Part One | A Decade in Reflection

Banner with text "A Decade in Reflection | Ten Years in CRE"

2020 – we are here for it. With the holiday season and its wonderful momentary slow down behind us, we look forward. The first week of the new year brings that familiar routine of self-reflection, discovery and formed intentions.

In studio, we share the top reflections we want to hold close from 2019 and our core intentions for the year ahead. It’s a tradition we’ve grown fond of and an accountability chain we’ve learned is critical to collective betterment. As we focus ahead to 2020, we reflect not only on 2019 highlights but on our first decade in commercial real estate (CRE) and our first five years in business. What have we learned?

Read ahead to uncover what Kentucky native turned Atlanta entrepreneur, Nimble. CEO and Creative Director, Candice Riley Campbell had to share in this month’s Thinking series, A Decade in Reflection. This is part one of a multi-entry series.

An interview by Maria Royal, as told by Candice Riley Campbell.

Q: 2019 marked your tenth year in the CRE space. How has CRE evolved most from your POV this decade?

CRC: In short, this was the decade of impression and experience. Starting my career in commercial real estate marketing in 2009, it has always been my role to uncover story and rediscover positioning power. Design is the vehicle to communicate story and value prop. but it is not the sole contributor. This decade for me was focused on deepening the purpose of design and its power on brand – awareness, perception, experience – and lessening the conversation and expectation of surface-level design (our definition: design based on visual context only, sans research and discovery).

The more we lead with strategy guiding design, the more impactful the investment of design process will be. One constant I’ve observed over my 10+ years in CRE is how many projects and relationships come full circle. The assets I worked on early in my career that have sold and been newly acquired by Nimble. Clients have become some of my favorite collaborations. The opportunity to continuously iterate is one we take with great pride, and let’s be real – brands and places are meant to be living. Second chances, a second life – knowing this cycle gives me hope that the future of Nimble. – and CRE – is strong and mindfully progressive.

On the experience side, the shift towards and increased awareness of third place being critical to the wellbeing of and effectiveness of work has been monumental this decade.

This awareness and investment on brand will not falter moving into the next decade. For this, I’m both inspired and thankful. These place and brand connections are what drives us and we’re just at the brink of discovery.

To this next decade of brand betterment, we cheers.

I spend many Sundays in the library at the studio, pulling palettes and resolving programming

This wall of fabrics and wallcoverings is ever-growing and the concentration of color in our studio

Our library also houses books of many genres and topics – we have an open check-out policy, encouraging teammates to peruse

Q: Nimble. surpassed its five year mark in 2019. How does that feel?

CRC: It truly wasn’t until I was sitting in the opening ceremony of the Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program in 2017 did I first hear this deafening stat – 50% of businesses close in their first five years (1). Hearing that, shook me a bit. At this time, we were in year three and doing well, but pursuing scale. We needed to diversify and expand our talent to keep up with growing service demand and this learned insight of a 50% success rate regardless of the heart, time and strategy put into business daily could inevitably result in regressed growth created pause. I remember sitting through the rest of that ceremony contemplating deeply on risk.

A conservative risk taker to my core (ie. one who worked on an office project in Vegas for two years and only took the splurge to gamble once, ever, at the airport, and stopped after gaining $15 earnings on my $5 investment), the risk of closure was a fear I didn’t realize I had. Throughout this [10,000 Small Businesses] program, I pushed myself to pursue growth plans that considered every avenue Nimble. could venture down with dashboard metrics to keep these plans measurable.

I found comfort and strength in the knowledge that strategy is the complement to risk and calculated risk is an equation necessary to finding balance and achieving notable scale. Since that program, Nimble, has grown double digits year-over-year. We’ve added critical hires, raised up talent, and now have a strategic plan in which to follow, measure and scale, both conservatively and intentionally.

So, surpassing year five feels promising and fruitful. I am proud of this milestone of growth and a momentous closed chapter of lessons learned. I’m equally as eager to experience our next five years.

Peruse our Five Year Campaign

Palettes are informed by location, audience and intended emotion

Q: Was it always your goal to own your own company?

CRC: I grew up observing my dad committing himself to his own company 24/7. An entrepreneur by 19 in the construction space, growing during the height of building booms and regressing to the point of ultimate pivot during the recession, he experienced and shared more hardships than most businesses endure over their lifetime.

From him, I learned that work ethic is raised not trained, and that failures are necessary pauses to pivot. His grit, bravery and sacrifice are mannerisms I cherish closely and always aim to emulate through the successes and pivots of Nimble. They are also the pause that held me back from founding Nimble. sooner.

Many strategy sessions and happy hours occur around this island

It serves as an alternative work perch, close but separated from the team for heads down tasks

Q: How did you know it was time to step away from the safety net of a corporate salary to follow your path into entrepreneurship?

CRC: Pivots are hard and emotional and risky. Founding Nimble. meant stepping away from a layer of safety and comfort I had built for myself. I worked tirelessly to earn my role as a national design lead by age 26 and the pivot to act on a vision to pursue more for a select client base felt risky. I weighed the perception of colleagues, clients and my family – would they see this jump as brave or selfish. Those mixed feelings held me back from taking the leap but the challenge to pursue to prove spoke louder than fear. I gave myself milestones to keep myself on pace and hold myself accountable. When things aren’t working, I re-evaluate. The ability to continuously iterate is both necessary and healthy for [personal and professional] growth.

Sustaining Nimble. is a constant labor of heart, time and critical decision making. It’s become an extension of our family and a way to give back in monumental ways. It’s also a lot of work.

For those considering entrepreneurship as a passion outlet or avenue to balance, that hasn’t been my experience. Work isn’t life, but life is work and owning and running a business can feel like both.

Landon serves as Chief Nimbler. inside and outside of the studio, a strong brand advocate and color enthusiast

Travel is abundant and necessary here at Nimble. and we push to try new things always, #nimbletraveledition. — Travel is abundant and necessary here at Nimble. and we push to try new things always, **#nimbletraveledition**.

Q: Where will Nimble. go in the next 5 years? Is there a bucket list project on your mind?

CRC: Nimble. will continue to go – and grow – where our clients take us, and where our teams reside. As our national relationships deepen, I imagine we’ll begin to find talent closer to portfolio centers to make site visits and team integration more fluid. We’d also love to take action in entering markets of personal interest – Charleston and Savannah. There’s something about the challenge of historic preservation as it relates to extending brand and bringing new life to place that is highly intriguing. Bring on the challenge, readers. We’re up for it.