Real Estate Development Strategies for Long-Term Ownership

Katie Kim (00:00)
Where are you, what’s your three to five year, 10 year plan? Where are you going and growing? Because that’s gonna tell me more than how much square foot you have. Cause you may have located in a site that was cheap to get started. And I’m using air quotes here for those not watching because it’s ridiculous that we do this. But you you take the cheapest place to get your business started. And sometimes that works. But a lot of times you shoot yourself in the foot because you’re in the wrong location for your customers.

Q Edmonds (00:03)
Hmm.

Katie Kim (00:27)
Your customers aren’t going to go to that cheap location. They’re going to go over here. And so by spending a little bit more rent, you’re going to 10 X your sales, but your realtor is not going to help you do that because they’re not caring about your core. They’re caring about the transaction and I don’t need to do more transactions. I need to make more impact.

Q Edmonds (02:20)
Hello everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds. I’m excited to be here today. I’m giggling because I have, y’all know, I always have a fantastic guest. And when I say it is true, and today is no different, but this one, ⁓ she’s kind of special. She’s like a little bit special. I ⁓ love her style, I love her intuition. She’s keeping me on my toes, y’all. I gotta watch.

but I say because she’ll turn it back around and throw it back at you. So I gotta watch myself. Cause listen, sometimes I can dish it, but I can’t take it. Sometimes, sometimes I can, but sometimes I can’t. And so I am so excited. I’m excited for us to learn from this lady. I’m excited because she’s well aware of her superpowers. And you know, that’s something I talk about is us knowing, knowing our why. know my mentor told me when you know who you are,

you know what to do. So when you know your superpower, when you know who you are, you can be dropped at any room, any situation, and you already know how you’re going to attack it because you know where you pull your power from. And so this lady knows where she pulls her power from. And so I’m so excited to hear from and introduce you all to Miss Katie Kim. Miss Katie, how you doing today,

Katie Kim (03:36)
Hey, I’m doing good. I’m doing good. And I love your comment. You got to be able to dish it and take it. grew up on a job site, so I learned very early on, you got to hold your own.

Q Edmonds (03:45)
See, see, listen. Listen,

I am that friend. I don’t mind telling my friends I need to be coddled every now and then. Like, I’m not self-aware to know sometimes I can be sensitive. So I got thick skin, but however, let my wife tell you too, sometimes I need to be coddled a little bit. So I’m self-aware of who I am, you know what I mean? But you’re right, you gotta be able to get you to take it. And I’m so excited. I’m excited to have you here. And I’m gonna type Miss Katie, I love to dive.

Katie Kim (04:05)
All right. ⁓

Me too.

Q Edmonds (04:15)
Right? So I would love for you to tell the people what’s your main focus these days. If you don’t mind, give us a little bit of an origin story, kind of how you got to where you are. We love origin stories. And then tell them where you are in the world. People love geographically knowing where people are. So what you’re up to, origin story and where you are.

Katie Kim (04:26)
Yeah.

Q Edmonds (04:33)
Miss Katie, Miss Kim, you have the floor, ma’am.

Katie Kim (05:23)
Thank you. Yeah. So let me start with the origin story. That’s the best one to start with. Right. So I grew up in a real estate development construction family. So like I mentioned at our recording call before, I’m a victim of child labor law. did my most of the times I say that fix and flip was child bonding time. We didn’t have a name for it. It definitely wasn’t a burr created yet. But

I did my first deal when I was 16, no money in, and I kind of got addicted, not kind of, I got addicted at that point in time to like, how do you put together these deals with all these different options? And really, that was my first like seed that got planted. ⁓ then ⁓ did multiple deals after I graduated college, took a stint in professional consulting, because I thought never go back and run the family business.

came back, ran the construction company, our family construction company for about 10 years, decided it was time to pivot because I got pissed off. And I had too many small business owners come into our company. At that time, we were a hard-bid contractor and we would do what’s called design build lease with an option to buy. So we would design a building for business or for a client and we would lease it to them with the option that they buy us out over time.

Q Edmonds (06:26)
Mmm.

Katie Kim (06:47)
which I loved and it was a big way that my family built their real estate portfolio and their wealth. But what I also saw was like, there’s a great opportunity for these businesses to really own the ground that they stand on. And so what I started to look at is like, okay, businesses coming in and saying, we have so much money to invest in our operations or in real estate, but we can’t do both. can do one or the other.

And it really pissed me off because these were great businesses, like generational family owned businesses that could not own the ground that they were standing on. And I was like, there’s got to be another way. And so I gave my parents a year notice and left the family company, launched, relaunched, I should say, the Kim group with our developer for fee services. And what we do with that is really guide the client through the process.

A lot of times, these are business owners. They are maybe investors that want to get into a different product mix. They don’t know how to take that next step. They’re smart people and they want to own the whole decision in the process and I want them to. And so that was really my motivation for launching the professional services division so we can have that developer for fee offering. And where we’re going is up.

Q Edmonds (07:41)
Mm.

Katie Kim (08:09)
I mean, we are rising tide lifts all boats. And so I have a very aggressive b-hag that big hairy audacious goal that I want to unlock $1 trillion of economic incentives in order to implement a $100 million economic ripple effect so that over 10,000 women can own the ground that they stand on.

by 2035.

So that’s where we’re going, Quentin. And the reason I want it so aggressive is there are many things that we’re working on right now, which I’m sure we’ll dig into here in a little bit. However, the governments have money sitting on the sidelines for businesses to use and implement, and even investors. And people don’t know how to use those programs. And I’m very passionate about teaching them, consulting, going into deals that we can leverage those opportunities.

because those are the economic incentives and that’s the great like strategic capital way to structure a project that is going to help prevent a lot of the issues that are keeping our investors and are soon to be, I’m gonna call them soon to be developers that are keeping them in that paralysis by analysis state.

Q Edmonds (09:30)
Well, Miss Katie, wow. So listen, I’m actually listening. This is your page. I’m taking notes. Did you see I just got stuff all over the place, right? So as you’re talking, I’m writing, I’m actively listening. And then as you can see, I just had to stop writing and just like, OK. Probably because I ran out of paper. But then two, was like, wow.

Katie Kim (09:31)
I didn’t tell you my reaction before we hit record, sorry.

Yep.

Q Edmonds (10:29)
Okay, so I’m going to say some things back to you and I do that because I’m a player for the dramatics, right? I’m going to make a statement and then I’m going ask you a question. So, grew up in a real estate construction family. Jokily you say child labor laws. Jokily must be serious, but jokily, right? ⁓

Katie Kim (10:33)
Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it’s all intertwined. I’d go to soccer practice and

my dad’d be like hanging walls and be going to, you know, shingling a roof and a snowstorm. And then I’d go to volleyball practice. Like, you can’t make this up.

Q Edmonds (10:53)
Sorry.

my, ⁓ yeah, exactly. So no strange at all. Exactly,

right? I believe I heard you say you closed your first deal when you were 16 years old, right? So multiple deals. didn’t put no money in. Didn’t necessarily want to be in the family business, but you came back, got into the business. You did design builds with leasing options. You saw the opportunity.

Katie Kim (11:07)
Yes, With no money in. No money in.

Q Edmonds (11:24)
for people to own their own business, like generational businesses. And so that kind of motivated you to start, you gave your parents one year notice, motivated you to start the chem group. ⁓ And this is why I got stuck in this head to stop because you said you want to unlock $1 trillion by 2035.

Katie Kim (11:29)
Yeah.

Q Edmonds (11:49)
I love big audacious goals, right? And so we ain’t at 20, 20, 30, 35 yet, but when we get there, I want you to remember this statement. And this is the statement that I say every podcast. has no wasted moments. Destiny has no wasted moment. It’s destiny is like a beautiful, beautiful mosaic. It’s like all the broken pieces. And when you scan back and look at what it is, it’s

Katie Kim (12:01)
Mmm.

Uh-uh.

Q Edmonds (12:19)
Take all the broken pieces, but create this beautiful picture out of the broken pieces. So destiny is building momentum. There’s nothing lost in the process. Either your mind is being reinforced, motivation, your goals. It’s no wasted moments. So what I would love to know Miss Katie, throughout your journey, from your family, being in the business, to the Kim group, to 2035 in the future, what has the moments been teaching you about yourself?

Have it taught you resilience, discipline, What is these moments? What has the mosaic? What is the picture now that you can see some of the finished product? What has it taught you about you?

Katie Kim (12:50)
Mmm.

God has a sense of humor. I mean, if there’s one sentence, God has a sense of humor and he doesn’t waste anything. mean, ⁓ I know you say destiny, you know, I am a faith-based person. And so I think God doesn’t make junk, right? And he doesn’t waste anything. And he has a huge frying pan that he smacks us over the head if we don’t learn the lesson once and he keeps trying to teach us, right? He is tenacious. ⁓ And so

Q Edmonds (13:13)
Let’s talk about it.

Katie Kim (13:31)
Really, I glossed over in the origin story, some of the, I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. And from growing up in the business, right? Like I always joke with people, we’re the shoemaker shoes, right? So we built our own house. Well, we had a concrete floor for the kitchen for years. Like we got tile when I was 12. I’m like, oh, something goes down on that? Like, huh, now we fancy.

Q Edmonds (13:47)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Katie Kim (14:00)
And just, you kind of don’t know what you don’t know when you’re growing up and you just roll with it. And so everything was an opportunity. I got to sit at the donut shop with my dad and the guys in the field and like listen to the stories and just breathe it in and learn at an early age. I had to take drafting in high school so I could do my mom’s blueprints in college or on the breaks during college and high school and learn accounting in high school again.

There were no breaks for us. There was no school vacation. And so, you know, I I noticed that God really takes you on a journey. And sometimes we beat ourselves up on that journey. But what he’s doing is he’s molding you. He is he’s making you learn the experiences and the rules and the lessons so that you can be that person that he needs you to be to do what he needs you to do in the future. And we don’t always get to see the path.

You know, when I teach development, the courses, like it’s a road that goes around, there’s switchbacks, there’s split offs. mean, it’s everything you can encounter and that’s life, right? I graduated college thinking, okay, I got a degree now, I’m gonna make a lot of money and I’m never gonna do manual labor. Well, here’s the thing. I loved what I did because high level, I worked in tech. I worked with technology that was three to five years to market.

And I would go into these companies and find strategic profitable solutions and implement them. And I got to travel all over the world. Like I was in London and Amsterdam and China and Hong Kong and loved it. Right. That small town girl from Illinois was loving just like, yeah, big stuff. You know, like my parents were so happy, you know, bragging on me. But here’s the thing. I wasn’t fulfilled. Like I loved my clients. Like I love, love, love my clients. And I got to work for some big.

big dogs too. got to work for Nike, the American Girl doll, Walmart, ⁓ Mac tools, and they were amazing people, but I wasn’t fulfilled. And so then I thought, okay, where’s the pivot? Went to work for a startup all the time. Like as soon as I got out of college, bought my first condo in Chicago. Then next year I bought another one, another one. So I’d been investing in that side. And that’s where I eventually got my real estate license so I can take some of my commission as my down payment.

And so I stepped into it along the way, but I always kind of kept it a side hustle. And then when I had this like yearning of literally God was like, you are made for more. Stop playing it small. Like, and that was the first frying pan. Like I didn’t give you all this potential to play small. You need to go help my people. And so it was a huge pivot for us to leave at the time we’re in Chicago.

to go back home to my hometown and start to run the company. And again, I still felt like it wasn’t fulfilled. And so he got me so pissed off by having some of these amazing people in our community come and need help. And we couldn’t help them the way we were structured. And that’s where I was like, okay. And I vividly remember the day coming home with my husband in the kitchen.

And I come home and I just put my hands on the counter. I’m like, I’m going to quit. And he’s like, I’m sorry, what? Like, it’s my family company. have, I think at the time, let see, was 2014. So at the time I had a, a four year old and a two year old underfoot. We had just bought our first house together as a married couple. We bought condos in Chicago, but little to no money down as well.

seller financing, was a great opportunity for us. so, you know, have debt, right? Have kids, have mouths to feed. And I’m saying like, I’m gonna quit. And I asked my husband for $2,000 and six months to give me some runway to get this company relaunched. And without hesitation, he’s like, you really believe in this? And like, I do. With my whole heart, I do. And he goes, let’s do it.

And so he believed in me. And that’s one thing I think was we, you mentioned before about mentors and people. And I think it’s really important to surround yourself with people that ground you yet allow you to dream. And that’s, that’s, I think the secret sauce in that like circle of five or your mentorship of what, what and who you surround yourself with because, but for him having done that, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity and the security to really start to like, I mean, think about what I was asking.

I was asking for him to take on the whole financial burden of our family and let me go play.

Q Edmonds (19:25)
Hey.

Katie Kim (19:35)
He’s a saint. He’s getting in that line. But think about that, right? I mean, like there’s not many spouses, partners that would be like, you’re going to do what? And I got to do what? And he’s like, you’re passionate about this. Like I am. I really am. And he saw like what I would do this type of work with real estate ⁓ or with like with the design part of our business. And I said, I want to do more. I want to push it.

Q Edmonds (19:40)
Yeah.

Katie Kim (20:03)
I want to do something that nobody’s doing right now. I want to teach companies how to own the ground they stand on. Because, the first project I launched, I relaunched, as I say, relaunched the Kim group was a bakery that owned, that they started in 1861.

They’d rented the whole entire time. You think about the generational wealth that was lost because they didn’t know how to structure a deal to get into it. That’s what I want to be a part of. I want to change those lives. I want to change those impact, that family and not me. The good Lord above gave me those skillsets. So it’s all to him. There’s a fine line between praise and pride. Right? So it is from him, not me.

Q Edmonds (20:54)
⁓ I mean, I mean, I mean, do you want me to say now, Ms. Kim? This is what I’m talking about, y’all see? You know, this is the Kim show. Welcome to the KD Kim show. so one of my favorite scriptures, and it’s different translations, but this is my favorite translation. We make our plans, but the Lord determines the outcome. I think another one would say, make our plans, but the Lord orders our steps.

Katie Kim (20:57)
I can keep going, but… ⁓

You

Hmm.

Yeah.

Q Edmonds (21:23)
And so

I love the fact that he allows us to make the plan. I love it. He allows us to go to work. But I love the fact that we had to be open so that when he comes and interrupt the plans, we got to go with the flow. And it’s no doubt you would not have this God-sized vision if you did not let him allow you to submit to his plan.

Katie Kim (21:36)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Q Edmonds (21:49)
Because

there’s something about when you submit to his plan, there’s a rewiring that takes place in your brain. you… Now I do, I I talk Bible principles here. I make no qualms about it. ⁓ I try not to beat people over the head because, you know, we are, different, different waltz. But you speak a certain, the language that you speak is different than just a… just a ⁓ client.

⁓ you know, this client transactional language or this, ⁓ let me just see what I can get from this situation. Language. No, it’s a language that empowers people the way that God sees them. We all should be empowered to want more. We all can have more. And if we understood this kind of community partnership kind of dance that’s supposed to go on.

We will constantly be empowering each other. Like your skill set would empower my skill set. Katie has something that I can buy and a resource that would help me. I may have something that Katie could buy and a resource that would help her. Not just I buy from Katie and then when she comes try to buy from me, I close the door. No, no, no, thank you. No, no, no, we good. No, it’s an economic system that’s supposed to constantly kind of, you know, be in that, you know.

Katie Kim (22:58)
Okay.

it.

Dude.

Q Edmonds (23:19)
What’s the word I’m looking for? It’s the ecosystem. and so I don’t know. It’s just, you said so many things that just lined up with some of my core beliefs. I’ll ground it with this, with this statement that I say a lot of episodes. I really believe at the foundation of any sustainable business is servitude. If you serve, your business will be sustained. It’s another scripture that says when you refresh others, you in return will be refreshed.

Katie Kim (23:22)
Yeah.

Mm.

Q Edmonds (23:46)
It’s an ecosystem that if you put it into play, I promise you, you will be successful. I promise you. And they ain’t gonna say it ain’t gonna be met with opposition, but I promise you, you will be successful. I promise you. And so I love it. I gotta ask you this, cause I need to get your take on it. When you hear the word relationship, Ms. Katie, what comes to mind for you?

Katie Kim (23:46)
Yeah.

Just core. ⁓ So for me, so the term, was wanting to digest what you were saying, but the term I use, and I do make up words just so you know, my husband usually checks me, right? And so I came in and I’m like, I got a phrase for what I’m talking about. He’s like, okay. And I said, pollinated collisions. And I said, no, wait, before you say anything, I’m like, I’m gonna tell you, I looked at both definitions.

Q Edmonds (24:09)
See?

Katie Kim (24:36)
and pollination, we all know, But colliding, right? And so it’s like right now we’re having a pollinated collision. The audience is having a pollinated collision with us. They’re getting some nuggets. They’re getting some sweet goodness, right? And they may not use it, but they may now go to the next meeting or the next conversation and they could say, hey, you know what Katie and Quentin were talking about the other day? You got to download this episode. And that’s where I say pollinated collisions because I’m like, I’m going to tell you something you may not.

use it, you may give it to somebody else and that may save their life. It may save their business. It may. And so to me, when we give in that way, we refuel our core. Right. Because my, will be, I refresh, you know, when you go into those meetings, it’s asking, am I giving or am I taking? Right. And that’s where your energy can flow and go from. But to your point of, know, what does that mean? And when I say core,

I am a licensed real estate agent, a broker. so a lot of times any lead comes through like a listing or a question, or if they know what I do. A lot of times people don’t know what I do in depth because honestly, I don’t like to advertise it because I am not for everyone. And I don’t work with everyone. So if you are a ⁓ egotistical, get rich quick, I’m not your girl. If you are mission based,

Q Edmonds (25:50)
I’m going.

Katie Kim (26:01)
grounded and want to make an impact, I’m your girl. So to me, like asking, say the black and white situation of that is like when you call a realtor and you’re like, I’m looking for, well, we usually define it as like a buy box, right? And I love when people give me their buy box. like, Katie, I’m looking for 2000 square feet, this, this, this, this. I’m like, great. What’s your business? Where are your, where are your clients coming from?

Q Edmonds (26:05)
Mm. ⁓

Mm, mm,

mm.

Katie Kim (26:29)
Where are you, what’s your three to five year, 10 year plan? Where are you going and growing? Because that’s gonna tell me more than how much square foot you have. Cause you may have located in a site that was cheap to get started. And I’m using air quotes here for those not watching because it’s ridiculous that we do this. But you you take the cheapest place to get your business started. And sometimes that works. But a lot of times you shoot yourself in the foot because you’re in the wrong location for your customers.

Q Edmonds (26:32)
Hmm.

Katie Kim (26:56)
Your customers aren’t going to go to that cheap location. They’re going to go over here. And so by spending a little bit more rent, you’re going to 10 X your sales, but your realtor is not going to help you do that because they’re not caring about your core. They’re caring about the transaction and I don’t need to do more transactions. I need to make more impact.

And that’s what I want.

Q Edmonds (27:20)
So all right, so I’m going try to synthesize some things that. One, please give me your word again, pollinated collisions. So as you was talking, so I love, when I know I’m talking to somebody dynamic, when they talk, I start to picture things. I can picture what they’re saying. And so when you talked about pollination, I instantly started thinking about bees. And so if.

Katie Kim (27:22)
Bye!

you

Q Edmonds (27:45)
If you don’t know anything about bee pollination, I looked it up because I wanted to be as specific and precise as I could. So bees are considered the most important and effective pollinators in the world. They are responsible for pollinating over 80 % of flowering plants and 67 % of agricultural crops. So bees pollinating is so important. So I started to think about, well, what does Katie pollinate?

What does Quentin pollinate? We all have a set of skill sets. We all have our set of tool bags and we are supposed to pollinate our crops. Whatever we touch, should leave our DNA on. Bakers, I don’t want to gross the people out, but bakers leave their DNA in bread. And this bread that you can trace back because they are putting their hands, are putting their DNA so.

I want to grow somebody out, but I want you to know your DNA should be on the things that you build. And so when you talk about pollinating, ⁓ and there should be a collision. So now if you and I collide, Katie and Quentin then I’m pollinating yours, you’re pollinating mine, and then it just begins to spread. This is how, I’m say this is how kingdom culture works with people. Like this is how we spread our influence. Because when you’re stewarding right,

you start to spread. that’s that’s one thing. Give me the other thing. I hope I don’t forget core. And we don’t have much time below it. People ask me sometimes as a podcast or to get my advice. So what should I’m thinking about starting a podcast with your advice? And I tell them all the time, don’t try to grow a crowd, grow a core.

Quentin (29:31)
Miss Katie, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn more about what you’re doing, how can it get in contact with you,

Katie Kim (29:40)
Yeah, if somebody wants to reach out to me, then you can hit me on the, let me rewind that again. If somebody wants to reach out to me, you can go to katiekim.com, K-A-T-I-E-K-I-M.com. And that is where our educational platform resides. And then you can have, there’s a grounded growth assessment to see if you’re ready to work with me.

also give free resources. So if you say, Hey, I got a project, I don’t know, plug it into that resource and it’ll say, okay, the next step is this. Here’s a free resource. Here’s that. that’s the best way. And then everything goes from there. But really I want to meet you where you’re at, which is why I started, ⁓ creating the real estate development academy and different resources so people can learn without feeling overwhelmed.

Quentin (30:32)
Katie, this was exceptional. I appreciate you so much. Let me say three things to you. I appreciate your time because you could have been doing anything in the world. Thank you for your time. Secondly, thank you for your story. Stories are premium to me. I always say Jesus taught in parables. So stories are so important. Lastly, thank you for your mindset. Thank you for the way you think and bringing that mindset to this platform. I greatly appreciate you being here today. Thank you so much.

Katie Kim (30:36)
Yeah?

Mm. Mm.

Mmm.

Thank you. Thank you for having me. And when you were talking, Quentin. it just reminded me. And not to get too much on the religion side, but we just came out of Easter, pretty much, season. And there’s this point where it’s called Walk to Emmaus. And what’s not interesting, what’s not known, it’s very interesting. What’s not known to most people is…

Quentin (31:16)
Hmm.

Katie Kim (31:24)
there is Jesus is walking with these people from outside the city and they were just like, I can’t believe it’s not, he wasn’t our savior. I can’t believe all this stuff. And it’s interesting when you start to dig into the details, it’s always when you dig into the details that you find out that that’s Jesus’s uncle that he’s walking with, but it doesn’t believe them. And so if your listeners are somebody who’s going from that, like, I know real estate investing or I know this, but I don’t know what that journey looks like. I don’t know what that path looks like.

you gotta have somebody who’s a mentor that walks along with you. So being in the room that you’re providing, which is great resource to bring on people like myself and other guests to help teach them along that walk. And sometimes we don’t know where we’re going. We don’t know what we’re heading, but having the right mentors and the right guides ⁓ help us make that vision possible. So thank you for letting me share some of my brain today and my passion as well. Appreciate that.

Quentin (32:19)
This is the mic drop moment. Listen, y’all checked out my girl, Miss Katie. Her information are in the show notes. Contact with her, get in contact with her. But definitely make sure you are subscribed here, because I promise you, we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people just like Miss Katie. So ma’am, I thank you again. And listen, everyone else, you have a phenomenal day.