Twin Cities Business Spotlight | CSM Corporation January 14, 2011

This month’s Twin Cities Business Spotlight takes us on a look inside of CSM Corporation, one of the more diverse commercial real estate companies in the nation. CSM’s portfolio of properties has 3 unique areas of real estate that contribute to the growth and financial strength of the company. I had the opportunity to interview CSM’s Corporate Marketing Manager, Aimee Cheek to ask her how CSM got started, how the company has weathered a tough economic climate for the real estate industry, and how her role at the company has changed over the years.

Hi Aimee, thank you for taking the time to let us into CSM Corporation with a first hand look at the business. First off, can you give me a brief history about CSM Corporation and where the company got its start?

AC: CSM Corporation and CSM Lodging are owned privately by Gary Holmes. CSM began modestly when 12-year-old Gary Holmes, now CSM’s CEO, started selling light bulbs door to door in Minneapolis. A young entrepreneur, Gary enlisted his Boy Scout troop as a sales force. At age 14, he used his light bulb earnings to buy his first real estate asset – a set of Minneapolis duplexes. To see the full story as told by Gary and some of his friends and family, click here to see the video.

CSM Corporation is a commercial real estate management and development company. How do you differ from the traditional commercial real estate companies and what sets you apart from others in the industry?

AC: One of our main differences is our diversity in properties. We have three areas of real estate: residential apartments/townhome communities, commercial/retail properties and hotels. With this “three-legged” stool approach, in almost any given economic scenario at least one of the areas will be doing well. CSM also has several in house capabilities and teams which allow us to move quickly when opportunities arise. And of course, being privately owned by a single owner who is very involved in the business, allows CSM to be very nimble in our business decisions.

As we all know, the financial markets, along with the real estate markets, have been hit pretty hard the past couple of years. What has CSM done as a business to counteract the economic environment that we are currently facing and what opportunities have presented themselves as a company?

AC: One of the things that CSM does is to make very wise, careful decisions about each of our investment properties and to stay well capitalized. This allows the properties to be more profitable and our threshhold lower. We, like many companies, had to re-evaluate our processes and procedures when the economy took a hit. We have used the Kaizen method throughout the last couple of years to really fine tune our business. Lastly, we continue to look for opportunities to grow our portfolio. In the history of CSM, our biggest growth has come when the economy is down and we are continually looking for the right opportunities to build or acquire new real estate.

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