News
Before They Were Stars
May 31, 2012
| They were young, ambitious, and ready to rule the world— or at least, the hamburger grill. This week, we asked some Seattle execs about their first jobs, and what they learned from them. |
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| From the age of five, Cost Segregation Services' Jonathan Frizzell worked at his parents's grocery store, Dondel's Market in North Seattle, boxing and stocking groceries. (Jonathan assures us the bow tie was a big hit with elderly lady customers in the store.) |
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| At 15, Jonathan graduated to his first W-2 job, flipping burgers and cashiering at now-defunct Dag's in North Seattle for $2.20 an hour. "I learned about service on all levels early on as a young boy, always to put your own needs and wants aside, so you may serve others selflessly," he says of these early jobs. |
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| Today Jonathan puts his talents toward "reclassifying misclassified assets"— that's to say, accelerating depreciation on any kind of building constructed, purchased, expanded or remodeled after 1986. "Depreciation and taxes are the least sexy components of CRE, but with Cost Segregation we always diligently illustrate that the client clearly understands that it is IRS allowed and approved to minimize one?s tax burden and increase cash flow.," he tells us. Then there's the bow tie, which he's still rocking. |
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| Harbor Urban managing director Jim Atkins's childhood ambitions couldn't be checked by a little thing like an age requirement. "I worked as a paper boy from age nine until 14 in the San Fernando Valley for a five-day a week local morning newspaper," he recalls. "You had to be 10 to get your own route—but I lied about my age when a route in my neighborhood became available." Jim doesn't have any pictures of himself slinging papers, but he did get his photo in the press a time or two. Since Jim's income was directly tied to how many customers were in his delivery territory, he quickly learned the value of marketing and "the importance of customer service— i.e. putting the paper on the porch usually resulted in a tip at the end of the month." |
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| Chad Anderson Group's Chad Anderson was a real estate man from the get-go. "At the age of 16, I started with two companies : Real Estate Investment Services and John L. Scott Tacoma North as the designated brokers assistant, focusing on investment real estate and the businesses," he tells us. Among the many things he's learned over the years: How to analyze investment real estate, and how to give back to the community. Above, Chad with colleagues Ryan Mowery, Denny Anderson, Warren Smith, Marie Lynn and Leslie Young in North Tacoma, working to clean up a plot of adopted land. |
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| Would you recognize BDP Design president Kelly Beckley in this getup? Kelly?s first job was working as Billy Bob the Bear at Showbiz Pizza in Dayton, Ohio, which Kelly informs us is similar to Chuck E. Cheese's. Billy Bob worked inside the restaurant and special events like children's birthday parties. |
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| Kelly spent a decade as a marketing executive in Seattle CRE, working closely with Greg and Martin Smith and is still very active in the industry. We snapped Kelly (in her normal work clothes) at a CCIM event a few weeks ago. What did she learn from her first work experience (besides the importance of air conditioning)? "As Billy Bob, I learned to have a sense of humor, to be patient and to never take things too seriously," Kelly says. "It was awesome." |
