Photo taken by Nancy Kuehn | Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

Ma-and-Pa Focused Ladin Ventures Moves To Grow

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal – by Sam Black

Steve Ladin wants to expand his real estate brokerage business 500 square feet at a time.

Ladin, CEO and owner of Ladin Ventures, has turned the focus of his three-year-old firm primarily to representing mom-and-pop businesses that fly under the radar of most commercial real estate firms.

On Monday, Ladin moved his five-employee company from a small office in St. Louis Park into a strip center next to a Famous Dave’s restaurant in Plymouth.

Ladin said his company targets day-care providers, hair salons, restaurants and other small companies that can benefit from having a real estate advocate. That strategy has potential because the small-business market is expanding as laid off workers start new companies, he said. “We see this huge upswing in the small-business realm. In Minnesota, 44,000 new businesses start every year.”

Small tenants and new entrepreneurs tend to rely too heavily on finding commercial real estate by calling phone numbers on signs in front of buildings, Ladin said, adding that it’s often difficult for small businesses to find a broker.

Ladin wants his company to be approachable by small businesses. “We’re not going to wear suits or be ostentatious.”

Ladin’s real estate career began in 2000 when he joined Miller Management Co., a St. Louis Park-based apartment operator that he and two partners sold in 2006.

He spent his first few years at Ladin Ventures focusing on the multifamily market, helping buy and sell apartment buildings. When that market tailed off this year, Ladin began to focus on the needs of small businesses.

Ladin said he has about 20 small clients, and most deals he works on are for between 500 and 10,000 square feet.

He’s recruited Jackie Fenske, former vice president of merchandising operations at Fingerhut, to be executive vice president and oversee most day-to-day operations.

Ladin’s goal is to increase the firm’s size to at least 15 advisers and 25 total employees by the end of 2010, then double that in 2011.

Ladin said he received a lot of quality resumes from brokers through ads on Craig’s List. His blog, theschmoozer.net, says that the company is seeking agents who know the market and are enthusiastic about trying new business methods. He indicates the brokers might make more than $80,000 in the first year.

Ladin is heavily involved in social media. He designed his own avatar (above) and has about 950 followers on Twitter.

Ed Hanlon, a commercial real estate broker in the Minnetonka office of Edina Realty Inc. who works with many small companies, said most small businesses can benefit from having their own tenant reps and it seems like Ladin’s business plan has merit.

However, it takes many little deals to equal one big deal, and the little ones often require hand-holding while excited entrepreneurs figure out the realities of paying for real estate.