A new women-founded collective in Houston is hoping to meet commercial real estate firms’ needs for affordable contract marketing, consulting and other services as they grow to scale.

More than 60% of commercial real estate firms have considered outsourcing operational capabilities in recent years, according to Deloitte. Houston-area firms such as SVN | J. Beard Real Estate have turned to contractors like Elke Laughlin, a founding member of Creva Collective, for consulting services as they expand and consider new opportunities.

“A lot of CRE companies aren't able to scale,” said Jeff Beard, managing director of the firm that struck an SVN International licensing deal in 2021 and opened a second location in 2022. 

“You need all these different departments and services. But in order to support them internally, you have to have a sizable organization,” Beard said. 

That’s where Creva Collective and other collectives like it can help fill gaps. Laughlin, who spent 20 years working in operations at CBRE and another five at Partners Real Estate, founded the company with four other women, including Crissy Nolen, the former chief marketing officer for Colliers Houston.

Each Creva Collective founder has a different expertise, so they can refer clients to one another based on their needs. They also plan to expand the collective to more independent contractors who could help service the commercial real estate industry in Houston.

“You need an HR person, you need a marketing person, you need a head of engineering,” Beard said. “You need an operations person. But you can't really afford to hire one of everybody. So I see that there is value in the outside contract services.” 

What sets the collective apart from public relations and other firms is their connection to one another, with skills ranging from certified public accounting to construction communications, and their deep experience in commercial real estate, said Nuance Elliott, who specializes in property marketing and asset positioning.

“[Others] don't understand the industry. They don't understand the lingo,” Elliott said. “They're having to educate them every time you bring a project to them, and sometimes they're still not hitting the mark.”

Specialized marketing is important to find because the marketing industry has just as much variance as real estate, said Sean Gallagher, who leads business development for the growing corporate housing provider Texas Corporate Homes.

Gallagher said he’s always done significant research into the firms he’s worked with to ensure they have relevant skills and experience. 

But what makes sense for each firm is dependent on its needs. If a company wants a consistent brand and good collateral, plus attendance at local events, a flexible staff member could fill that role, he said. 

“If you're at that point where you need that regularly, maybe a full-time hire makes sense,” Gallagher said. “To find the unicorn that can do everything really well, you probably have to pay up for that person.” 

Benefits represent about 30% of full-time employees’ compensation, often making contractors more affordable, even with a slightly higher hourly rate. The collective members say contracts allow them to offer their expertise to firms that otherwise wouldn’t have the budget to hire them.

The idea of forming a collective arose when Laughlin’s client, Lee & Associates, needed services beyond just her consulting. She called Nolen for a pitch on property management and called Elliott for a pitch on agency leasing, she said.

“I was like, ‘These two need to meet each other,’” Laughlin said. “So we were already acting in an unofficial capacity.” 

The founding members also include Crystal Kingsbury, who specializes in commercial construction, and Kristin Smith, an accounting and IT expert. 

“It's been amazing to see how many people have started reaching out, from small entrepreneurs to midsized companies to national brands,” Nolen said. “We're looking forward to being able to collectively handle all of those things and then bring on more people to help.” 

Independent firms can also use supplemental support as technology rapidly progresses, Kingsbury said, adding that people were terrified of artificial intelligence just three years ago. 

“It was a different world,” she said. “We're in a market now where you can't just throw up a two-page website and call it good. You have to have the efficacy.” 

The collective members enjoy the creation of strategies, ideas and campaigns but are happy to move on and let the company continue using them without their oversight, making contract work fitting for them. 

“I’m a builder, not a maintenance man,” Laughlin said.