We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Antwon Davis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Antwon , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?
As a real estate investor and owner, I’m starting to see a shift in renter behavior from Millennials and young professionals. Recent data reports show that cities across America are battling with a shortage of affordable housing and an increase in gentrification. The population in most major cities is increasing and so has the cost of living. This has led to an unavoidable problem in our nation. More than 44 million Americans are burdened by housing costs. Almost half of all renters now spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Over 25 million adults live with roommates. 43% of Americans can’t afford to buy a home. And the increase in rents is outpacing wage growth. This has led to a decrease in the standard of living for many. Tie all of this in with the impact of COVID-19 and the fast-changing job market, and you’ll see a subtle shift happening in how we live and how we work.
With the costs of living, buying, and renting steadily increasing, Millennials and Gen Z are getting priced out of the market. Many Americans are being forced to reconsider and redefine their lifestyles based on what they make, where they live, and who they live with. Some would say that we are in a housing crisis, but I think this has opened up the American economy to new possibilities as more people are starting to get creative with how and where they work and live. One of these trends that is quietly becoming mainstream is called “coliving”. Coliving is a modern form of housing where residents share living spaces and amenities to save money and maintain a higher standard of living. The concept of coliving is becoming a more attractive and effective solution among professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and creatives. It’s similar to single-room occupancy, as it offers residents an individual space in a shared property.
Coliving provides a more affordable, communal, and amenity-based alternative to individual living. It appeals particularly to Millennials due to rising property prices. Residents of coliving spaces typically range between the ages of 19 and 40 years. They are usually employees of startups, entrepreneurs, or students. According to a 2019 survey, the coliving movement is helping people save up to 20% more than living alone. Individuals are able to lower their living expenses while maintaining a quality of life through shared communal living.
This new lifestyle option has created demand in the residential housing market in major cities such as New York City and Los Angeles from renters looking to reduce their living costs. Real estate investors and developers have begun to shift some of their focus and capital towards converting single-family and multi-family properties into coliving spaces. Several cities and countries around the world have begun to consider and classify coliving as a new real estate asset class. I think this trend will continue to expand to other major cities and markets in the US in the coming years.
As an entrepreneur who believes in awakening possibility and providing solutions, I saw this trend coming a few years ago and began to meet with my team and dream about how we could be a part of the solution. We asked this question: “How can we create shared spaces where people can maintain a quality of life while lowering their living expenses?” What resulted was the creation of a coliving company that we now call “Enclave Coliving”. We offer all-inclusive, move-in ready, and fully-furnished coliving accommodations for Millennials, College Students & Professionals through a network of community-driven shared living spaces called “enclaves”. Coliving is not only a trend that we see in our industry, it’s also a lifestyle movement that we are on a mission to be a part of. You can learn more about Enclave Coliving and what we are embarking on at enclavecoliving.com.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’m a multi-disciplinary businessman and serial entrepreneur with business ventures in real estate, technology, marketing, and other investments such as stocks and cryptocurrencies. I’ve worked with companies and organizations like TV One, UPtv, UP Faith & Family, aspireTV, Morehouse College, FAMU, The King Center, and many others. As a Solutionary, I’ve always aimed to achieve the desired results. I’ve built brands, created business models, and developed marketing and advertising strategies for various clients around the country. My years of experience and core competencies have helped me to become a valuable asset to the marketplace. I believe that my ability to provide both insight and solutions to today’s business problems has helped many of my clients go further, faster.
I serve as the Managing Partner at 4THPARK, a possibility company that focuses on helping clients go further, faster by solving problems related to business, branding, marketing, design, and technology. I also serve as the Managing Partner at Spendefy, a digital platform that makes it easy for consumers to discover amazing black-owned businesses in their city. I’m also the Managing Partner at Enclave Coliving, a coliving company and division of 4TH&AVE Real Estate that provides mid-term and long-term stays to Millennials, College Students & Professionals. We offer all-inclusive, move-in ready, and fully-furnished coliving-style homes through our network of community-driven shared living spaces called “enclaves”. I built my first Internet business at the age of 21 while attending college at Georgia State University. For more than 10 years, I’ve coached and consulted over 100 clients, companies, and organizations around the United States on business, investing, branding, marketing, and design.
With a relentless desire to inspire the next generation, I’ve made it my personal mission to spend my life Awakening Possibility in myself and in others. I’m a lover of life and making ideas happen. If I’m not working with my team at 4THPARK, Spendefy, or Enclave Coliving, you can find me awakening possibility in next-generation leaders, solving business problems for clients, providing unique solutions to customers, completing one of my 100 Life Goals, or having a thought-provoking conversation with friends.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When the COVID-19 pandemic took our nation by surprise in March 2020, I was in the middle of purchasing a rental property in my hometown for our company, Enclave Coliving. We had already booked rooms for college students at one of our other coliving properties and were in the process of expanding to accommodate more students. With all of my attention focused on growth and expansion, I had no idea that a pandemic would have such a huge impact on my family, my community, and my business.
Shortly after the first wave of virus cases began to hit my hometown, I was immediately forced to cancel all leases with the college students at our properties due to the local college campus shutting down. This flatlined our monthly revenue. Luckily, I had enough cash to sustain us for the unforeseeable future. As a business owner, I’ve always tried to buffer each of my businesses with cash reserves to sustain operations during rough months. It’s like having an emergency fund for each business.
Though I had capital set aside to sustain the company, I didn’t want to let our properties sit vacant with no end in sight. Within days, we all saw hospitals across the US being filled to capacity with COVID-19 patients. It sent the medical industry into a frenzy. After discovering that travel nurses were coming to my hometown to work at our local hospital, we made an immediate pivot and began to list and rent out our rooms to travel nurses. Almost overnight, we were fully booked again.
As a result, we were able to sustain our operations without having to deplete our cash reserve. We were also able to provide a service to the many nurses who needed a comfortable and reliable place to stay after saving lives in the middle of a pandemic. In all honesty, we’ve discovered that travel nurses have been some of the best residents we’ve had thus far. The lesson in this story for me is that there is always possibility to awaken, even when the odds aren’t in your favor.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
We recently celebrated our 10-year anniversary since I started 4THPARK, my digital branding and marketing agency. I like to call us a “possibility company” because we get to awaken possibility in and with our clients. As I look back over the past 10 years in business, I think the two biggest things that have helped to build our reputation as a company and my personal reputation as an entrepreneur within our market are (1) our quality of work and (2) our integrity.
It’s always been a mission and aspiration of mine to maintain a certain quality of excellence in the work that I do and the service we provide for our clients. We build brands, create websites, design logos, and develop strategy for various clients. The type of work we do requires a lot of creativity and attention to detail. Though the work may be subjective at times, I try to make sure that we ensure a level of excellence in the work that we deliver.
I also think integrity plays a major role in how you do business. People not only do business with people they trust and like, they also do business with people who are thorough. Keeping honest and open communication with clients, striving to meet deadlines, and always paying my team on time are just a few principles I hang my hat on. When you do what you say and deliver what you promised, it brings peace. When people can rely on you to be a man or woman of your word, they’ll give you the world if they could.
As a spiritual person, I do believe that the work we do is a part of our contribution to humanity. We are constantly giving and receiving energy in everything we do, think, say, and feel. I believe it is my responsibility to steward the vibration that I bring to my clients and my team. It’s more than just marketing, design, websites, and logos. It’s more than the money and services we exchange. We are providing solutions and answers to problems in our world. We’re indirectly making our world better. And that’s what calls me to my work every day. The fact that I get to serve, awaken possibility, and solve problems. I liken it to Jesus when He said, “You will be known by the love you have for one another”. In a small way, I’d like for us to be known by the possibility we awaken in one another.
I’ve actually written a personal manifesto on my journey as a business owner and my mission to awaken possibility on my blog at https://antwondavis.com/awakening-possibility.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://enclavecoliving.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enclavecoliving
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enclavecoliving
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antwondavis
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/enclavecoliving