Leadership in Land

Peter Nukasan discusses his land business journey, team structure, and leadership lessons learned while scaling from a solo operation to managing full-time and part-time employees. He emphasizes the importance of doubling down on your most valuable player, fostering self-starter mentality, and building genuine relationships with team members to create ownership and autonomy.

JT Olmstead discusses his evolution from reluctant manager to effective leader of a growing land business, sharing his hiring systems, team structure, and approach to building company culture despite not being naturally inclined toward managing people.

Heber Perez, a solo land investor who earned $36,000 on his first deal after leaving his UPS job, discusses his five-year journey specializing in specific counties across two states using direct mail to blind offers. He shares lessons learned from losing $70,000 in a ghosted partnership deal and explains how building strong relationships with local realtors, maintaining focus, and gradually shifting toward subdivision deals has become his growth strategy.

Clay Hepler discusses building a successful land business through strategic team leadership rather than solo operation, emphasizing the importance of rigorous hiring practices, clear KPIs, and personal accountability. He shares lessons from scaling a wholesaling business to 75 deals and explains his current 7-person team structure focused on sales, acquisition, and operations with specialized roles.

Dave Denniston discusses the 2026 Land Unconference event held in Minnesota in July, which pivoted from the original large-format conference to a smaller, more intimate gathering of about 25 people. Despite wildfires forcing a location change and reduced attendance compared to previous years, attendees reported high satisfaction with the networking, panel discussions, and experiential activities like canoeing and dining.

Steve and Tonsha Hokanson discuss their journey from corporate careers into a lifestyle-focused land business, emphasizing servant leadership, intentional team management through gifts and accountability, and maintaining multiple income streams while balancing family life and personal wellness.

A podcast episode discussing the book "Who" by Jeff Smart and Randy Street, arguing that hiring is one of the most critical business decisions for land investors. The episode breaks down the A Method for hiring (scorecard, source, select, sell) and explains how to implement it in small land businesses.