Craig Wielansky
President
L3 Corporation
St. Louis
After practicing law for three years, Craig Wielansky made a career change in 1987. And this change required persistence: Wielansky said that he made more than 100 phone calls to Anthony Sansone Jr. of St. Louis’ Sansone Group to take a chance on him.
Sansone did: Giving him a six-month unpaid trial to see if Commercial Real Estate was a good fit.
Turns out, it was. And today, Wielansky is the President of L3 Corporation, a Company that he founded and has overseen since March of 1998. He specializes in tenant representation, generating listing assignments and helping oversee them and selling single-tenant net-leased properties.
During his long and successful career, Wielansky has represented retailers on a national and international basis, including such big names as Bizmart, Sportmart, PetSmart, Ulta Beauty, Golf Galaxy, and Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. He has represented his clients in multiple deals in more than 46 states covering more than 100 cities throughout the United States and Canada.
What has led to such a successful career? Wielansky points to the power of creativity.
“The factors that have contributed to my success include trying to think outside the box,” he said. “I attended conventions early on that weren’t in my area, trying to network and get ahead of the curve. I also tried to provide the best deliverables, technology and best practices available to our clients. We have been fortunate as a number of clients have picked our materials and processes to show other brokers how they want markets to be presented.”
This approach has paid off. L3 Corporation is not one of the largest firms in Wielansky’s market. That, though, hasn’t stopped the Company from ranking among the top 20 in Midwest Real Estate News’ Best of the Best issue for many years.
“We might be small, but we have always produced like a larger firm,” Wielansky said.
Business success, though, isn’t the only accomplishment of which Wielansky is proud. While building his Commercial Real Estate career, he also coached his son’s baseball team for 10 years. This was important, as Wielansky’s son was initially diagnosed with severe autism. Many teams would not consider adding him to their rosters even at the young age of 4. Wielansky, then, decided that he would coach his son’s teams.
“It was one of the most rewarding periods of my life,” he said. “My clients could not have been more understanding. By his last year, his team was playing well over 100 games a season and I think I missed one game, having a flight that arrived late. And my son really benefitted from the experience and jettisoned from there having attended college, received his master’s degree being self-supportive and independent and now is in his sixth season at Fidelity Investments. My daughter and son both acquired my work ethic. My daughter has taken it to another level. While raising 3 boys under 3 she is a star at Capgemini and has far eclipsed me at the same age.”
Wielansky also believes in the importance of mentoring. He currently mentors four people, including two from his office.
“I enjoy working with younger brokers and helping them navigate their careers,” Wielansky said. “It allows me to give back to a business that has provided for me and my family.”
Wielansky looks back fondly, too, on the many successful brokers who have passed through the doors at L3 Corporation, saying that he is proud to have played a role in helping them succeed.
“Most started with me early in their careers. Some are still with me, and others have gone on to other companies,” Wielansky said. “I was proud not only of their accomplishments economically but watching them get married and start a family.”
Despite his successes, Wielansky has faced challenges during his CRE career. He points to the difficulty of maintaining the culture of L3 Corporation as a big one. As he says, L3 Corporation has enjoyed a positive work culture during its existence, something of which Wielansky is proud.
He knows, though, that this culture is fragile.
He realizes that each new hire can positively or negatively affect the culture. “Knowing that one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch and trying to keep that culture is daunting,” he said. “For us it is about family.”
Fortunately, the leaders at L3 Corporation remain strong. Wielansky says that his partner, Rick Spector, represents the future of the Company. He is also proud of his talented brokers, John Notter, Kyle Steiner, Alana Moylan and Rebecca Thessen. And L3’s administrative support team? He says that Hannah Hutchins and Courtney Bruehl are the best in the business.
“These individuals, their spouses or significant others and their families are like family to me,” Wielansky said. “They define our company.”