Awards and Recognitions
Outstanding Entrepreneurs, 2011
…From the pages of South Jersey Biz…
These driven individuals combined vision, passion, commitment and ability to create some of our region’s most extraordinary business success stories
JAY R. SEVERAL
MANAGING DIRECTOR, SEVERAL PROPERTIES GROUP
Jay Several’s first entrepreneurial venture was launching his own computer software marketing and consulting firm. But after 22 successful years in the business, it was time to move on. So, Several sold that business, and began looking for his “next adventure.”
“After selling my software company at 55 years old, I knew I wasn’t ready to retire and needed a financial stream,” says Several. “I wanted to do something that I was passionate about, that wouldn’t seem like a job.”
That answer came in real estate—something that Several had always invested in as a hobby. Five years ago, he launched Several Properties Group with the hard-earned capital he had from his software company. Of course it wasn’t long after that the housing market collapsed. But Several says he was able to turn the economy into an opportunity.
“A lot of the problems came from the lack of jobs,” he says. “So I realized if we could lease spaces that would create jobs, we might be able to make this work.”
And that’s just what he did. Turning the Fromm Electric Building in Cherry Hill into a retail space with restaurants created 65 new jobs. At least 15 new jobs came from redeveloping the former Cherry Hill Toyota dealership into retail space. In addition to putting up internal financing, Several says he hasn’t had much trouble getting financing from the bank for what he calls “value-added” redevelopments. “I’ve found that since my projects are under $5 million, which is the lending limit for local banks, that they’ve been interested in financing them,” he says. “They recognize the value in our mission of taking an existing property and converting it to something productive that will help the community.”
Headquarters: Cherry
Hill
Year Founded: 2006
No. of employees: Several is a sole proprietor, however he likes to say he has “a whole army of independent consultants
including lawyers, planners, engineers, architects, and more”
Guiding Philosophy: A quote from Calvin Coolidge, paraphrased: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Biggest Risk: “Going into the real estate business when the economy was tanking. Shortly after I sold my computer software
business and invested all of the proceeds into real estate, the market collapsed. Forging ahead was uncertain but I decided to turn the economy into an opportunity.”
What's next: “Continuing to look for value-added redevelopments with the same mission of creating jobs. With President Obama’s
latest bill being pushed, job creation is going to continue to be a major effort to improve the economy.”