Delivering the Keys, Commercial Real Estate Decisions that Shape Family Business Success

In 1984, when I began my career in commercial real estate, I could scarcely have imagined the journey that awaited me. Thousands of buildings toured, hundreds of transactions completed, countless relationships formed, and more lessons learned than I could possibly enumerate.
 
Now, 42 years later, I’ve decided to write another book, and this one is directed specifically at you, my readers.
 
Why you may be wondering? I’m glad you asked.
 
My first book, The SEQUENCE, chronicles my journey as a commercial real estate professional and the lessons learned along the way. My second, Delivering the Keys: Commercial Real Estate Decisions That Shape Family Business Success, is considerably more personal.
 
You see, I grew up in a family-owned and family-operated business, Buchanan Bottling Company, a Dr Pepper franchise in Texarkana, Texas. That experience shaped my understanding of entrepreneurship, the relationships between family members working together, and the unique challenges that arise when business decisions and family interests intersect.
 
When I entered commercial real estate brokerage, I naturally gravitated toward businesses much like the one in which I was raised, particularly family-owned and family-operated manufacturing and logistics companies.
 
Over the ensuing four decades, I’ve had the privilege of advising these businesses through expansions, contractions, acquisitions, dispositions, and, perhaps most significantly, the transitions that occur when ownership, leadership, or family circumstances change.
 
Delivering the Keys connects those experiences, beginning with my family’s business, continuing through my decision to become a commercial real estate broker, and culminating in the stories of families I’ve served along the way.
 
There is a reason I chose Delivering the Keys as the title of this book, as it has three meanings, each connected to a different part of my life and career.

You will read about the day I decided to leave the consumer goods business. After several years of working for large corporations, traveling extensively, and spending far too many nights away from my family, I walked into my manager’s office, handed him the keys to my company car, and announced that I was leaving. I had no idea what I would do next, but I knew I wanted something different. As it turned out, that decision opened the door to a career I could never have imagined.

The second meaning comes from the profession I chose. In commercial real estate, there is something particularly satisfying about the moment a transaction closes and the keys are delivered.

Whether a company is leasing its first industrial building, purchasing a facility it hopes to occupy for generations, or selling property accumulated over years, the exchange of keys represents the culmination of a decision that may have taken months or even years to reach.

The third meaning is the reason I authored this book. After more than four decades advising owners and occupants of industrial real estate, I have accumulated a fair amount of practical knowledge about the decisions family businesses make as they grow, change, and transition.

My hope is to deliver some of those keys to you, allowing you to approach your commercial real estate decisions with a better understanding of the alternatives, the consequences, and the opportunities that may not be immediately clear.

So, there you have it. Three different meanings, all connected by an ordinary set of keys.
I’m hopeful Delivering the Keys will be completed and available before year’s end, just in time, perhaps, to find its way onto your list of Christmas gift ideas.
 
After all, what better gift for a business owner than a few lessons learned over four decades, without having to make all the mistakes yourself?
Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104. His website is allencbuchanan.blogspot.com.