A lunch with Bill Knapp more than a  quarter-century ago led Ron Cross to  the commercial real estate business.  But before he started The Cross Corp.  25 years ago, he worked as a certified  public accountant for Arthur Andersen  & Co. in Kansas City and then as  controller for General Management  Co. in Des Moines, which became  General Growth Properties Inc. He  then became a controller for the  motel and restaurant management  company Knapp & Bradley, a division  of Iowa Realty Co. Inc. Not only  has Cross had extensive experience  as a real estate broker, but he also  has been involved in the community,  including the planning committee  for Urbandale’s Fourth of July celebration,  the board of the Polk-Des  Moines Taxpayers Association and  board of the Iowa Commercial Real  Estate Association. These credentials  led ICREA to name him the 2006 Broker  of the Year.

What do you like about  commercial real estate?

It’s somewhat like when I was in  public accounting, where you meet a  lot of nice people, getting involved in  their business decisions. Sometimes your guidance may lead to a decision to buy or lease.

What’s the biggest deal you’ve worked on?

I don’t know about the biggest one, but the first larger one was a few months after I started, I negotiated a 15-year  lease with Addressograph-Multigraph and  Bankers Life Co., which is now Principal. At that time, that paid $92,000 in commission and I got half, so I thought,  “Well, this beats working for a living.”

How has your company changed?

We’ve been larger, with 13 agents. Now it’s myself and two others.

Is there an advantage to being a small business?

The larger commercial brokers have an advantage working through their affiliate companies for referrals, but the highest percentage of business that goes on in the community is within the community, and so where you live is good for individual brokers.

What attracted you to commercial real estate?

To get out of traveling and late hours.

What do you like about Urbandale?

Urbandale is a large small town in that you can become active really easily or you can keep to yourself. I like keeping in contact with the community I live in.

What kinds of projects do you like working on?

I enjoy working on warehouse, industrial flex-type projects.

Is there anything you would like to see  happen in the field?

I’m interested in the Iowa Commercial Real  Estate Association continuing its path of  progress. I was on the board from its inception until last year. We have a lot of talented young brokers coming in the market, and they’re quite capable of taking hold.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the business?

Certainly the number of brokers has changed. It’s probably expanded even a little bit greater than the number of  properties. When I first got into it, you  might have been able to count all the  commercial brokers on your two hands.  Now we have well over 100.The other  thing is that the technology has  changed substantially. It has enabled  you to get more information easier and  keep track of everything.

Is the competition steeper?

The 80/20 percent rule still  prevails in that 20 percent of  the brokers make 80 percent  of the business.

Do you feel  like you’re  one of the  20 percent?

I used to be,  yes. Do you ever see yourself retiring?  I’m going to keep involved. I grew  up at a service station garage and  worked long hours, seven days a  week. I still enjoy getting after it every  morning.

How did you make your first dollar?

Working at a service station at age  12. I got paid a quarter per hour. Pumping  gas, washing windshields, checking  tires. But back then, regular help didn’t  get paid over a dollar an hour, so it wasn’t all that bad of a job.

Where would someone find you on the weekends?

In the wintertime, at one of the ice  arenas watching my grandchildren play  hockey. In the summertime, I work on  cars. My dad was a Willys-Overland Jeep  dealer, and I accumulate them now.