# Faith and Business: Faith and relationships helped him build the largest African American-owned pure tenant commercial real estate firm in the country.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 14 Nov 2024, 26 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/519a0deb-bd9a-42a3-b1c5-b220017af0ca/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed T. Dallas Smith. Founder and CEO of T. Dallas Smith & Company, the largest African American-owned pure tenant rep commercial real estate firm in the U.S. The discussion focused on mentorship, breaking barriers in real estate, and transformative community development. 🔑 Key Themes & Highlights Breaking Barriers in Commercial Real Estate • Smith shared his journey as a trailblazer in commercial real estate, overcoming industry challenges as a Black entrepreneur. • He emphasized the importance of representation and mentorship in helping minorities enter the field. Transformative Community Development • His firm is focused on revitalizing marginalized communities through strategic real estate investments. • He discussed the impact of Microsoft’s land acquisition near Bankhead Highway, which has led to new development opportunities. Mentorship & Leadership Growth • Smith launched the Wisdom Circle, a mentorship initiative to educate young professionals about commercial real estate. • He believes that exposure is key to increasing diversity in the industry. Atlanta’s Commercial Real Estate Boom • As President of the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS®, Smith highlighted the $47.6 billion in transactions completed by its members. • He stressed that brokers play a crucial role in shaping urban development. 📘 About T. Dallas Smith • Dallas Smith is a visionary leader in commercial real estate, dedicated to mentorship, community uplift, and industry transformation. His firm specializes in tenant representation, office space, industrial facilities, and land acquisitions. #AMI #BEST #STRAW #SHMS Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show.
[0:06] Speaker 2: I am Rashwan McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
[0:10] Speaker 2: where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success
[0:13] Speaker 2: stories and start planning their own. Listen up as I
[0:17] Speaker 2: interview entrepreneurs from around the country, talk to celebrities and
[0:21] Speaker 2: ask them how they are running their companies, and speak
[0:24] Speaker 2: with dog profits who are making a difference in their
[0:26] Speaker 2: local communities. Now, sit back and listen as we unlock
[0:29] Speaker 2: the secrets to their success on Money Making Conversations Masterclassome Welcome.
[0:35] Speaker 1: This is Rashaan McDonald. As you know, I'm here every
[0:38] Speaker 1: week our host this weekly money Making Conversation Masterclass show.
[0:42] Speaker 1: As I've always stated, the interviews and information that this
[0:45] Speaker 1: show provides is for you. That's right you, and I'm
[0:48] Speaker 1: happy you're here to tune in to hear what I
[0:50] Speaker 1: got to say tonight and my guests have to say tonight.
[0:52] Speaker 1: It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
[0:56] Speaker 1: start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
[0:59] Speaker 1: your American dream Now. If you want to be a
[1:01] Speaker 1: guest on my show, please visit Moneymakingconversations dot com. That's right,
[1:06] Speaker 1: Moneymaking Conversations dot com and click to be a guest
[1:08] Speaker 1: button now. If you don't know uver Sean McDonald, let
[1:11] Speaker 1: me give you a short little background about me and
[1:13] Speaker 1: the entertainment side of it. You guys know our host
[1:16] Speaker 1: the Money Making Conversations show and podcasts, but from two
[1:20] Speaker 1: thousand to twenty sixteen, I was the personal manager of
[1:24] Speaker 1: A Family Future star and host Steve Harvey. And now
[1:28] Speaker 1: I'm currently also Brad Consulting ESPN steven A Smith and
[1:33] Speaker 1: as well as talk show hosts Sherry Shepherd. These are
[1:36] Speaker 1: people that engage my advice over the years and currently
[1:42] Speaker 1: and I want to share that information to you now
[1:44] Speaker 1: because I'll be this Thursday, November seventh, on the campus
[1:48] Speaker 1: of more House College. On the campus of Morehouse College
[1:51] Speaker 1: at the Shirley Massive Executive Conference Center. That's right this Thursday.
[1:55] Speaker 1: If you're in Georgia, please come down the Small Business
[1:59] Speaker 1: Interment Summer. Rashwan McDonald will be there. If you in
[2:03] Speaker 1: the business, the music industry, the sports, entertainment, TV, film
[2:07] Speaker 1: production or all three, come on down to the Small
[2:10] Speaker 1: Business Entertainment Summer on the campus of Morehouse College this Thursday.
[2:15] Speaker 1: Rashawn McDonald will be there at the Sureley Massive Executive
[2:20] Speaker 1: Massive Executive Conference Center. Now let's get this show rolled.
[2:24] Speaker 1: That I got a guest on the line. He's a
[2:26] Speaker 1: legend to me in this business, and I got to
[2:29] Speaker 1: bring him up. I can't believe I got him on
[2:31] Speaker 1: the show. But he decided to set aside his business
[2:34] Speaker 1: schedule to talk to Rashawn McDonald's Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
[2:38] Speaker 1: My guests company's mission is to expose and create space
[2:42] Speaker 1: for people of color and commercial real estate, elevate the
[2:47] Speaker 1: level of service by putting clients first, and empower others
[2:51] Speaker 1: to expect excellence without exception. His company has represented the
[2:55] Speaker 1: commercial real estate interests of summer the most notable corporations
[2:59] Speaker 1: in the country, including but not limited to, Airbnb, Saint
[3:06] Speaker 1: Jude At and t Athlete's Foot, Coca Cola, FedEx, IBM, JP,
[3:14] Speaker 1: Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Tourists, and Vera Texts, just to name
[3:19] Speaker 1: a few. Please making the Money Making Conversations Masterclass. I
[3:22] Speaker 1: hope I Dave gave him justice in my interview the
[3:25] Speaker 1: legendary T. Dallas Smith.
[3:26] Speaker 3: How you doing, sir man, I'm doing wonderful. Now. I
[3:29] Speaker 3: got you on the song, brother, I'm good. I'm good.
[3:33] Speaker 1: You know, you know I appreciate you taking the time
[3:36] Speaker 1: because of the fact that you know when you've done
[3:39] Speaker 1: as much as you said, and you came right to
[3:41] Speaker 1: the heart of it's about service and about consistency, and
[3:45] Speaker 1: I was in communication. Tells everybody a little background about
[3:49] Speaker 1: you before we really get into the interview, because I
[3:50] Speaker 1: want to talk about miniorship, I want to talk about
[3:52] Speaker 1: your vision, and I want to talk about moving into
[3:55] Speaker 1: twenty twenty five, how the young people and the people
[3:58] Speaker 1: who are my age who will listening to this show
[4:00] Speaker 1: can win your Dallas.
[4:03] Speaker 3: Well, we're trying. First again, Thank you man for having
[4:05] Speaker 3: me on the show. You know, I borrow a line
[4:08] Speaker 3: from God. I'm going blank on his name, but he
[4:12] Speaker 3: used to say Atlanta born, Atlanta Bread. When I died,
[4:15] Speaker 3: he Atlanta dead. That's me, So you know up from
[4:19] Speaker 3: the West side of Atlanta. Grew up off the Simpson
[4:21] Speaker 3: Road and went to Turner High School East Clement, then
[4:25] Speaker 3: Turner High School, and a family moved when I was
[4:27] Speaker 3: fourteen to College Park. Broke my heart, but I ended
[4:31] Speaker 3: up graduating from Lake Shore High School in College Park.
[4:35] Speaker 3: Didn't know what I really wanted to be when I
[4:37] Speaker 3: grew up. All I knew was I wanted to make
[4:38] Speaker 3: a lot of money. So in nineteen eighty two, I
[4:42] Speaker 3: took a Force magazine and I studied with the richest
[4:45] Speaker 3: people in the world. Did the richest people in the
[4:47] Speaker 3: world in nineteen eighty two did one of four things?
[4:50] Speaker 3: They were in the real estate business, they were in
[4:52] Speaker 3: the oil business, technology, or investments. So again, I'm from Atlanta,
[5:00] Speaker 3: or want to take me to Texas? Investments, want to
[5:04] Speaker 3: take me to New York. Technology wasn't my thing, so
[5:07] Speaker 3: left me with real estate. I didn't want to work
[5:10] Speaker 3: on the weekend, so residential was out of the way.
[5:14] Speaker 1: I like you because you tell everybody you gotta have
[5:17] Speaker 1: the standards. If you have a.
[5:18] Speaker 3: Dream, Hey, at the end of the day, you may
[5:21] Speaker 3: not know what you want to do. But I rest
[5:23] Speaker 3: assured there's a lot of things you know you don't
[5:25] Speaker 3: want to do. Yes, So I tell people you don't know,
[5:28] Speaker 3: just back into it. So literally that's what I did.
[5:31] Speaker 3: And my sister was happened to be dating a guy.
[5:34] Speaker 3: But I think with Michael hot Tower, a lot of
[5:36] Speaker 3: people know Michael hot Town, and I joked when I
[5:38] Speaker 3: say that story, a lot of people say he was
[5:40] Speaker 3: dating my sister too. But Michael was the youngest politicist
[5:46] Speaker 3: in the United States at one time. The city council
[5:49] Speaker 3: member in College Park called him asking me if he
[5:52] Speaker 3: knew somebody He knew somebody who introduced me to somebody
[5:55] Speaker 3: who ultimately ended up opening the door for me to
[5:58] Speaker 3: get into commercial real estate. And I have been in
[6:00] Speaker 3: this space now, rashon for forty three years. Brother.
[6:05] Speaker 1: Wow, let mesage you. Let measure the team commercial real estate.
[6:09] Speaker 1: Explain the audience the difference between you know, commercial real
[6:12] Speaker 1: estate and just you know, home buyer real estate.
[6:14] Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely so first and then I'll get even more
[6:17] Speaker 3: specific about the peace that I do in commercial. But
[6:21] Speaker 3: residential is just that typical homes or any if it's
[6:24] Speaker 3: less than four units, it's considered residential. Anything over six
[6:30] Speaker 3: units or four units is commercial. But we focus them
[6:33] Speaker 3: primarily office space, industrial space, and raw land. And we're
[6:39] Speaker 3: on the side that we call tenant representation or occupier services.
[6:44] Speaker 3: So what that means is rashaw. If you go to
[6:46] Speaker 3: a building, want to lease some space, the landlord already
[6:49] Speaker 3: has a guy in there who's representing his interest, right,
[6:53] Speaker 3: we're the people who represent your interests or the occupier
[6:57] Speaker 3: of the space. I tell the people. I tell you,
[7:00] Speaker 3: never go into court by yourself against somebody else on
[7:03] Speaker 3: the other side. Don't go and do this business by yourself.
[7:07] Speaker 3: And we we help companies save millions of dollars. And
[7:10] Speaker 3: so the companies that you named obviously are large companies,
[7:14] Speaker 3: and obviously they have people professional to be able to
[7:17] Speaker 3: do this kind of work. But this is all we
[7:20] Speaker 3: do twenty four to seven, three sixty five.
[7:23] Speaker 1: So to measure this, mister Smith, you know, because in
[7:29] Speaker 1: real estate, you walk around, you see these buildings empty.
[7:32] Speaker 1: You know, you go, man, they might want to just
[7:35] Speaker 1: give away that space. Man, you know, you know because
[7:39] Speaker 1: you hear that. I know I thought like that, you know,
[7:41] Speaker 1: just the buildings empty, they should be able to just
[7:43] Speaker 1: let me go in there and do my thing. So
[7:45] Speaker 1: talk to the audience about empty buildings. Don't mean they're
[7:48] Speaker 1: gonna cut a deal for you. The empty building means
[7:50] Speaker 1: something to that person who owns that building. And also
[7:53] Speaker 1: talk about the when you when you rent in a space,
[7:57] Speaker 1: how people they can give you some some some build
[7:59] Speaker 1: out and all those little things that people can look at.
[8:01] Speaker 1: Do you go from that area of conversation to that
[8:04] Speaker 1: granular were you doing the commercial space realmal.
[8:07] Speaker 3: Absolutely. Our job is to represent your interest. So the
[8:12] Speaker 3: first question in terms of vacant buildings, you never know.
[8:15] Speaker 3: There are people who will keep their buildings vacant because
[8:18] Speaker 3: it represents the tax right off or loss. Okay, they
[8:22] Speaker 3: may maybe making more money and somewhere else and they
[8:24] Speaker 3: need to defer it, so they want to take a
[8:26] Speaker 3: loss over here because they're making a ton of money
[8:28] Speaker 3: somewhere else. So you never know anybody's tax situations. So
[8:31] Speaker 3: that could be the case. Not always, but that definitely
[8:34] Speaker 3: could be the case. But as it relates to there's
[8:37] Speaker 3: a lot of companies. I won't name the company, but
[8:39] Speaker 3: there's one particular company that we represent it and for
[8:43] Speaker 3: a full floor deal call it twenty eight thousand square feet.
[8:48] Speaker 3: And ironically, this group knew the person they were trying
[8:52] Speaker 3: to negotiate with. They brought us in and fundamentally, the
[8:57] Speaker 3: difference between the deal that they were going to get
[8:59] Speaker 3: from their friend and the deal that we struck with
[9:03] Speaker 3: Sean was a difference of three million dollars, right, so
[9:07] Speaker 3: we save them three million dollars. Three million dollars can
[9:10] Speaker 3: buy you more equipment, hire more employees, can do a
[9:14] Speaker 3: lot of things for a small business, right right, So
[9:19] Speaker 3: that's what we do. Ultimately, at the end of the day,
[9:21] Speaker 3: our goal is to represent your interests and to help
[9:23] Speaker 3: you save money. To make sure that you have somebody
[9:26] Speaker 3: representing everything from the rent, the rental rate, the incentives
[9:33] Speaker 3: that you'll get, up front improvements, all of that, from parking,
[9:40] Speaker 3: you name it, if it impacts their business, well, you know,
[9:43] Speaker 3: your space, negotiating.
[9:45] Speaker 1: Everything's a journey, you know that. T. Dallas, Yeah, you know,
[9:48] Speaker 1: no doubt about it. And they you know, you know
[9:50] Speaker 1: the role of mentorship. You know you have your firm
[9:53] Speaker 1: is the largest African American owned, pure tenant representative commercial
[9:57] Speaker 1: real estate firm in the country. So let's go back
[10:01] Speaker 1: to you know when you wrint to me, you know
[10:03] Speaker 1: Roushon McDonald. You know, I got an idea for a
[10:06] Speaker 1: little restaurant around the Cortar. You know they can you know,
[10:10] Speaker 1: I know T. Dallas's man, he writ that's up to everybody.
[10:14] Speaker 1: What mistakes of what do I need to come to
[10:16] Speaker 1: you back then? Because right now you you huge, and
[10:19] Speaker 1: you know you're doing a lot of large space, a
[10:21] Speaker 1: lot of office space, and that that you built that reputation.
[10:25] Speaker 1: You work with a certain type of customer now. But
[10:27] Speaker 1: just my show money Making Conversation master classes, small entrepreneurs
[10:31] Speaker 1: getting in the door trying to understand how they can
[10:35] Speaker 1: become a brick and mortar or get out of that
[10:38] Speaker 1: food truck. What advice how to want to approach that
[10:42] Speaker 1: next step to Dallas.
[10:43] Speaker 3: Yeah, I say, the first thing, make sure you get
[10:46] Speaker 3: somebody representing your interests and you know when you would come.
[10:49] Speaker 3: You know, ironically, the very first deal I ever did
[10:52] Speaker 3: was I was a taxi cab company, and I remember
[10:57] Speaker 3: that deal like it was yesterday. I made three h
[11:00] Speaker 3: dolls off that transaction, and I say that, you know,
[11:03] Speaker 3: I say, the folks of money, but that's three hundred
[11:05] Speaker 3: dollars may as well have been three million dollars because
[11:07] Speaker 3: it was my very first deal. And what I learned
[11:10] Speaker 3: was the ability to have a tax a trade, to
[11:13] Speaker 3: know a skill set that can help somebody save money,
[11:18] Speaker 3: and then doing that I could make some money. So
[11:21] Speaker 3: the first thing is make sure that you get wise counsel.
[11:25] Speaker 3: And I don't care what the business is, and we
[11:27] Speaker 3: represent a large, large, large companies, but we also represent
[11:31] Speaker 3: some small companies too. So if you've got an idea,
[11:34] Speaker 3: and I mean it's a small company. We've got say
[11:37] Speaker 3: twenty people at this office. We've got people who are starting.
[11:40] Speaker 3: But the difference here that even people who are starting,
[11:42] Speaker 3: they have the resources that are around them in this office,
[11:46] Speaker 3: people who've been around the business a very long time.
[11:49] Speaker 3: We've got more than one hundred and fifty years of
[11:51] Speaker 3: experience in this office. So we want to be able
[11:54] Speaker 3: to use that for your to your advantage. So making
[11:57] Speaker 3: sure that you've got, you know, your P and L
[12:00] Speaker 3: is together to make sure you've got a clear vision
[12:02] Speaker 3: for the next three to five years for what you're
[12:04] Speaker 3: trying to do for your business. And then we're talking
[12:07] Speaker 3: about restaurants, so that's retail space, so office industrial land.
[12:12] Speaker 3: I was real big into retail early on when I
[12:14] Speaker 3: got into business. One of the guys I worked for
[12:17] Speaker 3: was a guy by the name of Herman Russell. Yeah,
[12:21] Speaker 3: if you don't know him, you know, look him up.
[12:25] Speaker 3: We did a lot of retail together. But get counsel first,
[12:29] Speaker 3: number one, get counseled. And the other thing that people
[12:32] Speaker 3: they think it's expensive to hire us to do work.
[12:36] Speaker 3: Here's the little secret. The landlords pay us. We get
[12:41] Speaker 3: paid from the landlord because it's a marketing item. That's
[12:44] Speaker 3: already a line item. And the thing is, if you
[12:47] Speaker 3: don't use it, you're not going to get the benefit
[12:49] Speaker 3: of it.
[12:50] Speaker 1: It explain it to my audience when you say that,
[12:52] Speaker 1: you know, so you know, I'm a person out there
[12:55] Speaker 1: looking for a space, so I'm worried about behinding you.
[12:59] Speaker 3: Yeah, so you drive by, you see a sign that says,
[13:02] Speaker 3: you know, call Rashon McDonald the lease space. And so
[13:07] Speaker 3: they call you direct. Now, mind you, you're representing that
[13:11] Speaker 3: particular landlord. They call you direct, and you're going to
[13:16] Speaker 3: be a nice guy, you know, fun to hang out
[13:18] Speaker 3: with and everything. So all of a sudden people like you,
[13:21] Speaker 3: and you know what we're going to do to deal
[13:22] Speaker 3: with you. Now you tell them everything, except you're not
[13:27] Speaker 3: representing them, right, You're representing the landlord. And what happens
[13:33] Speaker 3: is if they go direct with you, you get a larger
[13:36] Speaker 3: fee versus actually it would have been the feat that
[13:39] Speaker 3: would have gone to your broker. They just get to
[13:41] Speaker 3: keep it. So that's the crazy thing about it. It's
[13:46] Speaker 3: already a line item. It's in the marketing line item
[13:49] Speaker 3: for the landlord. So take advantage of that. And again
[13:54] Speaker 3: I tell people all the time, you don't have to
[13:55] Speaker 3: call T D Allie Smith and Company. I hope you do,
[13:58] Speaker 3: but you don't have to. All I asked you is
[14:01] Speaker 3: make sure that you have somebody who represents your interest
[14:04] Speaker 3: in the deal.
[14:06] Speaker 4: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[14:09] Speaker 4: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[14:21] Speaker 4: Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[14:26] Speaker 4: continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
[14:31] Speaker 4: Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[14:36] Speaker 1: His firm is the largest African American owned, pure tenant
[14:40] Speaker 1: representing commercial real estate firm in the country. As he says,
[14:45] Speaker 1: he's a team of go getters at that office. Networking
[14:48] Speaker 1: is his strong point. Dedication, mentorship, support, that's what he
[14:52] Speaker 1: offers at this place and that's why he's been successful
[14:55] Speaker 1: over the year. He has been in the real estate
[14:57] Speaker 1: business over forty years. Because he told you, you know,
[15:01] Speaker 1: he didn't want to go to Texas for all. He
[15:03] Speaker 1: didn't want to do no finance up in New York.
[15:06] Speaker 1: And you know, he wanted the weekends. He didn't want
[15:08] Speaker 1: to work on the weekends. So home real estate was out.
[15:11] Speaker 1: So he found his dream and he's focused on it.
[15:14] Speaker 1: When you find your dream on your focus on it,
[15:16] Speaker 1: people have to guide you down that path. So mintship
[15:19] Speaker 1: plays a role. Can you tell us how mintship played
[15:22] Speaker 1: a role in your success?
[15:24] Speaker 3: T Dallas Smith Absolutely well. The first guy I ever
[15:28] Speaker 3: worked for was a guy named Thomas W. TIFFs with
[15:31] Speaker 3: Atlanta Ayrison of realty. He was the one that really
[15:33] Speaker 3: taught me the business. Ironically, I was on the landlord
[15:37] Speaker 3: side of it first, so I represented all of his
[15:39] Speaker 3: properties near the airport. He owned about eighty acres. Work
[15:42] Speaker 3: for property was office, industrial, land and retail. Love him,
[15:47] Speaker 3: dearly miss him. He died some years ago. That he
[15:51] Speaker 3: was an older white guy and in fact I was
[15:53] Speaker 3: the first black anything he had ever hired. And make
[15:57] Speaker 3: the story even more complicated, his father was a great
[16:00] Speaker 3: and dragon of the Kukus Klan and Tipton But tell
[16:04] Speaker 3: people all the time, but God, God can change anybody's heart,
[16:09] Speaker 3: and sometimes you just got to get out of your
[16:11] Speaker 3: way and allow God to do what He's going to do,
[16:13] Speaker 3: and don't judge people by anything other than the content
[16:18] Speaker 3: of their character, and allow yourself to meet them. But
[16:21] Speaker 3: he taught me the basis of the commercial estate business.
[16:24] Speaker 3: From there, I went to work for Cushman and Wakefield.
[16:27] Speaker 3: I was the first black broker Chushman and Wakefield Heart
[16:30] Speaker 3: in nineteen eighty nine. There I got to work with
[16:33] Speaker 3: some major players. A guy by the name of Andy
[16:36] Speaker 3: Gertner who was sort of the godfather of tendant representation
[16:40] Speaker 3: in this town. He represented the largest deals in this town.
[16:44] Speaker 3: I mean the Georgia Spacific Building was a builder suit
[16:46] Speaker 3: for him. So he was that dude. He's still around,
[16:51] Speaker 3: A dear, dear friend and and a friend to Tdall
[16:55] Speaker 3: Smith and Company and definitely resources to me. And then
[16:58] Speaker 3: I worked for Herman Russell her and I started a
[17:01] Speaker 3: broker's divisiit from Herman. When I left cush from to Wakefield,
[17:04] Speaker 3: I was still in my thirties and hadn't really got
[17:08] Speaker 3: coming into my calling when you talk about mentorship. I
[17:13] Speaker 3: met a young man by the name of Leontay Benton
[17:15] Speaker 3: who wanted to get into the business. And I told
[17:18] Speaker 3: Leonte like I told fifty people before him. People come
[17:22] Speaker 3: to me, we sing, hey, I want to get in
[17:23] Speaker 3: commercial estate. I say, do you gotta have you a license?
[17:25] Speaker 3: They say no, I don't. I said, get your license.
[17:27] Speaker 3: Then we'll talk. So nobody ever came back. So that's
[17:31] Speaker 3: how I literally got rid of people. Yeah, but this kid,
[17:35] Speaker 3: I toldally get his license. Three weeks he comes back
[17:37] Speaker 3: with his license. Now I'm going like, oh, what the
[17:41] Speaker 3: heck I'm gonna do with this kid. So literally, for
[17:43] Speaker 3: two weeks, I'm trying to get rid of him. I
[17:45] Speaker 3: got him walking my dog, washing my car, getting my lunch,
[17:48] Speaker 3: getting coffee. He's not going anywhere. Finally, I'm fed up
[17:53] Speaker 3: with it. So you know, one day I was like, man,
[17:55] Speaker 3: I'm getting rid of him today. I said, Leon, say
[17:56] Speaker 3: how many square feet in the acre? He said, I
[17:58] Speaker 3: don't know, sir. I said, well you better figured that out.
[18:00] Speaker 3: He comes back forty three, five hundred and sixty square feet, sir.
[18:04] Speaker 3: And I was like, yeah, that's right. I said, give
[18:07] Speaker 3: me some coffee. While he went to get coffee, ups
[18:11] Speaker 3: was delivering a case of water to the office. And
[18:15] Speaker 3: as he was putting the water, God I had this epiphany.
[18:18] Speaker 3: God said, Dallas, that was you. That was you when
[18:21] Speaker 3: you got into real estate business in nineteen eighty two.
[18:24] Speaker 3: But there was nobody who looked like you who could
[18:26] Speaker 3: help you. You can help that kid. And like anybody
[18:29] Speaker 3: was ever able to help you, and it was literally
[18:32] Speaker 3: Raseean at that moment. At that time, I realized what
[18:35] Speaker 3: God had called me to do. Me and that kid,
[18:37] Speaker 3: we've been together now decembery eighteen years. He's the president
[18:42] Speaker 3: of this company now because within two weeks of that time,
[18:45] Speaker 3: God told me to train him up as a son,
[18:48] Speaker 3: for this will be the guy who will run your
[18:49] Speaker 3: business when you turned sixty years on. And we've been
[18:53] Speaker 3: on that plan, and I tell you, he's killing it.
[18:55] Speaker 3: He's killing it. He's killing it, and we're bringing more
[18:58] Speaker 3: people up coming behind him. Business partners, Dexter Warrior. A
[19:02] Speaker 3: lot of people in town know Dexter Dexter. I've been
[19:05] Speaker 3: in the business at the same time. Dexter always represented landlords.
[19:08] Speaker 3: I was always on the tenants side. When I realized
[19:11] Speaker 3: he was a free agent, I said, man, you got
[19:13] Speaker 3: to come over here with me. Brothers. You've been ripping
[19:15] Speaker 3: off tennants all your career. Now you can actually help
[19:17] Speaker 3: them coming up. We're coming up on fourteen years agother man.
[19:23] Speaker 3: So I say all this to say, we realize Dexon
[19:26] Speaker 3: not being the two oldest people here. The future of
[19:30] Speaker 3: this industry really depends upon us. Training people up to
[19:34] Speaker 3: do this industry, and I tell people, this is the
[19:36] Speaker 3: only business I know we're selling. You can be broke
[19:38] Speaker 3: on a Friday and rich on a Monday.
[19:40] Speaker 1: Right right, right right. That's a beautiful thing because you
[19:44] Speaker 1: know either the thing that I enjoy first of all,
[19:47] Speaker 1: your energy, you know energy, and I always heard about
[19:50] Speaker 1: there was legendary, your enthusiasm for life, your ability to communicate,
[19:55] Speaker 1: but more importantly to give back part. I never heard
[19:57] Speaker 1: that story because I always know in my life I'm
[20:00] Speaker 1: sitting behind his mic because so many people I always called,
[20:03] Speaker 1: I would say they bumped me. You know, when I
[20:05] Speaker 1: was about to veer off, this is Rachelle. You don't
[20:07] Speaker 1: belong over there. Won't you go back where you're supposed
[20:09] Speaker 1: to be? Okay, okay, I was just tested that with
[20:12] Speaker 1: though we're tired of watching you test. Okay, go where
[20:15] Speaker 1: you're supposed to be. And so with that, that young
[20:18] Speaker 1: man is important for people to understand that. The word
[20:21] Speaker 1: know and also humbleness is why he hung in there
[20:26] Speaker 1: because so many people want to check. I always tell
[20:29] Speaker 1: people because I started out in entertainment. In my career,
[20:32] Speaker 1: I got the degree in mathematics, but I left IBM
[20:35] Speaker 1: to do entertainment, and I always tell people amount of
[20:37] Speaker 1: work I did for free because I wanted people to
[20:40] Speaker 1: see my talent. Even today, I'll take opportunities just to
[20:44] Speaker 1: see how it is. Drive my wife crazy. Of course,
[20:46] Speaker 1: he says you should be charging. I said, well, that's
[20:47] Speaker 1: a relationship I'm building out. It's like a relationship every
[20:50] Speaker 1: time I'm talking to somebody like you as a relationship
[20:53] Speaker 1: that I'm doing. I'm down here. Nobody's paying me a
[20:56] Speaker 1: check to be on this show an hour every Tuesday
[21:00] Speaker 1: on wc OK in Atlanta, Georgia, because I'm getting to
[21:03] Speaker 1: introduce myself and also you individual like you to the world.
[21:07] Speaker 1: Because my show was broadcast international, is broadcast locally. My
[21:10] Speaker 1: podcast is one point three million downloads a month, and
[21:14] Speaker 1: so that lets me know there's a voice out there.
[21:16] Speaker 1: But your brand t Dallas Smith Brother. You know when
[21:21] Speaker 1: you say forty years man, you you make it seem
[21:24] Speaker 1: like that's a that's a journey of happiness and you
[21:26] Speaker 1: throw faith in there. How powerful is faith in business?
[21:30] Speaker 1: How does that correlate in your life? And how does
[21:32] Speaker 1: that allow it to allow you to be so humble?
[21:35] Speaker 3: Man? Let me tell you something. There's a there's a
[21:40] Speaker 3: TDJ has in his book, the Crushing. He talks about
[21:45] Speaker 3: you can't have fine wine without crushed grapes. Wow, And
[21:50] Speaker 3: we all go through some crushing. So as I had
[21:54] Speaker 3: an ego back in the day that was as big
[21:56] Speaker 3: as this building I'm in. If God has a way
[21:59] Speaker 3: of crushing you and bringing you back to a place
[22:03] Speaker 3: of what is really all about? See, it was never
[22:06] Speaker 3: really about all It was never really about the money.
[22:09] Speaker 3: It's really about you walking in the calling that God
[22:12] Speaker 3: has for you. And then walking in that calling, provision
[22:17] Speaker 3: comes and getting knocked to my knees and having to
[22:24] Speaker 3: start all over again was probably the best thing. Not
[22:28] Speaker 3: probably it was the best thing that ever could have
[22:30] Speaker 3: happened to me. Because that didn't happen, that would have
[22:33] Speaker 3: never met Leonte and the odds are will you and
[22:37] Speaker 3: I wouldn't be on a song call now talking about
[22:39] Speaker 3: T Dallas Smith and company. But I'm real clear faith
[22:43] Speaker 3: has everything to do with it. I am the son
[22:47] Speaker 3: of Lena and Glenn Smith. My mother was a praying
[22:52] Speaker 3: woman and I always pray for us. We heard over
[22:58] Speaker 3: and over again, you can do through all do all
[23:00] Speaker 3: things through Christ who strengthens you. Heard that my whole life,
[23:06] Speaker 3: and I know it as true as I'm talking to
[23:08] Speaker 3: you on this phone that if you hear learn the
[23:13] Speaker 3: ability to hear God's voice for you. To this day,
[23:18] Speaker 3: people trying to figure out what I'm doing, and I
[23:20] Speaker 3: tell you, at the end of the day, I'm gonna
[23:21] Speaker 3: give you the secret shot. I just hear God's voice
[23:25] Speaker 3: and I do what he tells me to do, period
[23:28] Speaker 3: hard stop. And so man, I'm looking at the stuff
[23:32] Speaker 3: we're doing. You wouldn't even believe the stuff that we're doing.
[23:35] Speaker 3: The stuff that comes out of nowhere. I know it's
[23:37] Speaker 3: not out of nowhere. People think it's out of nowhere.
[23:40] Speaker 3: But these relationships, building relationships before you need them. That's
[23:44] Speaker 3: one of my keys. Stay green enough to grow today.
[23:49] Speaker 3: I stop learning, put me in the box, brouh. Always
[23:54] Speaker 3: keep something learning, try to get better. I can be
[23:56] Speaker 3: better tomorrow that I am today. That's always my prayer.
[24:00] Speaker 1: Brother, your humbleness and your storytelling is incredible. I'm talking
[24:05] Speaker 1: to T. Dallas Smith. He began his commercial real estate
[24:08] Speaker 1: career in nineteen eighty two. Now today the largest African
[24:13] Speaker 1: American owned firm in the country. My brother, you're during
[24:18] Speaker 1: this this this this half hour wasn't long enough for
[24:20] Speaker 1: me and you. I'm just gonna let you know that, man,
[24:23] Speaker 1: you know, because we got more stuff to say, but
[24:25] Speaker 1: I got another guest on another half hour of this.
[24:27] Speaker 1: But more importantly, I just want to let you know
[24:30] Speaker 1: that we got to get together off air because.
[24:33] Speaker 3: I love it. I'd love to do that because you
[24:36] Speaker 3: one thing that we have in coming. We both we
[24:38] Speaker 3: both did stand up.
[24:40] Speaker 1: Okay, well I can see I can see the energy there.
[24:43] Speaker 1: But you know I did death jam, I did be coverfew.
[24:46] Speaker 1: You know I did all that.
[24:47] Speaker 3: Now, man, you're a man. Man.
[24:54] Speaker 1: I appreciate your brother. Thank you for coming on Money
[24:56] Speaker 1: Made Conversation t Dallas Smith. And thank your staff man
[24:59] Speaker 1: because next to us, because they reached out to me
[25:02] Speaker 1: and made this happen. Man, and they did they do
[25:04] Speaker 1: dealing this work your schedule so we can make this
[25:06] Speaker 1: interview happen. And it was well worth the way. My brother,
[25:09] Speaker 1: thank you for coming on Money Making master Class. We
[25:11] Speaker 1: talked soon. Okay, make that money baby, all right, appreciate
[25:14] Speaker 1: you all right, cool, this is Rashon McDonald. You're listening
[25:19] Speaker 1: to Money Making Conversation master Class. Like I said earlier
[25:22] Speaker 1: this week, I'll be at the Small Business Entertainment Summit
[25:25] Speaker 1: that will be on the campus of Mohause College. If
[25:27] Speaker 1: you want to hear Rashwan, you want to talk to
[25:29] Speaker 1: me if you're in the music industry, sports entertainment industry
[25:32] Speaker 1: this Thursday. If you're in the Georgia area, Money Making
[25:37] Speaker 1: Conversation hosts Rashwan McDonald would be there at the Small
[25:41] Speaker 1: Business Entertainment Summit at the Shirley Massey Executive Conference Center.
[25:45] Speaker 1: If you're right back with more Money Making Conversations Master Class,
[25:47] Speaker 1: don't go nowhere. This has been another edition of Money
[25:50] Speaker 1: Making Conversation Master Class hosted by me Rashwan McDonald. Thank
[25:54] Speaker 1: you to our guests on the show today and thank you.
[25:57] Speaker 1: I'll listening to audience now. If you want to listen
[25:59] Speaker 1: to the episode I want to be a guest on
[26:01] Speaker 1: the show. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle
[26:06] Speaker 1: is Moneymaking Conversation. Join us next week and remember to
[26:09] Speaker 1: always leave with your gifts. Keep winning.

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