked by seeing local development take off firsthand. He first moved to Crown Point in 2015 when he was still a high school student. Not long after, a series of major projects and smaller developments started taking shape all around the area – the Southlake YMCA and Bulldog Park particularly impressed him.
“Those facilities really showed me just how much of an impact a development can have on a city,” Beardsley said. “Both of those places were investments, and now they’re drawing in people from all over. Seeing that kind of economic impact really got me interested in commercial real estate.”
He went on to study finance and real estate at Indiana University, all the while paying attention to all the new developments popping up around his hometown. During his time at college, he got his first practical experience in the industry, a commercial real estate workshop where he worked with different companies on real life projects.
“It was an amazing networking opportunity,” he said. “I got to meet with brokers and developers, and that really helped me gain a deeper understanding of this business.”
That education provided Beardsley with a solid platform that helped him secure a job with Latitude – a company he had admired from afar. He noted, however, that commercial real estate is work that you can only truly learn through experience.
“This field is a place where you don’t know anything until you actually do it,” he said. “Coming in, I knew how to underwrite pretty well. I understood the process. Executing it was something different. Working directly with the other brokers here has helped me learn a lot and really get a feel for how things are actually done. The leadership here has been instrumental in helping me grow more confident.”
As a new broker, much of his day is spent making calls and building connections. He canvasses the area, getting to know business owners at networking events.
“I’ll admit that it was a little overwhelming at the start. I came in starting from scratch without any real leads,” he said. “You have to keep making those calls and building your network. If you do that, you can get your foot in the door by presenting yourself as a resource, not a salesman. You give people insights on the market and show them opportunities that aren’t really being advertised.”
As he travels around the area, it has become common for Beardsley to see opportunities in unlikely places.
“There’s a vacant building I drive by every single day,” he said. “My favorite part of this job is knowing that I have the capabilities to make an impact with that. I could put a business there and really help revitalize that area.”
Beardsley recently turned that vision into reality. He put a new business into a building that had sat vacant for years.
“It was a property in Hammond, sitting right in a tight-knit community,” he said. “It used to be a dry cleaners, but nothing had been in there for a long time. I ended up selling it to someone who’s going to open up shop there and bring business to that neighborhood.”
As Beardsley moves forward, his current focus is on growing his network and building a base of long-term clients.
“Part of my job is to learn what clients are looking for and what their needs and future plans are,” he said. “I want to grow with them as their business or portfolio develops.”
To learn more about Latitude Commercial and its team of professionals, visit latitudeco.com.
