Today we’d like to introduce you to Connally Mckay
Hi Connally, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in Victoria, TX and was into sports, hunting and fishing. Pretty typical south Texas kid. My entire family on my dad’s side of the family went to Baylor University going back to the 1890’s, so Baylor sports and Baylor Football in particular was always a big part of my life. Going to Baylor Football games was just about my favorite thing to do, outside of actually playing the sport myself!
I graduated from Victoria HS in 1998 bounced around for a short time before landing securely at Baylor University. I recall feeling lonely and out of place early on being done with competitive sports and not really interested in fraternities, that is until I found rugby. It was if God Himself was speaking to me saying: “This is your path”. I loved everything about it – the dynamic nature of the sport, the physicality, the tactics, and the fact that the sport truly tests every aspect of your being. I was good, we had some great teams (my first year that I played we won a D2 Collegiate National Championship), and rugby gave me that camaraderie and structure that I desperately needed at the time.
I moved to Austin, TX in late 2005/early 2006, and my first “real” job was at the Texas State Comptroller’s office. I was also playing rugby for the Austin Blacks, one of the countries premiere USA Rugby Men’s Clubs. I also met my wife in 2006, and we were married in 2008. I was good at rugby, but clueless as to what my calling was professionally. It was pretty obvious early on that the Comptroller’s office was not for me, so after various odd jobs I began “true” professional career as a Landman. While it was not exactly like how it is portrayed on the Paramount show “Landman” starring Billy Bob Thornton, that was what I was doing! I actually did get my real estate license in or around that 2008 time period, and I had a vision of selling big farms and ranches and doing the Landman stuff, but the real estate work did not really come to fruition until years later.
I enjoyed working as a Landman, but I knew that my ceiling was capped unless I wanted to start running a crew, and that was not something that I was interested in. While coaching my son’s flag football team in 2014, I coached a kid named Hudson Morehead. Hudson’s father is a guy named Lucian Morehead, and Lucian is among the top commercial real estate brokers in Austin. I did not know this at the time, but I am a good coach/youth coach and it made an impact on Lucian. As fate would have it, about a year later I was touring a rehab project house in Westlake with a friend of mine, and he was going to bring along his investor friend. That friend was Lucian.
Within a week I began discussions with Lucian about his brokerage, Asterra Properties, giving me a shot at commercial real estate. I had worked hard on my diligence, integrity, and accountability during this time, so I stayed proactive with Lucian and after about 3-4 months I was hired. Making money in real estate is hard. Being thrust into commercial real estate in your mid 30’s with minimal experience is extremely hard. There is and was a solid group of folks working at Asterra, but cracking into the business was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. I had to re-evaluate everything: my work ethic, my focus, my goals, my relationships, etc. That said, I was diligent and I showed up and I learned and improved and things began to happen.
My turning point for my career was, I believe, Christmas time 2018. I had closed some decent deals and had a few good clients, but I was ready to take it to the next level. I was not 100% sure how to do this, though, so I made the decision to call every property along the famous Austin thoroughfare, South Congress, but I did so south of where all of the action is (south of Ben White Highway/Hwy 71 along S Congress down to Slaughter). I called every property along the stretch, and I mean every property, and I spoke to and/or met probably 1/3 of all property owners along that stretch. Future growth made a lot of sense to me here, and so I really targeted infill redevelopment sites, old warehouses that needed TLC, old retail strips, etc. This changed everything.
I began to get listings along S Congress, really made a name for myself, and started to become the go-to guy for many developers, builders, investors, etc. The lesson here is not lost on me: make the call, go to the meeting, ask for business, be professional, do good, be fearless. I believe we make up a lot of reasons to not be our best version of ourselves, and typically fear is at the root of it. Overcome the fear and change your life.
Finally, professionally, all of the deals and contacts I started to do paid off to the point where I began to form investment groups to buy land and we would develop. I had gone from struggling to crack through into the business to managing investment groups that had invested and put their trust in me to add value to our investments and hopefully make their money grow. We started off like gangbusters on our first few deals with returns averaging in the 40-50% ROI range, but then we had a major setback as the builder we had partnered with up and quit and abandoned the project. It has sucked, it has been a major area of stress, but I can now look at it and know again that this was a challenge put in my life to continue my growth. I was forced to get real good at the legal side of these deals, deeper understanding of real estate finance, and also this has really rounded out my tools in terms of being able to differentiate a good deal from a bad one. Again, not easy, but we have righted the ship and it will make us stronger and better.
It was the above deal that was the catalyst for starting Sierra Commercial, a full service, relationship driven, service first real estate and development company. I am the Principle of Sierra Commercial, I have put my heart and soul into the company, and we have some awesome folks on board and it is pretty exciting to see us grow. As I look back, it is hard to imagine the Connally of 5-10 years ago even dreaming about leading a company like this, but it is my belief that the universe conspires in our favor even though often times it does not feel that way. I had to have these challenges presented to me to get me out of my comfort zone and force me into the position where I thrive, and that is of a visionary and leader. Again, it has not been easy, but I would not change a thing and I am grateful for all of the challenges because it has actually opened other doors, and it has made me and our team so much stronger.
I find what I do and teach in rugby to be very relevant to my story, too. I have been lucky enough to be a part of three (3) USA Rugby Men’s DI National Runner Up teams, and I have also been blessed to win four (4) USA Rugby Men’s DIII teams (MVP of the 2019 National Championship). I also coached at University of Texas from 2017-2022, and I am the current Forwards coach at Lake Travis High School Rugby Club (my oldest son is a Sophomore and a current Varsity player). My main goal is to have a positive impact on these young men’s lives, and I also try and relate lessons that rugby teaches you to the “real world”. I have always been a “players coach”, the boys trust me and I know what I am doing, and this can really produce some great things when a team/group has a high level of trust and they want to work hard for themselves and their teammates everyday. I have received positive feedback and compliments from parents over the years, but I can assure you that I will never be able to fully repay the gifts and the growth and the life lessons that coaching rugby has taught me. I do it with love and with gratitude and with emotion, and I just enjoy it so much:)
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think I highlighted many of these on the previous stuff, but I will go deeper on a couple.
Early on in my rugby career I was the boisterous one. Not necessarily talking trash to the other teams, but very aggressive and I was all about pumping my teammates and myself up. The crowd always loved it, I would have flashes of great play, but I still was not a “complete” player.
In 2015 we were playing New York Athletic Club (NYAC) in the National Championship in Denver, Colorado, and I turned the ball over late in the match and we ended up losing by four points in a heartbreaking loss. We had gone up on NYAC 21-0 in the first half, but I did not start the match. I was substituted into the match in the second half, and my role was to come help finish off this game. As a flanker at the time, my job is to basically do whatever it takes on the field and to do the dirty work so our backs can score. Tackle, hitting rucks, supporting my teammates, etc. Some of the best matches played by flankers are not flashy, but they get the job done and they are integral to good, positive rugby. At that time in my life, though, I still had a ME attitude, and although my teammates and winning was important to me, so was how I looked out there and getting attention and pumping up the crowd etc etc. Anyway, we had the ball on or around the 5 meter line close to the goal line about to score, and on a “pick and go” I got what we call in rugby “white line fever” where I tried to do much so I could be the one to dot down the winning try/score, but instead the ball was stripped off of me because I was too high in contact. NYAC took possession, run a couple of phases, and then kicked the ball out to touch. Game over. My oldest son was there, my wife, my parents, all sorts of rugby friends/family, and it was heartbreaking.
I played 2 more seasons at the DI level, and I retired from DI after the 2017 season. I was planning on retiring, but at the same time our club was growing and we decided to put more resources into our DII and DIII teams. I made the decision to play and help lead the DIII team in 2018, but instead of selfish play I would simply do whatever my team needed every match for the rest of my career. I owed this to the club, my teammates, and to the game.
In 2018 we won the USA Rugby Men’s DIII National Championship, and this was the first NC for the Austin Blacks. We went on to win National Titles in DIII in 2019 (I was MVP of this game, but not by “flashy” play but simply by doing my job and supporting my teammates all over that pitch), 2023 title, and last summer in June in Round Rock, TX in front of a huge home crowd we won our fourth title. Our Division I team finally won a title in 2023, too, and it has simply been an amazing run at or near the end of my career. I would say, again, the losses we had in the DI title games earlier on in my career were extremely tough, but the lessons here are not lost on me and I think they 100% apply to life, too. This “service to others” attitude can take you a long way in life, in sport, and in just about any endeavor that you take on.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sierra Commercial. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Sierra Commercial is a boutique, full service real estate and development company in Austin, TX. We specialize in commercial leasing and sales, land develop and land brokerage, property management and development consulting, but we also do some residential work, particularly on the development projects we have which to date have all been residentially oriented. One of our partners and agent at Sierra is also a Franchisee for Uptown Cheapskate and Kid to Kid, so we have positioned ourselves very nicely as being one of the, if not the, best commercial leasing companies for Franchises in Texas.
We want to be known for integrity, expert market knowledge, and above all a service first attitude with our clients. Having in house attorneys, vast construction and development expertise in house, and brokers and agents that are knowledgable and capable and take the fiduciary with clients very seriously is a special thing in a group this sized. Our ability to assist clients, friends, family and investors in so many ways is an aspect that further sets us apart. Being that we have active development projects made up of our investor clients, and more traditional real estate broker deals all under one roof is special. Our aim is to educate and assist our clients in wealth building, creation and protection through real estate, and we are good at what we do.
The brand, Sierra Commercial, speaks to who we are: small town folks or small town minded with big city knowledge and skills. We often bridge the gap for building and property owners that do not get the attention to detail, care, and service that many of the large firms lack. We have common ground and rapport with all different types of folks, but at the same time we have seen and done it all and are comfortable in the downtown office or out in the country on the ranch. I am proud that we have built this from nothing and we are starting to get brand and company recognition for quality work and service.
I’d want the readers to know that we want to be your go-to source for all real estate questions, needs, planning, strategies, etc. We have the best of the best in terms of brokerage, commercial lending/SBA specialists, attorneys, management, and all things entitlement/development/construction. Our goal is help our clients and friends to generate wealth and abundance through real estate, and we have many different vehicles at our disposal to make this happen. We also pride ourselves with our referral partners if there is a need outside of our wheelhouse.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I believe that success on this planet earth hinges upon tuning into that best and highest version of yourself while drowning out any voices of negativity, lack, or fear. As a leader and a coach, my definition of success is getting over the veil of fear that we are all faced with. It is hearing the call for your Hero’s Journey and having the courage to answer it. Once you can smile at your perceived failures and perceived successes equally, and you realize they are all part of this beautiful experience called life, you have probably found or are well on your way to finding success.
Pricing:
- We have a few offerings that might differ from others
- We have consulting offerings most others do not have.
- We have “traditional” brokerage, sales, and leasing offerings.
- And we have RE investment vehicles for investors, too
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sierracommercialtx.com
- Instagram: @sierracommercial
- Facebook: @sierracommercial
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connally-mckay-03728b11/
Image Credits
Caroline Williams
