Long-time love of historical buildings inspires student’s business venture
Junior Audrey McBride uses The Catalyst, mentors for real estate business
Audrey McBride, a junior studying business administration, minoring in Spanish, with a professional selling certificate, has a passion for real estate. Drawn to the architecture of historic homes, McBride found a desire to preserve their beauty as it saves a part of history.
The Kansas City, Missouri, native longed to help people, which led McBride on a pre-medicine path when she first came to KU. But soon into her freshman year, she realized that she could still make a difference for people by helping them through entrepreneurship and business, which brought back a long-time love of historic buildings.
Now a junior, she is part of The Catalyst at the KU School of Business. Under the guidance of Ryan Rains, director of entrepreneurship co-curricular programs, the program gives students the opportunities to grow their ideas and allows them to work with mentors from various fields.
McBride specifically has been working with Kirsten Flory, founder and owner of Foundations Commercial, a real estate company, to grow her budding real estate aspirations into a reality. Though she is still fleshing out her business, its core will be based on flipping and remodeling houses and buildings to preserve their integrity.
What inspired you to start the business, and what has been the journey like so far?
Home renovations have a big effect on people’s lives, and providing a quality home is important. I have a big passion for historic buildings and would like to take historic buildings and houses and flip them. I’d like to start with homes built between the 1900s and the 1970s, then expand into rental and commercial properties.
What challenges have you faced?
There are several challenges I’ve faced in this business. A big challenge is that this process can look different for a lot of people, and finding someone who is in your specific avenue can be difficult. I’ve met with several people in real estate, but not specifically in this sector.
Capital is another issue. I have to think long term because gathering a large capital can be challenging.
There’s also a knowledge gap in this part of the business, but Ryan and the mentors have helped bridge that gap for me. They taught me about different opportunities for my business and explained complex processes of obtaining a loan and the terminology behind that.
What excites you about the future of your business?
I am currently in the market research and finance portion of my business. Afterward, I will meet with a CPA and structure my business. Following that, I may meet with the Small Business Development Center. I hope to work with a variety of clients: families, commercial, single family, etc. I do not think I will be backed into a corner for my career. If I reach a dead end, there are numerous different avenues I can pursue. Real estate is valuable and an important investment.
How has The Catalyst and the mentors helped your business?
I’ve been working with Kirsten Flory of Foundations Commercial. I’ve also met with two loan officers to learn about how the loan process works. These mentors helped build a knowledge gap and allowed her to create a long-term plan and goals. Kirsten gave me answers to questions I did not even know to ask.
Kirsten was able to refer me to people within her network to help me understand bank loans and how to secure those loans as a young professional. They helped me work through these steps to give a defined path for my business.
Ryan has really helped point me in the right direction to get those questions answered that I would not know how to find on my own.
What would you tell students who have a business idea but do not know how or where to get started?
Brainstorm ideas, even if you already have an idea. If your heart is pulling you in a direction, then you should run with it. If you do not have an idea of a business, examine your values and passions. Those will help direct you into a sector of business that you could possibly pursue.
Learn more about The Catalyst at business.ku.edu/catalyst.
By Alexander Houston
