How do you go from a background in logistics, time in the U.S. Marines, and then a move into CRE and finally a career in investment and finance? Carefully, with a lot of work, study, bottom-up experience, and a regular practice of looking ahead.
Jorjio Hopkins, now an assistant vice president at commercial real estate investment firm MLG Capital, grew up near Madison, Wisconsin. He received an undergraduate degree in logistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Navel Reserve Officers Training Corps saw him through school and then graduation as a second lieutenant, who chose to be a logistics officer, involving additional training. But also, relocation as his wife returned to Wisconsin, a master’s, and “good school position,” Hopkins tells GlobeSt.com. He kept looking to learn and advance himself, like a long-weekend leadership program from Deloitte “where you’re diving into your skillset” and a lot of networking practice.
During his last six months of service, Hopkins got a “Hiring Our Heroes” fellowship from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in which he got to work for a civilian IT consulting company. He also went to American Corporate Partners, which helps veterans get ready for civilian occupations by matching them with mentors. ACP paired Hopkins with the CEO of a national accounting company, who became an important source of advice.
Ultimately, the consultancy offered him a job, but one that couldn’t be remote or near his wife. The month before he and his wife learned they were expecting a first child, so he turned them down and began sending resumes out in Wisconsin, getting two offers.
One opportunity was an hour-and-a-half commute. The other was a company that sold and serviced trucks. It was five minutes door-to-door from where his wife was living. Although the first opportunity paid a lot more, his mentor pointed out the advantages of having more time for family. Hopkins opted for the latter.
He was managing logistics for truck repair parts and would spend two years there. “I was doing something I was good at, being in the logistics space,” but wasn’t satisfied. Again, his mentor’s insights were critical. “He helped me see I had a strength in logistics but not a passion for logistics,” Hopkins says. “In college, I read a lot of real estate books and that intrigued me.”
When he left the Marines, he and his wife started discussing and investigating getting into real estate. They found an owner-occupied place with two rentable units. “We probably analyzed hundreds and hundreds of deals,” which gave him practical experience. “We started to get really savvy. We could do a desktop analysis on properties because we had seen so many.”
Hopkins decided to obtain an advanced degree in real estate. “The University of Wisconsin-Madison had a great program “but they didn’t offer the flexibility I needed,” he says. He had also transitioned into the Marine Corps Reserves and spent a weekend a month in Florida, near Florida International University, which had a hybrid 10-month master’s program in real estate. So, he worked on courses remotely, using the time in Florida for in-class work.
His wife also went back to school, both worked full time, and they had their child. This wasn’t easy. “It was a really challenging and trying time, but it set the groundwork for everything we wanted to do.” As he learned, he began doing consulting through an online platform, getting more experience on larger and larger deals.
“I started to think maybe I should start to pivot into a real estate equity-like company,” Hopkins said. Using his networking training from Deloitte, he identified and connected with MLG Capital, which was raising its fourth CRE equity fund at the time. “I didn’t know what would come from the relationship and just wanted to connect and see if there was any way to offer value [to them],” he says. They stayed in touch for close to a year and the company wanted him to meet another of their colleagues.
“I didn’t know they were looking to hire but then they made it known,” Hopkins says “I wound up jumping on board. It was again a kind of long path but nonetheless a fun path.”
Some points to remember from his experience: consider if CRE is a passion of yours, learn basic business skills like networking, expand your practical and technical knowledge of the subject, focus on how you can help others, and be patient so opportunities can develop.