Today we’d like to introduce you to Divine Katoure.
Hi Divine, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My career began over 8 years in San Francisco as a commercial real estate leasing and sales agent specializing in industrial, retail, and office products. Commercial buildings are so fascinating to me. Most people never think about the commercial buildings they enter while grocery shopping, visiting the hospital, or attending events. For me, commercial buildings have a life of their own and have so many stories to tell.
I cut my teeth in an area with one of the toughest real estate markets and largest world economies in San Francisco working with The Hawthorne Group which gave me exposure working with companies such as BEATS, Empire Records, Crunchy Roll, and a handful of tech companies.
Commercial Real Estate has given me so many opportunities that I would have never imagined. About 5 years ago, I decided to focus my niche on the leasing side of commercial real estate. This niche gives me an opportunity to guide Landlords and Tenants on their real estate journey to victory and beyond. Commercial real estate isn’t only about analyzing deals. It’s about serving a community of investors and business owners.
Today, as a leasing director my focus is on not only closing deals and helping others learn how to do the same, but also introducing restorative practices within commercial real estate.
During the pandemic, many real estate relationships were broken. Part of my work is understanding how conflict resolution, mediation, and restorative practices can heal and synergize new business growth and scalability.
Currently, I am with eXp Commercial which gives me an opportunity to work with clients on a national level and has opened the door for consistent referral lead generation and market share expansion.
Commercial leasing is my passion. I enjoy sharing and teaching commercial leasing strategies and best practices so much; I founded a company during the pandemic to help the underserved communities in the commercial real estate brokerage world by providing training in commercial real estate leasing.
This effort will give more women and people of color an opportunity to enter the commercial real estate industry, and by giving inside information on getting clients and how to to get deals over the finish line. Historically, commercial real estate has been dominated by a small percentage of the population. It is a small industry, where who you know and what you know matters most.
You can find me looking at buildings, admiring, architecture, reading books, filming for my Learn Commercial Real Estate Youtube channel, and sharing about commercial real estate.
If you are interested in following my journey as a commercial agent follow me on Instagram @DKBYTHEBAY and if you are interested and want to Learn Commercial Real Estate check us out on Facebook and Instagram @LearnCommercialRealEstate
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There were so many struggles entering commercial real estate. The learning curve is enormous, and it’s important to find a really good mentor. Commercial industry professionals are not keen on openly sharing knowledge and information with outsiders or newbies.
For the first several years, I worked as a runner and did not make commissions. As a single mother, I held down several nights and weekend jobs to provide my child with a good life.
It was difficult going into the office each day and then a second job at night, but I had a great support system who saw my vision and wanted to see me succeed.
Because of my schedule, I wasn’t able to attend social and networking events.
I had to get creative on how to get my name out. Social media became my primary way of branding myself, which also took a lot of time and effort.
Commercial real estate is a tough business. There are so many nuances, regulations, and best practices to memorize it can be overwhelming.
As you know, we’re big fans of Learn Commercial Real Estate . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Learn Commercial Real Estate is a minority owned company that provides best practices and essential learning materials such as courses and books on how to find commercial clients, site analyst, how to manage deal flow, preparing of letter of intent to leases, how to close deals, get paid, and be a consistent lead generator. More importantly, we focus on how to love what you do in commercial real estate.
Learn Commercial Real Estate is a platform for licensed real estate professionals who want to increase their opportunity by having the How To’s that most commercial agents don’t readily share. Commercial real estate has traditionally been a closed industry led by white older men for many generations. We are changing that.
By providing the knowledge on what it takes to find clients and close deals and be a real estate influencer in your market.
We focus on sharing how as commercial agents we are guides helping the investors be the hero over their portfolio journey.
We share how; you as an agent must guide business owners and tenants through the hills and valley of commercial business leasing. If it’s one location or many we teach our agents to focus on the needs of the client in an empathetic and analytical way.
We call it commercial real estate with a conscience. Being a successful commercial agent is a lifestyle. It is not a job.
My mottos is this: “Commercial Real Estate makes the world go around. It’s not just about buildings. It’s where the people you love live and work.”
We are one of the first women minority-owned companies teaching and sharing this information
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite memories of childhood are spending time with my father. He recently passed away suddenly. It’s been a painful road to healing, but as he used to tell me. ” We just have to keep going.” So that is exactly what I am going to do.
Pricing:
- Our e-books range from $50- $120
- Courses $129- $549
- Intensive training packages range from $3-$5k
Contact Info:
- Email: divine@learncommercialrealestate.com
- Website: www.learncommercialrealestate.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/learncommercialrealestate
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/learncommercialrealestatepage
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/learncommercialrealestate
Image Credits
Divine Katoure
Unsplash Free Images
