Good morning! 

Going into the new year, I’m grateful for the way this team shows up - focused, thoughtful, and accountable. We’ll use AI as a tool, not a crutch, and keep doing the work that actually matters.

— Lucas Robinson, Founder & CEO at BudgetMailboxes.com

🎯 This Week’s Strategy:

• Social Capital Development Plan

🛠️ Boardroom Brief:

• Long-Delayed Infrastructure Project Finally Moves Forward in Central Florida
  

Strategy

🎯 Social Capital Development Plan

In today’s development environment, project success is no longer driven by capital and construction expertise alone. Social Capital Development, the intentional cultivation of strong relationships with communities, stakeholders, and local partners has become a strategic differentiator for builders and developers.

A Social Capital Development Plan focuses on trust-building, transparency, and collaboration with municipalities, neighborhood groups, utilities, labor organizations, and local businesses. When executed well, it reduces entitlement risk, accelerates approvals, improves workforce stability, and strengthens long-term project viability.

How to Implement a Social Capital Development Plan

✅ Map Key Stakeholders Early
Identify all groups impacted by your project, including local government officials, community leaders, residents, trade organizations, and utility providers. Understanding their priorities early helps prevent friction later.

✅ Engage Communities Proactively
Move beyond minimum public hearings. Host listening sessions, town halls, or small-group meetings to gather input and address concerns before they become obstacles. Early engagement builds credibility and goodwill.

✅ Align Projects with Local Priorities
Demonstrate how your development supports community goals such as job creation, affordable housing, infrastructure improvements, or environmental stewardship. Alignment turns stakeholders into advocates.

✅ Build Local Partnerships
Work with local contractors, suppliers, and workforce programs whenever possible. These partnerships strengthen community ties and improve project acceptance while supporting local economies.

✅ Maintain Ongoing Communication
Social capital is not built once, it is maintained. Provide regular updates throughout the project lifecycle and follow through on commitments to reinforce trust.

Why It Matters

Projects with strong social capital face fewer delays, reduced opposition, and smoother regulatory processes. In contrast, developments that overlook stakeholder relationships often encounter resistance, cost overruns, and reputational damage.

By formalizing a Social Capital Development Plan, builders and developers can de-risk projects, accelerate timelines, and create lasting value beyond the physical structure. In a competitive and highly regulated market, trust has become one of the most valuable assets you can build.

Someone just spent $236,000,000 on a painting. Here’s why it matters for your wallet.

The WSJ just reported the highest price ever paid for modern art at auction.

While equities, gold, bitcoin hover near highs, the art market is showing signs of early recovery after one of the longest downturns since the 1990s.

Here’s where it gets interesting→

Each investing environment is unique, but after the dot com crash, contemporary and post-war art grew ~24% a year for a decade, and after 2008, it grew ~11% annually for 12 years.*

Overall, the segment has outpaced the S&P by 15 percent with near-zero correlation from 1995 to 2025.

Now, Masterworks lets you invest in shares of artworks featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso. Since 2019, investors have deployed $1.25 billion across 500+ artworks.

Masterworks has sold 25 works with net annualized returns like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.

Shares can sell quickly, but my subscribers skip the waitlist:

Skip waitlist

_{*Per Masterworks data. Investing involves risk. Past performance not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd}

Boardroom Brief

Long-Delayed Infrastructure Project Finally Moves Forward in Central Florida

Construction is now underway on a long-anticipated road linking Orange and Lake Counties, a $20 million infrastructure project that will significantly improve regional connectivity and unlock long-term development value. Built by private developer MI Homes after more than a decade of delays tied to inter-county agreements, right-of-way negotiations, and easement issues, the new road will provide Lake County residents direct access to State Road 429, Disney World, and Winter Garden, cutting commute times from more than 20 minutes to under five. Scheduled for completion by March 2027, the project highlights both the challenges and importance of infrastructure delivery in growth markets. For builders and developers, it reinforces a key lesson: transportation investments often lag demand, but when resolved, they can rapidly accelerate land value, housing demand, and regional economic activity.

Game

🎉 Fun Finale: Play & Poll

Wall Street Isn’t Warning You, But This Chart Might

Vanguard just projected public markets may return only 5% annually over the next decade. In a 2024 report, Goldman Sachs forecasted the S&P 500 may return just 3% annually for the same time frame—stats that put current valuations in the 7th percentile of history.

Translation? The gains we’ve seen over the past few years might not continue for quite a while.

Meanwhile, another asset class—almost entirely uncorrelated to the S&P 500 historically—has overall outpaced it for decades (1995-2024), according to Masterworks data.

Masterworks lets everyday investors invest in shares of multimillion-dollar artworks by legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso.

And they’re not just buying. They’re exiting—with net annualized returns like 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5% among their 23 sales.*

Wall Street won’t talk about this. But the wealthy already are. Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but…

👉 My subscribers skip the waitlist

_{*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd.}