Welcome back, everyone!

42 issues ago, I had no meta. Today, I do.

Over the past 42 weeks, I've written approximately 105,000 words for this newsletter. That's more words than The Great Gatsby. More than Of Mice and Men. Hell, it’s more than most books people pretend to have read on LinkedIn..

357 words a day. Rain or shine. All in a completely unstructured attempt to figure out what the hell comes after 30 years in real estate.

For those keeping score at home, that's exactly what this newsletter was supposed to accomplish.

Mission complete.

Time to shut down the experiment and file the final report.

Except here's the thing nobody warned me about when I started this public soul-searching adventure: finding your meta isn't the end of the story. It's just the end of chapter one.

Let me explain what actually happened...

What "Finding Your Meta" Actually Meant

When I launched this thing back in September, I was basically a 30-year real estate development veteran having an entrepreneurial identity crisis. I'd spent three decades building subdivisions, navigating municipal politics, and turning raw land into communities.

But somewhere along the way, I'd lost track of what came next.

"My New Meta" was supposed to be about figuring out my new identity as an entrepreneur. What I discovered instead was that my meta was never actually lost - it just needed updating.

Turns out, after 42 weeks of writing about my development adventures, current projects, and various entrepreneurial experiments, the pattern became obvious: I'm a developer. Not an advisor, not a consultant, not a coach. A developer.

I develop land.

I develop solutions.

I develop understanding by breaking complex problems into manageable pieces.

That's what I did for 30 years in land development. That's what I'm doing now with current projects. And apparently, that's what I've been doing every Friday morning in your inbox.

The newsletter became the laboratory where I figured this out.

Every story I told, every lesson I shared, every time I explained some arcane aspect of land development or business strategy - I was just being myself. My meta wasn't missing. It was just waiting for the right platform.

The Conversation That Changed Everything

Two weeks ago, I'm having a glass of scotch with my wife Kirsten (who, after 366 newsletter mentions, over 42 issues, probably deserves her own byline by now).

KIRSTEN: "So what happens when you run out of stories to tell?"

ME: "Are you kidding? I've got 30 years of development stories, plus everything happening with current projects. I could write for decades."

KIRSTEN: "But is that really the best use of your time?"

ME: (pausing mid-sip) "What do you mean?"

KIRSTEN: "Well, you've figured out your meta, right? The newsletter served its purpose. You're back in the development world, you understand your value, people are paying attention to what you have to say..."

ME: "Yeah, so?"

KIRSTEN: "So maybe it's time to aim that energy at something bigger than just your personal brand."

And that's when it hit me.

This whole newsletter journey taught me something I didn't expect: I'm really good at taking complex, intimidating topics and making them accessible. Whether it's explaining how municipal approval processes work, breaking down development pro formas, or sharing the unwritten rules of business relationships - apparently, I have a knack for development.

Not just land development. Idea development. Solution development. Understanding development.

The question Kirsten was really asking: What if I applied that same development approach to problems that actually matter?

Not that your Friday morning entertainment doesn't matter. But you know what I mean.

What I Learned Along the Way

Here's what 42 weeks of public building actually taught me:

Stories beat lectures every time. Nobody wants to read a business advice column. But tell them about the time I almost got thrown out of a franchise convention (Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention), and suddenly they're paying attention to the lesson hidden inside.

Authenticity is the only moat left. You can't fake 30 years of experience or pretend to have stories you don't actually have. In a world of AI-generated everything, being genuinely yourself is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage.

Community beats audience. The best part of this newsletter wasn't writing it - it was reading your replies. Turns out, when you're honest about your own struggles and mistakes, people feel safe sharing theirs. That's not an audience. That's a community.

Consistency compounds. 42 weeks of showing up every Friday, regardless of how busy work got, taught me more about building trust than any business book ever could.

Meta isn't a destination. It's more like a GPS recalibration. Once you figure out where you actually are, you can start plotting a course to somewhere worth going.

The Stories That Built This

Looking back through 42 issues, some highlights that defined this journey:

• The $100K in a Day revelation where I discovered that preparation plus technology could amplify development impact exponentially

• Chucky's entrepreneurial evolution from confused side hustler to niche market maven with his vintage bowling ball empire

• Frank's unfiltered takes on everything from government housing programs to why experience beats enthusiasm

• The franchise convention disaster that became a masterclass in authentic networking

• Various development war stories that somehow turned zoning bylaw explanations into entertainment

• Real-time entrepreneurial experiments including the Freedom Stack (Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment) concept and multiple pivots

• Kirsten's reality checks that kept me grounded whenever my grandiose plans got too grandiose

Each story taught me something about communication, business, or just being human in a professional world. More importantly, each story confirmed that my instinct for breaking down complexity into digestible pieces wasn't just useful for land development - it worked for almost everything.

What Comes Next

Here's the thing: there are still hundreds of stories to tell. Thirty years in development generates enough material to fuel newsletters until 2050. Current development work keeps adding new chapters. And Kirsten keeps providing perfectly timed reality checks that practically write themselves.

But Kirsten was right. Finding your meta is just the beginning.

There are bigger problems worth tackling. Challenges that need someone who understands how to take intimidating, complex systems and make them accessible to regular humans. Issues where three decades of development experience combined with newsletter-tested communication skills might actually make a difference.

I'm not ready to reveal the specifics yet, but let's just say there are some problems in this country that could use a newsletter guy with a hard hat.

The Bottom Line

My New Meta accomplished exactly what it set out to do. Mission complete.

But completing the mission just revealed the next one.

Over the next few months, I'll be transitioning to a new platform (probably Substack) and a new focus. Still me, still authentic, still mixing business wisdom with dad jokes. Just aimed at problems that matter beyond my personal brand development.

Stay tuned for details on how to follow along. I'll send updates as we make the transition.

For now, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for reading, for replying, for sharing your own stories, and for being part of this experiment in public building. You made this newsletter better than it had any right to be.

The meta is complete. The real work starts now.

Cheers,

- Greg "Meta Complete" Mills

Greg Mills

P.S. Don't worry - Chucky will definitely be making appearances in whatever comes next. And Frank too. Some characters are too good to leave behind.

I’ve told a lot of stories in this newsletter—some funny, some painful, most involving cold calls or culverts. But this week, I’m not telling a story. I’m handing you something better: the five rules that built my career in real estate development.

These are the principles I’ve used to launch projects, fix disasters, and earn (or save) millions. They worked in 1998. They work in 2025. And now—with the right AI tools in your corner—they work even faster.

Also… this issue is short. Why? Because when it hits your inbox Friday morning, I’ll be waking up at a cottage in Ontario with these guys (👇), pretending it’s a very serious professional development retreat (don’t tell CRA). Spoiler: It’s mostly beer and back pain.

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The Top 5 Rules of Land Development

What 30 years of deals taught me about not going broke

Three decades in development, and if I could go back and tattoo five rules on my 25-year-old forehead, these would be them. Not because they're the smartest or sexiest rules - but because breaking any one of them can sink your entire project faster than you can say "soil contamination."

Quick disclaimer: Like most of my stories, I've changed dates, locations, and names to protect the innocent (and keep myself out of court). All the stories are real and happened - I just don't want to go to jail over a newsletter. Development's a rough business, but orange jumpsuits clash with my complexion.

Special Note

This week, I've shaken things up a bit. Instead of the usual Land Tech section at the end, I've embedded those tech and AI-powered insights directly under each rule. Why? Because in 2025, technology isn't some separate thing we tack on after the "real work" is done – it's baked into every step of the development process.

Each rule still stands on its decades-old wisdom (learned the hard way, as usual). But now you'll see exactly how today's tools transform these timeless principles from "experience you'll eventually gain" to "advantage you can have by Friday." No separate section, no artificial division – just like your actual workflow should be.

Rule #1: Never Pay Too Much for Land

The mistake that ruins everything else

Fall 2008. Three months after Lehman Brothers collapsed, and I'm staring at a purchase agreement for $18M on a residential site in northwest Calgary. The seller's desperate - bought it for $23M eighteen months earlier when the market was screaming.

ME: "Market's pretty ugly right now. I'm thinking $14M."

SELLER: "I can't take that kind of loss. I've got $19M into this thing."

ONTARIO BOSS: "Greg, what does your pro forma say?"

ME: "At $18M, we're barely making 15% return. At $14M, we're at 22%."

SELLER: "Look, I'll come down to $17M. That's my final number."

My Ontario boss pulls me aside: "Greg, his cost basis isn't our problem. Pay what the deal supports, not what makes him feel better."

I wanted to help the guy out. He seemed decent. But my boss was right.

We walked away from the deal with the Vendor stuck at $16M.

Two years later, that same site sold for $12M.

The lesson: Land price sets the floor for everything else - if you're wrong here, nothing else matters.

Land Tech: In 2008, we consulted with brokers and utilized land title information for land transaction comparables. Lots of meetings, lots of emotion, lots of opinions, lots of time. I thought our team were technology masters using SPIN2 like wizards!

Now, after dozens of late-night AI rabbit holes on Twitter, I have found that AI can analyze thousands of comparable land sales across multiple markets simultaneously, factoring in historical appreciation rates, zoning changes, and development trends.

It can generate custom pro forma scenarios in seconds, stress-testing your assumptions across different market conditions. It appears that most of this technology remains proprietary, so stay tuned for a local solution coming soon.

However, something financial-focused that can help right now, (and unlike my gut-feel approach in 2008), ChatGPT can run Monte Carlo simulations showing the statistical probability of hitting your return targets at different purchase prices. You'll see precisely how each $100K in land cost affects your entire profit structure throughout the project lifecycle.

Just one spreadsheet upload away!

Rule #2: Hire the Right Team From Day One

Because fixing bad hires costs more than anything else

Spring 2017. I'm sitting in a Tim Hortons with three general contractor bids spread across the table for a 200-unit, 13-storey condo building. Market's starting to recover from the Oil Crisis, but GCs, trades and suppliers are still hungry.

Bids: $55M, $65M, and $75M.

The low bidder slides his business card across: "Greg, we're the special projects division of Allied Construction. Small lean and mean team, but we get to use all the parent company's technology and bonding capacity. We do projects exactly like this."

ME: "Your timeline?"

LOW BIDDER: "Twenty-four months, guaranteed. We're motivated."

MIDDLE BIDDER: "I'd say twenty-eight months. Weather can be unpredictable."

HIGH BIDDER: "Thirty months. But we'll be done right the first time."

My construction lead, Patricia, leans over: "The low guy seems hungry. Might work harder for us."

ME: "Or might cut corners to hit that price."

PATRICIA: "It's $10M difference, Greg. That's real money."

I almost went with hunger over experience. Almost.

Then I called three of the low bidder's references. Two didn't call back. The third said: "Nice guy, but he left us hanging when a bigger job came along."

We went with the middle bid. Project finished in twenty-six months, a couple of change orders, and Tom became our go-to GC for the next five years.

The lesson: The wrong team will cost you more than the right team charges. Do your homework.

Land Tech:

Imagine dumping those three GC bids into ChatGPT with a simple prompt: "Compare these proposals and flag any concerning terms."

In minutes, you'd get an analysis that would take hours manually:

"Bid #1 excludes winter conditions yet commits to a January start date."

"Bid #2's payment schedule requires 40% upfront versus industry-standard 20%."

"Bid #3 has no defined change order procedures or rate card for extras."

The AI wouldn't just compare bottom-line numbers—it would catch the exclusions buried on page 37 that balloon costs later. You'd walk into that Tim Hortons meeting armed with specific questions about those sneaky clauses, not just gut feelings.

The lowest bidder might still look hungry, but you'd know exactly which "standard exclusions" to negotiate before signing. You'd catch the material escalation clauses with no caps, the undefined allowances, and the warranty limitations that didn't match your specs.

No, AI won't tell you if the contractor ghosts clients when bigger jobs come along (that's still what reference calls are for…[AI agent for that too]). But it ensures you're comparing apples to apples before committing to that seven-figure contract.

That $10M difference between bids? Might not be such a difference after all.

Rule #3: Entitle the Right Product

Because changing your mind later is brutal

Summer 2014. I'm in a stuffy planning office, sweating through a pre-submission meeting about a 40-unit townhouse project.

PLANNER: "Townhomes are taking 8-10 months for approval right now."

ME: "What about single-family? The site could work for that."

PLANNER: "Singles are moving in 4-5 months. Much cleaner process."

MY ARCHITECT: "We'd lose density, but the approval timeline might make up for it."

ME: "What's the revenue difference?"

NORM (PROJECT MANAGER): "Singles net about $1.3M each. Townhomes about $650K each, but we get 40 units instead of 20."

Quick math: $26M versus $26M gross revenue. Similar margin.

ME: "I don't want to wait 10 months. Let's go with singles."

PLANNER: "Smart choice in this market."

Three months into approvals (and no turning back), the townhome market exploded. Our competition was selling presales for $780K per unit while we were stuck with our single-family approvals.

That decision to chase a faster approval cost us about $5.2M in potential revenue.

The lesson: Build what the market will want when you deliver, not what's easier to approve today - but honestly, nobody has a crystal ball, and market timing is part luck, part homework. It’s hard to predict an energy crisis, followed by a global pandemic, followed by a supply and affordability crisis. More of a tragedy than a comedy.

Land Tech: Instead of relying on planner timelines alone, here's a simple way to use Claude or ChatGPT to make better product decisions:

"Analyze current housing market trends in [your city]. Compare single-family versus townhome demand projections for the next 24 months. What leading indicators suggest changes in buyer preferences?"

The AI response might reveal:

"Recent data shows townhome sales increasing 12% year-over-year while single-family plateaus. Three key leading indicators suggest continued townhome momentum: 1) Mortgage rate increases affecting affordability, 2) Remote work policies stabilizing at 2-3 days/week, and 3) First-time buyers delaying purchases but maintaining density preferences."

Follow up with:

"What's the historical approval-to-market delivery timeline gap for both product types in this region? How have previous market cycles affected product preferences during similar approval timeframes?"

This simple query might have revealed what I missed in 2014 – that townhome demand accelerates in exactly the market conditions we were entering, and that the additional approval time would have been worth the wait.

No complex systems needed – just targeted questions that force you to look beyond the immediate approval timeline to what buyers will actually want when you deliver. Two prompts, five minutes, potentially millions in better decisions.

Better to spend 10 minutes with Claude than 10 months undoing an approval.

Rule #4: Read Every Single Contract

The boring stuff that saves your ass

Two weeks ago, 9:30 PM in my home office. I'm reviewing a grading contract that's supposed to be signed tomorrow morning. Thirty-two pages of technical specifications and I can barely keep my eyes open.

Page 18, buried in subsection 4.3: "Excess soil removal charged at $35 per cubic meter beyond 500 cubic meters."

I almost skipped right over it.

Next morning at the construction trailer:

ME: "This excess soil clause - what are we looking at volume-wise?"

GRADING CONTRACTOR: "Hard to say until we dig. Could be 200 extra cubic meters, could be 800."

ME: "At $35 per cubic meter, that's potentially $28K we didn't budget."

CONTRACTOR: "Yeah, but it's in the contract."

ME: "It wasn't in our discussions."

CONTRACTOR: "Contract supersedes discussions."

Thirty minutes of back-and-forth later, we'd capped the excess at 300 cubic meters at $25 per meter.

Final bill came in at 720 cubic meters of excess. That boring contract review saved us $17,700.

The lesson: The stuff that seems too boring to read is exactly the stuff that will cost you.

Land Tech: Contract review is where AI truly shines beyond human capability. While I nearly missed that critical soil removal clause on page 18, AI can scan a 100-page contract in seconds, flagging every potential cost exposure, unusual term, and deviation from standard industry language. It can quantify the financial risk of each clause, estimate probability of triggering contingencies, and compare terms against thousands of similar contracts to identify what's missing or unusual.

That $17,700 I saved through careful reading? AI would have flagged not just that clause, but likely dozens of other potential cost exposures I completely missed, even after staying up until 9:30 PM reviewing.

If you think you are starting to see what you think are hallucinations, like this, double-check your work with another AI chat like:

Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Qwen, or Deepseek.

Rule #5: Everything Is Negotiable (When You Do Your Research)

Knowledge is your best negotiating tool

Development permit meeting, fall 2013. The city's development officer slides a list of requirements across the table:

DEVELOPMENT OFFICER: "You'll need a traffic impact assessment for these twelve single-family homes."

NORM (PROJECT MANAGER): "That's going to cost us $25K minimum."

ME: "What's the calculation that triggers this requirement?"

OFFICER: "Alberta Ministry of Transportation standard. Ten trips per dwelling. So you're at 120 daily trips."

ME: "But that's based on suburban locations. This is inner-city with transit access. The Ministry has urban adjustment factors."

OFFICER: "I'm not familiar with those."

I'd spent two days studying traffic engineering manuals after getting burned on our last project. And back then, there wasn't a lot of AI to help – just me, coffee, and hundreds of pages of technical guidelines.

ME: "Section 4.2 allows for a 30% reduction in urban, transit-served locations. That puts us at 84 daily trips, below your 100-trip threshold."

Fifteen minutes later, we'd eliminated the $25K traffic study requirement.

But here's the thing - six months earlier, I wouldn't have known to question it. I would have just paid the $25K and complained about government bureaucracy.

Always be prepared.

The lesson: You can negotiate anything, but only if you understand it better than the person across the table. And research has never been easier in the history of humankind than it is right now with AI – what took me two agonizing afternoons of manual reading could probably be done in 30 minutes today or less.

Land Tech: Two days studying Alberta Ministry of Transportation manuals? In 2025? That's like flood plain mapping with an abacus. (I was a floodplain mapper out of university; they called it a stormwater management engineer.)

Using Perplexity:

Conclusion of Perplexity response:

See the full response here.

No shade to my 2013 self – that research hustle was legit. But in 2025, you're leaving money on the table if you're not using AI to prep for these negotiations.

The playing field has changed, and the folks across the table are counting on you not knowing that.

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Do you need a development co-pilot? After 30 years in the trenches, I help developers avoid expensive mistakes through strategy sessions, deal analysis, and road mapping.

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Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" for a no-obligation call about your project challenges, or share your biggest development headache for a free quick take.

See you next Friday.

- Greg

Greg Mills

Welcome back, everyone!

This week, I've been getting schooled by two friends about prefab housing.

One's a seasoned Alberta developer. The other drywall to half of Toronto.

Both told me the same thing: "It won't work. Not here. Not now." I get it.

Apparently, this big swing just failed in Toronto (see here for more commentary, apparently it is still operating but has issues):

ED Modular new Stoney Creek, Ont. plant to be biggest Canadian modular facility - Daily Commercial News

The idea of a 20-storey residential building comprised of modular structural steel boxes constructed in a factory and assembled on-site, almost like Lego, may sound far-fetched, but for a division of EllisDon it is not a stretch. The company, ED Modular,

canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/projects/2020/01/ed-modular-new-stoney-creek-ont-plant-to-be-biggest-canadian-modular-facility

Back in the mid-2000s, I was knee-deep in prefab startups here in Calgary. Cutting-edge tech, smart people, and some very expensive lessons.

I'd love to tell you exactly what went sideways — but I'm still under NDA from those days.

(insert lawyer-approved shrug here)

Let's just say the math wasn't the problem. It was getting builders, manufacturers, and trades to actually talk to each other.

The coordination was a disaster.

But now?

Things are different.

We're not trying to ship entire houses on trucks anymore — site builders still win that game. The new push is vertical multifamily and modular infill projects.

Where prefab actually makes sense.

This time there's real money behind it: $35+ billion in federal funding aimed at modular construction. Land incentives from provinces. And — here's the game changer — AI tools that might finally solve the coordination nightmare that killed projects like mine.

Will prefab save Canada's housing crisis?

Probably not.

Is this the best shot we've had in 25 years?

Maybe.

And I'm definitely paying attention this time.

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📋 Legal-ish Disclaimer (Because Lawyers Make Me Nervous)

This story may or may not have happened exactly as described. The municipality may or may not be real. The ducks may or may not have been consulted for comment. The concrete piles definitely existed, but their current emotional state is unknown.

This could be a fable, a fever dream, or just what happens when you give a guy with 30 years of development experience too much coffee and a deadline. Any resemblance to actual prefab disasters, living or buried in municipal planning files, is purely coincidental (but probably accurate).

The $35 billion figure is real, the AI revolution is happening, and my boss really did hang up on me. The hinged power poles? Well... let's just say some ideas are better left in the ground with the concrete piles.

No ducks, municipalities, or prefab dreams were permanently harmed in the making of this newsletter. Side effects may include: sudden urges to call your municipal planner, inexplicable faith in factory-built housing, and the compulsive need to fact-check everything I write.

If you happen to work for that municipality and are reading this... hi there…wait, you are probably retired by now 👋 

The $35 Billion (and AI) Prefab Moment

SCENE: Calgary, 2008. It's a crisp spring morning. I'm sitting in my car, parked outside our shiny new industrial site — 100 concrete piles already in the ground, ready for what I'd been calling "the future of housing."

I'm on the phone with my boss, calling in from Toronto. I'm practically bouncing in my seat because I'm about to deliver the best project update of my career.

ME: "Morning! You'll be happy to know the ducks are gone, the piles are in, and the site is ready to go. The town even gave us the special zoning we needed — we're going to show them how prefab gets done!"

BOSS: (long pause) "Greg… about that."

ME: "About what? The ducks? Because I want to be clear, we didn't harm them. We just... encouraged relocation. Very politely."

BOSS: "No, Greg. About the prefab program."

ME: (still oblivious) "Oh, it's going to be amazing! We've got the crane access figured out, the architects are finally on board with the whole 'centre core pickup' concept, and I even convinced the electrical guy that hinged power poles are a real thing!"

BOSS: "Greg, stop."

ME: "I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but—"

BOSS: "It's over. The Board has pulled the plug. We're cancelling the entire prefab program."

ME: (silence)

BOSS: "Greg?"

ME: "I'm sorry, I think we have a bad connection. Did you just say we're cancelling the thing I've been working on for 12 months?"

BOSS: "That's correct."

ME: (voice getting higher) "The thing where I convinced a municipal council to rezone prime residential land for industrial use by promising them we'd bring 'manufacturing jobs of the future' to their sleepy little town?"

BOSS: "Yep."

ME: "The thing where I spent every weekend for two months explaining to architects why their beautiful homes needed to be redesigned so a crane could pick them up by their... belly button?"

BOSS: "That's the one."

ME: (now fully panicking) "The thing where we just sunk a small fortune installing 100 concrete piles in what used to be a perfectly nice duck habitat?"

BOSS: "Exactly that thing."

ME: "And you're telling me this... now? After I literally just told the mayor yesterday that we'd have the first units rolling off the line by Christmas?"

BOSS: "Did you really tell them Christmas?"

ME: "I may have also mentioned something about creating a 'Northern Silicon Valley of Housing Innovation.' I was feeling confident."

BOSS: (sighing) "Greg..."

ME: "Wait, wait. Let me just... process this. So right now, I'm sitting next to 100 concrete pillars sticking out of the ground like some sort of industrial Stonehenge, in a town that thinks they're getting a factory, with architects who probably want to sue me, and power poles that can... fold?"

BOSS: "That's an accurate summary."

ME: "And the ducks?"

BOSS: "What about the ducks?"

ME: "Well, they're not getting their wetland back either, are they?"

BOSS: "Probably not."

ME: (staring at the concrete forest) "So basically, everyone loses. The town, the ducks, the architects, our investors..."

BOSS: "Don't forget yourself."

ME: "Right. Especially me. The guy who has to call everyone back and explain that the 'future of housing' is actually just 100 very expensive lawn ornaments."

BOSS: "Look at it this way — at least you learned something about municipal politics?"

ME: "What I learned is that I'm apparently very good at convincing people to believe in things that will never happen."

BOSS: "That's... actually a valuable skill in development."

ME: (laughing despite myself) "You know what the really sad part is? I was so proud of those hinged power poles. I thought I was some kind of engineering genius."

BOSS: "You did put a lot of enthusiasm into that presentation."

ME: "I had PowerPoint slides! With animations! The poles literally folded in the presentation!"

BOSS: "I remember."

ME: "The mayor asked for copies for his grandkids."

BOSS: "Greg..."

ME: "Fine. I'll call the town. And the architects. And probably the concrete company to ask if there's some sort of 'rapid pile removal' service."

BOSS: "Good luck with that."

ME: (looking at the concrete pillars and trying to spot any returning ducks) "You know, I'm starting to think this whole 'visionary leader' thing might not be my strongest suit."

BOSS: "We'll find you something else to be visionary about."

ME: "Just... maybe something that doesn't involve relocating wildlife or redesigning the entire concept of how houses work?"

BOSS: "Deal."

That was the day I learned an important lesson: Vision without alignment and execution is just an expensive pile of concrete.

Back then, the dream was bold.

We weren't just building houses — we were building a full manufacturing ecosystem:

• Entire subdivisions pre-designed for factory-built homes

• Power poles on hinges (because apparently that was necessary)

• Architects forced to design houses that could be picked up by a centre core (architects love that, by the way — highly recommend if you want a lot of angry phone calls)

• Municipalities promised jobs and innovation

• Industrial zoning carved into a new residential site

We had everything... except an industry that was ready to execute together.

Why This Time Might Actually Work

So when my friends tell me today "Prefab won't work — we've seen this movie before" — I get it. I was in that movie. I was in the sad part of that movie. I was the guy calling the town back to say: "About those jobs... well..."

But this time, the story is changing. And here's why:

1️⃣ We're Building the Right Things

Back then, we were trying to factory-build entire single-family homes and move them like giant Lego blocks. Wrong market. Wrong product. Wrong economics.

Today's focus is on where prefab shines:

• Mid-rise multifamily

• Modular affordable rental

• Urban infill product

• Student housing / supportive housing

Not trying to replace site builders — but adding capacity where traditional delivery is broken.

2️⃣ There's Real Funding Behind It

When I was pitching prefab to municipalities, we were operating on hope and optimism (and apparently, duck relocation services).

Now? There's real fuel:

• $35+ billion in new federal loans, financing, and subsidies targeting prefab and modular construction

• Free land incentives in many markets

• Provincial housing mandates pushing cities to accept faster delivery models

When the money lines up, execution starts to line up too.

3️⃣ AI Is the Missing Ingredient

This is the piece I'm most excited about — because it solves the exact problem that killed us in 2008: coordination.

Back then, our design software didn't talk to our factory software. Our factory output didn't match what site crews expected. Our supply chain was manual and slow. Our project timelines didn't reflect reality.

Today:

👉 Closing the design-to-build gap
Tools like Hypar or TestFit generate modular-friendly, manufacturable designs — reducing the back-and-forth between architects and the factory floor.

👉 Smarter design iterations
AI-assisted platforms like Spacemaker (now part of Autodesk) or even using ChatGPT with parametric design plugins allow teams to rapidly test and optimize building designs.

👉 Factory automation & QA
AI vision systems (example: Landing AI) are being used in manufacturing to detect defects — and the same approach is being applied to modular construction lines for quality control.

👉 Supply chain smoothing
Companies like ClearMetal (now part of Project44) use AI to predict material supply disruptions. Larger modular players are building similar predictive models in-house to manage inventory and prevent costly delays.

👉 Safer sites
Buildots uses helmet-mounted cameras and AI to monitor construction progress and safety risks — improving quality and reducing errors both in modular assembly and on hybrid construction sites.

The Bottom Line

Prefab and modular construction failed its first Canadian run for a simple reason: It wasn't an ecosystem. It was a bunch of disconnected good ideas stapled together.

Now, with billions in funding, a product focus that fits the market, and AI tools finally stitching the ecosystem together — prefab might just stick the landing.

It won't be easy. But this is the best shot we've had in 25 years.

And no ducks will be “relcoated” this time. (no…I can’t promise that 🥹 )

Each week, I test tools, AI prompts, and experiments so you don’t have to.
From zoning hacks to time-saving workflows, here’s one tech-powered insight to help you move faster, think clearer, and waste less money.

From Pencil To Pixels (and back again)

Few issues back Issue #37: Lessons in Leveling (Decks and Egos Alike) , I wrote about using AI prompts to design housing elevations — just for fun.

Fast forward to last week.

I'm sitting across from a builder I genuinely respect. One of the best in Calgary, proudly old-school. He slides me a stack of new house designs.

Beautifully drawn.

In pencil.

On graph paper.

Every line intentional. Every proportion thought through. I could almost hear that pencil scratching across the paper.

But you know me...

The Setup

ME: "These are incredible. Seriously — this is art."

BUILDER: "Thank you. I've been drawing on graph paper since... well, since graph paper was invented."

ME: "I want to try something. Let me run one of these through AI and see if I can save us a few dollars on renderings."

BUILDER: (narrowing eyes) "AI, eh? Just make sure it knows where the siding laps. My pencil does."

ME: "Got it. I'll tell it to respect the pencil."

BUILDER: "And the soffits. And the trim returns. And no fake shadows — we don't need the house looking like a spaceship."

ME: (typing nervously) "Right... respecting siding, soffits, trim, and gravity. Got it."

BUILDER: (leans back, arms crossed) "I'll stick with my pencil for the next one."

ME: "Fair enough — my AI assistant's feelings are pretty fragile anyway."

Later That Day

Instead of sending those drawings off for a $20,000 rendering package, I decided to see how far AI could take us.

Fast, cheap, and (hopefully) accurate.

Yes, “Calgary Beige” at its finest!!

How You Can Do This (In About 30 Seconds)

If you’re a builder, architect, or land developer still working on graph paper (and no judgment — some of the best do), here’s a simple workflow:

1️⃣ Snap a clear photo of your pencil sketch — straight on, good lighting.
2️⃣ Upload that image to an AI tool like Sora or your preferred image-to-image model.
3️⃣ Use a simple prompt:
"Render this house elevation in a clean, realistic architectural style. Match proportions exactly. Respect siding, window layout, and trim detail."
4️⃣ In about 30 seconds, you’ll have a render you can use for internal reviews, marketing drafts, or client approvals — without spending $20K and waiting 6 weeks.

It won’t replace your professional renderers for the final brochure — but it can save time and money on the 15 rounds that come before that.

And yes — it might even keep your old-school builder’s pencil happy.

The Real Lesson

Technology isn't here to replace craftsmanship.

It's here to amplify it.

That builder's pencil sketches? Pure expertise on paper. Thirty years of knowing exactly how siding should lap, where soffits need to breathe, and why trim returns matter.

The AI? Just a really expensive photocopier that occasionally gets creative.

But together?

We turned $20,000 worth of renderings into a 15-minute experiment that gave us exactly what we needed for client presentations.

The builder kept his pencil.

I kept my AI prompts.

And we both got back to making housing happen instead of debating the future.

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Do you need a development co-pilot? After 30 years in the trenches, I help developers avoid expensive mistakes through strategy sessions, deal analysis, and road mapping.

Save time and money. Why navigate the development maze alone when carrying costs are eating your returns?

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" for a no-obligation call about your project challenges, or share your biggest development headache for a free quick take.

See you next Friday.

- Greg

Greg Mills

Welcome back, everyone!

This week I’ve been thinking about how bad financial decisions get made — not by rookies, but sometimes by smart, seasoned developers.

A colleague told me about a client who scrapped an entire townhouse strategy after hearing they could save GST by switching to rentals. Never mind that the new plan probably makes less money — the tax savings were shiny and immediate, so math became optional.

Apparently no one thought to compare the two pro formas. Or create one at all.

It happens more often than we’d like to admit.

At LandLogic, we help fix that.

If you need help returning to first principles on any project, hit reply.

We’ll bring logic. You bring coffee.

It's spring, and as another year of BILD awards goes by, I’ve also been thinking about something else: customer satisfaction.

In a housing market defined by affordability pressures, inflation, and supply chaos, it’s tempting to cut corners to protect margin.

But back in ‘01, I thought micromanaging every lot was the key to customer satisfaction. What I got was sunstroke and a lesson in trust.

Which brings us to: The Great Drainage Inspection of ’01.

The Great Drainage Inspection of ‘01

SCENE: My cubicle, West of Toronto, late July 2001 (I might be off by a year or two, either way — I'm old). The fax machine is spitting out revised grading plans while I'm juggling three different subdivision phases and a Diet Coke that has lost all its fizz. Outside, the summer heat is already making the asphalt soft. The phone rings.

DEVELOPMENT VP: "Mills! Conference room, five minutes. We need to talk about lot grading."

ME: (eyeing the stack of unfinished work) "Sure thing. Which project?"

DEVELOPMENT VP: "All of them. Bring your level."

That's when I knew this conversation was about to go sideways. In my experience, when executives start asking for surveying equipment, someone's about to have a very long day.

The Setup

For context: We're in the middle of the biggest customer satisfaction push in company history. JD Power has arrived in the Toronto homebuilding market, and our CEO has decided we're going to win their award or die trying. Every conversation, every meeting, every decision gets filtered through one question: "Will this improve our customer satisfaction scores?"

The CEO has been dropping hints about "hands-on leadership" and "attention to detail that sets us apart." Apparently, this has filtered down to my VP as "personally inspect every square foot of dirt."

DEVELOPMENT VP: (spreading site plans across the conference table like he's planning D-Day) "I want to physically walk every lot on the Meadowvale project. All 318 lots. Check the grades myself with the level and rod."

ME: (trying to keep my voice level) "That's... ambitious. Any particular concerns with our civil engineering consultant?"

DEVELOPMENT VP: "No concerns. This is about excellence. JD Power excellence. I want to personally verify that every single lot drains properly."

ME: "Well, I should mention some logistical challenges. About sixty lots have houses under construction, so we can't access final grade elevations. Another forty are intentionally left low for site balancing—"

DEVELOPMENT VP: (cutting me off) "Perfect drainage equals perfect customer satisfaction. When do we start?"

ME: "There's also the small matter of setting up the level every few lots, reading elevations against the drawings, checking flow patterns... We're talking about multiple days of surveying work."

DEVELOPMENT VP: (waving dismissively) "How hard can it be? Point, shoot, check the numbers."

I realize he thinks a surveyor's level is basically a fancy telescope.

The Preparation

ME: "Just so we're clear, you want to verify the drainage on 318 individual lots using surveying equipment?"

DEVELOPMENT VP: "Exactly. Nothing says quality like executive-level spot-checking."

ME: "In July. In 35-degree weather. On lots that are mostly dirt and construction debris."

DEVELOPMENT VP: "Comfort is the enemy of excellence, Mills."

ME: (pause) "Should I pack water?"

DEVELOPMENT VP: "I'll bring my golf hat. How long could this take?"

I spend the next hour trying to explain construction sequencing, temporary grading, and why lots don't match the final drawings until houses are complete. But he's convinced that personally verifying every drainage swale is the key to customer satisfaction dominance.

So I book us for Friday at 2 PM—the hottest part of the day, naturally—pack my surveying equipment, and prepare for what I'm certain will be the longest afternoon of my career.

The Reality Check

Friday arrives. The temperature hits 34 degrees by noon. I meet the VP at the site office, where he's sporting pressed khakis, a polo shirt, and what I can only describe as "office-appropriate footwear."

ME: "Ready for some surveying?"

DEVELOPMENT VP: (looking at my boots, hard hat, and surveying rod) "This is a lot more equipment than I expected."

ME: "Welcome to precision grading verification."

We start with lot #1. I set up the level, take a backsight reading, explain how we're checking drainage flow toward the rear swale. The VP watches intently as I work through the calculations.

DEVELOPMENT VP: "So this number means...?"

ME: "The lot drains properly. Just like our engineering consultant said it would."

DEVELOPMENT VP: (wiping sweat) "Great! One down."

ME: "317 to go."

I watch the colour drain from his face.

Lot #2: The Beginning of the End

By the time we reach the second lot, the VP is discovering that "executive-level spot-checking" involves a lot more standing in direct sunlight than he anticipated. I'm setting up the equipment while he's seeking shade behind a lumber pile.

DEVELOPMENT VP: (mopping his forehead) "Is this level broken? It's taking forever to set up."

ME: "It's precision equipment. Each setup takes about five minutes if we want accurate readings."

DEVELOPMENT VP: "Five minutes times 318 lots..."

ME: "About 26 hours of surveying time, plus travel between lots."

He stares at me like I just told him we need to personally inspect the moon.

DEVELOPMENT VP: (glancing longingly at his air-conditioned car) "You know what? I trust your process here. You've got good systems in place."

ME: "Are you sure? We've barely scratched the surface of lot-by-lot drainage verification."

DEVELOPMENT VP: (already walking toward his car) "I'm confident our quality control measures are sufficient."

And just like that, the great grading inspection of 2001 was over after two lots and approximately fifteen minutes of actual work.

He never mentioned it again.

The Lessons

Customer service absolutely matters—especially when you want people to recommend you to friends and family. But here's what that sweaty afternoon taught me about quality control:

Trust your team. We had qualified grading contractors, experienced engineering consultants, and established inspection protocols. The VP's instinct to ensure quality was right, but micromanaging the execution wasn't necessary. Good people do good work when you let them.

Trust your processes. Systems that work don't need executive-level spot-checking every time. Rigorous quality control happens through proper procedures, documentation, and accountability—not through VPs with surveying equipment they don't know how to use.

Know your role. The best leaders focus on setting standards and ensuring accountability, not on personally executing every task. There's a difference between being hands-on and getting your hands dirty unnecessarily.

Sometimes enthusiasm isn't enough. The VP's passion for excellence was admirable, but passion without practical understanding leads to wasted time and frustrated teams. Better to channel that energy into supporting the people who actually know how to do the work.

And guess what? We won the JD Power award that year anyway.

The real customer satisfaction came from having confidence in our systems and letting the experts do their jobs. When leadership trusts the process, everyone performs better—and nobody has to survive 318 lots in 35-degree heat wearing office shoes.

Sometimes the best thing a leader can do is step back, let the machine work, and save the hands-on inspections for when they're actually needed.

The Unsung Apps That Work Overtime

No AI this week...sorry guys, just plain everyday tech for you today. Two tidbits of information, both on your iPhone (sorry, Android users).

Turns out the device I use primarily for scrolling LinkedIn and taking blurry site photos has been hiding some actual useful features. Who knew?

#1: The Advanced Tip Calculator

You know that calculator app you use to figure out if your tip after lunch?

Turns out if you rotate your phone sideways, it becomes a scientific calculator. Cool, but not earth-shattering.

BUT—and this is the part nobody talks about—there's a tiny button that lets you convert between imperial and metric.

I featured this in a LinkedIn post a while back.

Watch me blow your mind: A 54-foot lot (sorry about the decimals) is also 16.451 metres wide. You’re probably thinking… where is he working on lots that are 54’ wide? Who could afford that? That is a story for another day.

No more frantically googling "acres to hectares" during land negotiations while pretending you knew that conversion all along. Your phone's been quietly judging you this whole time for not knowing this feature existed.

I've been doing these conversions on napkins and Excel spreadsheets like some kind of medieval land surveyor. Meanwhile, my phone's been sitting there like, "Greg, I literally have a built-in converter app."

Another mind-blowing calculation

#2: The iMessage Ingredient Incident

I was in BC last week when Kirsten texted me our secret Mills family popcorn recipe. (Yes, we have a secret popcorn recipe. No, I can not reveal the recipe. Reply nicely to this email with “Popcorn,” and I might secretly send it.)

When her text arrived with "1 TBSP" in the ingredients list, I accidentally hard-pressed on those measurements.

Boom.

My phone instantly converted 1 tablespoon into:

• 0.5 fluid ounces

• 14.79 milliliters

• 0.0625 cups

• And seven other volume measurements

I immediately started texting myself random measurements like some kind of conversion-obsessed lunatic:

"800 meters" turned into 2,624.672 feet.

"0.25 cups" became 59.15 millilitres

It's like having a unit converter that actually works, hidden inside the app I use to argue with contractors about change orders.

[For those who are detail-oriented, like Kirsten…Yes, my battery is at 5%... and yes, I had to call a client... and yes, I was late making the call...]

Is this of any actual use to anyone…

The Real Game Changer

Last week, I was texting a potential JV partner about our latest project: "We're looking at a 12-acre site."

I forgot I was dealing with someone under 35, so without thinking, I hard-pressed on "12-acre" and boom—my phone converted it to 4.856 ha.

I quickly copy-pasted that into my response: "That's 4.856 ha of pure development potential."

Then he texts back: "Holy shit, Greg. I thought you were stuck in 1987 when you said acres. Thanks for that quick metric conversion. When can we meet?"

Still working on closing that deal, but my new iPhone toolkit definitely got my foot in the door.

Turns out, accidentally discovering iPhone features is my new business strategy. Who needs fancy AI when you've got fat fingers and a conversation-obsessed phone?

The best part?

Now I can sound globally sophisticated while secretly having no idea what a hectare actually looks like in real life.

Stay In The Business Know with 1440

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Knowledge Starts Here

Do you need a development co-pilot? After 30 years in the trenches, I help developers avoid expensive mistakes through strategy sessions, deal analysis, and road mapping.

Save time and money. Why navigate the development maze alone when carrying costs are eating your returns?

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" for a no-obligation call about your project challenges, or share your biggest development headache for a free quick take.

See you next Friday.

- Greg

Greg Mills

This week finds me openly nursing a man-crush on an Australian real estate tech entrepreneur while also realizing our Ontario friends have discovered there is a western Canadian real estate market 🙃.

Have you seen what Mitch Hale is doing with Prop Data IQ? The man has built what my spreadsheet dreams are made of—a feasibility and acquisition platform that's grown 89% since February, with 1,774 users running over 3,200 feasibility studies. While I'm still trying to convince AutoCAD to stop crashing when I open two drawings simultaneously, this wizard is having AI generate "optimum dwelling sizes" and "likely financing types."

I want to be the Canadian Mitch Hale so badly it hurts. My vision: create the residential land version for Canada, where developers can analyze land development sites in minutes instead of months. Just imagine—no more Excel files named "FINAL_FINAL_v7_ACTUALLY_FINAL_USE_THIS_ONE.xlsx" cluttering your desktop.

Is this mid-life crisis territory? Possibly. But it's healthier than buying a sports car.

Meanwhile, have you noticed the tectonic shift in Canadian real estate coverage? According to the recent RENX article, Alberta and B.C. are suddenly "leading Canada's next wave of real estate development and investment." After three decades of Toronto convinced it was the center of the Canadian universe, apparently someone finally checked a map and realized there's a whole country west of Mississauga.

You can practically hear the collective gasp from Bay Street: "What do you mean people are moving to places with... checks notes... affordability and jobs?" The article confirms what we've known forever—that Calgary and Edmonton provide "a faster, more efficient pathway for real estate development" compared to "over-regulated and slow-moving markets like Toronto."

Translation: permits take months instead of geological epochs. Revolutionary concept.

Next thing you know, they'll discover the Rocky Mountains and declare them "Canada's newest natural feature."

Vertical Integration Is Coming

SCENE: A Tim Hortons parking lot, southeast Calgary. Tuesday, 7:30 AM.

I'm leaning against my truck, sipping that delicious Tim Hortons coffee, when I spot Jim trudging across the parking lot. His truck has more construction dust than paint at this point.

Jim's been building houses in Alberta since the '80s. He's the kind of guy who still carries rolled-up blueprints in his back seat and answers texts three days late because "that's what voicemails are for." His company builds about 25 custom homes a year - solid craftsmanship, decent margins, loyal customers.

JIM: (nodding toward my cup) "Double-double today?"

ME: "Only black, Jim. Tastes too good to dilute it."

JIM: (leaning against my truck) "You hearing about all these big guys again? Buying up entire sections of land. No lots on the market anymore unless you want to pay retail and kiss someone's ring."

ME: "That's because they own the land now. And the truss producer. And probably your HVAC guy too."

JIM: (snorts) "Used to be you just built houses. Now you gotta own a cement plant and a software company just to keep your margins?"

Then he hits me with the line I've heard a dozen times this year:

JIM: "That sounds like some Ontario nonsense."

I can't help but laugh. In Alberta, there's no greater insult than comparing something to Ontario. But he's not wrong about the pattern.

Alberta’s Independent Builder Era Is Ending

For decades, Alberta operated more like the U.S. homebuilding market:

• Developers serviced and sold lots.

• Builders picked and chose inventory.

• Everyone stayed in their lane.

You'd build 20 homes a year, make a decent margin, and go fishing in Mexico every winter. That model worked in a land-rich, low-cost, fast-approval world.

But now?

• Land prices are rising faster than my blood pressure at municipal council meetings.

• Lot inventory is shrinking like my patience with permit delays.

• Trades are either overbooked or underqualified.

• Margins are disappearing faster than drywallers on a long weekend Friday at 2 PM.

Meanwhile, the ‘national’ builders—Mattamy, Anthem, Brookfield, (not to mention our local Truman, who is as big as some of the Nationals) and their corporate cousins—have been quietly importing the Ontario/BC model. Vertical integration. Factory efficiencies. Land control.

And like it or not, it's working.

The One Margin To Rule Them All

Why Vertical Integration Works (Even In The Wild West)

There's a dirty little secret behind the success of vertically integrated builders:

They only need one margin.

If you're a traditional builder like Jim, you buy a lot from a developer (who needs a 20% margin), pay a supplier (who needs 15%), and hire trades (who've tacked on another 20% since COVID). Then you hope there's still enough meat left on the bone to make your model pencil.

But if you're vertically integrated?

• You make money on the land, not just the house.

• You own the trades.

• You control the customer journey from "I might want to buy a house someday" to "Here are your keys."

And because you're not slicing up margin between five companies, you can be more affordable and more profitable at the same time. It's like being both the butcher and the steakhouse.

The Ontario guys learned this years ago. They didn't vertically integrate because it was fun or because they wanted to create corporate empires. They did it because it was necessary to survive in a land-constrained market with brutal approval timelines.

Alberta's now reaching that same tipping point.

So Why Is This Happening Now?

Let's connect the dots:

1. Land pricing & vendor expectations are up. The days of $100K serviced lots are gone, like my hairline in my twenties. Builders without land are getting boxed out—or stuck overpaying retail while watching their margins evaporate.

2. Affordability pressure is real. You can't just pass costs to the buyer forever. At some point, they can't qualify for the mortgage. You have to reduce inputs, not just increase prices. That means owning more of the stack—or partnering with those who do.

3. Prefab and modular are finally having a moment. But you can't implement those efficiencies unless you control the product and lot layout from day one. That requires land control and standardization—exactly what independent builders typically lack. And to quote my mentor on pre-fab: “this shit just doesn’t work…its been tried and tested 100 times”.

4. The Liberal housing plan is rewiring the board. It's all about streamlining permits, unlocking public land, and incentivizing factory-built homes. Who's set up to win those projects? Vertically integrated players with scale and capital.

5. Competition is national now. Alberta isn't a regional sandbox anymore. Big builders are hunting for yield, and Alberta still looks cheap compared to Toronto or Vancouver—for now. That window is closing.

Back To The Parking Lot

JIM: (finishing his coffee) "So what—you're telling me I should start a land company and vertically integrate my way to a 5% net margin? At my age?"

ME: "I'm telling you the guys who already did that are going to be hard to stop. Because they've got the One Margin. And they can afford to outbid you on dirt, out-wait you on approvals, and out-market you on product."

Jim takes a long sip of coffee and stares toward the Ring Road.

JIM: "Should've bought that junkyard in 2004."

ME: "You and every other builder in the province."

JIM: "So what do guys like me do now? Sell out? Retire? Become a framing sub for Mattamy?"

ME: "You've got options. You can partner up with land players. Focus on niche product that the big guys don't want to touch. Target infill where your local knowledge matters more. But standing still isn't one of the options."

JIM: "You know what's crazy? My dad built houses in the '60s without owning a single lot. Just called up and ordered them like pizza. 'I'll take three 50-footers in Glenbrook, please.'"

ME: "Different world, Jim. Different world."

THE LESSONS:

1. The future of Alberta homebuilding is land-first. If you don't control the dirt, someone else controls your margins. That's not a trend—it's math.

2. Vertical integration isn't a fad—it's a survival strategy. Especially in markets with rising land costs, shrinking trades, and growing affordability pressure.

3. The magic isn't in the margins—it's in the margin stacking. When one company owns the land, the build, and the brand, they only need one profit center to thrive.

4. You don't need to own everything. But you do need a plan. Partner up, think long-term, and stop waiting for lots to magically appear on MLS.

Because in the next cycle? Builders without land will be building someone else's dreams. And in Alberta, them's fightin' words.

Each week, I test tools, AI prompts, and experiments so you don’t have to.
From zoning hacks to time-saving workflows, here’s one tech-powered insight to help you move faster, think clearer, and waste less money.

Last week in Issue #38: Urban Honey and the Spreadsheet of Doom I started on this whole idea of using AI not just for Googling stuff, but as your actual operating system. Like an invisible second brain that picks up your slack where your first brain drops the ball.

Truth is, we've all got mental glitches. Mine? I hear "SWM issue" and suddenly I'm mentally designing a detention pond while everyone else has moved on to talking about the damn catering budget. Maybe yours is forgetting names two seconds after you hear them, or completely zoning out whenever spreadsheets appear on screen.

You either gotta figure out these weaknesses yourself or, hell, just ask an AI to diagnose your professional defects. (Pro tip: if you do the latter, make sure you're sitting down and have a stiff drink nearby.)

Anyway, here's a real-life example of how this whole "AI as your backup brain" thing is saving my ass in meetings...

The AI That Saves Me From My Own Brain (So I Don't Derail the Whole Meeting)

When someone even mentions a land development problem in a meeting—just casually, like they're ordering a coffee—my brain hijacks the entire conversation and goes full CSI: Subdivision Edition.

Planning Consultant: "We might have some SWM issues on Parcel B."

Me (internally): Stormwater management? Let me mentally run fourteen drainage scenarios, pull the topo from memory, overlay the geotech we did last summer, maybe flip the slope grading, check the soil permeability, calculate runoff coefficients—

Five minutes later...

Planning Consultant: "...and that brings us to the marketing launch timeline."

Me: "Sorry, quick question about that SWM thing from earlier—is it pre-development flow or post-development capacity? I just need to know if we can add another detention pond without triggering a DRA reassessment."

Everyone: blank stares

Evan (my 20-year-old son and summer intern, not even looking up from his phone): "Dad, that was slide 3. We're on slide 14 now. Also, you've been mumbling about infiltration rates for 90 seconds."

I wish I could say this was a one-time thing. But this is me in every meeting. My brain treats casual problems like personal challenges to my development manhood.

I've tried Fathom. I've tried Gemini. Granola. All great for post-meeting wrap-ups when I'm trying to figure out what the hell just happened. But I don't need help after I've missed half the call. I need a real-time mental rescue before I start asking follow-up questions about problems no one remembers mentioning because they've moved on with their lives.

Enter: Hedy

Hedy is an AI meeting assistant that actually helps during the meeting. Not after. Not tomorrow morning. Right now.

It listens, tracks the discussion, and gives you bite-sized summaries and on-the-spot prompts to get you back in the game—without having to awkwardly ask Chad later, "Wait... did we actually decide anything in that meeting or was it just people talking over each other for an hour?"

Hedy Meeting Prompts

It's especially handy in remote meetings, where you can keep Hedy open in a separate browser window and look like you're just being very, very thoughtful instead of completely lost in the sauce.

And if you're in person? Just pull out your phone, glance down and—boom—instant recap. Everyone thinks you're "checking your calendar." Really, you're checking your own cognitive black box. No one needs to know you mentally left the meeting ten minutes ago to model out Parcel B like it's the final round of SimCity.

Planning Consultant: "Greg, any thoughts on the launch timeline given everything we've discussed?"

Me: frantically glances at Hedy

Hedy on my phone: "Current topic: Marketing launch timeline. Group leaning toward September. Concerns raised about permit delays (slide 7) and finishing landscaping before frost (slide 12)."

Me: "Well, considering the permit timeline we discussed and the landscaping constraints with our early frost dates, I think we should build in a two-week buffer into the September target. Better to announce a delay once than twice."

Everyone: nodding approvingly

Me: wiping forehead sweat while smiling confidently

The real miracle? No one suspected I was mentally redesigning the entire stormwater management system for the last 20 minutes. Not even Chad, who has a built-in BS detector specifically calibrated to my frequency.

Here are an excerpt from recent meetings:

Hedy (slightly redacted)

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Do you need a development co-pilot? After 30 years in the trenches, I help developers avoid expensive mistakes through strategy sessions, deal analysis, and road mapping.

Save time and money. Why navigate the development maze alone when carrying costs are eating your returns?

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" for a no-obligation call about your project challenges, or share your biggest development headache for a free quick take.

See you next Friday.

- Greg

Greg “Jason Bateman” Mills

Welcome back, everyone! This week finds me knee-deep in numbers that don't lie, no matter how much developers might wish they would. The truth is always in the proforma, folks.

Speaking of truth and excellence, I need to take a moment to send a huge congratulations to the team at the Minto Group in Calgary for their incredible win at the 2025 CHBA National Awards for Housing Excellence. Their community, "Wildflower," in Airdrie just took home the award for Best New Community at the awards bash in Victoria last week.

To the incredible team who turned that vision into reality – the development managers, site supervisors, marketing leaders, customer care experts and everyone in between – you've created something truly special.

Seeing local talent recognized on the national stage reminds me why Calgary continues to be one of the most innovative housing markets in the country.

Well-deserved recognition for years of hard work!

Connect with Charles if you are interested in having your community win such a prestigious award. He is the master.

Clipped from an awesome newsletter called “Site News"

Now, on to this week's cautionary tale of what happens when dreams collide with cold, hard financial reality...

The Cold Hard Facts: When The Numbers Kill Your Dream Project

Early in my career, a billionaire mentor gave me a piece of advice that’s never left me: “Never fall in love with a project.” I’ve repeated that line to just about anyone who would listen—because he was right. Never get blinded by the light.

SCENE: Tuesday, 10:30 AM. I'm perched on an uncomfortable metal stool in a trendy downtown coffee shop that apparently detests back support. Across from me is Victor, a bright-eyed first-time developer clutching his iPad like it contains the nuclear launch codes.

VICTOR: (excitedly swiping through architectural renderings) "So what do you think? It's going to revolutionize urban infill. Twenty micro condos, rooftop garden, EV chargers in every stall, and—get this—a community apiary on the third-floor terrace."

ME: (sipping coffee) "Bees?"

VICTOR: "Bees! Urban honey production is the next big amenity. We'll include a jar with every monthly maintenance fee statement."

ME: "Innovative. Mind if I see your proforma?"

Victor's enthusiasm falters for a microsecond. He slides his iPad across the reclaimed wood table, now displaying a colourful spreadsheet with more conditional formatting than actual numbers.

ME: (scanning) "I see you've estimated construction costs at $275 per square foot."

VICTOR: "Is that not enough? I googled 'Calgary construction costs' and that's what came up."

ME: "From what year?"

VICTOR: (checking) "2019. But inflation can't be that bad, right?"

ME: (taking a long, contemplative sip) "Remind me what site you're looking at?"

VICTOR: "That old warehouse on 10th."

ME: "With the contaminated soil from its previous life as a paint factory?"

VICTOR: (smile fading) "Contaminated?"

ME: "Victor, I want you to listen carefully. Your innovative micro-condo apiary has a few... challenges."

I pull out my own tablet and start building a quick model, turning the screen periodically so Victor can watch his dream project transform into a financial nightmare in real time.

ME: "First, construction costs. You're at least $150 per square foot low for a building with these specs in 2025. After tariffs, material shortages, and skilled labour constraints, you're looking at minimum $425 per square foot (fancy design/expensive facade)."

VICTOR: "But—"

ME: "Second, remediation. That site has been on the City's environmental watch list since 2012. You're looking at minimum $750,000 just to make the soil habitable for humans, let alone bees."

VICTOR: (visibly wilting) "I had no idea."

ME: "Third, micro condos work in Vancouver because they sell for $1,500 per square foot. Your target price of $625 per square foot doesn't support the construction cost, let alone the land and soft costs."

Victor stares into his cold coffee. I feel like I just kicked a puppy.

ME: (softening) "Look, I'm not trying to crush your dreams. I'm trying to save you from financial ruin. The difference between successful developers and bankrupt visionaries isn't creativity—it's realistic numbers and proper due diligence."

VICTOR: "So what would make it work?"

ME: "Let's rebuild this together. First, we need to find you a site without an environmental history. Second, we need to simplify the design to get costs down. Third, we need to validate your pricing assumptions with actual market comps."

VICTOR: "And the bees?"

ME: "Maybe save the apiary for your second project."

We spend the next hour restructuring his concept. By the time we finish, the project has morphed from twenty micro condos with questionable economics to twelve right-sized units with solid margins. No bees, but a fighting chance at profitability.

As Victor packs up his iPad, I can see his initial disappointment has been replaced with something more valuable: clarity.

Greg “Development Doctor” Mills

VICTOR: "Thanks for being straight with me. My architect and my friends all told me how amazing this was going to be. Nobody mentioned the numbers might not work."

ME: "That's because architects don't carry the financial risk, and friends don't want to crush your dreams. But remember this: the bank won't fund your vision—they'll fund your numbers."

VICTOR: "So what would you do if you were me?"

ME: "I'd start by accepting that your first development won't be revolutionary. It'll be a learning experience. Get one solid, simple project under your belt that actually makes money. Then you can gradually add complexity—and maybe even bees—to future projects."

Three days later, Victor texts me a photo of a modest fourplex site in an up-and-coming neighbourhood, with a message: "No environmental issues, zoning already in place, ran the numbers three times. What do you think?"

Progress.

The First-Time Developer Reality Check: A 7-Point Inspection

Over the years, I've watched rookie developers make the same mistakes. Here's a quick reality check to save you from the most common pitfalls:

1. Construction Costs Are Higher Than You Think: Whatever number you've budgeted, add 20%. Then add another 10% contingency. Today's construction environment is unforgiving, with material costs fluctuating wildly and skilled trades in short supply. If your project only works with optimistic construction estimates, it doesn't work.

2. Simple Projects Succeed, Complex Projects Fail: Your first development should be boring. Boring is predictable. Predictable is financeable. Financeable gets built. Save the architectural awards for your fifth project, after you've built a track record and capital base.

3. Soft Costs Will Blow Your Budget: First-timers routinely underestimate the cost of everything that isn't physical construction. Legal, accounting, architectural, engineering, permitting, marketing, financing costs—these can easily reach 25-30% of your hard costs. Budget accordingly.

4. Your Timeline is Wrong: Whatever timeline you've projected, double it. Permitting takes longer than expected. Construction takes longer than expected. Sales take longer than expected. See the pattern? Your carrying costs increase with every delay, potentially turning a profitable project into a loss.

5. The Market Doesn't Care About Your Vision: You might be passionate about sustainable micro-housing with questionable amenities, but if the market in your area wants three-bedroom townhomes with private yards, guess what's going to sell? Market research isn't optional—it's fundamental.

6. Relationships Matter More Than You Think: Development is a relationship business. Your ability to build connections with municipal staff, trades, suppliers, and potential buyers will impact everything from permitting speed to construction quality to sales velocity.

7. Your Financial Cushion Is Too Thin: Never commit all your capital to a single project. Development has too many unknown variables, and you need financial flexibility to weather unexpected challenges. If you can't afford a significant cost overrun or carrying cost extension, you can't afford to develop.

The cold, hard truth is that successful development isn't about vision—it's about execution. It's about understanding the numbers, respecting market realities, building the right relationships, and maintaining financial discipline. Master these fundamentals before you try to revolutionize the industry with your rooftop apiary.

After all, you can't change the game if you can't afford to play.

From The Trenches: Real-World Proforma Adjustments

Here's a real-world example of how dramatically different first-time developer assumptions can be from reality. These are actual numbers from a recent project assessment (anonymized to protect Victor and his bees):

When you compound these differences, you can see how a project that looks profitable on paper can quickly turn into a financial disaster in reality.

The good news? Every successful developer I know started with a simpler project than they initially dreamed of. They learned the ropes, built their network, established their credibility, and gradually tackled more complex developments as their experience and capital base grew.

Your first development shouldn't be your magnum opus—it should be your apprenticeship.

Each week, I test tools, AI prompts, and experiments so you don’t have to.
From zoning hacks to time-saving workflows, here’s one tech-powered insight to help you move faster, think clearer, and waste less money.

Meta OS: Stop Asking AI for Answers—Ask for Frameworks

(Never delegate your thinking.)

Too many smart operators are still using AI like it’s a glorified Magic 8-Ball:

That’s not strategy. That’s outsourcing your judgment.

AI’s real superpower isn’t giving you answers—it’s helping you build better frameworks. It’s your second brain, your stress-test engine, your devil’s advocate. It’s how you think faster, deeper, and clearer under pressure.

So don’t ask it what to do.

Ask it how to think.

Here are 10 ways to turn AI into your real estate operating system—not a shortcut, but a clarity engine.

1. Strategic Planning Assistant

You’ve got a promising project. You don’t need a “yes”—you need a structured way to think through the risks.

Prompt:

2. Zoning Translator

Zoning isn’t just a rulebook—it’s a chessboard. You need a breakdown you can actually build strategy from.

Prompt:

3. Proforma Validator

You don’t want AI to rewrite your model. You want it to punch holes in your logic before your investor does.

Prompt:

4. Inbox First Draft Machine

You’re not looking for fluff. You’re looking for structure and tone that still sounds like you.

Prompt:

5. Design Brief Generator

You don’t want a sketch. You want a brief that removes all ambiguity—so your designer, Sora, or AI model actually nails it.

Prompt:

6. Pitch Deck Builder

You have the story. AI helps you structure it—so you spend less time formatting and more time closing.

Prompt:

7. Partner Due Diligence Assistant

Every team looks good on paper. You want AI to tell you what’s not there.

Prompt:

8. Workflow Coach

You’re juggling Notion, Calendly, QuickBooks, and Google Drive like a circus act. You want structure—on your terms.

Prompt:

9. Government Whisperer

The goal isn’t to impress the city. It’s to get the rezoning approved without triggering alarm bells.

Prompt:

10. Self-Awareness Engine

Every good founder needs a devil’s advocate. AI will be yours—without the office drama.

Prompt:

🧠 Final Thoughts:

Don’t ask AI what to do. Ask it how to think.
Because when you delegate your thinking, you delegate your edge.

💬 Which prompt helped you think better?
Reply and tell me which one saved your deal—or changed your mind. I’ll feature the best frameworks in a future issue.

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Do you need a development co-pilot? After 30 years in the trenches, I help developers avoid expensive mistakes through strategy sessions, deal analysis, and road mapping.

Save time and money. Why navigate the development maze alone when carrying costs are eating your returns?

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" for a no-obligation call about your project challenges, or share your biggest development headache for a free quick take.

See you next Friday.

- Greg

Greg Mills

Welcome back, everyone! This week finds me reflecting on what happens when theory meets reality in this wild world of development. After thirty years in the business, I'm still getting schooled—sometimes by a crooked deck, sometimes by my tech-savvy son, and sometimes by small-town officials with big-city tactics.

Turns out there's a peculiar kind of wisdom that only comes from getting your hands dirty again. Who knew that the path to becoming a better consultant would involve so many humbling moments?

A quick note about this week's issue: You've probably noticed I've been experimenting with different sections in the newsletter. After getting your feedback (thanks for the brutally honest emails), I've learned that while you can get real estate development news anywhere, what you really want from me are solutions to old problems. So I'm officially rebranding the "Logical Links" section to "Land Tech" – a weekly feature where I test tools, prompts, and experiments so you don't have to. From zoning hacks to time-saving workflows, you'll get one tech-powered insight each week to help you move faster, think clearer, and waste less money.

Let's dive into a few “short takes” from the last little while...

Back To Basics: The Deck Debacle

After three decades navigating boardrooms and orchestrating eight-figure development deals, I've spent the past year in the trenches again—drawing site plans, calculating grades, and actually walking properties instead of just flying over them in PowerPoints.

And you know what? It's been humbling in the best possible way.

Case in point: Last summer I built a deck at our vacation property. Not because I couldn't hire someone (consultant rates are treating me just fine, thank you), but because I wanted to reconnect with the tactile side of building.

There I was, the guy who once directed the engineering of a 320-acre master-planned community, meticulously checking grades on a 200-square-foot deck. My previous team would barely recognize their former boss on his knees with a level, obsessing over a 2% slope for proper drainage.

The result? A perfectly sloped deck that isn't remotely square.

Lesson learned: Some principles never change, whether you're developing a commercial complex or building a backyard deck. Get the fundamentals right first, then worry about the refinements.

This renewed appreciation for fundamentals has actually transformed how I consult with clients. Last month, I helped a developer save $400K in unnecessary grading costs because I insisted we walk the entire site rather than rely solely on the topographic survey. Spotted three drainage solutions that weren't visible from the boardroom.

Back In The CAD Trenches

Speaking of getting back to basics—I've been doing a lot of CAD work lately. Yes, the former corporate executive who used to have people do this for him is now personally drawing subdivision layouts. My partners keep saying, "This is just 2D, we need actual grades," to which I've started responding: "You're absolutely right. Grab your boots—we're going on-site tomorrow."

But lest you think I've fully mastered this hands-on renaissance, I should share my most humbling moment yet. I was teaching my middle son Evan—our new development coordinator—the ins and outs of subdivision design in AutoCAD. There I was, dropping knowledge bombs about proper reference images and precision measurements, when he gently pointed out that my Google Earth XREF was tilted.

For the non-CAD geeks reading this: I'd imported a screenshot that made the site look like it was photographed by someone falling sideways out of a helicopter.

"I was testing you," I told him with all the dignity I could muster. "You passed."

He didn't buy it. Neither should you.

A Development Charge Fable

**not a 100% true story, but very close…names and places are changed to protect the innocent (and not so innocent).

Last week, I accompanied a client to an annual development and homebuilding update in a quaint BC town—one of those picture-perfect places where the mayor knows everyone by name and the planning department consists of two people sharing one desk.

The agenda promised updates on approval timelines, infrastructure plans, and various exciting initiatives. Suspiciously buried at the bottom, right after "Adjournment Refreshments," was a tiny line item: "Development Charge Review."

My client leaned over. "Should we be worried about that?"

"Nah," I whispered. "They never put the important stuff last. It's probably just housekeeping."

Famous last words.

For two hours, we sat through presentations about the town's new digital permit system (which is literally just Sharon with a new scanner), their comprehensive transportation plan (adding a bike lane to Main Street), and a tourism initiative involving oversized fiberglass fruit.

Finally, at 4:45 PM, when half the audience was discretely checking flight departure times:

PLANNING MANAGER: "And now for our development charge review. As you know, we haven't updated our fees since 2012."

ME: (whispering to client) "That's actually impressive fiscal restraint."

PLANNING MANAGER: "We've commissioned a comprehensive study of our infrastructure needs going forward..."

The PowerPoint slide changed to reveal a graph with a line that looked like a heart attack on an EKG.

PLANNING MANAGER: "...which indicates our current charges cover only 23% of actual growth-related costs."

ME: (still whispering) "Standard opening position. They're softening us up."

CLIENT: "Is this where they do the good cop/bad cop routine?"

PLANNING MANAGER: "Taking inflation into account, plus our infrastructure deficit..."

He clicked to the next slide. A collective gasp filled the room.

CLIENT: (no longer whispering) "Two hundred and fifty percent increase?!"

ME: "That can't be right. That's not an increase, that's a typo."

PLANNING MANAGER: (smiling serenely) "We know this adjustment may seem substantial, but remember, you've all been getting a deal for the past thirteen years."

The room fell so silent you could hear the planning assistant nervously clicking her pen.

DEVELOPER IN FRONT ROW: "But the feds just announced they're cutting DCs in half for multi-unit housing!"

PLANNING MANAGER: "Oh, that initiative targets major urban centers like Toronto and Vancouver. We're a small town with small town needs."

ME: (raising hand) "Isn't everything relative, though? I mean, your current fees might be lower than Toronto's, but a 250% increase is still a 250% increase."

PLANNING MANAGER: (with the patience of someone explaining physics to a toddler) "Mr. Mills, perhaps in Calgary you're used to lower development charges, but our infrastructure needs are just as real as any big city's."

He wasn't wrong. Calgary's DCs have historically been lower than those in larger Canadian cities—one reason we've maintained relatively better affordability. But that's not the point.

ME: "What about all the DC money sitting unused in municipal coffers? In Ontario alone, there's over a billion dollars collected but not spent."

PLANNING MANAGER: (smile tightening) "We're not Ontario. And we plan to use every penny."

After the meeting, shell-shocked developers gathered in the parking lot like survivors of a natural disaster.

CLIENT: "They can't be serious."

VETERAN LOCAL BUILDER: "Classic shock and awe. They hit us with 250%, we all freak out, then they'll 'generously' reduce it to 150% and expect us to be grateful."

ME: "How does this square with affordability goals? You can't make housing cheaper by making it more expensive to build."

PLANNING MANAGER: (suddenly appearing behind us) "We're simply ensuring new growth pays for itself rather than burdening existing taxpayers."

ME: "But at what cost to the future homebuyers who are already priced out?"

PLANNING MANAGER: (walking away) "The refreshments are still available inside if you'd like some. The cookies are quite good."

CLIENT: (watching him go) "Did he just try to buy us off with cookies?"

ME: "Welcome to small town development politics, where they cushion the blow of fiscal shock therapy with chocolate chips."

The irony isn't lost on me. While the federal government announces grand plans to slash development charges to boost housing supply, this small town—and countless others like it—see an opportunity to go the opposite direction. After all, if Toronto's DCs are getting cut by 50%, doesn't that mean everyone else has room to raise theirs?

Development is development, whether you're building in a metropolis or a town where the planning department doubles as the building inspection team. But politics? Politics is just politics, no matter the population size.

And the cookies weren't even that good.

These moments—whether it's building a crooked deck, importing a tilted XREF, or watching small-town officials deploy big-city negotiation tactics—remind me why I love this business. Behind every spreadsheet and site plan are people making decisions, sometimes brilliant, sometimes baffling.

That's what makes development consulting so valuable. After thirty years in this industry, I've seen every flavor of brilliance and baffling there is. And nothing helps clients navigate the new quite like someone who's seen it all before.

Each week, I test tools, AI prompts, and experiments so you don’t have to.
From zoning hacks to time-saving workflows, here’s one tech-powered insight to help you move faster, think clearer, and waste less money.

🎨 Designing in Seconds:

How to Use AI to Generate House Elevations Before Your Architect Has Finished Their Coffee

Let’s be honest—early elevation sketches can be slow, expensive, and subject to creative drift. Whether you're a developer trying to visualize a new product, a homebuilder testing styles before dropping $20K on renderings, or a marketer begging for a brochure image yesterday, you’ve probably wished there was a faster way.

Now there is. With AI tools like Sora (and others coming down the pipe), you can generate convincing elevation concepts in minutes. But here’s the trick: the output is only as good as the prompt. Garbage in, garbage elevation out.

So we built a reusable House Elevation Prompt Template to help you get exactly what you want—faster, cheaper, and with more control.

💸 Why It Matters:

• Save Thousands on concept sketches and early renderings

• Accelerate Approvals by testing visual massing early

• Create Faster Marketing Collateral while design is still evolving

• Get Aligned Visually before you pay an architect to redraw your disagreement in CAD

This prompt structure helps you skip the design telephone game and start with a visual baseline everyone can react to.

🧱 Sora House Elevation Prompt Template

Prompt Format:
"Generate a [render style] front elevation of a [building type] in [architectural style] featuring [cladding material and color], [roof type], and [window style]. Include a [porch type or entry detail], [garage configuration], and [special features or accents]. Set in a [landscaping or setting], with [lighting/time of day], viewed from a [viewpoint and angle]."

🧩 COMPONENT GUIDE

✅ Example in Action:

Want to use this? Start with this prompt template, pick one variable to change (like color palette or roof type), and generate a few options. You’ll get back testable concepts you can put in front of your partners, your architect, or your city—before you’ve even poured your coffee.

Which one is the real elevation, and which is Sora-generated? Hit reply and type “needs some work”, when you see the issue:

Elevation 1

Elevation 2

With just one prompt, we're 90% there. With a bit of tweaking—what Sora calls “remixing”…we will be 100%

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Do you need a development co-pilot? After 30 years in the trenches, I help developers avoid expensive mistakes through strategy sessions, deal analysis, and road mapping.

Save time and money. Why navigate the development maze alone when carrying costs are eating your returns?

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" for a no-obligation call about your project challenges, or share your biggest development headache for a free quick take.

See you next Friday.

- Greg

Greg Mills

Welcome back, everyone!

This week finds me contemplating the fine line between meaningful innovation and innovation for its own sake – a distinction that seems especially relevant as the federal government unveils its ambitious plan to reach 500,000 housing starts nationwide.

With the election already fading in the rearview mirror, Mark Carney and company are doubling down on their promise to solve Canada's housing crisis through sheer volume. But as anyone who's actually built anything knows, there's a world of difference between setting targets and hitting them.

[and yes, everyone says I look like Jason Bateman]

But before we dive into the main event, someone cornered me at an affordable housing event last week with a surprisingly basic question: "How's the Calgary resale market doing? Generally speaking, in normal people talk—none of that Greg advanced development mumbo-jumbo."

I started rattling off average days-on-market statistics and absorption rates before they interrupted: "Do you just look at if prices are up or down?"

Their question instantly transported me back to 1998...

SCENE: Oakville, Ontario. Our development firm's headquarters. I'm a freshly minted Development Coordinator, surrounded by maps of our active West GTA communities with a stack of reports about a potential 100-acre farm acquisition in North Whitby—our first venture into the East GTA market.

The CEO, coffee in hand, materializes next to my desk with that casual "just wandering by" energy that immediately tells you it's not casual at all.

CEO: "Mills! How's that North Whitby acquisition looking?"

ME: (straightening papers nervously) "Good progress, sir. Environmental Phase 1 looks clean, and the preliminary geotech doesn't show any surprises."

CEO: (nodding) "What about the resale market over there?"

ME: (confidently) "It's good."

A beat of silence as he sips his coffee, eyes never leaving my face.

CEO: "Good?"

ME: (doubling down) "Very good. Robust, even."

CEO: (setting his coffee down) "What's the months of supply?"

ME: (blinking rapidly) "The... months of..."

CEO: "Supply. Basic real estate indicator. You divide active listings by the monthly sales rate. Tells you if it's a buyer's or seller's market."

Now, I could have admitted I had no clue. Instead, I went with:

ME: "It's... in the normal range."

His eyebrow arched so high it nearly left his forehead.

CEO: "Which is?"

ME: (sweat forming) "The... acceptable range?"

CEO: (sighing) "Mills, there are three market conditions determined by months of supply. Under 4 months is a seller's market—prices rise. Over 6 months is a buyer's market—prices fall. Between 4-6 months is balanced. Right now, Whitby is at 2.3 months, which is why we're looking at land there in the first place. This is Development 101."

ME: (dying inside) "Of course. 2.3 months. Exactly what I meant by 'good.'"

CEO: (retrieving his coffee) "Next time, just say you don't know and go talk to the realtors. They track this stuff religiously." He paused at the doorway. "And Mills? They know everything. Not just about months of supply, but who's getting divorced, who's in financial trouble, and which properties might come available before they hit the market."

Two priceless lessons from that mortifying moment:

1. Never try to hogwash your CEO. They didn't get to be CEO by being easily hogwashed.

2. Talk to realtors. They know everything—not just about markets, but about the human elements driving those markets.

And with that humbling flashback complete, let's get back to innovation...

The Innovation Trap: When "New" Isn’t Neccessarily "Better"

SCENE: Calgary, a sleek downtown design studio, 2014, pre-oil crisis. Material samples cover every available surface as Mary, our project architect, and I debate finishes for our latest condo development.

MARY: (holding up an unusual speckled countertop sample) "This is the Nebula Series. Just launched at the Milan Design Show. Nobody's using it in Calgary yet."

ME: (examining it skeptically) "Interesting. But we were thinking of the Regal for the countertops. It's been our best seller in every condo project across the city."

MARY: (rolling her eyes) "The Regal? Everyone uses the Regal. Every builder, every development. It's so... predictable."

ME: "That's exactly the point."

MARY: (looking confused) "You want to be predictable?"

ME: "I want to be successful. The Regal sells because it works. It's neutral enough to appeal to most buyers, durable enough to last a nuclear event, and familiar enough that suppliers always have it in stock."

MARY: (sighs dramatically) "But don't you want to innovate? Push boundaries? Create something fresh?"

ME: "Not for innovation's sake. If a new material performs better, costs less, or genuinely improves the user experience, I'm all for it. But different isn't automatically better."

MARY: "Your customers might appreciate something more design-forward."

ME: "My customers appreciate resale value. And you know what hurts resale value? Being the only condo in the building with countertops that went out of style faster than frosted tips in the 90s."

MARY: (laughs despite herself) "You're impossible."

ME: "I prefer 'pragmatic.' Besides, we can push boundaries where it matters—energy efficiency, space utilization, amenities. But some things work because they just work. No need to reinvent the kitchen counter."

This conversation has been playing in my head as I look at the federal housing plan's emphasis on "innovative housing solutions." Innovation has its place, but sometimes the most innovative approach is to stick with what works and just do more of it, faster.

Which brings me to...

Greg’s Math: Calgary’s Share Of The 500,000 Housing Start Pie

If the feds are serious about hitting 500,000 housing starts nationwide, what does that mean for Calgary? I've crunched some numbers, and they're eye-opening.

Looking at Q1 2025 data:

• Calgary city proper: 4,995 housing starts

• Calgary CMA (broader area): ~6,271 starts

If we annualize these numbers:

• City proper: ~20,000 starts annually

• CMA: ~25,000 starts annually

Now here's where it gets interesting. The current national six-month trend shows about 235,316 annualized units. That means Calgary currently represents 8.5-10.6% of national housing production.

But when we look at the 500,000 target:

• At our current pace (25,000 units), Calgary would contribute just 5% of the national goal.

• To maintain our current share of national production (around 10%), we'd need to hit 50,000 units annually.

• A more realistic target—accounting for Calgary's stronger growth compared to other major centers—might be around 35,000 units, or 7% of the national goal.

Let that sink in.

We'd need to increase our current production by 40% to hit 35,000 units.

In 2024, Calgary had over 20,000 starts for the first time, and we saw:

• Trade shortages that delayed projects by months

• Material costs skyrocketing

• Quality control issues as builders scrambled to find workers

• Municipal approval backlogs that made the current system look lightning-fast

And now we're talking about nearly doubling that?

This isn't just a stretch goal—it's a fundamental transformation of our development ecosystem.

The "Innovation" Conversation

And that's where innovation comes back into the picture. Not the superficial kind, but meaningful innovation in how we deliver housing at scale. Enter prefabrication construction (called modular construction if you are a cool kid) — approaches that could help address our labor constraints and speed up delivery.

But even here, we need to be careful about innovation for innovation's sake.

Case in point:

SCENE: A builder's showcase event last week. I'm chatting with a representative from a new prefab company that's been making waves in architectural circles.

ME: "So tell me about this Modular Series you're promoting."

BUILDER: "We call it the T-House."

ME: (confused) "Why is that? Do you include a tea set? Is it a British design?"

BUILDER: (enthusiastically) "No, no, the house is in the shape of the letter T!"

ME: "That doesn't sound too efficient."

BUILDER: "Fat in the front, and skinny in the back!"

ME: "Hmm..."

BUILDER: "Haven't you seen all the kids today with their modern mullets? This is the modern mullet house!"

ME:😕

BUILDER: 😄 

ME: "What kind of lot would I design for this?"

BUILDER: "Probably fat fronts and skinny backs."

The builder continues, launching into a technical explanation about embodied carbon and innovative materials that I can barely follow, before concluding:

BUILDER: "If we want to get those grants from Mr. C (a Mark Carney nickname already 🤣) and those Liberals, we need to be the most innovative to make it to the top of the list!"

[me thinking…Mr C wants to spend $26 billion…it would probably be OK to be 5th on the list and have a rectangular house] 

And therein lies the problem. Innovation driven by grant criteria rather than market realities rarely ends well.

The Lesson: Pragmatic Innovation

If we're going to hit anything close to Calgary's share of that 500,000 housing start goal, we need innovation that serves a purpose—not innovation that serves an image.

What we need:

• Standardized designs that can be replicated efficiently (CMHC housing catalogue x100)

• Prefabrication systems that reduce on-site labour requirements

• Approval processes that don't require reinventing the wheel for each project

• Supply chains that can reliably deliver materials at predictable costs

What we don't need:

• Houses shaped like letters of the alphabet

• Exotic materials with unproven durability

• Over-engineered solutions to problems buyers don't have

• "Sustainability features" that drive up costs without delivering tangible benefits

Let's keep it simple: four walls, efficient and proven HVAC layouts, windows we've been making for two decades. Innovations that help us build more homes, faster, at costs people can afford—that's the kind of innovation worth pursuing.

The housing crisis won't be solved with T-shaped houses and countertops from Milan. It will be solved by building more of what works, more efficiently, at greater scale.

Sometimes the most innovative thing we can do is resist the urge to innovate where it doesn't matter.

🛠️ The Art of Making Sh*t Up (with AI…responsibly)

Look, we’ve all done it.

You’ve got a piece of land in a new town—Town A. It looks promising. You’re 80% sure you want to move forward. But you’re still missing something crucial: a cost estimate for servicing.

You could call an engineer and wait three weeks for a ballpark number padded with two layers of liability. Or… you could do what any self-respecting, spreadsheet-wielding land developer does: extrapolate from places you already know.

Here’s how this played out for me recently:

• I’m building in Town A, a new expansion town with no existing cost benchmarks.

• I had partial costs from Town B, which is right next door and shares similar soils, servicing standards, and general vibes (← yes, vibes is a development term 😁).

• And I’ve got an entire cost bible from Town C, where I do most of my work—but it’s far enough away that I can’t just copy-paste without raising an eyebrow.

So what did I do?

I created a Frankenstein Estimate^TM using AI.

I used Gemini Flash, but ChatGPT or Claude would work equally as well (…or as badly, depending on how you look at this whole endeavour). 

Some costs came straight from Town B.

The rest were interpolated by comparing Town B and C line items, calculating ratios, and applying those ratios to Town C costs to estimate the missing ones for Town B—then assigning that patched-together profile to Town A.

It's Class C budgeting at its finest: defensible, directional, and dangerous only if you pretend it’s gospel.

🧠 The Prompt: Estimating Land Servicing Costs Using Regional Proxies

📎 Required Attachments:

• ✅ Town B Estimate (PDF, spreadsheet, or structured table)

• ✅ Town C Estimate (ideally with unit costs and categories clearly labelled)

📎 Suggested Attachments (for improved accuracy):

• 🚧 Road cross-sections (residential, collector, etc.)

• 🕳️ Typical trench depths and utility profiles

• 📐 Site layout or phasing plan

• 🧱 Soil report or geotech assumptions

• 🧾 Local servicing standards or specifications

💼 Other Developer Use Cases for Interpolated Prompting (ODUCFIP for short)

This prompt structure isn’t just good for site servicing. It’s great for any developer task where:

• You have partial data in the market you’re in

• You have full data in a nearby or familiar market

• You want to bridge the gap intelligently, rather than guessing or overengineering it

For example:

• New municipality, same housing product → Use known construction costs and adjust by labour/material index

• Phase 1 is done, Phase 2 is uphill and rockier → Adjust earthworks using slope and subgrade multipliers

• You’re going to a new province → Use utility servicing costs from home base, indexed to new regional labour and utility hookup standards (← I am very guilty of this one early in my career)

This prompt structure turns Gemini (or GPT, or Claude, or GROK) into your Cross-Town Estimator^TM .

And then…not two minutes after finishing writing this last section (on Wednesday), I noticed this tasty post on LinkedIn:

I DMed the prompt to her…no response yet…

Start learning AI in 2025

Everyone talks about AI, but no one has the time to learn it. So, we found the easiest way to learn AI in as little time as possible: The Rundown AI.

It's a free AI newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest AI news, and teaches you how to apply it in just 5 minutes a day.

Plus, complete the quiz after signing up and they’ll recommend the best AI tools, guides, and courses – tailored to your needs.

Sign up to start learning.

👉 Facing development challenges that keep you up at night? Whether it's navigating byzantine zoning bylaws, optimizing your pro forma, or finding that perfect strategic positioning in a crowded market, I've seen it all in 30 years in the development trenches.

Here's how I can help:

• Strategy Sessions: One conversation could save you six figures in avoidable mistakes

• Deal Analysis: Get a second set of experienced eyes on your numbers before you commit

• Development Roadmapping: Clear, actionable plans that anticipate the potholes ahead

• Stakeholder Navigation: Learn how to speak the language of planners, politicians, and partners

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Every month you spend figuring things out on your own is another month of carrying costs eating into your returns.

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" and we'll set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges. No obligation, no sales pitch – just straight talk about your project and how I might be able to help.

Alternatively, reply with your biggest current development headache, and I'll send you my quick take on the perspective at no charge.

See you next Friday.

Cheers,

- Greg

Greg Mills

Interested in writing your own newsletter? Use my BeeHiiv partner program link for a 30-day trial + 20% OFF for 3 months.

Check out their blog here for more info.

Learn how to monetize your content in BeeHiiv’s latest video:

Welcome back, everyone! This week finds me trying not to roll my eyes right out of my skull every time a developer suddenly "discovers" that rental might be worth considering.

SCENE: Industry mixer at an upscale bar downtown. I'm nursing a scotch when Brad, a local luxury condo developer, corners me by the appetizers.

BRAD: "Mills! Just the man I wanted to see. Have you heard about this GST exemption for rental projects?"

ME: "The one that's been around for almost 2 years? No, must have missed it."

BRAD: (missing my sarcasm entirely) "Game-changer, right? And get this—CMHC is practically giving away financing for rental."

ME: "Revolutionary. Almost like these programs were designed to address a housing crisis or something."

BRAD: "Exactly! I'm thinking of pivoting my Riverside Heights project to rental. The market's getting soft for $1.2M condos anyway."

I take a long sip. "Fascinating how rental suddenly looks attractive when you can't sell luxury units. If only there were some kind of... mathematical tool... that could have compared these scenarios from the beginning."

BRAD: (confused) "Like what?"

ME: "A pro forma, Brad. A pro forma."

The blank stare tells me everything I need to know.

Need help making sense of your development financials? Whether you're weighing rental vs. for-sale or just trying to understand why your numbers don't pencil out, LandLogic can help. Drop me a line at greg@landlogic.co and let's talk real estate development strategy that doesn't rely on market miracles.

Speaking of financial analysis, you'll never guess where my latest advisory conversation took place...but..

…before we get into that, I had a weird dream that I thought I would share…

Hopefully, it doesn’t mean anything; anyway, onto the main topic…

The Doctor’s Office Development

SCENE: My doctor's office. After “the examination”, I'm sitting across from Dr. Burly in his consultation room, both of us now in more comfortable positions than we were just minutes earlier.

[Is it normal for your doctor to ask you real estate questions during your annual… examination 🥵?]

Dr. Burly: (reviewing my chart) "Everything looks good. While I've got you here, I wanted to pick your brain about something."

ME: (adjusting my collar) "Sure, this is definitely better timing than your last attempt at real estate talk."

Dr. Burly: (chuckling) "Sorry about that. Professional hazard—I tend to multitask. Anyway, I've got this rental bungalow in Hillhurst. With the blanket rezoning, I can build four townhouses there. Seems like a risk-free investment."

ME: "Nothing in real estate is risk-free, Doc. Not even close."

Dr. Burly: "The process seems straightforward. Demo the bungalow, build the townhouses, sell them for a million each. Four million gross on a property I paid $600K for ten years ago."

ME: "Have you... put together a pro forma?"

Dr. Burly: (confused) "A what now? Listen, I did the math. It's simple arithmetic."

ME: "Simple like diagnosing a cold, or simple like performing neurosurgery?"

Dr. Burly: (laughing) "Fair point. So what's this pro forma thing?"

ME: "It's a comprehensive financial model that compares scenarios—like whether to build 'for-sale' townhomes versus holding rental units, or even just selling the land outright."

I pull out my tablet and sketch a quick outline of major development cost categories.

ME: "Let's break this down properly."

1. COST OF LAND
   Your land isn't just what you paid, Doc. It's what someone would pay you for it right now. In Hillhurst? Probably north of $1.2M. That's your real opportunity cost—what you're giving up by not selling and investing elsewhere. This is the single biggest blind spot for new developers.

2. COST OF CAPITAL
   Even if you're using your own cash, that money could be earning returns elsewhere—that's opportunity cost. More likely, you'll need construction financing at an interest rate of 8-9% (as a non-developer with a higher risk profile). On a $3M construction budget, that's up to $22,500 per month in interest. If your project slips six months? That's $135,000 in additional cost, straight off your bottom line.

3. JURISDICTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
   That blanket rezoning isn't the slam dunk you think it is. First, the City has recently rolled back blanket zoning in several areas, deferring to Local Area Plans as the overriding document. Hillhurst? You better check if you're affected. Second, you'll still need development permits, building permits, and possibly subdivision approval—each with their own fees, timelines, and potential complications.

4. OFFSITE COSTS
   Here's where Calgary developers get blindsided. Our levy system for sewers and utilities is primitive compared to other cities. What looks like adequate servicing on paper can turn into a nasty surprise when Water Resources tells you your four townhomes require upgrading the entire sewer line at the end of your street. I've seen $300,000 surprise bills show up right before permit issuance. And transportation improvements? Even worse, you might be on the hook for traffic signals or turn lanes that benefit the entire neighbourhood.

5. SOFT & HARD COSTS
   "Architecture alone will run you $60-80K. Engineering another $30-40K. Then add legal, accounting, marketing, and project management—easily another $75K. That's before you hammer a single nail. Then there's construction itself—coordinating framers, plumbers, electricians, drywallers, and dozens of other trades, each with their own supply chains and scheduling constraints. In today's market? Budget $250-325 per square foot for quality townhomes. And don't forget contingency—at least 10%, or you're gambling."

Dr. Burly: (looking increasingly concerned) "This sounds... significantly more complex than I anticipated."

ME: "That's because it is. In development, you can do everything right and still get hammered by factors beyond your control: market shifts, interest rate changes, material price fluctuations. Your $4M revenue projection? Better stress-test that. What if the market only supports $950K per unit? Or $900K? Your margin can evaporate quickly."

Dr. Burly: "So when I hear about those big development projects..."

ME: "They're not making anywhere near the total project value in profit. On a project your size, a 15% profit margin would be considered good. That's $600K on your $4M revenue—if everything goes perfectly. But with typical delays and surprises, many projects end up in the 5-8% range."

Dr. Burly: "Maybe I should stick to medicine."

ME: "Or at least let LandLogic review a proper pro forma before you decide. We'd compare your current rental income to both a for-sale scenario and the option of simply selling the land."

Dr. Burly: (thoughtfully) "That actually makes a lot of sense. How would we start that process?"

ME: "Let me ask you this: is your primary goal wealth preservation, income generation, or capital appreciation?"

Dr. Burly: "Income for retirement, primarily."

ME: "Then we might find that optimizing your current rental or selling to invest in multiple rental properties could better meet your goals than development. But we'd need the numbers to tell us that story."

THE BOTTOM LINE: No serious developer would start a project without a comprehensive financial model, yet I meet doctors, lawyers, and other successful professionals every week who think real estate development is just simple arithmetic.

It's not. It's a complex dance of costs, timing, market factors, and execution that requires careful modelling and constant monitoring.

If you or someone you know is considering their first development project, do yourself a favour: get a real pro forma together first. It might save you from a financial examination that's even more uncomfortable than my doctor's appointment.

Now, let's look at what's happening in the real estate development world this week...

AI In The Fine Print

Last week, we talked about using AI with your lawyer, not instead of your lawyer. Well, here's an interesting parallel I stumbled across this week – an actual AI clause in a consulting agreement.

My first thought? Am I working with dinosaurs? Because this was the first time I've seen one.

Curious, I conducted some deep research with ChatGPT on incorporating AI clauses into consulting agreements (link to output). [Roy, please excuse my primitive prompt, I had a deadline here.] After all, I use AI in virtually every aspect of my business these days – from drafting emails to analyzing market data.

Summary from Chatgpt:

The legal consensus is pretty clear: being transparent and incorporating relevant contractual clauses means you can leverage AI's benefits while staying onside of legal and ethical obligations. This approach, while not mandated by law, is quickly becoming the de-facto standard for prudent business practice in the AI era.

Here's an example of an AI clause you might consider for your own agreements. Note that this doesn't absolve anyone of liability, but it does create clarity around AI usage:

Other Stuff I Saw This Week

🏗️ From Rubble to Rebuilding

An Australian company has developed container-sized factories that transform war debris into interlocking building blocks for Ukraine's reconstruction. One unit produces 8,000 blocks daily – enough for three houses weekly. Makes me wonder about incorporating disaster resilience into our local developments.

Watch the Video

📈 Saskatchewan Leads Nation in Housing Starts Growth

Saskatchewan topped all provinces with a staggering 96.5% increase in urban housing starts in Q1 2025 compared to last year. In March alone, they saw a 160.8% year-over-year jump, with multi-unit dwellings surging 193.3%.

I'm only including this because Kirsten was born 10 feet from the world-famous Moose's ass in Moose Jaw.

Read the Full Article

🏌️ Delacour Plans Resort-Style Golf Community

Talk about déjà vu. A new Calgary-based developer just acquired 315 acres east of Calgary for a resort-style community with golf course views and large lots. The project will feature 50-65 foot wide lots with homes ranging from 1,500 to 3,500 square feet, starting around $700K. I'm almost certain I was involved in this exact parcel back in 2008 when I was with [REDACTED]. The 480-lot approval looks familiar, though they're now targeting a much more upscale product with the "elevated barn" aesthetic. The cycle of development continues—what's old is new again.

Read the Full Article

📉 Trade War Casts Shadow Over Real Estate

RBC Economics reports trade war concerns are chilling Canadian real estate. Fraser Valley sales down 26%, Toronto 23%, and Calgary 19% year-over-year. Only Edmonton (1%) and Montreal (12%) saw growth. Meanwhile, listings are up everywhere – Calgary's increased 27%. Despite the downturn, we're still performing above our decade average, but the trend is concerning.

Read the Full Article

👉 Facing development challenges that keep you up at night? Whether it's navigating byzantine zoning bylaws, optimizing your pro forma, or finding that perfect strategic positioning in a crowded market, I've seen it all in 30 years in the development trenches.

Here's how I can help:

• Strategy Sessions: One conversation could save you six figures in avoidable mistakes

• Deal Analysis: Get a second set of experienced eyes on your numbers before you commit

• Development Roadmapping: Clear, actionable plans that anticipate the potholes ahead

• Stakeholder Navigation: Learn how to speak the language of planners, politicians, and partners

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Every month you spend figuring things out on your own is another month of carrying costs eating into your returns.

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" and we'll set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges. No obligation, no sales pitch – just straight talk about your project and how I might be able to help.

Alternatively, reply with your biggest current development headache, and I'll send you my quick take on the perspective at no charge.

See you next Friday.

Cheers,

- Greg

Greg Mills

Interested in writing your own newsletter? Use my BeeHiiv partner program link for a 30-day trial + 20% OFF for 3 months.

Check out their blog here for more info.

Learn how to monetize your content in BeeHiiv’s latest video:

Back in March, CMHC launched its answer to the housing crisis — and somehow, we’re all still assembling furniture instead of homes.

That’s right, Canada’s big fix is a catalogue of pre-approved home designs that would make IKEA blush. Except instead of a BILLY bookcase, you’re assembling an entire neighbourhood.

Alberta Fourplex 02 - CMHC

CMHC dusted off the ol’ post-war housing playbook and gave us 50 “simple, standardized, and modest” home designs. Because nothing screams innovative 2025 solution quite like “Remember 1947?”

And guess what? Alberta gets a generous seven designs. Seven! Practically a buffet of sameness.

The catalogue includes laneway homes, rowhouses, townhouses, fourplexes, and sixplexes — all vaguely Scandinavian. Like someone tried to clone Oslo and dropped it into Calgary.

Do Swedes ever walk through red-brick suburbs and say, “Ah yes, reminds me of the Toronto housing crisis?”

I can already picture the tourism ads: “Visit Canada’s newest suburb — no passport to Denmark required!”

Alberta Accessory Dwelling Unit 02 - CMHC

But in all seriousness, I'm actually cautiously optimistic about anything that speeds up the housing approval process. Whether it's Calgary's own housing catalogue initiative or these federal designs, anything that helps us avoid 18-month approval timelines is a step in the right direction.

Now, on to something that definitely isn’t standardized: the art (and chaos) of the Joint Venture agreement…

AI Lawyer vs. Real Lawyer

Editor's Note: The following is a cautionary fable about the pitfalls of relying solely on AI for legal documentation. While AI can be a valuable starting point, proper legal counsel is essential for any significant real estate transaction or joint venture agreement.

I personally know several development professionals who are now relying exclusively on AI for legal documentation—a trend that should raise serious concerns.

LandLogic and its representatives always recommend consulting qualified legal professionals for your specific situation.

The Scene

Sunday afternoon. The kitchen table is covered with draft agreements for our Lethbridge development. I'm hunched over my laptop with a manic gleam in my eye while Kirsten reviews printed documents with a look of growing concern.

"I've got it!" I announce, spinning my laptop around triumphantly. "I just asked Claude to draft our entire joint venture agreement. Look at this beauty – 47 pages of legal brilliance in under three minutes!"

Kirsten glances at the screen, her eyebrow arching skeptically. "And you're qualified to evaluate legal brilliance because...?"

"Because it sounds really official," I say, scrolling enthusiastically. "Look at all these 'heretofores' and 'wherewithals.' It even included a section on 'quantum entanglement disputes' which sounds very forward-thinking."

"Quantum what?" Kirsten puts down her pen.

"Entanglement disputes. You know, when partners get... quantumly entangled."

"That's not a legal term, Greg."

"Are you sure? Because Claude seemed very confident about it.

It also included a cool clause about 'dragon slaying provisions' in the event that we discover any mythical creatures on the property.

Kirsten rubs her temples. "Greg, remember what happened the last time you used AI to draft a legal document?"

I suddenly become very interested in a spot on the ceiling. "That... was different."

"Different how? Because our chargeFUZE agreement referenced 'battery fluid rights' which apparently isn't a thing?"

"To be fair, I didn't check that section very carefully."

"And now we're in a territorial dispute with an Associate Dealer because the AI confused 'exclusive distribution territory' with 'exclusive fishing territory.'"

"That was ONE paragraph..."

"Which is costing us $15,000 in legal fees to fix!" Kirsten takes a deep breath. "Greg, this is a multi-million dollar development deal. We need John."

"John charges $600 an hour!" I protest.

"And the AI is free," Kirsten concedes. "You know what else is free? Bad advice that costs you everything."

I scroll stubbornly through my AI-generated masterpiece. "But it even included cute little emojis in the section headers. Look, the capital contributions section has a money bag emoji 💰️ . That's user-friendly legal drafting!"

"Did you actually read what it says under the money bag emoji?"

I scan the paragraph and wince. "Okay, so it says our project is to be funded by 'exposure and good vibes ✌️ ' with profit distributions in 'high-fives and LinkedIn recommendations ✋.' That might need some tweaking."

"You think?"

"But the framework is solid!" I insist. "We just need to replace some of the specifics."

Kirsten reaches for her phone. "I'm calling John."

"Wait!" I try one last gambit. "What if we use the AI draft as a starting point, and then have John review it? We could save hours of billable time!"

Kirsten pauses, considering. "You mean use the AI to create a rough draft of what WE want, not what IT thinks a legal agreement should be?"

"Exactly! We feed it our term sheet and framework, let it structure the basics, then have a human lawyer make sure we don't end up pledging our firstborn to the ghost of real estate developments past."

"That... actually makes some sense," Kirsten admits reluctantly. "But the dragon slaying provisions have to go."

"Even the part about tax deductions for magical armor?"

"Especially that part."

I sigh dramatically, selecting and deleting. "Fine. But I'm keeping the emojis. John could use a little whimsy in his legal life."

"One emoji per section," Kirsten negotiates. "And nothing weird."

"Define weird."

"No eggplants, no peaches, and nothing that would make John question our sanity more than he already does."

"Deal." I start revising the document. "And for the record, I still think quantum entanglement could be a legitimate legal concern in partnership disputes."

"For the record," Kirsten counters, reaching for her phone, "I'm still calling John."

As she dials, I hear her mutter, "Maybe we should have a clause for AI hallucination liability while we're at it..."

The Real Lessons: AI + Legal Counsel = A Winning Strategy

All jokes aside, here's how to properly use AI for legal documents in development projects:

1. Use AI as a Starting Point, Not the Finish Line

✅ DO: Use AI to create initial outlines, identify key sections, and generate first drafts based on your term sheet.
❌ DON'T: Trust AI-generated legal language without expert review, especially for complex agreements.

2. Provide Specific Context to Your AI

✅ DO: Feed the AI your specific term sheet, detailed project parameters, and precedent agreements that worked well.
❌ DON'T: Ask for generic legal documents without providing your specific parameters.

3. Always Include Critical Clauses in Development JVs

Whether using AI or not, ensure your agreement includes these essential elements:

• Decision Authority Framework: Who can make what decisions at what dollar thresholds

• Capital Call Procedures: When additional money might be needed and how it's handled

• Default Remedies: What happens if a party fails to perform

• Exit Mechanisms: How partners can exit (buyout formulas, right of first refusal, etc.)

• Distribution Waterfall: The exact order of fund distribution (particularly important in Cost Stack JV models)

• Progress Milestones & Checkpoints: When to evaluate project performance and potentially pivot

4. Consider a Phased Legal Approach

For early-stage deals, consider this cost-effective approach:

1. Phase 1: Create a detailed Letter of Intent/Term Sheet with your AI assistant

2. Phase 2: Have attorney review the Term Sheet (1-2 hours of legal time)

3. Phase 3: Use AI to expand the approved Term Sheet into a full draft agreement

4. Phase 4: Have attorney review full agreement (typically 3-6 hours of legal time)

This approach often cuts legal fees by 30-50% while maintaining quality and protection.

Final Thought

A good attorney doesn't just protect you from bad deals; they help structure good ones. The right legal counsel adds value far beyond what they cost – catching opportunities you might miss and preserving relationships when projects hit inevitable bumps.

As I learned (the hard way, naturally): You're not paying lawyers for the paper; you're paying them for peace of mind and partnership preservation.

😨 AI Reverse Look Up

Privacy: Once upon a time, we were happy with a postal code reverse lookup to find a generalized location. Now, Chatgpt users have discovered that the popular AI chatbot can serve as a reverse-location search tool. In other words, you can show Chatgpt a picture, and it can pretty reliably tell you where it was taken.

I uploaded a fairly generic ski photo, and Chatgpt o3, deep research model, analyzed it for about 3 minutes and found me. I ordered it to avoid using any of its knowledge base.

[This goes on for two more paragraphs describing how it deduced the location]

Full chat link here.

The privacy implications are... concerning, to say the least. But the practical applications for development site analysis? Game-changing.

Imagine dropping in site photos from potential acquisitions and getting instant context on location, neighbourhood characteristics, and nearby amenities.

Just don't upload anything you wouldn't want the internet knowing about. Like that time in Vegas when... actually, never mind. That stays between me, Kirsten, and apparently, Chatgpt.

🤔 Other Stuff I Saw This Week

Emojis: In an unusual legal dispute over an incomplete home sale, a B.C. court has ruled that a text with the thumbs-up does not constitute a signature on a contract. 

Podcast: Welcome to The Homebuyer Hub with Mattamy Homes, where you're invited to join us on the life-shaping journey to home ownership. Whether you're a first-time buyer, buying your next home or simply fascinated by the ever-changing landscape of home ownership.

Tariffs: Remember, it is not just about steel. Higher prices will affect everything related to housing, whether cement, flooring, appliances, or tiles. Housing projects could be shelved, and the demand-supply gap could worsen. The last thing Canada needs right now is to increase homebuilding prices.

Policy: The Liberal Party has been in power for 10 years and the housing crisis has gotten worse in that time. Was there anything they could have done to stop it or slow it?

More Policy: In a recent poll, respondents cited the cost of living as the most important factor when deciding how to vote in the upcoming federal election, outpacing Canada’s relationship with the US. For respondents aged eighteen to forty-four, housing affordability was next on their list.

Affordability: The root causes of Canada's housing affordability crisis are complex. One of the main issues is a supply that has not kept up with a growing population, which has driven up costs for both buyers and renters.

👉 Facing development challenges that keep you up at night? Whether it's navigating byzantine zoning bylaws, optimizing your pro forma, or finding that perfect strategic positioning in a crowded market, I've seen it all in 30 years in the development trenches.

Here's how I can help:

• Strategy Sessions: One conversation could save you six figures in avoidable mistakes

• Deal Analysis: Get a second set of experienced eyes on your numbers before you commit

• Development Roadmapping: Clear, actionable plans that anticipate the potholes ahead

• Stakeholder Navigation: Learn how to speak the language of planners, politicians, and partners

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Every month you spend figuring things out on your own is another month of carrying costs eating into your returns.

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" and we'll set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges. No obligation, no sales pitch – just straight talk about your project and how I might be able to help.

Alternatively, reply with your biggest current development headache, and I'll send you my quick take on the perspective at no charge.

See you next Friday.

Cheers,

- Greg

Greg Mills

Interested in writing your own newsletter? Use my BeeHiiv partner program link for a 30-day trial + 20% OFF for 3 months.

Check out their blog here for more info.

Learn how to monetize your content in BeeHiiv’s latest video:

Welcome back, everyone!

I've been thinking a lot about partnerships lately - not just the formal JV kind we explore in the Zoning In section below, but the everyday alliances that keep us sane in this business.

But before we get into it, I had to do it…

…because everyone is doing it, I had no choice but to join the plastic pantheon.

Behold: the Greg Mills Housing Hero™ action figure—complete with briefcase, laptop, hard hat, and boots (barefoot intensity sold separately).

If you want the Chatgpt prompt to make your own blister-packed alter ego, you’ll find it waiting for you in the Logical Links section below.

🧠 New This Week: Canadian CRE Sentiment Highlights

Read to the end—this is the start of something big.

Welcome to the first edition of our Canadian Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Tracker—a skimmable, AI-powered pulse check across the major sectors.

Each week, I feed the top headlines into my AI co-pilot, which analyzes tone, context, and market signals to produce a sector-by-sector mood index.

This is the foundation of a full AI-generated Canadian Real Estate Sentiment Index I’m building—think Bloomberg terminal, but for developers, brokers, and CRE nerds.

A trend graph is coming soon. But for now, enjoy the vibes.

Again, Welcome Back…

With all that administration out of the way, now onto the actual talk…

Solopreneurship, Familypreneurship and Partnerships

There's something uniquely draining about trying to build anything substantial on your own.

After decades in development, I've learned that even when you're technically "the boss," going it completely alone creates a special kind of exhaustion that coffee (and Scotch) can't fix.

The partnerships that matter most aren't always the ones in legal documents. They're the realtor who tells you the brutal truth about your product when everyone else is nodding along. The business partner who is always upbeat, constantly smiling and asks you how you are doing as soon as the Google Meet starts. The spouse who listens to your half-baked ideas at the kitchen table, usually trying not to roll their eyes.

These relationships don't just make the work better - they make it bearable. They transform the isolating weight of decision-making into something you can actually shoulder day after day, year after year.

As we navigate challenges like the one below, I'm reminded how grateful I am for the circle of people who help carry the load.

Not employees, not masterminds, not networking contacts - but true partners who are invested in seeing things succeed as much as you are.

Now, let's dive into what happens when a potential partner claims to want your input while their cognitive biases make it impossible for them to actually hear it...

The Open-Minded Builder

SCENE: Thursday morning. I'm standing on a vacant lot with Kal (my business partner), Barry (our local realtor/market expert), and Jake from PrefabPlus (our potential JV builder partner). We're hunched over site plans spread across the hood of Barry's SUV.

"So that's the site," I gesture. "Twenty-eight lots ready for your prefab process. We just need to figure out what to build on them."

Jake adjusts his PrefabPlus hard hat. "Love it. This is exactly why our Integrated Design Process (IDP) is so powerful. We approach each market with a blank slate and let the data guide us."

Kal steps forward. "That's exactly what we're looking for in a partner. Someone who can adapt to what this specific market needs."

"That's why I asked Barry to join us," I add. "Nobody knows buyers in this area better."

Barry smiles. "Been selling here for seventeen years. Sold my first house before they even paved the main road."

Jake's eyes light up. "Perfect! Our IDP thrives on local expertise. We're completely open to letting the market dictate what we build."

What follows is a textbook case of saying one thing while doing another:

Barry: "First thing to understand about this area is basements. They're non-negotiable for families here."

Jake: "Well, actually, our AI analysis shows basements are incredibly inefficient. We've developed specialized storage solutions that render them obsolete."

Barry: "Families here use basements for future bedroom expansion, home offices, play areas during winter—"

Jake: "Our research indicates flex spaces on the main floor are superior."

Barry: "Three bedrooms minimum if you want these to move quickly."

Jake: "Two bedrooms plus a multi-purpose flex space optimizes square footage allocation."

I can't contain myself any longer. "Are you here to learn about the market or justify a hypothesis? Because it sounds like your homes are already designed."

Kal places a calming hand on my shoulder. "What my partner is trying to say is that we're genuinely curious about how your process adapts to local insights."

Jake looks genuinely confused. "We're completely open-minded. We just know customers want sustainability, aesthetically pleasing exteriors, and single-level living—all for $500,000."

Barry: "If you could hit $450,000, you'd sell through these a lot faster."

Jake: "Our cost modeling indicates $500,000 is the optimal price point."

Kal leans in. "Jake, we've been developing in Western Canada for decades. When the local expert says $450,000 is the sweet spot, that's not just an opinion—it's backed by hundreds of transactions in this exact market."

After thirty more minutes of this circular conversation, Barry gives up. "You know what? You're right. The client knows best."

As Barry heads back to his car, I sketch a simple diagram. Kal moves closer, peering over my shoulder. "The matrix?" he asks quietly. I nod.

"Jake, I want to show you something we call the Cognitive Bias-Expertise Matrix," I say, turning my notebook toward him.

"See, there are four types of builders in this world," I explain, pointing to each quadrant.

"Those with high expertise and low cognitive bias succeed because they apply what they know while remaining adaptable. Those with high cognitive bias and low expertise fail because they're convinced they're right with nothing to back it up."

Jake studies the diagram with furrowed brows.

"The dangerous zone," I continue, tapping the upper right quadrant, "is high expertise combined with high cognitive bias. That's where smart people with proven processes become so convinced of their approach that they stop listening.

“They hear what they want to hear and filter everything else out."

"And which quadrant do you think I'm in?" Jake asks, his tone suggesting he already knows the answer.

"Your company has expertise—your track record proves that. But you came here claiming a blank slate while actually carrying a backpack full of cognitive biases. You asked for local market insights but rejected every piece of information that didn't align with your predetermined product."

Jake opens his mouth to object, then closes it, looking back at the diagram.

"Look, prefabrication is brilliant for efficiency," I continue. "But efficiency doesn't matter if you're efficiently building the wrong product for this market. Our potential JV isn't about forcing your proven product into our market—it's about adapting your proven process to create the right product for this specific market."

Kal nods in agreement. "We're not questioning your expertise in building efficiently. That's precisely why we're interested in working with you. But that efficiency needs to be applied to what actually sells here."

"So what are you suggesting?" Jake asks, his defensive posture softening slightly.

"Let's try something radical," I say. "What if we actually listened to Barry? What if we took everything he said at face value for a moment, then applied your efficient methods to deliver exactly what he knows will sell?"

"But our process—"

"Your process should serve the market, not the other way around," I interrupt. "There's a saying in development: 'Build it and they will come' is the most expensive cognitive bias in real estate."

The Lesson

After Jake left (promising to "reconsider" his approach), I couldn't help but wonder: how many of us are walking around with our own version of Jake's blinders?

Ask yourself:

• What product/service am I so convinced about that I might be filtering out contrary evidence?

• When was the last time I genuinely changed my approach based on feedback?

• Which of my "proven processes" might benefit from a market reality check?

Here's a quick bias-detection framework that's saved me from countless expensive mistakes:

1. The Outsider Test: Ask someone completely outside your industry to evaluate your core assumptions

2. The Reverse Scenario: If a competitor did exactly what you're planning, would you think it was brilliant or foolish?

3. The Data Challenge: What evidence would it take to convince you your approach is wrong?

In development, being open-minded isn't just a personality trait—it's a competitive advantage.

Because when it comes down to it, the market doesn't care about your brilliant process or your AI algorithms.

It cares about one thing only: does this product meet my needs at a price I can afford?

Everything else is just noise.

🎯 Your ChatGPT Prompt to Create an Action Figure of Yourself (or your alter ego):

Swap out whatever you want — boots for bourbon, laptop for laser pointer — and see what the AI comes up with.

📊 CRE Sentiment by Sector

Each week, I feed the top Canadian commercial real estate headlines into my AI Sentiment Bot^TM , which analyzes tone, context, and market signals to produce a sector-by-sector mood index.

Week of April 14–18, 2025

🤔 Other Stuff From The Week

Maybe instead of using my AI powers for evil (rendering super hero Greg 🦹 ), I should channel my energy into something more useful, like free 30-second real estate renderings:

Retail:

Twitter tweet

Residential (older post, but still an interesting site):

Twitter tweet

Office (this was from 2 years ago):

Twitter tweet

Office (same prompt as above, but today with Sora in 30 seconds - you decide):

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.

Sign up to start learning.

👉 Facing development challenges that keep you up at night? Whether it's navigating byzantine zoning bylaws, optimizing your pro forma, or finding that perfect strategic positioning in a crowded market, I've seen it all in 30 years in the development trenches.

Here's how I can help:

• Strategy Sessions: One conversation could save you six figures in avoidable mistakes

• Deal Analysis: Get a second set of experienced eyes on your numbers before you commit

• Development Roadmapping: Clear, actionable plans that anticipate the potholes ahead

• Stakeholder Navigation: Learn how to speak the language of planners, politicians, and partners

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Every month you spend figuring things out on your own is another month of carrying costs eating into your returns.

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" and we'll set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges. No obligation, no sales pitch – just straight talk about your project and how I might be able to help.

Alternatively, reply with your biggest current development headache and I'll send you my quick-take perspective at no charge.

See you next Friday.

Cheers,

- Greg

Greg Mills

Interested in writing your own newsletter? Use my BeeHiiv partner program link for a 30-day trial + 20% OFF for 3 months.

Check out their blog here for more info.

Learn how to monetize your content in BeeHiiv’s latest video:

Welcome back, everyone! This week finds me getting political, and I don't like to get political here, but it's hard not to, given world events.

With the April 28th election just weeks away and Nanos showing Liberals at 43%, Conservatives at 38%, and NDP at 8%, it's looking increasingly likely we'll see a Liberal government implementing this housing plan. So let's talk about it, shall we?

Have you noticed that everything's a crisis these days? A full-blown, five-alarm, someone-call-the-authorities CRISIS?

The City of Calgary has an affordability crisis and a sustainability crisis. (And judging by the Flames' performance this season, maybe a hockey crisis too.)

The province is dealing with an existential "should-we-separate-from-Canada" crisis that seems to resurface every time oil prices fluctuate.

The feds have accumulated so many crises it's like they're collecting them for some sort of apocalyptic bingo card. Climate crisis. Housing crisis. Healthcare crisis. Cost-of-living crisis.

Meanwhile, President Trump is manufacturing his own crisis south of the border with tariffs that threaten to turn our economy into the financial equivalent of a dumpster fire.

But there's one crisis that's bringing everyone together in perfect crisis harmony: housing. It's the rare triple-crown winner that has municipal, provincial, AND federal governments all claiming emergency status.

Of course, the Canadian housing crisis didn't materialize overnight. It's the predictable result of ambitious immigration policies colliding with chronic underbuilding, restrictive zoning, punitive taxation, and a construction labour shortage that has tradespeople earning more than some doctors.

And now the Liberals have unveiled their solution in a shiny new housing plan – described as "the most ambitious since World War II."

Because nothing says "we're handling this calmly" like comparing your policy to wartime measures...

Frank

SCENE: A canapé-laden launch event for the Calgary Affordable Housing Foundation. The room hums with developers, architects, and nonprofit leaders.

I'm nursing a suspiciously weak gin and tonic when I spot Frank Delvecchio, a legendary Calgary developer whose name adorns half the city's 1970s apartment buildings.

Frank spots me and ambles over, his weathered face cracking into a grin. At 82, he still shows up to these events in the same outfit: pressed jeans, crisp button-down shirt, and a bolo tie that probably costs more than my car.

"Greg! Still writing that internet newspaper of yours?" He claps my shoulder with a hand that's built thousands of units across Western Canada.

"Newsletter, Frank. And yes, just past my 6-month anniversary."

He nods approvingly, grabbing a tiny sandwich from a passing tray. "What's the topic this week? How terrible municipal planning is? That's always a crowd-pleaser."

"Actually, I'm looking at the Liberal housing plan. Have you seen their proposal? They're bringing back a version of MURB."

Frank nearly chokes on his sandwich.

"MURB! Now there's a blast from the past. Son, I built half of Calgary's rental stock thanks to MURB in the '70s." He leans in conspiratorially. "Made a fortune too, before the feds got wise and shut it down."

"How does this new Liberal plan compare to the original MURB days?"

Frank eyes me carefully. "You really want to know what a dinosaur like me thinks about your precious Missing Middle and all that?"

"That's exactly what I want to know."

He sighs dramatically. "These Missing Middle buildings are for all you new wavers with your oat milk lattes and avocado toast." I don't bother telling him these references are already a decade out of date. "In my day, we built REAL apartment buildings. Twelve stories minimum!"

"But what about the Liberal plan specifically?"

Frank sets down his drink, suddenly serious. "Look, I've seen every government housing program since Diefenbaker. Let me give you the quick rundown of what'll work and what won't in this Liberal plan."

Frank's Unfiltered Commentary

1. Build Canada Homes (BCH) – The New Federal Developer

"They're creating a crown corporation to build affordable housing," I explain.

Frank snorts. "A government-run developer? That'll move at the speed of molasses in January. Look, government developers were fine in the '40s when we had millions of veterans needing homes and nobody cared what they looked like. But today? With modern building codes, community consultations, and environmental assessments? Good luck breaking ground before 2030."

The risk: BCH will likely struggle with the same permitting delays and regulatory hurdles as private developers, but with added bureaucracy and political interference. And in Alberta, anything with "Canada" in the name already faces an uphill battle, although, Calgary has certainly embraced CMHC’s MLI Select.

2. The Return of MURB – Tax Deductions for Apartment Investors

Frank's eyes light up. "Now THIS I like. The original MURB program was a gold mine. It let high-income folks like doctors and lawyers deduct rental property depreciation against their personal income. Suddenly every professional in Calgary wanted to invest in my buildings."

The potential: The tax sheltering aspects of MURB could attract significant private capital into purpose-built rental at a time when we desperately need it.

The risk: Without strong affordability requirements, we might just end up subsidizing luxury rentals while doing little for those most in need. As Frank put it: "The original MURB had no affordability strings. We built what the market wanted, not what social planners thought people needed."

3. Half Off Development Charges for Multi-unit Housing

"They're promising to cut development charges in half for multi-unit buildings," I say.

Frank laughs. "You know what we call that in Alberta? A solution to a problem we don't have." He's right – Compared to Canada’s other large cities, Calgary's development charges are already among the lowest. "Toronto might see $40,000 in savings per unit, but here? Maybe $5,000-$7,500. It's peanuts compared to construction costs."

The issue: This policy disproportionately benefits Toronto, Vancouver, and other cities with sky-high fees, while offering minimal benefit to Calgary and Edmonton, further reinforcing the perception that federal housing policy is designed primarily for central Canada.

4. $25 Billion for Prefab and Modular Housing Manufacturers

"They're going big on innovative construction," I mention.

Frank looks skeptical. "Prefab has been the 'next big thing' for 50 years. Remember Expo 67? Everyone thought we'd all be living in factory-built homes by 1980." He shrugs. "That said, labor costs are killing traditional construction, so maybe prefab's time has finally come."

The potential: Western Canada has abundant timber resources and manufacturing capacity that could benefit from this investment.

The hurdle: Building codes and municipal permitting processes weren't designed for modular construction and would need significant overhauls to avoid becoming bottlenecks.

5. GST Exemption for First-time Homebuyers (Under $1 Million)

"What about removing GST for first-time buyers?" I ask.

"Not bad," Frank admits. "5% off is 5% off. But it's a band-aid on a bullet wound if supply doesn't increase."

The reality: In Calgary's market where starter homes typically run $400-500K, this could save first-time buyers up to $25,000 – meaningful but not game-changing. In Vancouver or Toronto? Good luck finding anything under the $1M cap.

Denouement

Frank drains his drink. "Look, son, I've been in this game for over 60 years. I've seen every housing program come and go. The trick isn't the flashy new initiatives – it's fixing the fundamentals."

"So what would you do differently?" I ask.

"I'd reform immigration to match housing supply. I'd force municipalities to approve projects in weeks, not years. And I'd fix the damn building code so we can actually build affordably." He straightens his bolo tie. "But nobody wants to do the hard stuff. They'd rather announce a shiny new program with a fancy name."

I can't argue with his assessment. "Any final thoughts for my readers?"

Frank's eyes twinkle. "Tell them what my old man told me when I started developing: 'In real estate, by the time the government gets around to solving a problem, the market's already moved on to the next one.'"

As I watch him walk away to corner another victim with his unfiltered opinions, I wonder if he's right.

Housing programs come and go, but the fundamentals of supply and demand remain eternal.

Whether the Liberal plan represents transformative policy or electoral theater remains to be seen.

But one thing's certain – in Western Canada, we've learned through decades of experience to be skeptical of grand federal solutions to our local problems.

If this was an interesting take, reply with “More”, and I will phone Frank and ask him about the Conservative housing plan for next week.

🧠 AI "Mastery" of Land Development

Riding high from last week's AI proforma success, I got cocky and prompted: "You are an expert land developer. Design me the best mixed-use community subdivision plan for a 15-acre parcel with wetland features, transit access, and variable topography (the prompt was actually much more complicated)."

Behold the masterpiece below…

…which apparently was designed by an AI that believes:

• People enjoy living in perfectly rectangular parcels

• "Wotiand" is the proper spelling for wetland features

• "Mixed Use" and "Multi-Use" are meaningfully different land use categories

• Roads should be exactly 15.0m, 16.0m, or 22.5m wide (nothing else!)

• "PUL" requires no explanation (Public Utility Lot for the uninitiated)

• "BUFFAULODRRU" is a reasonable street name

• A creek can be represented by two parallel blue lines and are also street names

We've come far with AI, friends, but not THAT far. If you need actual development planning, maybe stick with humans for now.

🤔 Stuff From The Week

We Need More Trades!… Wait What?:   A new report from the BC Construction Association (BCCA) reveals deep concerns over payment delays in the province’s construction sector.

Conservatives: Poilievre vows to "streamline environmental reviews" for resource projects, which is politician-speak for "letting developers build wherever they damn well please." Coming soon: luxury condos in moose habitats!

Liberals: Carney promises free national park access this summer. Because nothing says "solving the housing crisis" like letting homeless people camp in Banff for free.

NDP: Jagmeet Singh pledges $16 billion to build 3 million homes by 2030. At $5,333 per home, expect a lot of very cozy garden sheds with "charming minimalist features."

🔀 Trends From GROK (weekly summary so you don’t have to)

Here’s a fresh summary of trending topics in Canadian real estate development, covering the week of April 6–12, 2025. These points are distinct from last week’s trends (multi-unit surge, distressed assets, sustainability, policy impacts, regional differences) and reflect the latest industry shifts (← Thanks Grok 😉).

• Industrial Sector Slowdown Signals Caution: New industrial construction has dropped significantly, with reports indicating a 30% decline from its peak, driven by high costs and shifting demand. Annotation: This pullback, noted in commercial real estate analyses, suggests developers are reassessing industrial projects—once a hot sector—amid economic uncertainty, potentially opening opportunities for adaptive reuse in urban markets.

• Office Market Shows Early Recovery Signs: Suburban office properties are seeing increased transaction activity, particularly in cities like Toronto, hinting at a gradual office sector rebound. Annotation: After years of stagnation, this “green shoot” trend points to a flight-to-quality shift, where well-managed, modern offices are regaining investor interest, though downtown cores lag behind.

• Rental Supply Pressures Ease Slightly: New rental housing completions are starting to temper rent growth in urban centers, with some markets reporting modest declines in condo rental rates. Annotation: While demand remains strong, this influx of supply could offer temporary relief for tenants, though experts warn immigration trends and affordability challenges may quickly offset gains.

• Trade Tariff Threats Cast Uncertainty: Looming U.S. tariffs, potentially starting as early as April 14, 2025 (rumoured escalation date for broader or more punitive tariffs, based on speculative chatter in real estate), are raising concerns about an economic slowdown and its impact on housing demand. Annotation: With British Columbia estimating a $69 billion economic hit by 2028, developers are bracing for reduced buyer confidence and higher material costs, a key watchpoint for your readers.

• Innovative Financing Gains Momentum: Developers are increasingly turning to private capital and syndicated deals to bridge funding gaps, especially for stalled projects. Annotation: This creative approach, highlighted in industry discussions, reflects a response to tight lending conditions, offering a lifeline for projects while signaling a shift toward risk-sharing models.

Is this startup the next billion dollar buyout?

Imagine investing in Ring before its $1.2B buyout by Amazon

Or Nest, before Google's $3.2B acquisition.

By the time we hear about industry-changing companies, it’s usually too late. But right now, there’s a smart home startup making their way to homes in America. This tech startup is RYSE, and unlike Ring, you can still invest before their $1.90 round closes May 30.

Like how Ring disrupted home security, this company is revolutionizing smart blinds & shades.

With $10M+ in revenue, 200% YoY growth, and sold in 127 Best Buy stores, they are primed for massive expansion and forecast 5X in revenue this year.

Earn up to 25% in free shares.

_{Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.}

👉 Facing development challenges that keep you up at night? Whether it's navigating byzantine zoning bylaws, optimizing your pro forma, or finding that perfect strategic positioning in a crowded market, I've seen it all in 30 years in the development trenches.

Here's how I can help:

• Strategy Sessions: One conversation could save you six figures in avoidable mistakes

• Deal Analysis: Get a second set of experienced eyes on your numbers before you commit

• Development Roadmapping: Clear, actionable plans that anticipate the potholes ahead

• Stakeholder Navigation: Learn how to speak the language of planners, politicians, and partners

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Every month you spend figuring things out on your own is another month of carrying costs eating into your returns.

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" and we'll set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges. No obligation, no sales pitch – just straight talk about your project and how I might be able to help.

Alternatively, reply with your biggest current development headache and I'll send you my quick-take perspective at no charge.

See you next Friday.

Cheers,

- Greg

Greg Mills

Interested in writing your own newsletter? Use my BeeHiiv partner program link for a 30-day trial + 20% OFF for 3 months.

Check out their blog here for more info.

Learn how to monetize your content in BeeHiiv’s latest video:

Welcome back, everyone! This week finds me teetering on the edge of my expertise, advising on the exit strategy for newly constructed luxury infill townhouses – definitely not my usual playground. I'm carefully walking the tightrope, helping my client with exit strategy while bringing in sales and marketing experts to validate our assumptions.

This balancing act reminds me of a challenge many experienced professionals face: knowing the boundaries of our expertise.

After decades in integrated developer/homebuilder operations, I've developed deep knowledge in land development and picked up plenty about sales, marketing, and construction along the way.

Even seasoned professionals need to recognize when they're crossing from mastery into areas where they have just enough knowledge to be dangerous 😰.

On Tuesday, I found myself in the unfinished basement of a nearly complete townhome with Dan (my client) and Jim (the general contractor).

As we discussed pricing strategy for these ~$1M units, I casually mentioned that a 2,200 square foot townhouse at that price point really should have three proper bedrooms instead of the two-plus-questionable-den they'd designed.

"That little office space barely qualifies as a bedroom," I said, pointing to the floor plans. "Buyers at this price point expect three legitimate bedrooms. We should convert this lower level space into two more bedrooms and a full bath, it's already plumbing ready."

Dan nodded thoughtfully while Jim's face transformed into a mask of barely-contained panic. I could practically see the modified schedules and budget overruns flashing before his eyes.

"There's no time in the schedule," Jim said, his voice tight. "And definitely no money in the contingency for additional framing, drywall, electrical..."

"The $25,000 in extra construction will be worth 4x that in the end selling price," I countered, running quick numbers in my head.

But folks, I'm not here to talk about value creation – that was Issue #28: The $200k Side Door . We'll save the rest of that story for another day.

What I want to focus on today is that feeling of walking the tightrope between expertise and overconfidence – when the unfamiliar feels too familiar. It's a sensation I've experienced many times, but never more vividly than back in 2007...

Calgary 2007

SCENE: An unfinished basement in the farthest northwest corner of the city. I'm hunched over a folding card table — my "executive desk" — surrounded by moving boxes, while a heavily pregnant Kirsten tries to organize our new life in a strange city.

"How's the empire-building going today?" Kirsten asks, one hand on her seven-month belly as she navigates around a precarious tower of boxes.

I gesture at the sprawl of papers covering my wobbly card table. "Great! I've drafted our entire land acquisition strategy. We're going to dominate this market in six months."

Kirsten eyes my enthusiastic sketches with that look — the one that says she loves me but questions my grip on reality. "Don't you think you should talk to some local planners first? Alberta's approval process might be different from Ontario."

"Planning is planning," I say dismissively, tapping my pen against a map of northwest Calgary. "I've been doing this for years. Different province, same game."

"Is it, though?" She picks up an approval timeline I've drafted. "You've scheduled site plan approval in three weeks. Did you check if that's even possible here?"

I wave away her concern. "I know what I'm doing, honey. Trust me, I'm the expert."

Three weeks later, I'm back at that same card table, staring at a rejection letter. As it turns out, Calgary's approval process wasn't "planning is planning" after all. The differences might as well have been between Earth and Mars.

Epiphany

"So about that expertise..." Kirsten says, trying not to look smug.

"I may have been... slightly overconfident," I admit.

"Slightly?"

"Okay, I was absolutely certain I knew what I was doing, right up until the moment I discovered I had no idea what I was doing."

She sits down across from me. "Know what that sounds like?"

"Please don't say Dunning-Kruger."

"The Dunning-Kruger effect," she says with the smile of someone who just won an argument without having to argue.

⁉️ [I learned about Dunning-Kruger in MBA school; how did she about this effect!?!!]

"When you know just enough to be dangerous but not enough to know you're dangerous."

The irony wasn't lost on me. I'd been sent as the pioneer — the expert tasked with conquering new territory for our national homebuilder.

But my Ontario expertise had created a dangerous blind spot. While I was genuinely qualified in development principles, I failed to recognize how provincial differences would transform the application of those principles.

I was operating in what experts call the "danger zone" of the Dunning-Kruger effect – where substantial knowledge in one domain gives false confidence when that knowledge needs significant adaptation to work in a new context.

I'd climbed to what psychologists call the "Peak of Mount Stupid" — that point on the Dunning-Kruger curve where substantial expertise in a related field creates maximum confidence about a new domain — and was now tumbling down the other side into what experts call the "Valley of Despair."

A New Day

That night, working late at my card table in the cold basement, I did something that changed everything: I threw out my original plans and started with a blank page. I wrote down everything I didn't know about Alberta's development process, then spent the next two weeks finding local experts who could fill those gaps.

Six months later, we weren't dominating the market as I'd initially boasted, but we had secured our second and third land position using a hybridized approach — combining my development experience with local expertise, I never would have sought if my initial plans had magically worked.

The Lesson

Even genuine expertise has boundaries and often doesn't transfer seamlessly across contexts. Development principles in Ontario and Alberta might share 80% of their DNA, but that 20% difference can lead to complete failure if not respected. The more you know in one domain, the more vigilant you should be about identifying where your expertise needs supplementation when the context changes.

It's a paradox that plagues pioneers of all kinds — from corporate trailblazers to tech founders. We're chosen for missions precisely because of our expertise, then undone by the overconfidence that same expertise creates.

The real skill isn't knowing everything; it's knowing what you don't know — and being humble enough to ask for help.

Back To The Present

And that brings me back to Tuesday's basement meeting with Dan and Jim. As I watched Jim's panic about adding two bedrooms and a bath, I realized I was potentially making the same mistake I'd made 20 years earlier. While I had good instincts about what buyers want at that price point, I needed to verify before potentially leading Dan into a $100k mistake.

"Let me introduce you to some sales and marketing experts to prove out my thoughts before we make any major changes," I told Dan, already pulling out my phone. "I know exactly who to call."

Some lessons you only need to learn once.

🧠 The AI Proforma Hack: Teach It Once, Use It Forever

Continuing my series on simple AI hacks for real estate developers.

I use ChatGPT—to run early-stage financial models for land development projects. I trained it by uploading a detailed proforma from a completed project, with real numbers across categories like Earthworks, Internal Servicing, Roadworks, and Soft Costs.

Now, whenever I’m evaluating a new site, I can give ChatGPT a short list of 10 core project inputs—things like lot count, soil conditions, road length, and servicing type—and it generates a back-of-the-napkin proforma that’s directionally accurate. Fast enough for site screening. Sharp enough to catch red flags.

I asked GPT what the 10 most important questions were (unfortunately. Project Name was an important one 🙁 . Here was the list:

• Project Name / Location
  (So I don’t call it Project X forever)

• Net Developable Area (acres)
  (Not gross. What you can actually build on)

• Estimated Lot Count
  (Single number or rough mix if you have it)

• Product Type
  (SF, TH, MF? Serviced lots only? Mix?)

• General Soil Conditions

  • Flat & easy

  • Moderate cuts & fills

  • Nightmare (rock, fill, groundwater)

• Topsoil Export or Import Needed?
  (Yes / No / Not sure)

• Blasting Required?
  (Yes / No / Maybe)

• Internal Road Length (linear meters)
  (Rough guess is fine—think in city blocks if needed)

• Full Urban Servicing?

  • Yes (curbs, storm, water, sanitary)

  • Partial (e.g. septic or rural cross-section)

  • Unsure

• Any Known Off-Site Costs or Contributions?
  (e.g., lift station, storm pond, road widening, etc.)

Hey, at least 3 of the questions had to do with soils…very important!

Here’s the key lesson: AI is only as smart as the information you give it. The more local costs, revenue assumptions, and project learnings you feed into ChatGPT, the better its output becomes.

Add 5–10 more inputs—like absorption timelines, unit mix, or pricing—and it can model a full DCF with IRR.

It’s like training a junior analyst who works 24/7 and never forgets what you taught them. You just have to invest the time to teach it once.

AI won’t replace developers. But developers who use AI to move faster? They’ll replace the ones who don’t.

Definitely a work in progress.

Reply with “proforma” if you are interested in learning more.

🤔 Stuff From The Week

More Tariffs: Colliers Canada’s head of research outlines 5 key tariff impacts on commercial real estate.

I Love Me Some Certainty: Three-year fixed rate provides some certainty for the remaining Trump years, at least.

Kirsten Has Still Never Visited Edmonton: New study ranks Edmonton as most builder-friendly in Canada.

🔀 Trends From GROK (weekly summary so you don’t have to)

These points capture the dynamic landscape of Canadian real estate development as of early April 2025, offering your newsletter subscribers actionable insights into current trends (← Thanks Grok 😉)

• Surge in Multi-Unit Residential Projects: Developers are increasingly focusing on multi-unit housing, such as fourplexes and mid-rise apartments, driven by government policies like British Columbia’s density mandates. Annotation: This shift reflects a response to the housing affordability crisis, aiming to maximize land use in urban areas, though some experts warn of a looming “demolition crisis” as single-family homes are razed.

• Distressed Asset Opportunities Gain Traction: Private investors, including family offices, are eyeing distressed real estate—properties facing financing gaps—for potential bargains. Annotation: With tighter lending conditions persisting into 2025, this trend highlights a strategic pivot toward riskier but potentially high-reward investments, especially in the condo sector where smaller firms are struggling.

• Push for Sustainable Infrastructure Integration: There’s growing interest in blending real estate with sustainable energy projects, like data centers and renewable-powered buildings. Annotation: This aligns with rising investor demand for stable cash flows and diversification, reflecting broader economic shifts toward tech-driven and eco-conscious development.

• Policy Impacts on Construction Pace: New federal initiatives, such as GST exemptions for first-time buyers and rental construction incentives, are sparking optimism, though trade tensions with the U.S. threaten to slow progress. Annotation: While these policies aim to boost supply, developers caution that bureaucratic bottlenecks and potential tariffs could delay housing starts, a critical issue for your readers tracking timelines.

• Regional Market Differentiation Widens: Performance varies sharply by region, with cities like Calgary seeing price gains while Toronto’s condo market faces pressure. Annotation: This divergence underscores the need for localized strategies, as rapid population growth supports recovery in some areas but not others, influenced by recent immigration curbs.

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👉 Facing development challenges that keep you up at night? Whether it's navigating byzantine zoning codes, optimizing your pro forma, or finding that perfect strategic positioning in a crowded market, I've seen it all in 30 years of development trenches.

Here's how I can help:

• Strategy Sessions: One conversation could save you six figures in avoidable mistakes

• Deal Analysis: Get a second set of experienced eyes on your numbers before you commit

• Development Roadmapping: Clear, actionable plans that anticipate the potholes ahead

• Stakeholder Navigation: Learn how to speak the language of planners, politicians, and partners

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Every month you spend figuring things out on your own is another month of carrying costs eating into your returns.

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" and we'll set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges. No obligation, no sales pitch – just straight talk about your project and how I might be able to help.

Alternatively, reply with your biggest current development headache and I'll send you my quick-take perspective at no charge.

See you next Friday.

Cheers,

- Greg

Greg Mills

Thirty Issues of Building In Public

For 30 weeks straight, this newsletter has landed in your inbox. By my math, that's over half a year of writing, publishing, and sharing the unfiltered journey of figuring things out along the way.

In that time:

• I've changed many aspects of this newsletter (and most of my business ideas).

• I've pivoted my ventures — multiple times — telling myself I'm "iterating."

• I've contradicted myself more times than I can count.

But I didn't stop writing. And I didn't stop trying to be useful to you.

I know there's plenty of business advice floating around. Most of it? Questionable at best. Some of it? Decent. A tiny fraction? Actually valuable.

Hopefully, I've added more good to the mix. (Maybe even some great)

I had an epiphany this week that's been gnawing at me:

I had an epiphany this week that's been gnawing at me:

This realization has crystallized how I want to play this game.

I'm not interested in being the next tech unicorn founder or building a massive consulting empire. I'm becoming a Development Co-Pilot^TM for real estate projects, staying small and nimble with a Familypreneur^TM approach that prioritizes impact over scale.

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A Hard Look in the Marketing Mirror

After an intense day of sales and marketing training, I returned home (walking out of my home office 😀) with three things:

• a stack of highlighted notes

• a suspicion that my offer names were terrible

• the realization that I had no actual marketing strategy

Thursday morning found me at the kitchen table, surrounded by workshop handouts. Kirsten was across from me, methodically working through our monthly Quickbooks accounting.

"So according to these frameworks, my '$100K in a Day' offer is..."

Kirsten didn't even look up. "Still the cringiest name in consulting history?"

"It's direct!" I protested. "It tells people exactly what they get!"

"It sounds like one of those get-rich-quick schemes between crypto scams and dropshipping courses."

My shoulders slumped. "Fair point. The workshop facilitator said the same thing. Said it sounded like I was selling a system rather than solving a problem."

Now Kirsten looked up, eyebrow raised in her 'I told you so' face. "Isn't that what you've been saying for weeks? That you need to focus on client problems instead of your brilliant solutions?"

"I hate it when my own advice comes back to haunt me."

I flipped through pages of notes. "I've been creating offers I think are clever without considering what clients actually want."

"Like how Dan had no idea you offered implementation services because you never told him?"

I winced. "Exactly. Our entire marketing approach is backwards. We're sitting here with decades of expertise, real solutions to real problems, and nobody knows what we actually do."

The sound of footsteps interrupted our conversation as Evan, our 20-year-old marketing major, appeared in the doorway with his characteristic stoic expression.

"What's going on?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

I spun to face him. "Evan! What do you think of the name '$100K in a Day' for a consulting service?"

He considered this for approximately two seconds before shrugging. "Sounds like a scam."

"That's what I said!" Kirsten exclaimed.

I looked between them, suddenly seeing the obvious solution. "Evan, you're in your third year of marketing, right? And you need practical experience for your résumé..."

A flicker of interest crossed his face. "What are you thinking?"

Kirsten caught on immediately. "Summer internship at LandLogic. You could build our entire marketing foundation."

"Marketing Manager position," I corrected. "Sounds better on a résumé."

"Would I get paid?" he asked.

"Of course," Kirsten assured him.

"And creative control?" he pressed, showing more interest than I'd seen about anything not involving PC games in months.

"Within reason," I hedged.

His look contained more judgment than I thought possible in such a minimal facial movement.

Sometimes the solution is literally under your nose (or downstairs playing PC games).

As we head into our 30th newsletter issue, it's the perfect time to reflect on how we got here - and where we're going next.

The First 30: Lessons From A Corporate Escapee

🏢 Issues #1-5: The Corporate Detox Phase

Those first five issues were my corporate withdrawal symptoms in written form. I launched with "The Great Escape" (Issue #1), quoting Morpheus and announcing my emancipation from the corporate matrix. Meanwhile, I spent Issues #2 - #3 obsessing over Naval Ravikant's wisdom while picking fights with corporate bigwigs at Stampede parties.

The turning point came with Issue #5's "My Big Fat Ego Problem," where I finally admitted that writing a 37-page proposal about myself rather than client needs might explain why nobody was hiring me. It was my first moment of genuine self-awareness.

Evolution: Corporate rebel without a cause → reluctant admission that maybe I had something to learn

♻️ Issues #6-10: The Side Hustle Obsession

This era was marked by my frantic search for the perfect business model while dismissing everything as "pedestrian." I created fictional characters with better business plans than mine (remember Chucky and his vintage bowling balls?) and elaborate "side hustle flywheel" frameworks while my actual businesses remained theoretical.

The irony peaked when I described franchising as "cheating at entrepreneurship" in Issue #7, only to announce our chargeFUZE distribution business three issues later.

Evolution: Business model tourist → reluctant franchise distributor

🎭 Issues #11-15: The Identity Pendulum

By Issue #11, I'd done a complete 180 on franchising, announcing chargeFUZE with convert-like enthusiasm. The middle issues chronicled my adventures in "almost getting arrested at a convention" and the "5-minute research mistake that almost cost us everything," proving that entrepreneurship involved more public humiliation than my corporate career ever did.

Issue #15 marked my brief "tech bro" phase where I built an app without knowing how to code. I was trying on different entrepreneurial identities like ill-fitting hats, desperately searching for who I wanted to be.

Evolution: Franchise convert → convention criminal → amateur app developer

🪞Issues #16-20: The Reflection Era

The end of 2024 brought some much-needed reflection. Issue #16's "Lab Report" tallied our first six months: real estate advisory revenue of $10,000 (after giving away "$500,000 in free advice") and a newsletter generating a whopping $142.50. I was officially a business tycoon.

By Issue #20, I was sharing "How Three Months of Silence Became a $5 Million Mistake," finally returning to lessons from my actual expertise: real estate development. The pendulum was swinging back toward my strengths after months of entrepreneurial flailing.

Evolution: Failed empire builder → reluctant return to expertise

💎Issues #21-25: The Value Rediscovery

Issues #21 to 23 marked a recommitment to my real estate roots, with topics like "How to Lose a $500,000 Sale in Minutes" and "Adding Value at $30k Per Minute." I was finally leaning into the expertise I'd spent decades building rather than chasing entrepreneurial fashion trends.

Issue #25 introduced "The Perfect Wedge" concept and my "$100K in a Day" service—the first offering I'd created based on actual client needs rather than entrepreneurial fantasies. After months of flailing, I was building something that leveraged my real strengths.

Evolution: Refocused expert → creator of value-based services

🚀 Issues #26-30: The Professional Reemergence

Issue #26 detailed my first "$100K in a Day" session, where I delivered $250K in savings despite my "system" being more "human-powered" than "AI-enhanced." I was learning that delivering value matters more than having perfect processes.

The most recent issues explored market entry strategies, value creation, and my painful realization in "The Assumption Trap" that clients can't read minds. Despite identifying $100K+ in opportunities, I nearly lost an implementation contract because I never actually told a client what services I offered. Marketing, it turns out, involves telling people what you do.

Evolution: Value creator → accidental services provider → marketing novice

Where We're Headed: Development Co-Pilot

Looking back at these 30 issues, I can see the winding path that led me here – from corporate refugee to side-hustle enthusiast to accidental consultant to whatever I am now. But the path forward is becoming clearer.

I'm not a guru, an influencer, or a "thought leader" (gag). I'm a Development Co-Pilot for real estate projects across Western Canada. After 30 years navigating the complex world of land development, I know where the turbulence is, which routes to avoid, and how to land safely even when conditions aren't ideal.

Besides my every day crazy consulting adventures, this newsletter will focus on what's actually happening in Western Canadian real estate development. I'll share the trends I'm spotting, the tools I'm testing, and the tactics that are working (or spectacularly failing) in real-time.

I'm committed to keeping LandLogic small, nimble, and stealthy – leveraging AI and technology rather than building a massive team. It's a familypreneur approach to business that prioritizes impact over empire-building.

And yes, if you're reading this, you're technically in my marketing funnel – though it's less of a funnel and more of a conversational rabbit hole. If that makes you uncomfortable, the unsubscribe button is always there.

In the coming weeks, I'll be introducing more ways to engage – polls, questions, maybe even the occasional contest.

Thanks for coming along for these first 30 issues. Here's to the next 30 – with slightly less public embarrassment but just as much authenticity.

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🔧 How I Used ChatGPT to Simplify a Zoning Headache

I woke up with a complex zoning comparison on my to-do list and a brain stuck in neutral. The task: determine which local zone best aligned with our "Toy Box" mixed-use concept (those industrial-residential-retail hybrids that are reshaping urban landscapes).

Instead of losing a day slogging through municipal code, I uploaded both documents to ChatGPT (or your favourite AI program)—the project we were benchmarking and the local bylaw—and had it perform a targeted analysis. The key was how I framed the request: not just for a comparison, but for a strategic assessment from a development perspective.

It didn't just parse the documents; it understood the development implications. The AI spotted nuances even my caffeine-deprived brain might have missed—conditional uses buried in subsection 4.2.3.b, height bonusing provisions that would affect our pro forma, and setback requirements that would impact our buildable envelope calculations.

What would have been a 3-hour spreadsheet marathon became a 30-minute strategic decision. The AI handled the grunt work while I focused on the higher-level trade-offs. Within minutes, I had a clean PDF comparison ready for partners showing exactly how each zone would impact our GFA, unit mix, and parking requirements.

But here's what made it truly valuable: I still needed to interpret what these differences meant for our IRR and exit strategy. The AI can parse bylaws, but it can't understand market dynamics or investor priorities. That's where 30 years of development experience comes in.

⬇️ ChatGPT Prompts You Can Steal ⬇️ 

Reply with “basic” to let me know if this was too basic, and I will ramp up to more advanced tools based on feedback.

Help: Your Development Co-Pilot Is Standing By

👉 Facing development challenges that keep you up at night? Whether it's navigating byzantine zoning codes, optimizing your pro forma, or finding that perfect strategic positioning in a crowded market, I've seen it all in 30 years of development trenches.

Here's how I can help:

• Strategy Sessions: One conversation could save you six figures in avoidable mistakes

• Deal Analysis: Get a second set of experienced eyes on your numbers before you commit

• Development Roadmapping: Clear, actionable plans that anticipate the potholes ahead

• Stakeholder Navigation: Learn how to speak the language of planners, politicians, and partners

Don't waste time reinventing the wheel. Every month you spend figuring things out on your own is another month of carrying costs eating into your returns.

Hit reply with "DEVELOPMENT 911" and we'll set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges. No obligation, no sales pitch – just straight talk about your project and how I might be able to help.

Alternatively, reply with your biggest current development headache and I'll send you my quick-take perspective at no charge.

See you next Friday.

Cheers,

- Greg

Greg Mills

Here's what I have for you today:

• Nearly tanked a client relationship by assuming they knew my services

• Realized my marketing is practically non-existent

• Discovered my business card might as well be invisible

• Finally updating my LinkedIn (only 6 months overdue)

Also this quote:

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Here we go…

\Debrief

Remember that $100K in a Day session from Issue #26: $100K IN A DAY? The one where we identified nearly $250K in potential savings and over $1 million in revenue opportunities for a boutique property developer?

Well, the follow-up meeting happened this week, and it led to an unexpected lesson in clarity.

"Great report, Greg," Dan began, flipping through the SWOT analysis. "Really insightful stuff about our brand positioning."

[Greg ← Ego is exploding 🤯]

He continued by listing the areas he felt they had under control, then surprised me by acknowledging the customer service blind spot I'd identified: "We hadn't thought about how one bad review could undo years of brand building."

[Greg ← What an incredible human 🙃]

The conversation was flowing well until Dan started asking me specific questions about marketing strategies, sales channels, and financial modeling. With each question, I grew increasingly uncomfortable.

Is he trying to extract free consulting? 🥷 , I already gave him the report...

So I began giving shorter answers, eventually just nodding along without elaborating.

The energy changed. Dan looked confused. I felt awkward. Then it hit me.

Giphy

\Free

He was genuinely asking where he could find help with these services. He didn't know I offered them because—wait for it—I never actually told him I did.

My brain went into full panic mode:

Wait... he doesn't know I offer these services? How could he not know? Hasn't he seen my website?

(Oh right, I don't have one.)

Hasn't he read my newsletter where I clearly outline all my service offerings?

(Hmm, except I never actually do that.)

Surely he's seen my comprehensive LinkedIn profile detailing my consulting packages?

(Which doesn't exist because I hate writing LinkedIn posts.)

Has he been living under a rock?!

(No, Greg. YOU have been living under a marketing rock.)

At the bottom of my fancy report, I'd simply written: "Detailed work plan and proposal available upon request." ← so bad 🫠 

That's it.

No specifics about what services I actually offered.

No clear next steps.

Nothing about how I could help implement all those great recommendations.

I was getting annoyed at a potential client for not reading my mind about services I never explicitly offered.

In that moment, I realized I'd been making the same mistake that derails countless businesses: assuming people know what you offer and how to buy it.

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\Recovery

"Dan," I finally said, breaking an awkward silence, "I think I've been misreading this conversation. Were you asking about these areas because you're interested in working together on implementation?"

His relief was visible. "Yes! I thought that's where we were heading. Your report identified exactly the gaps we have, and I was hoping you could help us address them."

We spent the next hour outlining a comprehensive engagement covering marketing strategy, sales process optimization, and financial modelling—things I absolutely could help with but had never clearly articulated as services.

By the end of the meeting, we had the framework for a six-month engagement worth significantly more than the initial $100K in a Day session.

All because I finally stopped assuming and started asking.

Gif by siliconvalleyhbo on Giphy

\Lessons

SCENE: That evening. Home office. I'm slumped in my chair staring at my laptop screen when Kirsten walks in.

KIRSTEN: "How'd the follow-up with Dan go?"

ME: (groaning) "I nearly blew a six-figure deal because I assumed he could read my mind."

KIRSTEN: "What happened?"

ME: "He kept asking questions about marketing and financial modeling, and I thought he was fishing for free advice. Turns out he wanted to hire me for those exact services."

KIRSTEN: "But... didn't you tell him you offer those services?"

ME: (suddenly very interested in my scotch) "Well, technically..."

KIRSTEN: "Greg. Please tell me you didn't forget to actually tell a potential client what you do."

ME: "In my defense, I wrote 'Detailed work plan and proposal available upon request' at the bottom of the report."

KIRSTEN: (staring in disbelief) "That's like a restaurant not putting food on the menu and expecting people to guess what they serve."

ME: "When you put it that way..."

Here's what today hammered home:

Lesson #1: Be Direct, Don't Make Them Guess

No one can read your mind. Ever. What seems painfully obvious to you is completely invisible to others. Dan had no idea I offered implementation services because I never clearly told him. It doesn't matter how brilliant your insights are if people don't know how to access more of them.

Lesson #2: My Marketing Is Non-Existent

I've been operating on the "if you build it, they will come" model. Except I haven't even fully built "it" yet. No website, outdated LinkedIn, no clear service descriptions anywhere. I'm essentially running an invisible business and getting annoyed when people can't see it.

KIRSTEN: "So what's your plan now?"

ME: "Well, after we secured the contract, I realized I need to get serious about marketing. LinkedIn update, website launch, clear service descriptions—the works."

KIRSTEN: "About time. You create marketing strategies for clients all day long."

ME: "Good thing I'm taking those business marketing courses this week. Next week we'll get into the actual tactics—website content, email sequences, all that fun stuff."

KIRSTEN: (patting my shoulder) "Just remember—if it's not explicitly stated, it doesn't exist in your clients' minds."

She was right, as usual.

The path forward is clear: no more assuming, no more invisible offerings.

Time to make the implicit explicit.

THAT’S A WRAP

Stay curious and keep communicating.

Greg "No More Assumptions" Mills

If you liked what you read and are not a subscriber yet, join the crowd:

Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #24: We Saved The TikToK Livestream 

Issue #19: $2,295/Month To Avoid Talking To Humans 

Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment 

Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

Looking for more to read:

Note: Some of the links in the newsletter are affiliate links. I believe in transparency and honesty, so if you want to know more, visit Full Partner Disclosure for details.

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The Value Dimension

SCENE: Teams meeting with a small home builder. I'm watching Bob's (← The CEO) team present their AI-powered home design system like they've invented electricity itself.

Their Chief Data Scientist jumps in with that "explaining quantum physics to a toddler" tone I've come to know and dread. "You see, we've implemented a recursive neural network architecture with multi-modal inputs that evaluates spatio-temporal constraints against historical performance metrics to optimize build efficiency."

I nod politely…

He continues by showing me a 3D visualization of what he calls their "revolutionary generative design framework," which looks suspiciously like the same BIM software we've all been using since 2018, just with fancier gradient backgrounds.

"Our algorithm has identified that eliminating basements saves $40,000 per unit and cuts three weeks from the schedule," their Chief Innovation Officer explains, adjusting his glasses importantly.

He clicks to a slide showing clever storage solutions. "We replace basement storage with these innovations for only $10,000, maintaining functionality while saving $30,000 net."

I unmute myself. "Quick question. Have you guys heard of the fourth dimension of home building?"

Silence. I can practically hear their brains buffering.

"The what?" asks Bob.

"Value. It's the dimension that doesn't show up in your algorithms."

The Innovation Officer visibly stiffens. "Our AI accounts for all measurable variables."

"That's exactly the problem. Value isn't always measurable. It's the gap between what something costs and what someone will pay for it."

With a more extended, uncomfortable silence than I intended, I pulled up an old slide (as a rebel, I am uncomfortable in MS Team; Google Meet is my comfy zone): "In Calgary, a side entrance to the basement is worth about $10,000 to buyers, even though it only costs $1,500 to install.

Why?

Because they can easily rent out that basement." It provides a paramount private portal point to an otherwise uninhabitable partitionable property portion. ← Me trying to speak their language (with some added alliteration 😁 ).

"We're in a housing affordability crisis. That basement with a separate entrance might bring in $1,200 a month in rental income. That's $14,400 a year, which translates to about $200,000 in value to the homeowner."

Bob frowns. "But basements are expensive. Our data shows—"

"Your data is missing the bigger picture. For families on a budget, that basement is an investment rental space. Sometimes it's the difference between affording the house or not, because that rental income is factored into their mortgage qualification."

The Innovation Officer stops typing. I've finally broken through the algorithm.

"You're trading $40,000 in construction savings for what could be $200,000 in lost value. Your competitor's home with a basement and side entrance will destroy yours because buyers are looking at net value, not gross price."

"But our AI—"

"Your AI knows cost, revenue and time. It doesn't understand value. People don't buy the cheapest home; they buy the one that gives them the most bang for their buck."

By the end of the call, Bob's team was reconsidering their entire approach. They're now working on an "AI Value Index" that attempts to quantify these intangibles.

More on the AI Value Index below….

[We Interrupt This Newsletter for a Special Announcement]

Alright, I'm going to level with you. This is our first-ever advertorial, and yes, I can see you rolling your eyes. But after that story about Bob and his algorithm-obsessed team, I couldn't help myself. Because here's the thing...

If you're tired of playing the cost-cutting game and ready to start playing the value-creation game instead, check out:

Issue #25: The Perfect Wedge (No, Not The Golf Club) , and

Issue #26: $100K IN A DAY 

Every LandLogic client in our $100K in a Day session has had the same blind spot: they're optimizing for cost when they should be optimizing for value.

[We now return you to your regularly scheduled newsletter]

The Fourth Dimension: Value

After my chat with Bob's team about their algorithm-obsessed approach to home building...

I couldn't stop thinking about the problem. If these super-smart folks with fancy AI systems were missing the value dimension so completely, how many other businesses were making the same mistake?

You Can't Optimize What You Can't Measure

Later in the week: I'm hunched over my third coffee of the day, spreadsheets scattered across my desk, trying to figure out how to quantify something as slippery as "value" when Kirsten walks in.

"Still obsessing over the Bob situation?"

"I'm trying to figure out how to help them see value in numbers." I gesture at my mess of calculations. "They're so focused on cost that they're blind to everything else."

Kirsten glances at my screen. "You're overthinking this. Value isn't mysterious - it's just what people are willing to pay for something minus what it costs you to deliver it."

"But that's the problem," I argue. "People are willing to pay for weird, subjective things that don't show up in spreadsheets. Like how much is 'peace of mind' worth? Or 'status'? Or 'convenience'?"

"Didn't that Hormozi (←butchering my hero’s name) guy you're always quoting have something to say about this?"

I straighten up. "Alex Hormozi? The Value Equation!"

I grab a marker and draw on our whiteboard:

Sketch by Greg on Canva

"Hormozi breaks value down into four parts," I explain, suddenly energized. "First, what's the dream outcome people want? Then, how likely do they think they are to get it with your solution? Next, how quickly will they get results? And finally, how painful is the process?"

Kirsten nods slowly. "So for LandLogic..."

"Our dream outcome is land that gets developed faster and more profitably than our clients could do alone."

"Perceived likelihood?"

"High, because of our track record. Anyone can claim to deliver value, but we have the receipts."

"Time delay?"

"Minimal. Our $100K in a Day service delivers immediate insights. Not months later when it's too late."

"And the pain factor?"

"Almost none! They literally just have to show up to a meeting and answer questions. We do all the heavy lifting."

Kirsten smiles. "That's a pretty compelling value proposition."

“I think I can help Bob's team quantify value in their AI system."

"By creating some kind of... AI Value Index?"

"Exactly! Instead of just measuring cost, revenue and time, we need to include a fourth dimension...value!

Do you get it? There are three dimensions: x, y, z and now v for value!"

Kirsten quietly walks out of the room.

I call after her, "Too much? Was that too much?" Then, turn back to my whiteboard, muttering to myself…

Photo by Planet Volumes on Unsplash

Beyond Formulas: The Competitive Positioning Matrix

Alex's formula is elegant, but it's more of a demonstration than a practical tool for Bob's specific problem. What Bob really needs is a way to objectively compare housing options based on value, not just cost.

This is exactly why we developed our Competitive Positioning Matrix (CPM) at LandLogic. It's a proprietary model that helps developers understand how their project truly stacks up against the competition when you look beyond the price tag.

I can't give away the secret sauce completely (our lawyers would have a field day), but here's the basic concept:

The CPM strips away the noise and provides an apples-to-apples comparison by calculating what we call the "Net Effective Price" - which is:

Gross Price - Value of Differentiating Features = Net Effective Price

Let me give you a simple example with software before we apply it to housing:

Software A: $50/month with basic features

Software B: $50/month with basic features + premium support valued at $15/month + advanced analytics valued at $10/month

The gross price for both is identical at $50/month. But the net effective price of Software B is actually $25/month ($50 - $15 - $10) when you account for the added value of its extra features.

Now, for Bob's housing problem:

House 1: $500,000 with no basement

House 2: $540,000 with basement + side entrance that enables rental income of approximately $14,400/year

The gross price difference is $40,000 in favour of House 1. But here's where it gets interesting.

That potential rental income of $14,400/year capitalized over time (using a cap rate of 5% for fun) represents a value of $288,000. So the net effective price calculation becomes:

House 2 Net Effective Price: $540,000 - $288,000 = $252,000

Suddenly, House 2 is actually $248,000 cheaper in net effective terms, despite costing $40,000 more upfront.

This is the kind of analysis Bob's AI system needs to incorporate - the true economic value of features beyond their construction cost.

Adding the Fourth Dimension to Bob's Algorithm

Bob's AI system could absolutely be trained to account for this value dimension. Here's how:

1. Feature Value Database: Build a database of common home features and their market-derived value (not just their cost).

2. Regional Value Calibration: Train the AI to understand how feature values vary by location, market segment, and buyer demographics.

3. Income Potential Analysis: Incorporate calculations for income-generating features (like basement suites or green technology features).

4. Long-Term Value Projection: Factor in appreciation rates of different features over time.

5. Buyer Persona Alignment: Weight features differently based on the target buyer (families value different things than investors or empty-nesters).

The beauty is that much of this data already exists in real estate transactions, appraisals, and rental markets. It's not entirely subjective - there are real numbers behind these values that AI can learn from.

Some might think this level of value analysis is too complex or subjective for AI, but I disagree. The subjective parts can be quantified through market research and real transaction data. In fact, AI might be better at spotting these value patterns than humans because it can analyze thousands of transactions to identify exactly how much people are willing to pay for specific features.

What seems subjective at the individual level becomes objectively measurable at scale. That's the magic of good data science.

Curated Links: AI's Rapid Takeover

Speaking of AI... the pace of change is getting downright scary (Dear Skynet: when I say scary, I really mean "exciting" and "impressive" - please don't add me to your termination list when you achieve sentience).

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Research shows LLMs are already infiltrating financial complaints, press releases, and job postings at an alarming [← amazing 🤖 ] rate.

Twitter tweet

Anthropic's (← Claude.ai) CEO believes AI will write 90% of code within months…

Twitter tweet

In the AI world, if you blink, you might miss entire career paths disappearing.

Time to adapt or become obsolete?

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THAT’S A WRAP

As Alex Hormozi reminded us at the start: "Money follows value. The more value you give, the more you make."

After exploring Bob's AI dilemma, it's clear that this principle applies everywhere - from basements with side entrances to AI algorithms and business models.

True innovation isn't just about cutting costs or adding features; it's about understanding what people truly value and delivering it.

Whether you're building homes, developing software, or growing your business, remember: optimize for value, not just cost. The market will reward you accordingly.

Stay curious and keep adapting,

Greg "Multiverse" Mills

If you liked what you read and are not a subscriber yet, join the crowd:

Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #24: We Saved The TikToK Livestream 

Issue #19: $2,295/Month To Avoid Talking To Humans 

Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment 

Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

Looking for more to read:

Note: Some of the links in the newsletter are affiliate links. I believe in transparency and honesty, so if you want to know more, visit Full Partner Disclosure for details.

Here's what I have for you today:

• The charging wars have begun! Our competitors are advancing like White Walkers from Edmonton

• HQ thinks we're the Apple of charging while I'm getting Space Invaders flashbacks

• That time in 2006 when I turned a "we're about to miss this deadline" into "I'm a market entry genius"

• Built a framework so good my whiteboard chicken scratch became company policy

• Learning that sometimes the student becomes the teacher (but HQ isn't ready for that wisdom)

Also, this quote:

Quick words from our sponsor…

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Here we go…

Gif by robinstam on Giphy

Invasion

SCENE: Tuesday night. Our kitchen island has become command central for chargeFUZE operations. Scattered venue contracts and marketing materials cover the granite surface like the aftermath of a particularly organized hurricane. I'm hunched over my laptop, the blue light casting shadows across my face as I review last month's disappointing revenue reports.

Kirsten walks in, phone in hand. Something in her posture—a slight tensing of the shoulders, a determined set to her jaw—tells me she's discovered something I won't like.

"One of my charging insiders just sent this from Edmonton," she says, sliding her phone across the granite countertop with the precision of someone delivering bad news.

I look down at a sleek white charging unit that is decidedly not a chargeFUZE station. It's smaller, sleeker, and based on the background, sitting prominently in what appears to be a high-end hotel lobby.

"What the... when did they take this?" I ask, feeling my stomach drop slightly.

"Yesterday." Kirsten reaches for her mug of tea, steam still rising from the surface. "My network of chargeFUZE spies keeps me informed so I never have to actually visit Edmonton."

I can't help but smirk at this long-standing joke between us. "Maintaining your perfect record."

"Proudly Edmonton-free since birth," she confirms with a small nod. Her expression turns serious again. "But these things are everywhere now. The mall, restaurants, hotels."

I straighten up, instinctively adopting what Kirsten calls my "business professor stance." "They're perfectly 'right-sized' for this stage of market entry strategy," I say, then immediately wince at my own words. "Sorry, that's my MBA talking. I paid $60,000 to say things like that with a straight face."

Kirsten's eye roll could power a small city. "Whatever you call it, they're moving west from Canmore and south from Red Deer. We're getting surrounded."

The playful mood evaporates. I close my laptop, giving her my full attention. "I talked to headquarters yesterday. They said they don't have anything to compete with that form factor."

"And their solution is...?" Kirsten leaves the question hanging in the air between us.

I puff up slightly, parroting the company line with more confidence than I feel. "They said these are just cheap knockoffs from China. Nothing to worry about."

Gif by siliconvalleyhbo on Giphy

Kirsten raises a single eyebrow, a gesture that after twenty-five years of marriage still has the power to make me question everything I've just said. "Aren't our machines made in China?"

"Yes, but they're designed in California," I say defensively, hearing how ridiculous it sounds the moment the words leave my mouth. "Like Apple products."

The silence stretches for three uncomfortable seconds as Kirsten stares at me, her expression a perfect blend of disbelief and amusement. "So we're the Apple of charging?"

"That's exactly what HQ said!" I nod enthusiastically, grateful for this lifeline of logic. "Plus these competitors aren't even properly approved in Canada."

"They're literally sitting in public places all over Edmonton," Kirsten counters, gesturing at her phone.

"HQ is going to take care of that. They're sending in the authorities." Even as I say it, I hear how absurd it sounds.

Kirsten scrolls through more photos, her thumb swiping with quiet determination. "You know what else I heard through the charging grapevine? You can buy twenty of these units for the price of two chargeFUZE stations."

"That can't be right," I protest, though the sinking feeling in my stomach suggests otherwise.

"So this is a police action rather than a product strategy problem?" Kirsten sets her mug down with deliberate slowness, the soft clink against the countertop punctuating her question.

"Yes! That's what HQ says." I'm fully committed to the company line now, despite the logical chasm widening before me. "We have a much better product, so people will naturally feel much better charging with us."

Kirsten's voice softens, not unkindly. "Do people really care about that when their battery is at 3% and they just want Instagram to work again?"

The silence that follows is broken only by the sound of me desperately searching for an answer that doesn't exist. Outside, a car drives past, its headlights briefly illuminating our kitchen before disappearing, much like my confidence in our charging strategy.

Speaking of Market Entry...

SCENE: Toronto headquarters, 2006. I'm pacing in a glass conference room while frantically checking my Blackberry. It's 4:45 PM😰, and in 15 minutes, I need to waive conditions on our first major Calgary land deal. The big boss, Bill, however, has other plans, such as turning this into an impromptu masterclass in market expansion.

"So you think Calgary's ready for our brand?" Bill leans back in his chair, coffee mug balanced on his knee. His calm demeanour is in stark contrast to my visible anxiety.

In my head - WTF do I really know about branding (and homebuilding, for that matter)…up till now, I have been just a land development monkey (← industry-wide term of endearment)

"Absolutely. The market fundamentals are solid, and we've got a unique value proposition that—"

"Stop." Bill raises his hand. "That's Ontario-speak. Tell me what makes Calgary different."

I glance at my Blackberry. 4:48 PM. 😰😰 "Different how?"

"Different everything. What percentage of our Ontario product can we actually use there?"

I start drawing a crude graph on the whiteboard – a simple 2x2 matrix with "Local Adaptation" on one axis and "Brand Consistency" on the other.

"Here's where we are in Ontario," I say, marking the top right quadrant. "High brand recognition, established processes. But Calgary needs something different."

I mark the bottom left. "We can't just copy-paste. Their approval process is faster but more complex because it is 100% more relationship based. Buyers prefer smaller homes with finished basements. Even the soil conditions change our engineering costs…who ever heard of sulfur resistant concrete?!?"

Bill nods slowly. "So what's your recommendation?"

4:52 PM.😰😰😰

"We take our core brand promise – quality and customer experience – but adapt almost everything else. Local architectural styles, different floor plans, adjusted price points, and completely new marketing campaigns."

"What about the team?" Bill fires back. "Ontario expats or local talent?"

"Mix of both," I say without hesitation. "We need our culture carriers, but they need to be paired with local experts who understand the market dynamics, have existing relationships with trades and officials, and can navigate the Alberta regulatory landscape."

Bill stares at me for what feels like eternity. 😰😰😰😰 Then points to my sad whiteboard drawing. "That matrix of yours – you didn't come up with that."

"No," I admit. "It's a modified version of the International Market Entry Framework. But I've adapted it for inter-provincial real estate development."

He checks his watch. 4:56 PM.😰😰😰😰😰

"And the land deal? Worth pursuing under these parameters?"

I take a deep breath. "It's the perfect entry point. Minimal entitlement risk, appropriate scale, and close enough to downtown to establish our brand presence without betting the farm."

Finally, he smiles. "Good. Now go make that call…and get us to that top right quadrant…quickly.”

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The Real Estate Market Entry Framework

A Structured Approach to New Market Expansion

This framework helps development companies evaluate and execute market expansion strategies by balancing brand consistency with local market adaptation.

Key Evaluation Factors

Product Adaptation

• Floor Plans: How much must designs change to meet local preferences?

• Architectural Style: Regional aesthetics and design standards

• Price Positioning: Market-appropriate value proposition

• Building Systems: Climate and regulatory considerations

Operational Adaptation

• Approval Processes: Regulatory framework differences

• Construction Methods: Local trades and building practices

• Marketing Approach: Regional buyer psychology

• Customer Experience: Service expectations

Team Structure

• Leadership Mix: Balance of corporate culture carriers and local experts

• Local Network: Trades, suppliers, and municipal relationships

• Decision Authority: Headquarters vs. local decision-making balance

Implementation Timeline

1. Research Phase: 6-9 months before market entry

2. Team Building: 3-6 months before entry

3. Initial Project: Lower-risk opportunity with brand showcase potential

4. Market Adaptation: Continuous improvement cycle

5. Full-Scale Expansion: Once proof of concept established

This framework helped guide our successful expansion into the Calgary market, balancing our established Ontario brand with necessary adaptations for the Alberta real estate landscape.

Lessons

The key lessons I learned:

1. Market entry isn’t about replication—it’s about translation.
   We learned this the hard way when our first project nearly bombed due to misaligned product-market fit. You have to speak the local market’s language, not just impose your own.

2. Understand local nuances before you break ground.
   Even small regulatory or climate differences can massively impact costs and timelines.

3. Know which brand elements are sacred and which are flexible.
   Some things define you—others just need to work in the market you’re entering.

4. Build your local team before your local projects.
   You can’t build homes if you don’t have the right local partners in place first.

5. Enter with the right scale project—not too big to be risky, not too small to be irrelevant.
   Our first Calgary project was a deliberate mid-scale launch. Big enough to prove we belonged, small enough to tweak as we learned.

That framework I hastily sketched out later became our official playbook for expansion into Edmonton and even some American markets.

Each expansion taught us to better balance what parts of our brand were non-negotiable versus which elements needed adaptation.

Back To chargeFUZE

Looking back at our chargeFUZE dilemma, I can see some uncomfortable parallels. We're facing exactly the same challenge but from the opposite side of the table.

Now, I'm the local operator seeing a market opportunity while headquarters clings to their "premium" strategy, resistant to adaptation.

What Bill taught me in 2006 is what I need to convince chargeFUZE HQ of today: market entry isn't one-size-fits-all. If those smaller competitors are gaining traction, it's not because they're "cheap knockoffs" - it's because they've identified a real market need.

We need to push HQ for a faster, more flexible approach that balances their brand standards with our local reality. Otherwise, we'll end up in that dreaded "Brand Rejection" quadrant of my matrix, with a beautiful product that nobody wants because it doesn't fit Alberta's unique needs.

The question isn't whether we should adapt but how quickly we can convince HQ that adaptation isn't optional - it's essential.

Sending Market Entry Framework to HQ… 📧 

THAT’S A WRAP

Word to your mother and…

Stay curious and keep adapting,

Greg "Market Entry Strategist" Mills

P.S. Next time you see me drawing on a whiteboard at 4:45 PM, either I'm having a brilliant moment or a complete breakdown. Probably both.

If you liked what you read and are not a subscriber yet, join the crowd:

Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #24: We Saved The TikToK Livestream 

Issue #19: $2,295/Month To Avoid Talking To Humans 

Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment 

Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

Looking for more to read:

Note: Some of the links in the newsletter are affiliate links. I believe in transparency and honesty, so if you want to know more, visit Full Partner Disclosure for details.

Here's what's been keeping me up at night:.

• Got ghosted by 5 different consultants...in the same day

• Completed my first $100K in a Day session (survived!)

• Realized I need a flowchart, not a questionnaire

• Had a mild panic attack when the client said "We don't need financing"

• Learning that leverage isn't just financial - it's about maximizing value in minimum time

• Building a tech stack one small piece at a time (progress: 20%)

Quote first,

Use data to make decisions…

Expectations

After a particularly troublesome meeting at a municipality on Wednesday, a couple of days later, on Friday at 7 AM, I emailed our project consultants requesting individual risk assessments and timelines.

The email was a detailed masterpiece of project management jargon (not included here to protect the semi-innocent). The essence: I needed everyone's work plans by EOD Tuesday; feedback was critical, and we had tight deadlines.

No immediate response like, “No problem, Greg, I got you!!! We have solutions for days!”

I'm writing this on Tuesday, 5:43 PM...with exactly zero responses and zero updates.

I guess EOD could be interpreted as 11:59 PM?!?

Let me share what I've learned about deadlines:

When consultants (I know I am one now) say they'll deliver by Tuesday, here's what actually happens:

The Vanishing Deadline (87%): Tuesday comes and goes like your motivation at 4 PM.

The Last-Minute Extension (12%): "Just need a bit more time" appears in your inbox at 9:58 PM Tuesday, usually with an explanation involving someone else's grandmother.

The Mythical Unicorn (1%): They actually deliver as promised. If this happens, immediately buy a lottery ticket – the universe is clearly having a glitch.

The bar is so low, friends. So. Low.

Giphy

100x

Remember last week's "wedge offer" revelation? If you missed it, a wedge offer is basically your foot-in-the-door service – low risk for clients but high value.

Issue #25: The Perfect Wedge (No, Not The Golf Club) 

Mine's the “$100K in a Day” assessment, where I help developers find at least $100K in savings or opportunities in a single virtual session. It costs $1,000, which might seem like a lot until you consider we're talking about $10M-$15M projects.

When I can save you $100K in two hours for a grand, that's a 100x return.

Not too shabby for clicking "join meeting" in your pajama bottoms (we only see your top half, right?).

Well, I just completed my first one. And let me tell you, nothing tests your preparation like a client who immediately renders half your questions irrelevant.

I showed up to the Google Meet call armed with 50 meticulously prepared questions, organized by category, with color-coded tabs and follow-up prompts. I was ready to impress.

"Let's start with financing," I began confidently. "What's your current capital stack looking like?"

The client smiled. "Actually, we're fully funded. Family office money, no external financing needed."

Just like that, 30 questions became instant digital confetti.

I smiled back, casually minimizing my question document while pretending this was all part of the plan. "Great! That actually lets us focus more on optimization and risk mitigation."

For the next two hours, we bounced around my assessment. Each answer led down unexpected paths. Of my 50 questions, we covered maybe 15. But those 15 generated more value than I could have imagined.

The lesson? I need a flowchart, not a questionnaire. Something that helps me navigate based on what I'm hearing, not what I planned to ask.

Gif by sagawards on Giphy

Leverage

Remember back in Issue #2 (Update #2: From Naval to LandLogic) when I waxed poetic about Naval Ravikant's wisdom on leverage? His core message still rings in my ears: "Use leverage. Technology, media, or capital to create wealth while you sleep."

The billionaire oracle had it right – creating genuine wealth isn't about trading more hours for more dollars. It's about finding force multipliers that amplify your impact.

Since then, I have consumed Alex Hormozi’s version, which I like better, (Podcast link below in the curated links).

Leveraging LandLogic

My business runs on four key levers that work together like the Avengers of business strategy: Real Estate, AI Software, Media, and Partnerships.

Real estate is my home turf - the foundation where I help landowners not flush millions down the toilet on bad deals.

AI software is like having a clone army - it crunches numbers, spots patterns, and turns messy data into actual insights while I sleep.

Media - this newsletter, my LinkedIn rants, all that content stuff - it's basically me talking to thousands of people at once without the awkward small talk.

And partnerships? They're the rocket fuel - bringing deals my way, extending my reach, and getting me into rooms I'd never access alone.

Stack these four together, and I'm not building a business, I'm creating a machine that makes money whether I'm in my home office or hiking in the Rockies (probably lost, let's be honest).

Let’s get more granular:

Leveraging $100k in a Day

In the real estate world, we've always understood financial leverage (using other people's money to buy more property than you could afford alone).

But Naval and Alex talk about something different – how knowledge can be leveraged through technology to create outsized returns.

But how does this apply to my $100K in a Day offering? How do I create leverage when I'm still literally trading my time for money?

The answer hit me during my first session: the leverage isn't in how I deliver the service – it's how I deliver maximum value in minimum time using technology.

Continued after ad:

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Tech Stack

Across from me is my actual physical notebook, filled with hastily scribbled insights from our two-hour deep dive.

Next to it, my laptop displays an elaborate schematic of how this process should work once I finish building my automated system.

Reality versus vision is... let's say there's a gap.

When I pitched this "$100K in a Day" service, I envisioned a seamless, AI-powered consulting machine that would handle everything from client intake to report delivery.

The kind of system where I'd only need to show up for the actual value-creating session, while automation handled the rest.

What I've built so far is more like a paper airplane compared to the private jet I have planned.

Gif by Hollyoaks on Giphy

The Machine

Here's the system I'm building, along with a brutally honest progress report. The links to all the software mentioned are down in the curated links section below.

Step 1: Client Signs Up (Calendly + Zapier)

• The Vision: Client books through Calendly, triggering automated emails, folder creation, calendar syncing, and invoice generation.

• Current Reality: I have a Calendly link! Progress: 20%

• What Actually Happened: I manually sent confirmation emails and created folders. Baby steps.

⬇️ 

Step 2: Pre-Call Intake (Forms + Notion + AI)

• The Vision: Client completes a structured form, data pipes into Notion, AI analyzes documents and generates insights.

• Current Reality: I have a Google Form that collects basic information. Progress: 25%

• What Actually Happened: Client emailed me documents, I printed them out and highlighted things the old-fashioned way.

⬇️

Step 3: The 2-Hour Deep Dive (AI Recording + Transcription)

• The Vision: Session is recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by AI, generating action items and highlights.

• Current Reality: I recorded the call! Progress: 30%

• What Actually Happened: I took frantic notes while talking, occasionally nodding thoughtfully while secretly wondering if I was accidentally muted. I was so worried that the AI transcription wasn’t working.

⬇️

Step 4: Analysis Phase (Greg + AI Partnership)

• The Vision: AI generates draft insights, I refine with my expertise, creating perfect harmony between man and machine.

• Current Reality: I have notes and ideas in my head. Progress: 10%

• What Actually Happened: Spent three hours after the call organizing my thoughts and creating a proper SWOT analysis... manually.

⬇️

Step 5: Final Report & Delivery (Automatic Generation)

• The Vision: AI formats findings into beautiful documents and slides, automatically delivered via email.

• Current Reality: I have a Word template. Progress: 15%

• What Actually Happened: Created a report from scratch in Google Docs at 11 PM while wondering if this is what "scaling a business" feels like

Gif by fallontonight on Giphy

The Good News

Despite my system being more "human-powered" than "AI-enhanced" at this stage, the session itself was a success! We identified nearly $250K+ in potential immediate savings and well over $1 million in revenue opportunities for the client's development projects.

The real magic wasn't in the automation (yet), but in the structured approach to the consultation itself:

1. Deep dive into business strategy and goals (SWOT style)

2. Project-specific analysis (competitors, sales strategy, marketing)

3. Live brainstorming focused on finding six-figure opportunities

Even without the fancy tech stack, the core process delivered exactly what I promised – concrete ways to add or save at least $100K.

The Lesson So Far

Sometimes you have to start with the minimum viable process before you can build the dream system. I could have waited until everything was perfect, but instead, I chose to launch with what I had and improve as I go.

The system might not be fully automated yet, but the client doesn't care – they got tremendous value and insight from our session. And that's what really matters.

As I build this "$100K in a Day" machine, I'm learning that you don't need perfect systems to deliver perfect value. You just need to show up prepared, focused, and ready to solve real problems.

80% of life is just showing up…and maybe delivering on time…unlike some consultants I know.

Links From My $100k in a Day Process (+ Alex On Leverage)

Alex Hormozi Podcast on leverage: Alex tells us how to get ahead of 99% of entrepreneurs. Hear how to get more customers, make more profit per customer, how to keep them longer, and the many failures and lessons Alex has learned and will learn on his path from $100M to $1B in net worth.

Google Workspace Suite: A suite of cloud-based productivity tools (Docs, Sheets, Gmail, etc.) designed for seamless collaboration and business operations. Other notable inclusions in Workspace include:

• Notebook LM: An AI-powered research and note-taking assistant by Google that helps synthesize information from your documents and sources

• Gemini AI: Google's AI model designed for advanced reasoning, multimodal understanding, and seamless integration across Google products

• Google Drive: Cloud storage system for organizing all client documents with customizable folder structures and permission settings

• Google Calendar: Scheduling tool that syncs with other apps to manage client appointments and preparation blocks

• Google Forms: Customizable data collection tool for client intake that can adapt questions based on previous responses

• Google Meet: Video conferencing platform with built-in recording and AI-powered transcription capabilities

• Google Slides: Presentation software for creating professional client deliverables with data visualizations

Core Business Tools:

• Calendly.com: Scheduling automation tool that eliminates the back-and-forth of booking appointments with clients

• Zapier.com: Workflow automation platform that connects different apps together to create custom processes without coding

• QuickBooks Online: Financial management software for creating professional invoices and tracking payments

• Stripe.com: Payment processing platform with developer-friendly features for creating custom checkout experiences

AI & Productivity Tools:

• Notion.so: All-in-one workspace that combines databases, documents, and project management in a highly customizable interface

• Claude.ai: Anthropic's conversational AI for document analysis and generating business insights

• ChatGPT.com: OpenAI's language model for content generation and structured data extraction

• Fireflies.ai: AI meeting assistant that joins calls to provide real-time transcription and conversation intelligence

Additional Components:

• Microsoft Word: I find that most clients want to interface with Office products rather than Google (use it for free on the web version)

• PDF Generators: I am using PDFAid these days. It has a create PDF editor tool that I sometimes use to avoid AutoCAD.

• Custom Client Portal: Branded interface for delivering reports and tracking client engagement (future implementation) ← I can use Notion for this, but it's a bit clumsy.

The Big Takeaways

If you're offering any kind of consulting or advisory service, here's what my first $100K in a Day taught me:

1. Preparation matters, but flexibility matters more. I needed all that background knowledge, but I had to be willing to throw out the script.

2. The magic is in the conversation, not the questions. The best discoveries came from follow-up questions I hadn't planned.

3. Technology can amplify your impact. Tools that handle the mechanical stuff free you to focus on the high-value thinking.

4. Value happens at the intersections. The biggest discoveries weren't in any single category - they emerged when we connected dots across different aspects of the project.

THAT’S A WRAP

Stay curious and keep automating,

Greg "Automate As I Go" Mills

P.S. Have you tried building automation systems for your business? Hit reply and let me know what's working for you. I could use the inspiration!

If you liked what you read and are not a subscriber yet, join the crowd:

Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #24: We Saved The TikToK Livestream 

Issue #19: $2,295/Month To Avoid Talking To Humans 

Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment 

Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

Looking for more to read:

Note: Some of the links in the newsletter are affiliate links. I believe in transparency and honesty, so if you want to know more, visit Full Partner Disclosure for details.

Here's what's been keeping me up at night:

• 25 issues in and somehow you're still here (thank you!)

• Finally embracing the "consultant" label (it stings a bit)

• Discovered that LinkedIn gurus occasionally make sense

• Discovered what an "offer" is (sort of)

• First official "$100k in a Day" booked (more on that below)

Also this quote:

Live your life…

SCENE: Wednesday morning. The living room has become a war room of sticky notes and empty coffee mugs. I'm sprawled on the couch, doom-scrolling LinkedIn while Kirsten actually works at her computer at the Kitchen table.

"Look at this diagram," I say, thrusting my phone screen toward her. "It maps out comfort zones versus growth zones. Which one do you think I'm in?"

She doesn't look up from her laptop. "Is this another one of those LinkedIn motivation posts?"

"No! Well, yes. But this one's different. It's about growth zones and..." I squint at my screen. "According to this guy with 300k followers - probably mostly bought - I'm straddling the Fear Zone and Learning Zone. That's like being professionally bipolar!"

The sound of typing pauses. "You mean like how you're both terrified of and obsessed with building a consulting business?"

"I prefer 'strategically cautious,'" I mutter, sinking deeper into the couch. "The post says it's perfectly normal when transitioning zones."

Justin Bateh, PhD

"Is this the same guru who posted about 'hustle culture is dead' while promoting his hustle culture course?"

I study my phone with sudden intensity. "Maybe. But look at the diagram! I'm textbook Fear Zone - 'influenced by others, making excuses, low confidence.' Though I prefer to think of it as 'selectively confident.'"

She finally looks up, that knowing smile playing at her lips. "And the Learning Zone?"

"That's the weird part. I'm there too! 'Taking on challenges, solving problems.' It's like I'm straddling both zones, which is probably terrible for my back."

"So what you're saying is," she says slowly, "you're finally accepting that being an consultant isn't a step down from your corporate days?"

The silence stretches between us. Outside, an Amazon truck rumbles past. The dishwasher gurgles its last cycle.

"...I guess I am," I finally admit. "But did I have to figure it out from a LinkedIn post with more emojis than punctuation?"

That's when it hit me.

Maybe being a consultant wasn't Plan B.

Maybe it was Plan A all along, and I just needed to get out of my own way.

Speaking of which, wait until you hear about my late-night adventure into the world of "offers" (apparently, that's a thing now)...

Gif by sagawards on Giphy

The Day I Learned I Need an "Offer" (Whatever That Is)

Early Morning, Can’t Sleep, Home Office

I'm scrolling through Twitter while pretending to work on client proposals. Kirsten is asleep because normal people don't research business stuff at 4 AM.

My DM inbox pings with temptation:

"Great to meet me…well well...maybe I am important…"

Then another: "Real Estate veteran…yes getting some respect…finally…"

20 DM’s later…

The Twitter Trap

Then a guy with "CEO" and "7-Figure Business Coach 🚀" in his bio slides into my DMs.

"Saw you're starting consulting. What's your offer stack?"

I quickly google "what is offer stack" while typing. "Oh you know, the usual stuff. Land development... consulting... things."

"No no, what's your WEDGE offer? Your tripwire? Your value ladder?"

I wonder if I've accidentally wandered into some kind of business cult. "I help people not lose millions on bad land deals?"

"Bro. You need a low-ticket digital product. Something that builds your list. Maybe a PDF about 'Top 10 Land Development Secrets' for $27?"

"You want me to take 30 years of real estate development experience and turn it into... a PDF? For twenty-seven dollars?"

Giphy

"Then you upgrade them to your $997 course 'Land Development Mastery' and finally your $25K VIP Day!"

"I... I just want to help people build stuff without going broke."

"That's your problem. You're thinking about helping people. You need to think about building your funnel!"

Flashbacks to engineering school and actual funnels. "Like... for concrete?"

"Look, jump on my free masterclass 'How to Turn Your Knowledge Into a 7-Figure Consulting Empire While You Sleep' and..."

I close Twitter and stare into the void.

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The Late Night Revelation

It's funny - I can negotiate multi-million dollar land deals, but apparently, I'm clueless about modern consulting. All these people talking about:

• Value ladders (is that like a money ladder?)

• Sales funnels (still thinking about concrete)

• Tripwires (pretty sure that's from Die Hard)

• Lead magnets (sounds dangerous)

And here I am, just trying to stop landowners from making expensive mistakes.

The real kicker? After three hours of research and four energy drinks, I realized these "offer" people might be onto something. Not the weird cultish parts, but the basic idea.

Make it easy for people to say yes to working with you.

Gif by laff_tv on Giphy

From Confusion to Clarity

That's when it hit me - I don't need to promise to

"BUILD YOUR REAL ESTATE EMPIRE 🚀" or

"BECOME A LAND DEVELOPMENT GURU 🔥".

What if I just... helped people not lose money? Like, a lot of money. In one day.

Hence, the "100K in a Day" was born. One day, one meeting, finding $100,000 in savings for landowners and developers. Because while I might not understand what a "value ladder" is, I do know how to stop people from making million-dollar mistakes.

$100k in savings or opportunities or risk identification for $1000…wedge offer.

The “$100K in a Day” Wedge

I wasn't just a corporate executive. I was the guy who could walk into a room, spot the million-dollar problem nobody else had noticed, and fix it before it became a disaster.

Here's the thing about land development - everyone hires specialists. Engineers for engineering stuff. Lawyers for legal stuff. Planners for planning stuff.

But who's looking at the whole picture? Who's making sure all these brilliant specialists aren't accidentally creating a really expensive game of telephone?

That's where I come in.

One day. One deep dive. Finding at least $100K in savings, missed revenue, or risk avoidance.

It's not about solving all their problems at once. It's about proving I can spot the expensive ones they didn't even know they had…and maybe a wedge deeper into the client’s business.

Here is an early prototype landing page created in ChatGPT in about 20 seconds (full React code included).

It might be too similar to Peter Giordano’s $10k in a day (see below).

So, I had Gamma take a crack at it; click the image to go to the full page:

Unlock Hidden Value in Your Real Estate Business with the $100K in a Day Audit

Identify $100K+ in Opportunities, Savings, or Risks in Just One Session Book Your Audit Now Learn More

100k-audit-tmb8036.gamma.site

It will probably end up somewhere in between those two landing pages.

Is it a proper "offer"? Maybe not. Will the Twitter gurus approve? Probably not.

But at least I understand what I'm selling. Even if I still think "tripwire" sounds like something from an action movie.

Note to self: Ask Lawyer Jeff if "funnel hacking" is something I should be concerned about. Sounds illegal.

Standing On The Shoulders of Giants

I should mention something - that "100K in a Day" idea? I borrowed it from Peter Giordano III's brilliant "10K in a Day" program. As Austin Kleon says in "Steal Like an Artist", good artists copy, great artists steal... but the best artists give credit where it's due.

The thing is, while Peter's framework inspired the name, our service is quite different. His program helps consultants optimize their business. We're helping landowners and developers avoid million-dollar land mines (sometimes literally - you wouldn't believe what we find in soil tests).

Maybe "100K Day" isn't quite right. It feels a bit... derivative. We need something that better captures what we actually do:

• "Development Day"?

• "Land Deal Audit"?

• "Million-Dollar Mistake Prevention"?

• “100x Deep Dive”

(Hit reply if you have a better name - I'm clearly not winning any creativity awards here)

Speaking of learning from others, I'm diving into Jay Melone's wedge offer masterclass on March 19th. Figure if I'm going to steal... er, "get inspired by"... these concepts, I should probably learn how to do them properly.

My first “100k in a Day” is today…I’ll debrief next week…

Cool Stuff I Saw This Week

Find AI Tools: Discover the perfect tools for your projects. Just describe what you need, and it will find the best solutions.

LinkedIn Course: How to turn a few selfies into AI-generated videos in minutes (view post).

News?: Nokia is putting the first cellular network on the moon.

Awkward: The list of famous white men who appeared in ads during Super Bowl 59 is long.

Getting Sh*t Done: A web application that assists users in organizing and managing daily tasks

Marketing: the Duolingo dead-owl stunt is working.

I Have a Deck For That: Generates PowerPoint presentations from documents or titles with AI.

THAT’S A WRAP

Speaking of stumbling awkwardly, next week, I'll tell you about my first official "100K in a Day" session.

Stay curious and keep offering,

Greg "Still Finding My Zone" Mills

If you liked what you read and are not a subscriber yet, join the crowd:

Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #24: We Saved The TikToK Livestream 

Issue #19: $2,295/Month To Avoid Talking To Humans 

Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment 

Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

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Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

Quick catch-up for the 100+ new readers: Besides our main job, developing land (LandLogic ← that’s us), we have a growing side hustle called chargeFUZE. It lets people rent portable chargers to keep their phones alive - think of it like a vending machine (though I've spent countless hours insisting it's not, usually while gesturing wildly at PowerPoint slides).

What started as my brilliant "passive income" idea has evolved into my wife Kirsten's full-time job, somehow wedged between her actual career and her more demanding role as CEO of the Mills Family Chaos Management Division.

Quick Hits From This Issue:

• Found out the hard way that charging stations are a tough sell at wedding shows (but robotics kids love us!)

• Finally, admitted I might be what I've been avoiding - a consultant (or "advisor" if we're being fancy)

• Apologizing in advance to all my consulting friends 😁 

• Created three new tools to help identify consultant tendencies:

  • The Consultant Evolution Venn Diagram (for when spreadsheets meet "circle back")

  • The Consultant Risk Assessment Matrix (from "Normal Human" to "Terminal Consultant")

  • The Consultant's Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow never saw this coming)

Key Takeaway: Sometimes, the right product finds the wrong audience - or, as I learned in real estate: Location, location, location. (Though in this case, it's more like: Audience, audience, audience.)

But what you REALLY want to read about is how I managed to get rejected by brides and crowned by teenagers in the same week...

Let’s get into it.

A Tale of Two Weekends

At the Calgary Wedding Show (as a vendor)

I stand awkwardly behind our chargeFUZE booth while Kirsten smoothly demonstrates our charging station.

A bride stops, eyeing our display. "I want everyone focused on ME at my wedding, not their phones!"

"But think of all the Instagram moments..." I try.

Death stare. "Did you just suggest my guests should be on their phones?"

"Greg, stop helping," Kirsten whispers.

"But what about when they want to take pictu—"

The bride struts away. "Let their phones die!"

Kirsten watches her go. "That's the seventh bride who's looked at us like we suggested wearing white to their wedding."

Gif by snl on Giphy

One Week Later: Calgary Robotics Competition (as a sponsor)

The energy couldn't be more different. We're surrounded by excited teenagers treating us like tech royalty.

"You're giving us FREE charging? This is better than pizza!" one student exclaims.

Another pulls out their phone. "Can I get a selfie with the charging station?"

"Remember last week when we couldn't get anyone to make eye contact?" Kirsten says, amused.

"Amazing what a difference a week makes. Last weekend we were wedding vendor peasants, this weekend we're tech gods."

The student team captain spots us. "Everyone! The chargeFUZE people are here! They're saving our TikTok livestream!"

"Should we tell them about last week's wedding show?" I whisper to Kirsten.

"Let's just enjoy being popular for once. It's like high school redemption."

Crowned…charging Royalty…boom ⚡️ 👑 

The Real Lesson

Sometimes your product isn't the problem - you're just at the wrong party.

Or as I learned in my land development days: Location, location, location.

(Though in this case, it's more like: Audience, audience, audience.)

Phone Charging Royalty

Let's break for our sponsor (this is how we can write 2000 words per week and still eat)…

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Earlier That Day At The Robotics Competition

I'm about to learn that explaining my current role is harder than developing a wetland as one of the event organizers stops by our booth.

"Greg Mills? I thought that was you! Still developing communities?"

(Here we go...)

"Yes, I'm still a land developer."

Giphy

"Oh cool, what projects are you working on?"

(me suddenly very interested in adjusting our perfectly level display) "Well... I don't actually have any land yet."

"Ah, so you're a consultant?"

My voice rises about three octaves. "No, I'm a developer who temporarily lacks land. It's different!"

"How exactly?" he asks.

I mumble into my coffee cup, suddenly finding the liquid very interesting. "...I help other people develop their land."

Later, At My Desk

You know how a Ronin is a samurai without a lord...still a samurai...just disgraced?

Or how a chef without a kitchen is still a chef...maybe a sous chef?

Well, that's me right now - a developer without land.

But here's the thing about being a Ronin developer: your skills don't disappear just because your business card changes.

Lessons:

1. Keep your head high (even if your land count is zero)

2. Focus on adding value (people remember who helped them)

3. Be patient about payment (the money follows value)

Gif by hzmanagementconsulting on Giphy

5 Early Warning Signs You Might Be a Consultant

(A Public Service Announcement from Someone Who Just Figured It Out)

Here are the warning signs I missed:

Sign #1: Your Most-Used Phrase Is "Have You Considered..."

• You can't walk into a room without spotting "optimization opportunities"

• Friends have banned you from their home renovations because you keep suggesting "value engineering alternatives"

• You've caught yourself drawing process flow diagrams on restaurant napkins

• Bonus Point: You've ever said "Let me play devil's advocate" in a casual conversation about pizza toppings

Sign #2: Excel Is Your Love Language

• Your idea of "casual reading" is a 47-tab spreadsheet

• You've created a decision matrix for choosing lunch options

• You refer to your morning coffee as "productivity optimization fuel"

• Bonus Point: You've color-coded your sock drawer using conditional formatting logic

Sign #3: PowerPoint Is Your Preferred Method of Communication

• You've made a deck to convince your spouse about vacation destinations

• Your family photos are arranged in a 2x2 matrix with clear action items

• You keep trying to add transition animations to verbal conversations

• Bonus Point: You've ever said "Let me just share my screen" during a face-to-face chat

Sign #4: You Think Every Problem Is Really An Opportunity

• You've described a flat tire as a "mobile optimization challenge"

• Your dating profile includes the phrase "proven track record of success"

• You see traffic jams as "time for strategic planning"

• Bonus Point: You've referred to your morning alarm as a "daily value proposition reminder"

Sign #5: You've Mastered the Art of Professional Vagueness

• You answer questions with "it depends on various factors"

• Your emails always end with "let's discuss further"

• You describe timelines as "fluid and iterative"

• Bonus Point: You've ever used "synergy" unironically in a sentence

The Diagnosis

• 0-3 Signs: You're still a normal human being. There's hope.

• 4-7 Signs: Early-stage consultitis. Treatment available.

• 8-12 Signs: Advanced case. Consider starting a LinkedIn newsletter.

• 13+ Signs: Too late. You're probably already charging people for your "expert insights."

Emergency Treatment Plan

If you've identified more than three signs, please:

1. Step away from the spreadsheet

2. Take two doses of reality

3. Call a friend who works in a normal job

4. Avoid all books with "strategy" in the title

5. Limit PowerPoint exposure to once per week

Remember: Admitting you're a consultant is the first step to... well, probably creating a framework about recovery stages.

P.S. If you found yourself nodding along while making notes about how to optimize this list, I have bad news for you...

Gif by friends on Giphy

🛠️ Consultant Self-Identification Tools (built by me)

The Consultant Evolution Venn Diagram

Ever wonder what happens when spreadsheet addiction meets an uncontrollable urge to 'circle back'? Here's a scientifically* proven Venn diagram showing how three harmless habits combine to create a full-blown consultant.

(*Data collected during 47 unnecessary meetings where we could have just sent an email)

The Consultant Risk Assessment Matrix:

After 30 years in real estate development, I've finally created the ultimate consultant detection tool. It's exactly the kind of over-engineered solution a consultant would make, which probably means I'm part of the problem.

The Consultant's Hierarchy of Needs:

Forget everything Maslow taught you - consultants have their own pyramid of priorities. Turns out self-actualization isn't about reaching your full potential, it's about creating the perfect framework to explain why you need three different.

Another sponsor break…

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THAT’S A WRAP

So, I guess I'm a consultant...I prefer advisor.

Consultant sounds so pedestrian. I'm sorry, consultants. I know you are faithful readers...I know you are people...

(Please still hire me.)

Stay curious and keep charging,

Greg "Ronin Developer" Mills

P.S. Got a story about being at the wrong party with the right product? Hit reply - misery loves company!

If you liked what you read and are not a subscriber yet, join the crowd:

Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #22: Adding Value At $30k Per Minute 

Issue #13: The 5-Minute Research Mistake That Almost Cost Us Everything 

Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

Looking for more to read:

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Note: Some of the links in the newsletter are affiliate links. I believe in transparency and honesty, so if you want to know more, visit Full Partner Disclosure for details.