iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

When your kids tattle on each other or someone else, your response should always be, “What happened just before that?”

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

#1 sign of a real, real estate developer? Scuffed shoes.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Every real estate developer aspires to leave a permanent mark on the world - by creating or renovating or operating places for people to live, work, or play. And almost all of us aspire to be making a net-positive impact on the lives of the people who live where we work.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

The Five Senses of Placemaking 👁️ Murals 👃 Fire Pits 👂 Music ✋ Interactive objects 👅 Ice cream, 🍺, and, of course, 🌮

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

#1 sign of a real, real estate developer? Scuffed shoes.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

For better or worse, if you're a developer, you need to be checking everyone's work. Example: You hire a surveyor to create a survey. The surveyor's polygon doesn't close.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

#1 sign of a real, real estate developer? Scuffed shoes.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

When your kids tattle on each other or someone else, your response should always be, “What happened just before that?”

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

#1 sign of a real, real estate developer? Scuffed shoes.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

For better or worse, if you're a developer, you need to be checking everyone's work. Example: You hire a surveyor to create a survey. The surveyor's polygon doesn't close.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

The Five Senses of Placemaking 👁️ Murals 👃 Fire Pits 👂 Music ✋ Interactive objects 👅 Ice cream, 🍺, and, of course, 🌮

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

#1 sign of a real, real estate developer? Scuffed shoes.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

6. Involve your team. Share a rough draft of your reports with a few people on your team for input. You'll end up with a more complete and better written document with support from the team. 7/7

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

5. Separate action items from regular reporting. Send requests that require action from investors separately from your quarterly report. My action item emails start with the subject line “[ACTION REQUESTED]”, and I give a deadline by which I hope to receive a response. 6/7

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

4. Include Photos Many investors choose real estate because they want an investment they can touch and feel. High quality photos help bring them along for the ride and appreciate the progress that’s being made. 5/7

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

3. Be on time I send a report out like clockwork on the first day of every quarter. Period. 4/7

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

2. Be transparent. Write explicitly about the things that are going well and things you’re worried about. Being trustworthy is essential if you hope to turn a first-time investor into a long-time partner. 3/7

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

1. Give context. None of your investors are paying as much attention to your project as you are, so it’s important to put each point in context. The key is giving enough context that it makes sense without giving so much context that the report is no longer interesting. 2/7

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Communicating with investors is a required skill for anyone who wants a career in real estate. Five tips on writing good investor reports: 1/7

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Real estate is both a product and a service business. Your product is the buildings you create. Your service is delivering investor returns. Being good at both is essential for real estate entrepreneurs.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Closing out this series of #DamonsFavoriteDetails (at least for now) with some favorite moments at Ponce City Market.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

The Reserve in Playa Vista has open ceilings with the cleanest infrastructure I've ever seen. #DamonsFavoriteDetails

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

OK. Truth be told, I have two favorite canopies. This one is on Wycoff Ave in Bushwick. #DamonsFavoriteDetails

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Who else has a favorite canopy? Mine is this Meatpacking District gem (345 West 14th St) #DamonsFavoriteDetails

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

How do you approach curating your tenant mix? Photo: Grow: A Plant Shop 10/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

8. We collaborate on marketing. From jointly announcing a lease signing, through grand opening, and beyond! Photo: Hex Coffee 9/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

7. We insist our tenants install great signage. We push (and push and push) the tenant to go bigger, to be more creative, to illuminate the sign - because by then they are short on funding and underestimate the importance of the sign. Photo: Hardy Boys Records 8/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

6. All of our leases include percentage rent. This is the best way to align the landlord and tenant. We regularly walk from deals over this issue. Photo: Halal Street Foods 7/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

5. We sign short-duration leases A failing small business leaves even if they have a long lease. We always renew a short-term lease with a great tenant, & we stay in control of the space if tenants turn out not to be so great for the overall tenant mix. Photo: Dupp & Swat 6/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

4. We build small retail spaces and fit them out for flexibility. This minimizes credit risk for any particular tenant. Photo: Babe and Butcher 5/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

3. We accept that the best local retailers probably have no credit. We can do this because the overall credit profile of our project is dominated by large office tenants. (We still do background and credit checks to look for bad actors.) Photo: Black Moth Bars 4/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

2. We prefer tenants with a narrow niche. Niche stores attract loyal customers from all across the market, & once they visit they will cross-shop if u have the right tenant mix. Narrow niche businesses also minimize competition among tenants in the future. Photo: Fitteds 3/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

1. We look for the owner-operators of the best local retail and F&B startups. We visit food truck gatherings and pop-up markets. We network like crazy. And we’re also fortunate that we are now getting a lot of inbound interest. Photo: Seemingly Overzealous 2/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

A curated tenant mix is the key to a successful retail environment. Here’s some steps were taking to achieve this at Camp North End. A 🧵 1/10

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Who else has a favorite parking garage? Mine is in the LA Arts District in the "at Mateo" project. #DamonsFavoriteDetails

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Industry City has the best planters.*. #DamonsFavoriteDetails * Remember, all planters should have vines spilling over the sides.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

More #DamonsFavoriteDetails, this time from The Camp in Costa Mesa, CA. I particularly love the parking lot labels.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

When your kids tattle on each other or someone else, your response should always be, “What happened just before that?”

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

We ask our main vendors to sign on to our Code of Conduct (the company and the individual working at our property). This establishes our expectations, and makes a future conversation about banning an employee easy.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

#1 sign of a real, real estate developer? Scuffed shoes.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

We speak at 150 words per minute but think at 700, so most people are only half-listening. True listening - not just waiting for your turn to speak - is a huge negotiation hack.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

For better or worse, if you're a developer, you need to be checking everyone's work. Example: You hire a surveyor to create a survey. The surveyor's polygon doesn't close.

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

• Events - embroidery workshops (custom with a certain $ spent or with a certain purchase), teaching workshops (show the public how to embroider). What other suggestions should we be making? 12/12

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

• Make sure to analyze your ads to make adjustments in wording, photos, videos to improve results – run A/B tests of alternate posts to check your interpretation,. • Collaborate with larger brands to bring awareness to your store within the local market. 11/12

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

• Some tenants started as online businesses – ad targeting is different for a physical store. Use your ads to target niche audiences in your community – for example, Charlotteans who are specifically interested in streetwear 10/12

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

• Collaborate with neighboring tenants to organize Instagram giveaways every quarter or a big one once a year. To enter the giveaway, ask their audience to follow all the participating accounts, share the giveaway post to their story, and tag someone in the comments. 9/12

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

• Allocate some budget to a part-time social media mgr to engage, promote, & share content daily - college interns are great • Hire a firm to develop a tailored Marketing Strategy/SEO/Social Media Promo/Photo/Videos – one of our tenants, @LoydVisuals, does this very well. 8/12

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Damon Hemmerdinger @damonhemmerdinger.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Notice that all of the recommendations above are free! 7/12

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