Guest: Ryan Berlin (real estate economist)
When developing and buying real estate, how do you make good decisions? This is what Ryan Berlin helps with, in his role with rennie & associates. He and his team do the research to guide clients to understand the complexities of the industry and cut through the noise in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming.
What kinds of legal issues does your business face? For Radha Curpen, a partner at McMillan LLP, this is what she tries to figure out for businesses all over North America. Her career in law was different from most, as it was in the French language in Manitoba and New Brunswick. Along the way, mentors helped her and gave her opportunities through cases that are in both English and French, which paved the way to practice law in more places and fields.
How do you build affordable housing? This is Muktar Latif’s job, as CEO of the Pomegranate Housing Consultancy. He supports governments and other entities in figuring out ways to address housing solutions – it is a job he loves, to the point where it doesn’t feel like work. This is a far cry from his background in chemistry but due to science not paying well in the 1980s, he switched careers to real estate, revealing the path to his future career.
How do you build a business online? As the founder of Refoundry and Forge and Smith, Shawn Johnston’s job is to help you find out. Whether it is building an online store or simply building your web presence, he helps others simply do great work. Running this small business comes with risks and terrifying moments, but is something Shawn has grown over the years – gradually and steadily, until it turned into his full-time role.
How do you combine technology with business? This is an angle that Don Stickney wanted to explore with Playbook, his consultancy that advises on how to use technology as leverage for business. To him, his clients don’t simply want advice on how to succeed, but rather advice on how to be a thought leader. This is far cry from his beginnings as a hot tub salesperson but his ability to talk to others and fix their problems made him realize that he was in for a communications- and relations-related career.
