A vital first step toward starting a successful business is choosing the right partner, which George P. “Geordy” Waters says has certainly made the difference.
“Everyone has heard horror stories about partnerships,” Waters says. “It is easy to find someone with similar business interests. The hard part is finding someone in sync with your ethics, standards and threshold for risk.”
For Waters, that person is Robert L. Pettit III. The two met as fraternity brothers at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, but they went their separate ways for years until they both ended up in Baton Rouge. By then, Pettit had earned his master’s in business administration at LSU and had become a real estate agent at the same company where Waters was an associate broker.
They resumed their friendship, began investing in commercial real estate and recently launched their commercial brokerage firm, Waters & Pettit Commercial Real Estate. Waters says their solid relationship, along with their combined real estate experience, are why they’re moving ahead despite a shaky economy, credit crunch and new presidential administration.
Waters, who also is president and owner of Waters Investments, owns and manages more than 90,000 square feet of multifamily and commercial real estate. He is also president and owner of Patton Property Management, which provides management services to commercial and multifamily properties.
After managing personal commercial real estate investments more than 10 years, Waters branched out by accepting an opportunity to manage a friend’s retail center on a trial basis. Retail and outside management were new to him, but his passion for the challenge and work led to his partnership with Pettit. And the partnership is opening up more management and real estate ventures.
“I continue to steadfastly believe in the old-fashioned approach of honesty, fairness and making good choices,” he says. “I treat others as I expected to be treated.”
As great-grandson of Gen. George Patton, Waters quotes him in how he manages the risk of his business: “Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.”
Age: 38
What was your first job?
“A desk job in accounting and forecasting for a Caribbean hotel management company based in Dallas. It didn’t pay much, but it had great travel perks.”
Click here for the complete list of 2008's Forty Under 40 winners.
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