How GSU’s CRE Entrepreneurship Course is Unique

“You must be nimble and take risks to make it in this business.”

In GSU’s CRE Entrepreneurship class, Samir Patel and I tell it like it is to GSU graduate students. Why? Our goal is to ensure they are headed on the right path in this business.

Here’s some ways we work with our students to help them define their professional journey:

• Provide Self-Evaluation Tools: The students participate in a personality test at the beginning of the semester. This test determines what type of risk takers the students are and what motivates them. This knowledge provides a model for students to determine in which facet of the CRE business they can be successful, whether that’s a broker, manager or developer, for example.

• Offer Time: Samir and I make ourselves available to the students. For example, I worked individually with one student on interview tips. During an interview, it’s all about connection. It’s one thing to research the company or interviewer before the interview, but when you are in the office, look at the memorabilia (like awards, degrees, or sports) and make a personal connection. It’s important to find commonality to open the discussion more organically. 

• Present CRE Challenges: We provided students with real-world CRE situations and challenged them to develop smart solutions. For example, Samir gave students this project: A bank owns an industrial deal; the bank is selling with a specific asking price. Students were asked to analyze the deal, consider the acquisition, and provide concrete reasons why they would make the purchase. Exercises like this teach students to ask mandatory questions about deals.

• Develop Presentation Skills: Students must be able to present information clearly and succinctly to industry professionals, whether that is with a single investor, a group of investors or institutional investors. It’s an invaluable skill to take technical information and present it to others with ease.

Interested? CRE Entrepreneurship Syllabus

We cover the fundamentals in this course. Here’s the lineup:

• Introduction to Entrepreneurship
• Identifying and Evaluating Opportunities
• Partners and Structure
• Team Building
• Debt
• Equity
• Instructor Consultations
• Class Presentations