People and Places and How We Use Spaces

During tough economic times, some of the best ideas are born. Wesley Uthus was waiting tables fresh out of college during the 2008 recession when she and a friend spontaneously came up with the idea of an affordable, but unique place to shop for ladies' clothes. With a dream and just $16k in their pockets, they took a leap of faith and flew - opening Primp, a cheap, chic, boutique where every...

When you see an open space in downtown Minneapolis, what do you envision? Max Musicant sees yoga classes and concerts in the summertime, and frozen snow mazes and mobile saunas in the winter. Growing up with a love of cities and public spaces, Max, the Owner, and Founder of The Musicant Group,  improves the environment that surrounds commercial spaces. Since 2012, The Musicant Group has activated...

Shannon Rusk may have started her career as an engineer, but now as the Senior Vice President of Senior Housing Development at Oppidan, she is right where she wants, and needs to be. After entering the job market in engineering, Shannon forged herself into the male-dominated industry and never stopped - thanks to the many friends she credits along the way. In this episode, Shannon and Lisa dive in...

Ashok Dhariwal believes that yoga is for anybody and everybody. He owns and operates four multi-unit YogaFit Studios in Minneapolis. At the age of five, Ashok started working with his parents, where he realized the difference a person can make in a customer's life. Ashok's story was just beginning. Listen to his advice on the importance of building loyalty with customers, his four pillar...

Cory McClure has an eye for opportunities that most people wouldn’t know exist.  Starting his career in computer software and hardware sales, he was laid off during the 2008 recession.  During that time, at the age of 38, he started from square one and switched gears to the real estate industry where he saw an opportunity to purchase properties going through foreclosures.  Cory built a team of exp...

Dan is the President and CEO of Spire Credit Union. He's an award winner, board member, a go-getter, and a go-giver. In the 22 years of his leadership at Spire, he has doubled its size to over 150,000 members. He credits much of his success in business to his humble beginnings as a paperboy on the East Side of St Paul.  Listen to more of Dan's story - and his advice about the current mar...

At the age of 27, Brian Kueppers launched Apex, a national provider of tech-based solutions in the healthcare industry, out of his own home. This St. John's University alum discusses the importance of relationships, how he navigated the rise and rebuilding of his company, and how as a Vikings fan, how he felt when his career path crossed the Green Bay Packers!  If you like this content, pleas...

Taylor Doolittle is a residential Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Results in Minneapolis. He runs his own team of 20 people and is ranked in the Top 50 Residential Real Estate Agents in the State of Minnesota. On this episode, listen to Taylor's take on disruptors in the residential market and how the industry is shifting. His advice on when to buy an investment property? Yesterday. Here is his...

On today’s episode of People and Places and How We Use Spaces, Lisa is joined by Tony Simmons! Tony is the president of The Simmons Group and is a member of many not-for-profit boards. Follow along as Tony shares his perspective on the real estate market, the process behind building multi-tenant housing, and the importance of doing the right thing for business growth. Lisa and Tony then discuss ne...

On this episode, Lisa Christianson is joined by Cathy Schmidt.  Cathy serves as the President and CEO of Stahl Construction. Follow along as Cathy shares her career experiences (this isn't her first time at Stahl), industry insights, and what it’s like being a woman in a C-Suite position in a male-dominated industry. The construction landscape is more complicated than ever before.  Lisa and C...

What is something Amanda Ferlita, Sam Ohmes and Lisa Christianson all have in common? Find out in this week’s episode, where I’m super excited to be joined by Christianson & Company’s Summer Interns. Sam and Amanda discuss how they got introduced to the world of commercial real estate, what their generation is looking for as they enter the job market, and how Covid has affected them. I look fo...

How did Kim Bartmann go from saying she will never work in a restaurant again to owning eight successful Minneapolis restaurants?  Tune in to hear how woman business owner, 3-time James Beard award semifinalist, and champion of several community causes imagines new concepts and influences the Minneapolis restaurant scene.  I'm thrilled to share my conversation with Kim with you! bartmanngroup...

I am so excited to launch "People And Places And How We Use Spaces" with my friend, Ben Krsnak.    Ben Krsnak is an Executive Vice President at Hempel, where he is instrumental in creating property enhancement and development strategy. Ben has over 20 years of experience working on behalf of both landlords and tenants.  In our conversation, Ben shares some of his tricks for finding deals...

On this episode, I have the pleasure of talking with seasoned business advisors, Lee Hall and Kris Maritz.    They are passionate about helping entrepreneurs at every stage.  They have worn the hats of business owner, landlord, tenant, investor, lender and now take their experience to offer advisory services and financial assistance to small business owners.   https://nextstagemn.org/ lee@nextstag...

NParallel was having its best year ever.  A brand experience company which specializes in creating compelling  in-person interactions had just signed a new lease when the world started shutting down in 2020.  Don Gonse and Megan Diamond share how they were able to not only keep their business alive through the pandemic, but bring it back to thrive and grow and enlist Lisa Christianson of Christian...