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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros Podcast, host Q Edmonds speaks with Kimberly Hamilton, a seasoned commercial real estate professional with 25 years of experience. Kimberly shares her journey in the industry, emphasizing the importance of empowering women in real estate, navigating market challenges, and building meaningful relationships. She discusses her focus on helping private investors and REITs, as well as her commitment to mentoring women entering the field. The conversation highlights the significance of networking, market awareness, and the rewarding nature of transforming clients into building owners.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Kimberly Hamilton (00:00)
this is my life, this is my education. And I just want women to feel inspired that, you you can go sell a house and a lot of single moms do that, you know, or after divorces kind of, you know, they do that, they go sell houses, but you can sell one building and that hustle is going to make more than those 10 houses you sold the whole year. And I just want, I guess, to encourage women not to be intimidated by this industry.It’s not scary, it’s paperwork and it’s relationships.
Quentin (02:05)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds. And y’all know what I’m gonna say. I’m excited to be here today. We have another guest who I’m excited for y’all to get to know. I love her stance and I’m gonna put it to you like, I’m just telling you, she wanna empower women. Like she want women to be more empowered within this industry. I think we all know it’s so male dominated, but I love that she’s here talking about what she’s doing.She has background in commercial real estate, pretty much she’s done, she’s been in every niche when it comes to real estate. And so I’m really excited for y’all to get to know and to see things through Ms. Kimberly Hamilton’s lens. So Ms. Kimberly, how are you doing today, man?
Kimberly Hamilton (02:52)
Hi there, thank you for having me.Quentin (02:55)
Absolutely. So thank you for being here. And look, Ms. Kimberly, I just want to go ahead and dive in. I would love for you to tell people what your main focus is these days. Maybe tell them a little bit about how you got into real estate. And also tell them what markets you’re operating in as well.Kimberly Hamilton (03:14)
Okay, yeah, I have been in commercial real estate for 25 years. I actually started out working for a developer and then got my real estate license and started the whole process. My first real estate deal here in Nashville, Tennessee was a very interesting little deal. It was a out parcel for a car wash.So I pretty much got commercial real estate in my blood after that first commission check. And I haven’t looked back since, so 25 years later.
Quentin (03:57)
Absolutely. No, I love it. And so I love it. You 25 years later after that first commission check, here we are. And so is in your veins now, like still standing? It sounds like you’re still passionate about it. So what’s been some of the key strategies or systems you’ve put in place to kind of keep what you do running smoothly, to keep you passionate about what it is that you do?Kimberly Hamilton (04:23)
Well, I feel like you’ve got to stay up with the market trends. You know, and that would be, you know, lease rates, different neighborhoods, things, ⁓ headquarters that are coming into Nashville. know, networking is a big part of this industry. It’s who you know. It’s what you know after you meet who you know.you know, because you are up against, there’s a lot of competition here, just like in the residential world. Commercial is a different animal, but, you know, we have to stay in the whole industry game. ⁓ That includes education, know, continuing education, taking your classes, your courses, ⁓ shaking hands with CEOs, CFOs.
⁓ not being afraid to sit at tables with people that you don’t even understand how you got to the table and when you don’t know the answer you just smile.
So it’s great, yeah.
Quentin (06:21)
Got you.Yes, a smile will get you a long way for sure. No, absolutely. I understand that. That’s why I try to stay smiling. If I don’t know, I’m gonna smile and make people think I know. No, I get it. I get it. So listen, so 25 years you’ve been doing this. So know there are moments when things have gotten real, when deals have went sideways, things, times when you had to pivot fast.
Kimberly Hamilton (06:25)
No.I’m just gonna shake my head, I agree. Yeah.
Quentin (06:48)
And I was wondering if you can share a story like that. And I’ll tell you why, because a lot of times we show the success, but we don’t show the process of how we got to success. And so I was just wondering, maybe if you could share a moment to the audience of a time when you had the pivot fastKimberly Hamilton (06:57)
Thank you.Oh, absolutely. You know, in 2007, I believe, was my first market crash in the industry. And I was very, very thankful that at that time, I was in healthcare. That was my niche. I was leasing medical office spaces, working with tenants, know, doctors and healthcare companies.
going into their healthcare space. How I was lucky during that time was all the retail was shutting down, office was shutting down, ⁓ developments were going under. And I had one client that year ⁓ that kept me in the business. ⁓ It was a physical therapy clinic.
and they had multiple locations and lease renewals. so, you know, all the other agents, I mean, we lost a lot of agents that year, you know, wanting salary jobs, going into different career paths, but I was so very blessed. I had this client and they needed 10 locations that year and they were small leases. You know, I was doing the small leases, the 5,000 square feet and under at the time, but
you do 10 of those deals, that will keep you in a good life where you can beat that downturn. ⁓ So that’s basically what I did. then in addition to that, I realized that the doctors that were coming out of the hospital systems that wanted to own their own buildings and go into their own space, ⁓ they didn’t know how.
to do anything because they had like the HCA’s of the world that would negotiate their lease, know, know, take care of them. They would have their printers ordered. They would, you know, they’d have everything taking care of their handheld. But I realized these doctors needed help once they got into their building. I would help them with, you know, getting three bids on their build out. ⁓
Quentin (09:02)
Thanks.Hmm.
Kimberly Hamilton (09:23)
you know, helping them hire a designer to come in and design their space, even to ordering office furniture for them. I mean, I was just all things at that time. And I would say that was a learning curve for me. I did stay, you know, specialized in healthcare later. I just got into a different niche. I went with a big company, Marcus and Millichap, who recruited me after that crash. And ⁓ my niche went fromQuentin (09:28)
Yeah.Kimberly Hamilton (09:52)
you know, leasing medical office to investing, selling investment properties in the office market. And there’s a great story there too. yeah, healthcare, you always need healthcare, you know.Quentin (09:59)
Catch me. Beautiful.Beautiful. I love it. No, no.
Always need healthcare. Healthcare is some of our heroes. you’re exactly right. Healthcare is going to be around for a long time. And that’s a good, you know, I’m glad you found the niche. You found a place kind of to land, a place to, you know, to power forward and really use your skillset. And just listening to you talk, I thank you for sharing because you really have shown the mindset of somebody that’s different from dabbling to somebody that’s in it for the long term. And I can see it with your mindset after the crash.
being able to push forward and really found a niche and carve out a niche for yourself. And so I absolutely love it. And Ms. Kimberly, I want to ask you this. What are you most focused on scaling or solving next? Like, what’s the next real goal for you?
Kimberly Hamilton (11:29)
Well, I did start K5 Commercial, which is my own firm, and I am focused on working with private investors ⁓ and REITs ⁓ to build their portfolio, but…There’s a lot of private investors that want to buy a building or even people that are leasing their space right now, they’re afraid. They’re like, how can I own a building? I’m leasing and I love helping them transform into a building owner. I think that’s so rewarding when they get to become the building owner and lease space back to themselves.
With that, I’m doing some land assemblage, learning a little more about that, ⁓ working with developers a little more, and just watching the Nashville market grow. I’m very grateful I get to be a part of that.
Quentin (12:30)
Absolutely. I love it. Get on Nashville. Like you said, Nashville was boom, booming right now. And so that is, yeah, that is awesome. Excited about K-5 commercial, excited about what you’re doing. And it sounds like to me, 25 years in the game, somebody actually kind of snatching you from one business and like, Hey, come over here and work with me. It lets me know that you’re good at building relationships. You seem like a person thatKimberly Hamilton (12:33)
Mm-hmmIt is.
Quentin (12:59)
People just want to be around you. People gravitate to you. So I want to talk about relationships for a little bit. So when it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what’s made the biggest difference for you?Kimberly Hamilton (13:03)
Okay.⁓ let’s see.
Well, first of all, I’m a relationship person and I, I love, I feel like helping people in this industry build and create wealth, long-term wealth and leaving legacies. ⁓ That is, that’s a big part of my mindset. ⁓ You know, I, this is an interesting story. When I was assembling this land here in Tennessee,
Quentin (13:20)
Yeah.Kimberly Hamilton (13:47)
I met every owner of every land parcel up to about 200 acres. it was, you know, they all have stories to tell. Building owners, land owners, they all have their stories to tell as to why they do want to sell, why they don’t want to sell. And at some point you have to lose your broker hat and say, you know what, one gentleman, he’s like, I’m 92 years old.You know, I have 30 acres, where am I gonna go? And at that, you know, points like that in this business, you have to say, you know what, I understand. You stay here. We’ll, you know, we’ll help you with anything you want. If there comes a point where we have a contract for you, we’ll talk about it later, but not being this high-pressured, you know, I’ve gotta get a deal done, you know, that kind of broker. I’ve never been like that, and I really, really…
You know, I have a lot of integrity and care for human relationships. Just, you know, really care about other people. And, you know, that’s having lunches and dinners and remembering birthdays. You know, that’s the low-level stuff, you know, that’s easy. But that’s good. Do it. Do that. But do more. You know, don’t be a salesperson.
Quentin (14:51)
Yeah.Absolutely.
Yeah! ⁓
Yeah. No, I’m like you said, it’s low level, but you know what happens at the low level? A foundation. Foundation is at the low level, right? And so making those connections is the foundation that you continue to build on. So I definitely hear you. I hear like you’re connected and I’m glad that you’re remembering birthdays, going to events, because that builds the foundation again for you to build a successful business on. And so I hear you.
Kimberly Hamilton (15:55)
Be a friend.Yeah.
Yeah,
I guess I mean low effort. It’s not low level. It’s low effort. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to write someone a handwritten card and say happy anniversary. And what I love about the relationships I’ve built is, like I said, I would help ⁓ somebody with their dream, their business. like, I want to lease a space. I can’t buy a building right now.
Quentin (16:30)
Absolutely.Kimberly Hamilton (16:49)
10 years later they’re calling me and they’re like, I’m ready to buy a building. And you know, and you see their name up on the building and the sign and you just feel like you’ve done something that, you know, and if I hadn’t have maintained that relationship for that period of time, they would have gone to some other, you know, broker to help them find their space. But, you know, I think making lasting relationships is very important and caring about people.Quentin (16:52)
Yeah, yeah.Nope, absolutely. I could not agree with you more. And we’re talking about relationships. want you to speak a little bit to why it’s so passionate for you to empower women within this space. I want to make sure we get this on a podcast. Why is it so important to really empower women within this space? Why is that important to you?
Kimberly Hamilton (17:30)
Yeah.Well, when I first started out, ⁓ I was a single mom and that was in 2004. I had just gotten a divorce. I was a housewife, had to go get a job. So when I started out, I was in advertising and it was nights and entertaining clients and going to football games and going to bars. And I had little kids. My kids were small at the time.
Quentin (17:48)
Yeah, yeah.Kimberly Hamilton (18:02)
And ⁓ it didn’t suit me. ⁓ And so on one of my cold calls, which we talked about earlier, you know, I called, called, called, called. And he said to me, said, Kimberly, girl, if you can sell air, which is not tangible, you can sell buildings and make a lot more money. He said, why don’t you come work for me? And to me, it changed the trajectory of my career, my life.I was able to be a single mom, provide for my kids. Eventually I invested in some buildings myself. I bought my first home without a husband. I mean, there’s all kinds of things and I think women are scared once they, I’m mentoring a woman right now and she was married 26 years and she’s out in the workforce.
Quentin (18:43)
Yeah, come on.Kimberly Hamilton (18:56)
Her family happened to be in commercial real estate when she was growing up. So she found me and I’m helping her learn this business. And I just think it’s empowering for a woman to know I can do it myself. I’m not desperate for a husband. I love being married. It just didn’t work out for me. And I don’t have a backup plan. I don’t have a trust fund.this is my life, this is my education. And I just want women to feel inspired that, you you can go sell a house and a lot of single moms do that, you know, or after divorces kind of, you know, they do that, they go sell houses, but you can sell one building and that hustle is going to make more than those 10 houses you sold the whole year. And I just want, I guess, to encourage women not to be intimidated by this industry.
It’s not scary, it’s paperwork and it’s relationships.
Quentin (19:58)
It’s paperwork and it’s relationships. It ain’t nothing to be scared of. ⁓ that’s such a drop the mic moment. I love it. I love it. I thank you so much. I thank you so much for speaking to your truth, to your passion. Listen, before we wrap, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, maybe collaborate with you, what’s the best way for them to reach out to you, Ms. Kimberly?Kimberly Hamilton (20:01)
Yeah. No.Hahaha
Mm-hmm.
⁓ My email is kih5 at icloud.com and I just want to throw this in so you’ll remember me. K5 commercial is because I have five children. So my email is, and they’re all adult children now, but ⁓ kih5 at icloud.com would be the best way.
Quentin (20:34)
Yes, ma’am.Morning. There you go.
Kimberly Hamilton (20:51)
and I would love to collaborate or mentor or just tell my stories and how it’s worked for me.Quentin (21:01)
Yeah, yeah. But this is just the beginning. I mean, I’m glad that we had you on this platform to be able to tell your story. ⁓ know our listeners got a ton of value from it. And so I really thank you for being here. Thank you for your story. Thank you for your perspective. Thank you for your time. This has been wonderful. And again, I know our viewers are really going to appreciate this conversation. So again, I thank you so much, Kimberly.Kimberly Hamilton (21:25)
I appreciate youtoo. Thank you for letting me share.
Quentin (21:28)
No, absolutely. So listen, y’all heard Ms. Kimberly. Y’all got the value. You do not want to miss on future incredible people just like Ms. Kimberly. So what I need you to do is hit that Subscribe button. That way you can come on back and continue to get this amazing content. So again, thank you so much, Ms. Kimberly. And to everyone else, we will see you on the next time.Kimberly Hamilton (21:54)
Have a good day.
