Community Highlights: Meet Andy Gutman of Farbman Group

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andy Gutman.  

Hi Andy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I went to Michigan State University and graduated with a degree in accounting but always felt I had a creative side as well. When I graduated, there were no accounting jobs available. I fell into commercial real estate when a local family-owned company had an accounting position open. I fell in love with the business but not necessarily accounting. I worked for a family-owned company and then an international company.  At the time I interviewed with the international company, I also interviewed with Farbman for a position they were thinking about creating.  I did not get a call back.  A year later, I received a call back and had the good fortune to interview with Burt Farbman. I took the interview although I was not looking anymore because he was a legend in the industry and I could not resist the opportunity to meet him.  His love of real estate and the city of Detroit made me want to work for him and I was lucky to keep my composure during the interview because I knew I wanted to learn from this man and be a part of something great. I started as a Senior Financial Analyst and worked tirelessly to learn and absorb every lesson.  Today my role is President of Farbman Group and related companies and I am a small part of an amazing organization where I have had the honor of working for Burt Farbman and his two sons, Andy and David, who are among the most talented entrepreneurs I have ever known.

While I love the industry, I have been writing lyrics to songs since I was young. I couldn’t sing or play an instrument but always dreamed of some involvement in music. While I was working at Farbman, my office was next door to our head of construction. As he got closer to retirement, he would count the days before he would retire and travel and spend time with his grandkids. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly one day before he was able to retire. His death was a wake-up call for me. I vowed to make the music I always wanted to. I also wanted to make sure I left a legacy for my daughter so she would always know she was loved. I wrote songs for her and worked with singers who sang them and musicians who produced them. I turned her songs into children’s books (7 in total so far) and have written and produced over 500 songs, 30 of which are licensed!  While I still have a dream of hearing these songs on the Billboard charts, I am thrilled to do two things I truly love in life.

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?
Life is not easy for anyone. We all face challenges daily. One of the things I learned in my career is that most people gravitate to the positive projects. There was never a line for the challenges, so I began to seek out the toughest projects and found that I like problem-solving and feel my best skill is perseverance. I have also come to believe there is a solution for every problem 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Farbman Group?
The organization I work for is a full-service commercial real estate company with a Midwest expertise and a global reach. We are known for being the type of company that puts customers first and treats their real estate as if it were our own. We look to add value in every transaction, and we care more about the long-term relationship than we do the immediate dollar. 

We offer brokerage, construction, property management, HVAC, maintenance, receivership, and investment sales services. 

What separates us is that we have the look and feel of a family-owned company with the capabilities of an institutional organization 

I am most proud of the way we look out for and treat our employees. We feel that if we want them focused on the best for the company and the customers, we need to be focused on their best interest as well. We have many people who have been here from the early days and recently celebrated a number of 40-year anniversaries of employees. 

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the City of Detroit! We have a Midwest friendliness but walk around with a bit of a chip on our shoulder that keeps us grinding and hungry. We work hard, we hustle harder, we are survivors, and we thrive under pressure. 

I love the downtown in Detroit and the way our resurgence led to expectations of greatness that shows every day. We have so many cool neighborhoods, restaurants, bars, theater, etc. I love the way we support each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.farbman.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/farbmangroup
• Facebook: facebook.com/farbmangroup
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/farbman-group/
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/drewgut
• Books: https://gutcheckbooks.com