Where Do You Go When You Need Some Space?

You’ve probably got enough on your “to-do” list already, so why add checking the date when your lease expires to the list? If the expiration is way off in the future, are your employees tripping over one another or getting in each other’s way? Are you paying for more space than you need? Is your space serving you, or hindering you?

All of these are important questions, and for answers to these and other commercial real estate-related questions I turn to my friend Jason Bollhoefner of Benchmark Commercial. Jason and his partners run Benchmark Commercial, a Colorado-based real estate brokerage firm that focuses solely on serving tenant and buyer “occupiers” of commercial property. Benchmark is also an EXIS Global partner, which lets Benchmark offer services outside Colorado through its principal-run partners of similar excellence almost anywhere in the world.

When clients first engage with Jason, often they’re having trouble creating a positive company culture, recruiting or retaining talent, or maximizing return. No matter the obstacle or goal, Jason’s job is to help fit the client’s evolving needs and goals in space that will accommodate them – both the immediate needs and those of the future.

Jason’s process starts at the ground floor – identifying the client’s immediate needs. On the next level, Jason charts where the client hopes to be in two years, five years, and beyond. Jason and his team then go to work to accommodate the immediate needs and create flexibility to continue to meet the client’s needs and goals as they change and evolve.

In most cases, it costs money to move to a new space. There’s build-out (“TI or Tenant Finish”), moving expenses, and the potential for down-time. These one-time costs are usually financed by borrowing. However, this isn’t universally true.

While not common, Jason and his team have dug up real estate that fit the client’s needs so well that the client covered its moving expenses through improved efficiency. Jason said, “the glove fit the hand so well” that, instead of having to invest surplus cash in improvements to the property, the client used the funds to buy new equipment. The immediate return from the new location and equipment paid for the entire move and created improved cash flow immediately.

The client locked-up this perfectly tailored solution because of Jason’s diligence, attention to detail, and consideration of all the options – not just the easy ones. Jason also negotiated for the landlord to provide additional space as the client’s needs grew instead of making the client pay for more space than it needed when the client first moved in.

Of course, not all new engagements are so idyllic. A prospect had invested (without having Jason’s help or help from any broker) everything the owners could scrape together into a new location. They found out, when the fire department shut them down, that the building didn’t have the right fire suppression, emergency exiting, or zoning for their business. The prospect lost the entire investment. When they later engaged Jason, it took a long time for Jason’s team to find the right location with the right landlord who would work with the client without insisting on a lot of money up-front. When all was said and done, the formerly nearly bankrupt company is one of Jason’s most appreciative clients.

In many cases, a prospect is too far down the renewal path with their existing landlord for Jason to be of much help. Even in these cases though, Jason helps build a plan to manage the prospect’s real estate needs in the future. In one case, a building materials company renewed its existing lease but quickly expanded its needs when it bought the business of its installation contractor. Jason and his team helped the client identify an unrecognized need for warehouse space. Based on Jason’s consultation, the client combined all its diverse operations in a single location. This solution expanded the client’s space in all the places where more space was needed, facilitated immediate growth, increased the management and employee efficiency, saved a lot of money, and had built-in flexibility to accommodate additional growth.

While Jason and his team don’t do true project management, they do stay involved to help coordinate the tenant finish and ensure a smooth move-in process. They have a huge network of best-in-class providers, from project managers to moving companies. Jason says, “We love to tap our Rolodex (a device for organizing hard-copy business cards) and leverage relationships to help clients get into a space that really works for them.” Benchmark also uses software to help Jason’s team track and manage milestones, deadlines, and next steps. Jason’s goal is to become a trusted, partner-like advisor, offering trustworthy and insightful consultation.

When it comes to deciding between available properties, the cost of occupying and using the space is usually the prime driver. Jason’s team is well equipped to analyze, project, and compare costs among various properties. They’re also experts at helping their clients decide whether to rent or own the property.

In one case where the numbers became the deciding factor, Jason helped his client understand that customers weren’t “dropping in” because they happened to be going by the client’s showroom. When the client understood that its business was a destination for their customers, the client consolidated its showroom with its other space and cut its rent expense by 75%.

Most clients, while concerned with expense, are also intensely focused on space that is welcoming and attractive to customers and recruits, that helps create and maintain the client’s culture, and that promotes success. There are lots of success stories, and Jason observed that the most challenging cases have also been his most rewarding.

Jason shared that, if he were looking for a broker, he would ask a colleague or advisor that he trusts for a personal introduction. He would ask the broker for references that include clients. “It’s a relationship business,” he says, “and I would want to work with a broker who is as interested in building our relationship as I am.” He would also look for a broker who is consultative, with the right combination of skills, network, and influence to complement you and your team. “Sometimes influence is what it takes to move the needle,” says Jason. “You’ve got to like and respect who you’re working with and trust that they’re going to use all their abilities and professionalism to get the results that you want.”

Jason likes working with clients with evolving needs because of the continuing challenges they create. “It’s fun to solve for growth,” Jason enthused. Most of Benchmark’s clients are companies that typically employ 20 to 100 employees. By creating a close, long-lasting relationship with these kinds of clients and prospects, Jason is better able to identify opportunities to add value where the client or prospect often isn’t even aware that they might have a need.

Even if you’re not working with a broker on a long-term basis, Jason recommends reviewing your real estate needs every year. Plan to give yourself much more time than you think you will ever need to find and negotiate for new space. In the current market, it may take more than a year to get the right deal done.  Leave yourself the time necessary for options and leverage.

If you’re interested in getting to know Jason or learning more about Benchmark Commercial, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.