February 2 is approaching, and that means thousands of Americans will watch a rodent in a tree stump to see if it can predict a longer or shorter winter. Of course, I’m talking about Groundhog Day, when Punxsutawney Phil looks to possibly see his shadow to let people know if there will be six more […]
Last week, I spent a day sharing my experiences working in Opportunity Zones with more than 400 of my closest friends. Gathered at a conference in Las Vegas organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the State Department of Business and Industry, the group was […]
Released less than a month ago, Bohemian Rhapsody, the story of Freddie Mercury and the band Queen, is already the highest grossing music biopic movie in history. And while Mercury was an amazing singer, it’s his strong business acumen that I most often remember. The man’s mind focused on solving problems, capitalizing on opportunities, and […]
I recently visited Magnolia Market in Waco Texas, the home & lifestyle store that supports multiple lifestyle brands by Chip & Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s Fixer Upper show, among many ventures. Chip and Joanna are beloved lifestyle entrepreneurs, with a home improvement empire that includes the Market, Magnolia Homes, books, the Hearth & Hand line […]
I spent last week in Texas, ultimately at the Texas Multifamily Summit in Austin. It was a great experience. As I moderated the panel, it was surprising how fast the trend of multifamily property owners creating their own firms was spreading. The panel included Richard Fishman, founder of ValCap Group in Dallas and Jason Cohen […]
Serena Williams is now just a few matches away from potentially winning her seventh U.S. Open. She is an extremely talented athlete who has trained from her youth with the goal to play professional tennis. Last week, I saw this video featuring Serena and loved it. Nike released the video last week at the start of […]
Mike Ballard is interviewed by Mark Jensen, Executive Vice President of Investment Sales with Colliers International based in Salt Lake City, for this podcast. Click here to learn how outsourced accounting works, hear case studies, and understand the benefits.
I read last week that Blockbuster Video is down to its last store in Bend, Oregon. Years ago, my young family frequently visited the store near us. Blockbuster Video stores were everywhere. In 2000, Blockbuster had a chance to buy Netflix for $50 million. Netflix is now worth $173 BILLION. Blockbuster Video made four critical […]
New research from the Urban Land Institute shows that the population of urban neighborhoods in many metropolitan areas is growing as quickly or nearly as quickly as that of suburban neighborhoods, reflecting ongoing consumer demand – particularly among younger households — for living environments that are convenient to jobs, transit, and urban amenities, and which are highly […]
For science fiction movie fans, Star Wars is a franchise that seemed like it could never fail. But Solo: A Star Wars Story has shown that the historic franchise can produce a flop, and provides several lessons that developers and apartment owners can learn from. Solo: A Star Wars Story has “only” garnered $210 million at the domestic box […]
