Commercial Real Estate Today: Andy Misiaveg On 5 Things You Need to Create a Highly Successful Career in the Commercial Real Estate Industry Today

An interview with Aron Weiner

Surround yourself with great teammates and mentors. This sounds obvious, but it is hard to accomplish. These people are your allies, your bedrock, and your biggest cheerleaders.

The commercial real estate industry is a dynamic and challenging landscape that offers enormous potential for success. However, it requires a unique blend of skills, knowledge, and aptitude to truly excel. How does one establish themselves in such a competitive field? What does it take to consistently rise to the top in commercial real estate? How does one rise above the headwinds that are challenging the commercial real estate industry today? In this interview series, we are talking to commercial real estate professionals, brokers, investors, leaders of Real Estate Firms and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), as well as anyone who’s found significant success in this industry. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Andy Misiaveg.

Andy is a partner and executive vice president at The Shopping Center Group (TSCG), in their Charlotte office. Andy started with the firm in 1999 after graduating Clemson University — GO TIGERS! As a tenant representative and consultant, Andy focuses on working closely with client’s on-site selection, store rollout, deal execution, and market strategy and optimization. In addition, Andy also works with developers, investors, and owners throughout North and South Carolina to find the ideal site for their next project, acquire land or existing assets for development, and assemble projects end-to-end.

Andy’s retail real estate experience spans all phases of the business, including single and multi-tenant retailer asset disposition, investment sales, tenant representation, existing center and new construction project leasing, land parcel assemblages, developer consulting. Andy has completed over $1 billion in transaction volume in his career at TSCG and has been a company-wide Top 5 producer every year since 2010.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would like to learn a bit about your origin story. Can you share with us a bit about your childhood and how you grew up?

I grew up in Charlotte, NC and then moved to Greenville, SC when I was 9 years old. I was a very high energy child, and I played a lot of sports (soccer, gymnastics, baseball, basketball, tennis, skiing) growing up. I eventually gravitated towards high level junior tournament tennis playing all over the Southeast. I also loved to read books (and still do), and was blessed with a very good memory, and also had a strong interest in travel from a young age.

Can you share with us the ‘backstory’ of how you got into the real estate business?

My father, Bill Misiaveg, was originally a mall manager in the 1970s and early 1980s. When we moved to Greenville, SC, he joined the retail development industry, eventually becoming a managing partner of a small regional development firm, Carolina Holdings, Inc., for 35 years. He was very successful and recently retired in 2021; he now lives in Charlotte with my mom, enjoying time with their children and grandchildren. I learned the business growing up around him through osmosis, traveling to look at CVS and grocery sites when we were out of town at tennis tourneys, vacations, or other travel. After I graduated from Clemson, I interviewed with a number of commercial real estate firms, hoping to land in the business. My father’s firm had worked quite extensively with The Shopping Center Group (TSCG) across various offices, with TSCG representing his firm in land acquisition, leasing, and tenant representation activities. He highly recommended them. After a few crazy interviews in Las Vegas at the ICSC convention that occurred with company executives over both baccarrat and roulette tables (story for another day), I loved the work hard, play hard attitude of the company and they had a need for an associate broker in their Carolinas division in Charlotte. I started in 1999 and trained under Julie Gardner (now with Katz and Associates) for over a year, and then started to work on accounts on my own, as well as starting a long term friendship and mentorship with partner Alan Freeman (mow managing partner for TSCG for the Carolinas in Charleston, SC).

Can you tell us about your company and what makes it stand out?

There are quite a few items that help it stand out. 1) The market knowledge, expertise, and attention to detail of not only our broker advisors, but also our GIS and marketing teams well. 2) The fun atmosphere and culture in the way the company conducts itself. 3) For myself, the trust, integrity, and work ethic of the Carolinas team and my day to day business partners, Jonathan Britt and Will Macbain.

Can you tell our readers about the most exciting new projects you are working on now?

I’m currently wrapping up a Top Golf project that I have been a part of for almost 10 years, start to finish, in Greenville, SC. Its been a wonderful experience to facilitate the 75 acre project and work with outstanding teams at Top Golf and Realtylink Development to bring the project to fruition, and it was the first Top Golf in the state of South Carolina upon opening. We have since opened Main Event and have hotels and other entertainment users under development, as well as industrial buildings on the rear of the property.

In addition, it’s always exciting, during my day to day responsibilities, to work with our great Tenant representation clients on rollouts throughout North and South Carolina during their various growth cycles. Two of our newest and most exciting are new market entrances with Raising Cane’s and Dutch Bros. Coffee.

As with any career path, the commercial real estate industry comes with its own set of challenges. Could you elaborate on some of the significant challenges you faced in your career and how you managed to overcome them?

A few things come to mind. First, early on in my career, I recognized it was time to move into my own brokerage role, versus staying on with a senior partner, in which I didn’t see us having a future together as a team. That was difficult because I was so young and still learning the business. I had to have the confidence to take the leap and hope my own skill set as well as company business development and account referral activity would carry me through.

Later, a challenge was having the courage to grow a team by training and mentoring various associate brokers. Over the years, I have directly trained 6 broker associates, and mentored many others. It is such a rewarding activity and continues to help me learn new things about myself.

Additionally, in 2008, I had to basically restart the Charlotte office of TSCG, due to the recession and some personnel issues that had occurred. It was a challenging time for about 18 months; I learned a lot about myself and TSCG, and we all got stronger and wiser from what we learned during that time.

In the last few years, the challenges have been less significant but still relevant in terms of managing my team and day to day business and clients, and how that is always an evolutionary process.

Ok, let’s now move to the main part of our interview about commercial real estate. What are the 3 things that most excite you about the industry now? Why?

First, the ever changing face of retail real estate. It has been written off multiple times — from the death of the mall, to online retail, and now omnichannel. Retail continues to evolve and grow and is extremely resilient. Concepts ether continue to change or adapt to new challenges in the market, or they slowly become irrelevant and fade away. There is a deserted highway littered with a number of concepts that have come and gone during my career in retail real estate. There are always entrepreneurs creating new concepts and trying to add value inside and outside of the four walls of a retail building or space.

Second, the evolution of the entertainment concepts in retail real estate is also exciting. With the rise of gamification in the entertainment-retail world, there are a plethora of concepts growing, including Top Golf, Puttshack, Ifly, Meowwolf, Flight Club, Crushyard Pickleball, Good Surf, Its Sugar — all of whom are TSCG clients — and others like Pins Mechanical, Intown Golf, PopStroke, Main Event, Immersive Gamebox, Museum of Ice Cream, and Museum of Illusions. It’s an extremely creative time in those segments. I think tied into that is the use of virtual reaity (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) within those concepts and in retail stores in general.

Lastly, the creativity in the restaurant sector, which is likely the single most competitive space in the business world in the United States. We have seen the statistics that 50% of restaurants don’t make it a year, but people are continuing to create risks to build a better sandwich, taco, burger, smoothie, etc. — all the time. Operationally, it’s so difficult, but the adrenaline and fun factor of an exciting new restaurant can rarely be duplicated.

What are the 3 things that concern you about it? Why? What should be done to address and alleviate those concerns?

There are quite a few concerns and red flags in retail real estate currently.

1. Zoning and entitlements are getting more and more difficult. From unified development ordinances (UDO) to planning overlay districts, to urban land use requirements to NIMBYIsm, retail gets picked at time and time again to be more homogenized, more standardized, and over-regulated. We need more progressive planners and municipal involvement and discussion. Retail is not one size fits all in every community and each neighborhood and community needs to understand that, and understand the market forces at work in their community and what types of retail can thrive there. Too many times we hear that a community wants a huge urban mixed use development with the latest Apple or Lululemon store. Those types of developments are very few and far between, and residents need to understand their communities’ demographics, traffic patterns, customer densities, etc. — and really help cater to those types of retailers that fit within that framework, instead of fighting against that.
2. Construction pricing and interest rates. These are the two lifeblood's of retail retail estate. Right now, that life is being drained away due to the Fed interest rate policy, and also due to not providing enough local technical and trade schools and apprenticeships for people wanting to enter the construction and professional trades. The lack of competitiveness and skilled labor in that sector keeps pricing very high. Local communities and governments should promote those educational programs and make these types of education and employment opportunities more affordable and attractive. Lastly, the Fed needs to let the current rise in rates seep through the system then start to cut rates next year to help stimulate after the slow down that we have been seeing occur all throughout 2024 in retail real estate
3. Small business loan programs and stimulating local and regional banks’ involvement in those programs. Right now, the Fed is requiring more cash reserves for local and regional banks to protect against declining assets. That is understandable. However, many entrepreneurs need local lending help and loans that are $1 million or less, which hardly moves the needle on a bank’s landing, but they are hamstrung right now due to Fed policy. The Fed needs to step in and release the clamps for small business lending and backstopping those loans.

How has technology changed the commercial real estate industry, and how do you foresee it shaping the future of the sector?”

It has really changed things from a data standpoint. Companies like Placer AI, Restaurant Trends, LoopNet, LandGlide, and others have been disruptive and also extremely beneficial. Google Earth has likely had the biggest effect. The ability to see any streetfront in the country has a huge effect to level the playing field and help people review and make quicker decisions. I think the tech sector will continue to grow in retail real estate, however we have also seen people hit behind it and it does have a tendency to create analysis paralysis in a lot of cases. You can use tech as a tool, but ultimately still need to use your gut. Lastly, there is still no better resource than local market knowledge and local broker/consultant professionals who serve that area day in and day out.

I am hearing the phrase “Stay alive until 2025” a lot. What is your plan to survive in the current market?

I am fortunate to have a great team and clients, and we work our pipeline every day along with mining for new clients and opportunities. I think the “stay alive until 2025” phrase is scary, and I don’t know many people who can sit on the sidelines for over another year and not make much money and then hope to just magically restart then. People are fooling themselves, if they don’t stay active in it daily they will be replaced.

For a young person who would like to eventually make a career in commercial real estate, which skills and subjects do they need to learn?

Openness to learning, tenacity, competitiveness, curiosity, empathy, work ethic, creativity.

When evaluating deals or opportunities in real estate, what are the most important factors you look for and why? Can you provide some examples?

Wow, that’s a tough one. Each deal is unique. I am an active poker player and I do like game theory, so I really look at probability and try to weigh that with time. Having done this for a long time, you have a feeling based on personal experience about the likelihood a deal can happen, and that gets polished and refined every day working on that given deal. You continue to reframe that perspective. There are two phrases I live by every day. One: “hope isn’t a business strategy.” Too many tenants hope that space will come available or that they will get lucky and someone will magically want them at their property. What tenants don’t realize is there are 100 other concepts thinking the exact same thing. And two: “don’t let good be the enemy of great.” Too many tenants and landlords want the perfect deal or site. I’ve got news for all of them: it doesn’t exist. If it is the best site, then it will also be the highest rent. Right now vacancy rates across the U.S. are at historic lows and too many tenants are way too selective about sites. The majority of them won’t come close to their store counts or opening goals, some due to lack of product but some due to being overly selective.

Can you share a story with us about the hardest deal you made, that ended successfully for you?

That is a funny one. I think it might have been the first lease I negotiated solely on my own. It was a mom and pop pizza restaurant. Both the tenant and landlord got to a standoff that lasted 6 months — over a $1,200 grease trap. Eventually they both split the cost, which is what they should have done from day one. The commission was extremely small, but I was so emotionally invested in the outcome of the deal and seeing it come to a conclusion. A lot of that was due to the novelty of completing my first deal and feeling so young and helpless over the process.

Based on your personal experience and success, can you please share “Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The Commercial Real Estate Industry”?

1. Patience. This is likely the #1 thing. Careers are created over decades, not months. Careers ebb and flow and are a lifetime fulfillment; you need to be patient and develop your relationships and pipeline, not look to “get rich quick.” People are instictive and can smell desparation and if you are motivated only in the short term, you will make compromising decisions for you, your team, and your clients.
2. Surround yourself with great teammates and mentors. This sounds obvious, but it is hard to accomplish. These people are your allies, your bedrock, and your biggest cheerleaders.
3. Know when to move on from opportunities. Opportunities are like magnets and can bring people towards each other, or in opposite directions. Real estate deals are the same way. If the opportunity is not moving your way, you can’t force it. Have the resolve to move on and not waste additional time, money, and emotional energy on it. I learned early on it takes two parties to make a deal, and if one is unwilling, it’s better to walk away versus forcing something that won’t work.
4. Enjoy what you do and have some sense of greater purpose. If you only do it for money, you will burn out or make bad decisions. For me, I love seeing stores open and jobs that are created from retail real estate and its associated projects. It could be construction jobs, banking jobs, new employees at a store, corporate back of house jobs, etc. Nothing is more rewarding than providing someone a job and a sense of daily purpose.
5. Always be learning. I read all the time and have a commercial real estate coach that keeps me accountable. I am always trying new ideas, stretching outside my comfort zone, and implementing what I learn in books and real life experiences into my day to day job.

Do you have three things you would advise a new real estate professional to avoid?

1. Taking a job for the money, versus a better experience for less money. You can waste years in dead end opportunities with little learning or relationship value. You can never get back time, but you can always figure out how to make more money later.
2. Don’t compromise your core values. Realize what those are and be steadfast with them.
3. Be open to new opportunities and ways of learning. When you are young, you’re often scared to make mistakes, but mistakes and trying new things are what really help you grow.

What advice would you give to another real estate professional about improving the work culture, building team morale, and helping each employee thrive?

Simple: leave it better than you found it!

What is your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that had relevance to your own life?

The golden rule: “do unto others as you would have done to you.” I try to be honorable with all the people in my work life and operate with intergrity. It’s a great trait I learned from my father and other mentors.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Unfortunately I don’t think I have given much thought about that. Being a Christian, I have seen many examples of the power of how loving someone and meeting someone at their own level can do wonders for the world. I guess I would say that.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Theshoppingcentergroup.com

(26) Andy Misiaveg | LinkedIn

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!