Ben Ganther
- Director of Real Estate
- Boldt Holdings
School Information
School: University of Wisconsin-Madison
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2011
Career Information
Working For: Boldt Holdings
Title: Director of Real Estate
Industry: Real estate
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Boldt is a leading developer of healthcare facilities throughout the country. We develop, own and finance medical office buildings, ambulatory care centers and other medical related assets.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?I helped start a fund raiser on campus at UW that has grown into an event that raises over $15,000 for a local non-profit in Madison, Gio’s Garden.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting means great friends and experiences, but in the end, it really meant helping me find out who I am and what I am capable of.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
The skills you develop in College Works Painting are unparalleled. Both hard skills and soft skills. The sales and management skills learned from training and experience are crucial, and are things I use on a day to day basis. But also learning how to deal with clients, especially upset ones, is something you don’t get until you experience it. Going through that at College Works Painting prepared me for that and much more early on in my career.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
The DeJardins, summer of 2011. Their house was one of my first jobs, and it was a challenge. They were very understanding, and actually helpful in getting the deal done. They showed me how collaboration on both sides of the table can help a job be successful.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
However, the most valuable thing I’ve used from College Works Painting is the perseverance. Going through College Works Painting, you need to learn how to deal with the peaks and valleys, the highs and lows of running a business. Having gone through College Works Painting, it puts a lot of things in perspective in my career. It has shown me, that, at the end of the day, I control the outcomes in my career.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
These people are some of the most fun and ambitious people I know. They set the bar for what I consider fun now. Hopefully we will stay connected for years down the road.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
“I’ll figure it out”
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Potential College Works Painting participants: do it, if you expect to get out of it what you put in to it. This isn’t a program you can sit idly by and expect to get results. Current College Works Painting participants: if you’re going through the tough parts of summer, remember why you wanted to do this in the first place. For me, it was because I want to run my own business. This motivation will keep you going, and help you reach levels you didn’t think achievable. The money, the incentive trips are incredible motivators. But it’s the root of it, your motivation and desire to succeed, that will really elevate your business. The managers I saw be really successful were those that pushed themselves farther than others, because they knew what was driving them and why they wanted to get to the light at the end of the tunnel.
Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?
If I had to choose, it would be tough. Both offer valuable experience. However, what’s great about College Works Painting is it applies to all industries. The skills are in invaluable, and the connections priceless. If you want an experience in your internship where you learn about yourself and your limits, College Works Painting is the one for you. If you just want to check the “Internship” box on your resume, you might want to go another route.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
You need to have an open mind and a desire to learn. The main thing I’ve learned so far is that there is a lot more out there that I don’t know, than what I do know. You need to have a qualified team that you can trust to get a project through all the nuanced intricacies of development. If you aren’t striving to learn more on each project, or have closed yourself off to advice thinking you have all the answers, you will get blindsided on a project.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
Besides Windsor…Really anytime we got the whole Wisconsin teams together. Whether it was war parties, payroll Fridays or just hanging out, those are some of the most fun people I’ve had the pleasure to know. It was always a good time.
Last words of wisdom?
Looking back at it, College Works Painting is less a program to teach you about business than it is a program that teaches you about yourself. Running a business is just the mode for which the lesson is taught. Whether it’s CWP, a job or your relationships, you get out what you put in. Take that mentality from CWP and apply it in everything you do.