Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Scott.
Hi Andrea, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I define myself as a professional serial monogamist. Over the course of my 25-year professional history, I have services many industries and had several careers. My moral compass and passion have guided each shift I have made throughout the years. My journey, although not unique, has been one my admirers might define as brave reinvention and my skeptics might call flippant!
I grew up in Grand Rapids in a household ran by parents who were passionate about their careers. As an adult, I look back and wonder how in the heck they raised six children and kept homework-life balance, but I recognize it was a different time. My father, an accomplished business attorney, and my mother, a small business owner, somehow managed to make everything look easy. I spent countless hours working in my mother’s business, which gave me an appreciation for entrepreneurs and exposure a potpourri of skill sets. Three days into my freshman year of college, I got a call my father had suffered a medical emergency. I raised my hand to run my mother’s seasonal business so she could focus on my dad. Looking back, I’m beyond grateful for the trial-by-fire approach that taught me everything from HTML coding a website (before the days of platforms like WIX) to leadership and customer service. That experience whet my appetite and gave me the confidence to handle situations that might otherwise create fear, anxiety, and self-doubt in those wanting to “be their own boss”.
I remained with that business long after my father’s two-year recovery and grew tremendously during that time. However, as I became a mother, I wanted my mother back. There was little to no separation in work and family, and I knew it was time to make a career shift so I could have the separation necessary to maintain a strong relationship my mom and my daughters’ grandma. Quitting the family business was probably the toughest choices I’ve made. If my mother was disappointed in my professional choice, she never showed it personally. I was blessed to be met with support and enthusiasm for what was next career-wise.
At that point in my life, I was looking for flexibility and the ability to leave work behind at the end of the day. But I also wanted to be employed by an organization that offered growth opportunities when I was ready for more. I was met with open arms by MVP Sports Clubs and found success in leveraging the skill sets I had learned running a business to launch a successful fitness career. I worked 5 am – 2 pm Monday through Friday and was home in time to be with my kiddos after school every single day. MVP was an organization that valued continued education and I was fortunate enough to obtain 15+ fitness certification and obtain a Masters of Management while employed there. I cherish seven incredible years with MVP, where I was exposed to a corporate environment while still doing work I was incredibly passionate about. Until I wasn’t.
The structure and support I craved began to feel claustrophobic and limiting. I knew it was time to move one when one sleepless night, I was googling how to remove embroidery from my high-end athleisure. I gave notice the next day – with NO plan for what was next. While catching up with my father and eldest brother (who had launched a small boutique law firm together), I learned that many of their clients had needs that weren’t legal in nature. They needed someone who could support their transactional matters at a rate less than an attorney’s billable hour and quite frankly without the legal mindset. I launched my first consulting business from a cubical in their office. Supporting their clients and finding my own. I found great satisfaction in serving small businesses in several sectors acting as their Jill-of-All.
Three years into the consulting space, the majority of my business came from a single client, a hospitality REIT based out of North Dakota. They were looking to scale, and my organizational development and project management background offered value to them, so much so that they asked for my full-time commitment. I spent four years growing their business and had exposure to real estate transactions in a way that lit fire within me. I completed over $1B in transactions while employed with the organization and learned with each one of them. As the org grew, I found myself on the road 80%+ and really feeling like I was missing out on being present in my daughters’ lives – as time seemed to be accelerating towards when they will be adults themselves. So… time for that next shift!
After a long 15-month negotiation of my exit, July 1st, 2022, marked my return to business ownership and consultancy. Alongside of me is an incredible business partner I met at my former employer who complements my skill sets. We’re focused on assuring our initiatives fit the sweet spot where passion and profitability intersect and are embracing the Jen Scincero model of being open to how you make your money but very specific about what you’ll do with it once you have. We’ve spent the last seven months launching Accomplish Collective (our parent company) and three subsidiaries. We’re offering services to other people’s projects, we’re sponsoring and syndicating real estate investments, and are now licensed and able to apply our knowledge, experience, and skill sets in real estate consultancy and brokerage. We’re not 100% sure what the next 12 months will bring, but as of today, we’re thrilled with being welcomed in West Michigan with open arms.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ha! Smooth??? Nope, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Every uncomfortable experience or shift I have made has provided me with the strength to persevere. I would say the largest challenge has been balancing the desire for a steady paycheck (at certain points in my life) with the fact that I am not wired to be employed. In doing so, I feel like I’m hitting someone else’s homerun. I’d much rather be defining, chasing, and executing against my own dreams rather than someone else’s dream. Layer on top of that days I spent employed where I didn’t align with the founder’s/leader’s moral compass were the toughest days of all.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Accomplish Collective is the parent company of AccomplishPM (APM), ACRE Holdings, and ACRE Advisors – each of which had a dedicated focus. Although I am well known nationally for hospitality transactions, it’s the people behind the projects that excite me.
APM offers executive-level project management and financial analysis across several sectors.
ACRE Holdings sponsors accretive transactions.
ACRE Advisors acts as real estate consultants to other people’s projects. Lots of great content/detail on each subsidiary on our website.
I would say I’m most well known for having a business finesse that leaves everyone feeling appreciated, valued, and accomplished despite the fact that much of the work I do has “two sides of the transaction.” I care immensely about client success and will treat human capital and financial capital with extreme care. Unlike many others in my space, I will flat rate my work to assure my clients’ projects can make and stick to a budget. Solving seemingly complex problems is something that I have grown exceptionally good at and find to be very rewarding.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I live by the philosophy that even if I’m 100% responsible for a win, I want less than 1% of the credit. Inversely, if I am 1% responsible for a “failure,” I take 100% responsibility for the solution. The confidence to be reflective and vocal about my participation in a less than favorable outcome didn’t come without exceptional mentorship.
Lynda Durell – My mother who trusted me with her small business.
Josh Lemmer – Who lit my fitness fire and brought me on board at MVP
Dave Durell – My brother who said LEAP when I was ready to consult
Norman Leslie – My teacher and leader in all things hospitality
Brendan Johnson – My business partner who has buckled up for the next professional ride and most importantly Zach Scott, my husband who has always believed in me and held down forth when I was focused on growth and/or taking risks. His steady, eddy nature has afforded me the luxury of every professional pivot I’ve made. Also, my daughters, Delilah & Simone, who are my motivation to show them that minorities belong in every place decisions are being made. If you’re not invited to someone else’s table, go get your own!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.accomplishcollective.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accomplish.collective/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087345634305
