Pay It Forward: "Pick an Area of Expertise and Become an Expert at It"

Robert Nelson, president of Nelson Management Group, Forest Hills, NY

Robert S. Nelson, Courtesy photo

Robert Nelson has owned and/or managed more than 8,000 units of multifamily housing during the past 35 years. He is also one of the founding partners of Global One Investments, a real estate investment firm. Recently, Nelson worked on the ground-up construction of two new mixed-income towers encompassing 435 units in the Soundview section of the Bronx.

What has been the biggest challenge in your particular role? How have you overcome those obstacles? As an investor, owner, and operator of multifamily real estate, I’ve become an expert in the world of operating apartment buildings, but along the way have built a successful company in order to manage and operate these buildings—which is not something I thought that I would ever do, and has proven to be quite the challenge. I create value by being hands-on in the granular day-to-day aspects of running these building. As we began to scale, this became an increasingly difficult task due to the immense amount of time required. We now own and operate 23 buildings and more than 4,000 units, causing time management to among the most critical challenges I face every day. As I’ve gained experience with this new reality, I’ve learned to trust my team and focus my time on the most important tasks.