Rolling Out Magazine

Angel Knight

Founder and CEO

Diamond Realty Brokers

Full Article: (Article Brief on RollingOut.com)

1. What is your role at said organization/company? I’m Founder & CEO of Diamond Realty Brokers. Diamond Realty Brokers is a residential & commercial real estate agency based in Atlanta, Ga.

In addition to residential sales, Diamond Realty Brokers has consulted & managed over 4100 Real Property Assets totaling nearly $300 Million from Multi Family, Senior Housing, LIHTC Properties, Single Family Corporate Portfolios, REIT’s & Commercial Real Estate.

2. Educational Background: I studied at Tennessee State University & obtained a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology at Georgia State University.

I also hold multiple real estate brokerage licenses in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina & South Carolina. 

3. What qualifications prepared me for this job?

A combination of qualifications prepared me for this job in addition to obtaining multiple real estate licenses. Before I received my real estate license, I was a Large Enterprise Consultant with IBM Corporation in the late 90’s. The business development & technology skills I gained were very essential to my sustainability in the real estate industry. It prepared me for this digital age. Our team consulted Fortune 500 companies on technology solutions, which at the time was innovative e-commerce technology so I am able to understand the value technology brings to my real estate business. Instead of resisting technological changes, I welcome it. Being found online by millions of people doesn’t happen by chance. It happens by target marketing & not being afraid of technological advances. Those qualifications help my firm to be the #1 searched real estate firm in a number of markets. When real estate meets technology it creates a significant more affordable platform for scalability versus other marketing & advertising platforms.

4. What are your thoughts on being a powerful woman?

We have philosophical, human & intellectual stake in power. We give birth to power so we may as well own it. Harriet Tubman said she could have freed more slaves if they knew they were slaves. I believe successful women can empower other women if women truly know they are powerful.

5. What are the three most important factors of being a successful woman?

Having defined principles for your faith, family & finances.

What works for your family dynamics may not work for someone else. You have to find that rhythm that works for you. Move in that direction & stay the course. When the rhythm changes, find the notes that fit that workflow so that your family life will have harmonic balance.

I do believe we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Exercising your faith muscle is key for spiritual & financial growth. Which leads to my third principle. Having defined principles for your finances is an important factor for being a successful woman.

Only you know where you want to be financially. Create a 1,3 & 5 year blue print of what financial success looks like to you not someone else. Articulate that to a financial advisor or your banker & commit to the work that will allow your financial vision to manifest.

6. How can women increase their income?

Invest in yourself & your brand. Develop a blue print for where you want to be & set goals over a timeline so that you can hold yourself accountable. Do your own research & don’t be afraid to ask others that have been where you want to be. Discover how you can monetize what you love to do. Learn how to keep your overhead & risks low so that your return can be maximized. Consider hiring a business consultant that can help you learn how to be a sustainable successful business owner. 

7. Who or what motivates you & why?

My faith motivates me to inspire aspiring female entrepreneurs. The 9 to 5 life does not always align with every family dynamic. Many women & mothers are settling for a life that is less than what they had hoped. Staring my own real estate agency over a decade ago was a result of not wanting to settle even as a single mom. Apart of my life’s mission is to leave a stable financial legacy for not just my son by for his children’s children, that motivates me. The real estate industry was the hardest hit industry during the 2008 economic recession & my real estate agency survived when many independent & franchise brokerages closed. I’m also motivated by the fact that less than 2% of Realtors are minorities according to many reports from the National Association of Realtors and only 5% of Real Estate Agency’s are Minority & Women Owned according to The Minority Business Development Agency U.S. Dept of Commerce 2015 Report. Victories don’t happen by accident. I believe victories happen so that you can help someone else become victorious. I basically grew up as a fatherless daughter, yet my childhood mentor was Vernon Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey’s father. I don’t believe that happened by chance but by faith.

8. What advice do you wish to offer women that are seeking a similar career path?

 After obtaining the appropriate real estate license, create a business plan for business development, marketing, advertising & transaction management. Incorporate real estate technology into simplifying your day to tasks. Time is money so go paperless. You’ll make a return on your time by going paperless with e-signing documents & using secure cloud based systems for internal processes. Utilizing cloud based technology allows you to work from anywhere in the world so your not tied down to an office. This will allow you to build a business around the lifestyle you desire instead of building a life around your business. In other words, my family life is the central hub without that principle, your chakras won’t be balanced & you’ll be constantly trying to balance life, work & play.

Invest a portion of your time in various continuing education courses for real estate to become an expert in your market. Obtaining a real estate license only gives you the right to practice real estate it doesn’t teach you how to develop business, market or even sell real estate. There are enough people with a real estate license but not enough professionals that invest time in becoming an expert. Know that no one is going to build your business but you. Brokers may give you the tools & training resources that you need but you have to use the tools & be coachable to get trained. You have to be self motivated to be self employed no matter what industry. If you treat your profession like a business, you’ll be at the beginning of a sustainable real estate career.

9. Words of wisdom or favorite quote?

Have enough faith to take your journey to financial freedom even if you have to build your wings on the way down.  ~ Angel Knight

See Article Brief on Rolling Out.com

Angel Knight is one of the remarkable women who made the list of this year’s Top 25 Women of Atlanta. As the founder and CEO of Diamond Realty Brokers, Knight manages agents of the real estate agency, oversees partnership alliances, and executes other intricate tasks that have made the firm a major success and the No. 1 searched real estate firm in several markets.

Knight credits her professional triumphs to several things, including her many real estate brokerage licenses, her knack for combining tech skills with real estate knowledge, and having Oprah Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, as a childhood mentor. But Knight believes we can only truly be victorious if we teach others our secrets to being triumphant.

“Harriet Tubman said she could have freed more slaves if they knew they were slaves. I believe successful women can empower other women if women truly know they are powerful,” Knight says.

Other than motivating other women, Knight stays in-spired to keep winning because she feels carrying on a legacy of greatness to her son and descendants is essential.

“Starting my own real estate agency over a decade ago was a result of not wanting to settle, even as a single mom,” she recalls. “A part of my life’s mission is to leave a stable financial legacy for not just my son, but for his children’s children.”

As a determined woman in her field who even man-aged to keep Diamond Realty Brokers alive during the economic recession, the real estate expert has vital ad-vice for those seeking a similar career path. She says that after obtaining a real estate license, create a business plan for business development, marketing and transaction management; and incorporate real estate technology into simplifying your day-to-day tasks.