Every once in awhile, someone asks you a question in jest, not expecting you to be able to answer it, but kind of hoping in the back of their mind that you might. When Bj Armstrong, owner of Keller Williams Revolution, asked me "Robbie, you don't know anyone in Springfield, IL who has a 7000 square foot office space for sale that no one knows about, do you?", I said "Actually..."
It's not often you get to answer that kind of question, and it's even less often you get to do it for a friend and mentor who's helped you on countless occasions in your own career.
The challenge here — aside from finding a 7000 square foot space to suit KW Capital's needs — was finding a suitable space before it sold. A space like that is a premium in a place like Springfield. Sometimes, by the time you find a building listed for sale, it's too late. Sometimes, real estate isn't about buildings with for sale signs, it's about knowing the community, the people, their needs, and stewarding those well and helping everyone get where they want to go, which is what I hoped to do with this challenge.
Not long after my conversation with Bj Armstrong, I spoke with a contact of mine in the Springfield area, seeing if he'd be able to offer any help with my tall order. Turns out, he was able to put me in touch with the then-owner of the Northwestern Mutual office in Springfield, and this project quickly gained momentum after that.
If you can believe it, the Northwestern Mutual space was a 7200 square foot office space positioned right in the center of lending companies and title agencies, making it a perfect new space for KW Capital. And the real kicker? It had not yet been listed for sale, and likely would have been sold shortly after it had been, maybe before we'd even been able to move on it. The space has been perfect for KW Capital, giving them an immediate upgrade with room to grow for years to come.
