Today we’d like to introduce you to Nakia Warner.
Hi Nakia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started my real estate career at the age of 25. I was the youngest agent at Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty. Yes, I began a real estate career on the lovely island of Bermuda famous for their Pink Sands Beaches and crystal clear ocean blue water. You see I am a 2nd generation immigrant. My family migrated to the States from Bermuda a couple of years before I was born. As a child, I typically spent my summers in Bermuda and I always wanted to live there. As an undecided college major, I decided one October to live there for one year. I moved in the following January and absolutely hated it my 1st year there. It was a bit of a culture shock to be honest. Everything closed early and everything moved slow “On Island Time” I remember going to a fish spot and owner said “Ms. Atlanta we’re not rushing, you will have to wait, just slow down’ LOL I often miss the slower pace of island life! I spent my 1st year at Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty as a Rental Agent. I became the Top Overall Agent and held that position each year. I moved into sales right before the market crashed. We didn’t feel the crash in Bermuda until two years after the U.S. In 2012 I moved back to The States to start my family. I was pregnant with my firstborn while taking real estate classes and soon after joined Keller Williams Realty. As a new mom and what felt like a new agent as the real estate market in the U.S. was quite different, I left real estate for just about two years. I hated every day of my 9-5 at the bank. When my best friend hired a realtor to sell her home, at that moment then I realized how much my heart ached to get back in real estate. Her agent was horrible and I talked her through a good bit of it on my lunch breaks and after work. I re-activated my real estate license at what seemed like a few days after my second child was born and I haven’t turned back! You see I got a call from my co-workers at the bank, the day I was going to be induced for labor that the manager posted my job. Yup, they were letting me go. No protection as I had not been at that particular bank long enough. Even though I had won awards in my short period of time as a top salesperson, it just wasn’t enough. My co-workers were more upset than me. One girl couldn’t understand why I was not upset. I said with the biggest smile on my face “Girl I am going back to real estate! Now let me get to this hospital and have my baby!
When I came back to real estate, that’s when I began to learn what it meant to market yourself. You see in Bermuda, the company you worked for did most of your marketing. The only marketing I did was a little Newsletter called Island Property News and a few videos for my series called City Spot. I had no idea I was marketing myself, I was truly just having fun! So why not have more fun and record videos of new construction here in my real estate business. So that’s what I did. I started recording videos for social media on new construction, the home buying process and just about anything my clients asked about… In 2019 my Mom passed away. She was my #1 fan and my best friend! I remember calling her from the conference room of Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty and would say “Hey Mommy act like you want to sell your home and let’s role play!” She was always up for it and would challenge me too. She was my 1st roleplay partner! The year she passed I buried myself in real estate. It kept me so busy and helped me to bury my sadness and heartache. I worked so damn hard and had one of my best years in real estate. But money could never replace a loved one you’ve lost. I’ve heard my share of stories of agents saying how they missed out on their children’s lives because they grinded so hard, looked back at failed relationships, hustled so hard they had mental breakdowns and so on. I look at my life now and see where I have been guilty of going, going, going, but not really living or enjoying the moments. I often hear my mom in my ear saying Kia ‘slow down’ or the lady from the fish spot in Bermuda saying those same words. I have come very far in my real estate career, I joined Village Premier Collection in 2020 and shortly became the General Manager of their Stockbridge Office, I was GM of the year for 2021, and now I look around at all my accomplishments and I am just thankful to be here and grateful for the experiences. I’ve always been ambitious, I’ve always been a leader, I have always worked hard and as I continue my voyage through life I intend to enjoy life in the present, work hard, play hard, but the hustle, grind your meat to the bone mentality isn’t as appealing as it’s portrayed in our society.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, not at all. As a new agent at the age of 25 in a country where most of the real estate agents were 40 and up! I really had to prove myself as an agent! I remember one client hired me but just didn’t trust that I could get his property closed. So he hired multiple agents in what’s called an Open Listing, where basically whomever closes the deals gets paid. I did everything in my power to get to the finish line 1st. Well did I ever! and it record time! I killed the competition, he then became a lifelong client and referred me to his twin brother, friends and family. Every once and a while I send a hello on FB.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Pink Sands Group?
I Nakia of Pink Sands Group. I currently hold my license with Village Premier Collection. I am known for my real estate videos. I am most proud of my longevity as an agent. So many agents come and go in the real estate industry. Brand wise I am most proud of my consistency in my video delivery and digital marketing. It’s what sets me apart from other agents. We don’t just plop a For Sale Sign in your yard. We digitally market your home. I mean that where a lot of the buyers are. Everyone is on social media, so we market where the people are!
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Asking my grandfather for a pool party for my birthday. But uh we didn’t even have a pool! When my grandparents bought our next home, he had a pool installed and I had a pool party at nine years old. I was his right hand girl and helped him keep the pool up as my chores!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinksandsgroup/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PinkSandsGroup
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjsAetyo13TaWAqjM3kWCgA
- Other: https://g.co/kgs/5qh9zP
