William “Bill” Chapman began his career in residential sales in 1992 but soon transitioned into commercial real estate. After gaining valuable experience working alongside top industry professionals for several years, he founded Chapman Commercial Realty in 2010, specializing in retail office and investment brokerage.

In a recent interview with the Huntsville Business Journal, he shared his passion for commercial real estate and discussed his latest project, which is preserving a piece of Huntsville’s history.

Why did you choose commercial real estate instead of residential real estate?

Some people are cut out for the emotional decisions of homebuying and that just never appealed to me in the same way commercial real estate does. It’s all business, all numbers. It’s not if the kitchen is yellow. My father was in commercial real estate, all of my mentors were in commercial real estate, and I learned a lot from these guys and fell in love with it.

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

It’s very difficult. Me and my wife have several businesses, not just real estate. The balance of it is tricky. People call you in the middle of Saturday afternoon football and something is wrong with one of your properties, you got to go. That’s the hardest thing that any of us do as business owners. It is a true juggling act.

Did you encounter any significant obstacles and how have you overcome those?

In September 2008 the whole world went crazy. The stock market crashed, Lehman Brothers went insolvent. Everybody was upside down, and the world as we knew it was crumbling around us. We had just partnered with several other investors and bought a considerable amount of property here in Huntsville. I got a call from the lender in New York City. He says, ‘You’re watching the news, right? We’re not going to be able to fund your transaction.’ It was a $20 million investment and I’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars of deposits to this lender who is refusing to give it back to us. They’re insolvent.

How do you overcome that? One, the grace of God. Two persistence, and three not ever giving up.

How do you eat the elephant? One bite at a time. I just took it one day at a time. I dissolved the partnership we had and went out on my own and never looked back.

What does it mean to you to be a sixth-generation Huntsvillian?

Being a sixth-generation Huntsvillian makes you want to do good things for the community. That’s what we’re trying to do with Oak Place especially.

(Oak Place is a historic residence built in 1840 and designed by renowned Huntsville architect George Steele. Chapman and business partner Breck Robinson have preserved and restored Oak Place into an event venue.)

That’s near and dear to me because it’s preserving some of the history that a lot of people would never know.

We’re saving a part of Huntsville. Before we stepped in, they were going to knock it down and build condos.

What would you say is the secret to your success?

Success is not a balance sheet. Success in my world is happiness and having people around you that you love.

The older I get, the more I look at success by how many friends you have, what does your family think about you, and are you a good person.