Dan Neyer entered the period of the past three years the same as anyone else running a business: uncertain what to expect moving forward. As president and CEO of Neyer Properties Inc., a commercial real estate company, he saw that his industry was greatly affected due to the economic downturn. While he didn’t have any secret weapons or information others didn’t, he did have something that kept his company pushing onward — a positive approach to a bad situation.
Rather than hunker down or look elsewhere for business, Neyer gathered his employees to explain the situation the economy had created and how the company needed to operate. If they could stick to the plan, the company would come out the other side ahead.
“One of the most important things is you have to look every employee in the eye and be very clear and don’t sugarcoat the facts,” Neyer says. “Just tell them the way it is. Tell them the challenges that will lie ahead and tell them what you’re planning to do.”
Neyer took a strategic approach to business during the recession buying key properties at attractive values and keeping his employees informed.
“I said, ‘Our existing legacy properties are going to go down in value. I know that, the market knows that, and that’s just reality. We’re going to position ourselves to buy undervalued assets, and that’s what we’re going to do to offset the decline in existing values of our existing portfolio,’” Neyer says. “That’s the mantra we have, aggressively pursuing real estate assets.”
Here’s how Neyer used to a dire business environment to create opportunities for growth.
Embrace change
When the downturn hit home for Neyer Properties no one tried to pretend as if the economy wasn’t going to have an effect on business. Neyer told his employees what they could expect to see and what the plan was for moving forward. Doing that proved to be very helpful.
“So many companies like to hide bad things or hide struggles and not inform the employees, and the employees know; they feel it and people are thinking what’s going to happen to me and what are we going to do,” Neyer says. “Just be honest and straight forward. It’s tough in our industry when everyone says, ‘Everything is bad, everything is miserable and the banks are going down.’ It’s hard to stay positive when you’re surrounded.”
Getting through a tough business environment relies heavily on being able to trust your employees and use small victories to build a positive outlook.
“We have a great nucleus of people who believe in what we’re doing, and seeing the results breeds the optimism so you can fight the negativity that may be around,” he says. “It starts with the people. I can’t do this alone, nor do I want to do this alone.”
To overcome uncertain times and difficult business obstacles, you have to have strong employees who believe in the direction you’re taking the company.
“It’s always best to surround yourself with the people who will help get you to that next level,” he says. “If that means changing people, you need to change people and don’t be afraid to do that because what’s best for the organization is always best for the organization. You have to invest in existing people, but if existing people are not functioning properly then you have to change.”
In both good times and bad, the key to remaining successful is being able to anticipate change to keep your business moving in the right direction.
“People say, ‘We embrace change,’” Neyer says. “Well, yeah, you’ve got to embrace change, but you’ve got to pursue change. Embrace means you’re accepting what is happening to you. Pursuing is much stronger. You’ve got to change before you have to change. You have to see around the corners before you come up to the corners and not react. If you’re waiting to react, you’re too late.”
Develop a plan
Instead of waiting for the economy to tell him where to steer his business, Neyer developed a strategy to take advantage of the business environment and real estate market. He focused on keeping things simple.
“I wanted to preserve, protect and position,” Neyer says. “‘Preserving’ was preserving our cash, preserving our existing tenants and the loans that we had. We had to protect our existing assets from too much decline. We’re going to invest in our assets so it doesn’t look like the properties are declining, and we’re going to protect our cash amount and hopefully have that grow with proper cash management.
“Then positioning, it’s really positioning with lenders, sellers, borrowers, banks and other organizations that take the properties back. So we’re going to position ourselves to work with those organizations to be able to acquire the properties. Was it a real long and complex plan? No, but when difficulties arise, you need to focus more and keep it simple.”
To form a plan for the business, Neyer first had to think about what he would want to accomplish if there were no hindering circumstances and then factor in any obstacles.
“You have to step back from your own situation and say to yourself and your team, ‘If there were no limitations, what would we be doing? If finances and personnel were not limited, what would you be doing?’” Neyer says.
“In our case we would be buying as many high-quality assets as we possibly could get our arms on. So step back and initially don’t burden yourself with the current restrictions or hurdles that the organization has. Come up with an approach that is in the best interest without the limitations.
“Then figure out how to pursue the desired results while you work on the restrictions. Don’t start with the restrictions because if you start with the obstacles and the hurdles and the difficulties, you’ll never get to the shining light that’s out there.”
In Neyer’s case the company had a premise that it needed to acquire $40 million to $50 million a year in real estate assets. The company had a plan, and it refused to waiver from it.
“Our MO for our equity is pretty clear: we’re going to pursue and purchase properties in the $1 million to $12 million range within a 100-mile radius at good locations, good accessibility and average about 50 percent of replacement value,” he says. “We stuck with that focus. We had opportunities to look at things outside that geographic range, but we stuck to our homegrown, homespun approach and maximized the potential within.”
In order for a plan to have the best results possible, communication is vitally important to remain aligned with goals.
“We went through our three main areas of focus: preserve, protect and position,” he says. “Then on a monthly basis we would bring everybody in and it would be like a report card — this is what we said, this is what we did, this is what we’re doing, this is what is working or not working, this is how we’re adjusting, and this is how we’re moving forward.
“You have to bring all those elements and people are generally empowered if they know they’re making a difference. It wasn’t easy at times because you always have difficulties, but if you align everybody’s interests you can move mountains.”
Stick to what you know
In difficult times, it’s very easy to stray from your intended plans and pursue different options. The key to success is to find the one path you want to go down and pursue only that path.
“There’s always more opportunities out there than one can ever accomplish,” Neyer says. “When we’re in uncertain times, sticking to your past success and narrowing your focus so you’re pinpoint laser-on is even more important. A lot of times companies that are suffering, whether it’s big or small, they say, ‘If this isn’t working, let’s try something else.’
“Whether that’s a different geographic market or a different product line or whatever the case is, they forget what got them to where they were in the first place and they try something else. I’ve seen too many companies try to do everything for all people and it just never works.”
Because Neyer Properties sticks to its strengths and is prepared to function in any business environment, it has seen its fastest growth periods during recessions.
“You have to be poised and positioned to excel when times are tough,” Neyer says. “You have to be careful when times are prolific that your tools are not sharpened and volume just comes and you don’t have to keep to your principles. You have to be consistent in the good times and the bad times. You have to hopefully excel in the tough times and when things are robust, you put the governor on and you’re careful not to grow too quick.”
Any tough times equals great opportunities and great results. When you make a decision you’ve got to go for it. You can’t be indecisive.
“We are one of the few Ohio commercial real estate companies that have been able to capitalize during the recession,” he says. “Our employment has been constant, but we have grown, and our real estate portfolio is now more than double the size that it was as of the end of 2008.
“Most real estate development companies cannot say that they’ve doubled the size of their business in the last three years. A lot of that is attributed to our conservative, strategic and long-term planning and also being strong stewards of proper financial measures and taking advantage of the opportunities that are out there.”
Over the past few years, Neyer made sure his company never waited for opportunities to arise. His team went out and found properties that best fit the company’s objectives.
“If you buy key properties at attractive values and are able to obtain financing with providing the right mix of equity, there is no better time to purchase real estate,” he says.
“I’ve looked at investing in other asset allocations other than real estate since I’m so heavily invested in real estate. I just have not found any other asset allocation that has the upside that real estate does.”
Since 2008 Neyer Properties real estate has doubled in portfolio size and its ROI has more than doubled in the last three years giving the company 2011 revenue of $55 million. This success is due to both increasing the occupancy level on existing legacy properties and purchasing assets in an aggressive mode.
“Fortunately, we’ve been able to acquire where most people are falling back because they have no choice,” he says. “They are too highly leveraged, they don’t have cash and they’re stuck. Our usual approach is buying things for 50 percent of replacement value and buying properties highly accessible and highly visible. If you have key properties at key locations and your base is much lower than your competition, even though the vacancy might be higher than you want, you win.”
How to Reach: Neyer Properties, (513) 563-7555 or www.neyer1.com
Takeaways
– Be honest with your employees.
– Develop a strategic plan to achieve your goals.
– Once you know your direction, stick to it.
The Neyer File
Dan Neyer
President and CEO
Neyer Properties Inc.
Born: Cincinnati
Education: Attended Miami University and received a degree in finance and accounting
What was your first job and what did you learn from that experience?
I worked as a bus boy at Perkins Restaurant in the early mornings, which made me realize I had to get up early and as soon as I arrived, I had to work hard. At times I had to work at breakneck speed because back in the ’70s. Perkins was the place to go.
What is the best business advice you have received?
Follow your passion and realize that if you work hard, good things will happen. People always say, ‘You’ve been really lucky.’ Well, I’ve been really fortunate, and I’ve had some good luck, but good planning almost always gives good results. You can call that whatever you want, but planning equals results, equals opportunities, equals luck. Stick with what you believe. Don’t deny your gut feeling.
Whom do you admire in business?
One is my father, who taught me the importance of detail. I also appreciate the creativity of somebody like a Steve Jobs. He created history by following what he believed was necessary even though he may have been the only one on earth that believed it. He made people believe the impossible.
What was the toughest thing about the recession for your company?
It was the uncertainty from the lending community. They were in a state of total chaos, and what were they going to do? They could have just pulled the plug (and some did) and found reasons to basically cause the total demise of commercial real estate because if you eliminate credit, you eliminate all value. Fortunately, for the most part, they kept their head on. They could have effectively wiped out the economy of the U.S.
What are you looking forward to in the future of real estate?
What I see on the horizon is great, valuable, long-term enduring real estate assets growing over the future. With the boom of natural gas in this country, I think you’re going to see a tremendous influx of investment in the U.S. because this place is still the biggest buying power. The cost to manufacture now is the same as it is in China because of their increasing inflation and cost to ship goods. So I see a tremendous upswing in the future of the U.S. in the next number of decades.
