Square Feet & Side Quests with Dertrez Pressley: Exploring the Human Side of Real Estate
- The Ardor SEO Podcast
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Every real estate deal has two stories. There is the one on paper: the square footage, the price per square foot, and the terms of the lease. And then, there is the one underneath it: the person who took the risk, the mentor who opened a door, and the community that got built along the way. I have spent a decade in this business, and it is that second story that keeps me hooked.
That is the idea behind Square Feet & Side Quests with Dertrez Pressley, my new podcast where I sit down with real estate agents, brokers, lenders, developers, and international specialists to talk about the deals, the journeys, and the side quests that got them there. This is my pilot episode, and I wanted to start by explaining why I built this show and what you can expect from it going forward.
Here’s a preview of that episode:
What Made Me Want to Start This Podcast in the First Place
I have been practicing real estate for a decade now. I started on the residential side, then two mentors pulled me into commercial leasing and brokerage: one taught me industrial leasing, and the other taught me retail. Industrial and retail leasing became my bread and butter, and from there, I moved into land sales, office brokerage, and some medical office work, though I refer most medical deals to colleagues here in Las Vegas who specialize in it.
Over that decade, I have closed deals with mom-and-pop businesses, regional players, national companies, and multinational clients, helping many of them expand into the Nevada market across both Las Vegas and Northern Nevada.
I have also done land consulting for a few companies, covering market analysis, farming, and negotiations in the Midwest and on the West Coast. That path from residential agent to specialist is really my own residential-to-commercial real estate journey, and it shapes how I think about my show.
Somewhere in that decade of listening to other podcasts myself, I noticed how many of my clients, and honestly how many people in general, make decisions without really understanding their options. That is the gap I want my show to close.
Watch the full episode here:
Why Real Estate Is About More Than the Deal
I did not start my podcast to talk about cap rates and closing costs, even though we will absolutely cover those. I started it because the numbers only tell you part of the story. The rest of it is people, and businesses, and the neighborhoods those deals sit inside of.
Better education makes you better informed, and you can make better decisions for you, your business, your family, your community, when you're better informed. And on that topic of community, one of the things that I'm passionate about is volunteering. I love hearing stories about other people who volunteer and are active in their community."
One of the things I am most curious to explore with future guests is where their work in Las Vegas commercial real estate actually meets the community around it. Not in an abstract way, but in the specific, practical ways that finance, business, and neighborhood life shake hands with each other.
That is the lens I want to bring to every conversation on my show, whether the guest is a lender, a broker, or someone closing deals in a market I have never set foot in myself.
How Real Estate, Finance, and Community Intersect
Whether you are working with a residential agent, a mortgage broker, a commercial lender, an SBA lender, a title or escrow professional, or a developer, you are touching the same underlying system. Each of those roles sees a different slice of the same transaction, and I want my show to be the place where those slices get connected for listeners.
That is part of why, through my work at Brown and Company Advisors, I try to look at each client relationship as more than a single transaction. A tenant expanding into a new market, or a business planning growth within a valley, is making a community-level decision, not just a real estate decision.
My Global and Local Vision for My Show
I am also a Certified International Property Specialist, which is a designation that has pushed me to think about real estate on a much wider map than just Las Vegas and Northern Nevada.
"I myself am a CIPS, so I'm going to talk to fellow CIPSs from around the world, and the goal truly is to be both local and global. Hopefully you guys are going to get to hear from real estate agents, real estate developers, and commercial brokers in other countries."
I love to travel, explore different cultures, and attend real estate conferences and trade missions around the world. Those trips have shaped how I think about global real estate markets, and I want to bring some of that perspective back into conversations about commercial real estate here at home.
Whether the next conversation happens with someone down the street or across an ocean, I want the throughline on my show to stay the same: better information leads to better decisions.
What You Can Expect from Future Episodes
I promise to do my best not to be gimmicky and not to be salesy, and instead, to have genuine conversations with professionals across multiple industries. Whether you are buying your first home, eyeing a six-unit strip mall down the street, or gearing up to purchase your first value-add property, my hope is that this becomes a show you can actually use.
"I promise it won't just be me on here, dropping a video every other week and droning on for an hour. There'll be guests of all backgrounds, qualified professionals who have real experience, and who I believe have the intention of guiding you forward so that you can handle your square feet and tackle your side quest with the utmost confidence."
That is really the whole premise of my show: real conversations with people who have actually done the work, so you can make better decisions with your own square feet, wherever your side quest happens to take you next.
Want to know more about what’s next on Square Feet & Side Quests with Dertrez Pressley?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Square Feet & Side Quests about?
It is a real estate podcast hosted by Dertrez Pressley that covers residential and commercial real estate, finance, community, and the personal journeys of the professionals behind each deal, with a mix of local Las Vegas insight and a global, CIPS-informed perspective.
Who is Dertrez Pressley?
Dertrez Pressley is a Las Vegas commercial real estate advisor with a decade of experience spanning residential real estate, industrial and retail leasing, land sales, office brokerage, and land consulting, and he holds the Certified International Property Specialist designation.
Who will be featured as guests on the podcast?
Future episodes will feature residential agents, residential mortgage brokers, commercial brokers and lenders, SBA lenders, title and escrow professionals, developers, and international property specialists, sharing both their deals and their personal side quests.
Apply as a Guest on the Square Feet & Side Quests Podcast
Real estate is evolving, capital is shifting, and markets are tightening. If you are actively working in this industry, whether in residential sales, commercial leasing, finance, title, development, or international property, and you have a story or a strategy worth sharing, I would love to have you on my show!
Square Feet & Side Quests is produced by Icons of Real Estate, the #1 Real Estate Podcast Network. If you are a real estate professional, apply to be a guest speaker across the network!
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