Kate Clifford is a commercial real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Nicholson-Williams Realty.
HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN A COMMERCIAL REALTOR?
Since she got her license six years ago. “When we started we weren’t Coldwell Banker Nicholson-Williams Realty, we were Nicholson Properties. About two years ago we merged with Coldwell Banker Walter Williams and became Coldwell Banker Nicholson-Williams Realty.”
BEFORE REAL ESTATE?
“My background is in business. When I got out of school I was always on the consulting side and marketing side primarily in the hospitality industry. I ran a chain of restaurants in Washington, D.C. before moving to Florida in 1990. We moved here and opened and owned a restaurant and did a lot of consulting with local restaurants including Sliders and Harry’s Seafood. Then I started running the two Sliders restaurants and 24 Miramar; I ran that group of restaurants for Michael Thomas.
HOW DID SHE GET INTO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“The woman who sold me my house was the wife of my broker, Nick Nicholson. So, I met Nick, and Nick was a commercial broker at the time. We kept in touch and he kept telling me I would be good at commercial real estate. About six years ago he convinced me to get my license. So I got my license and handed it to him and said, ‘OK, here I am ready to work.’ So I started working in his office. If it weren’t for Nick, I would have never thought about coming into commercial real estate.”
COLLEGE
She has a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in hospitality business administration from Cornell University.
HOW DID YOUR DEGREE HELP YOU IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“I have a strong numbers and marketing background. I think real estate is about marketing yourself, marketing your product and making sure people know what you are capable of doing. Also, making sure the community knows what properties you have available. Marketing is a process. You look at what you have, who is out there that might want it and what is the best vehicle to get what you have in front of those people.”
FAVORITE THING ABOUT REAL ESTATE?
“The diversity. The pace. That on any given day I might work on six, eight or 10 projects. There is always something calling me. I never look at the clock at 5 p.m. and say, ‘Good, it’s time to go home’. I look at it and say, ‘Oh, no I have three more hours of work and only 45 minutes to do it.’
ADVICE SHE WOULD GIVE TO NEW AGENTS
“What makes you effective is your market knowledge, so I think one of the most important thing is to become knowledgeable about a specific niche or area. It doesn’t have to be geographical, but if you are going to be a restaurant broker, then you need to know everything there is about every restaurant broker and who the tenants are who want to be in the market. I feel pretty confident that I know more about the beaches than any other commercial broker in the city. I do 60-70 deals a year and 60 of them are here at the beach.”
SPECIALITY
Commercial real estate at the beach. “I know a lot about retail and office space, and I love doing my restaurant deals.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN DOWNTOWN?
“There are going to be some opportunities for restaurant tenants downtown. There are significant day time numbers, but the evening numbers change from a volume of people and the demographics. The demographics are not conducive to a lot of restaurants that would be successful during the day, but not at night. Restaurants are very expensive to operate. I’m waiting for the demographics to be strong enough for certain restaurant concepts to be successful downtown. People will not travel from other parts the city to go downtown for dinner. You have to get critical mass downtown and the restaurants will follow. Once you get enough going on that a couple places are successful, success begets successfulness.”
WHAT WAYS CAN A COMMERCIAL REALTOR GET THEIR NAME OUT THERE?
“Identify people you need to know. Be involved in Chamber of Commerce and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission committees. You need to make sure when you are at a Christmas party that you let people know what you do. When I look at my files 60 percent are people I have already done business with.”
BIRTHPLACE
Maryland, but she grew up in upstate New York.
RESIDES
Ponte Vedra Beach.
FAMILY
She has been married to John for 14 years. They have one son, John, 11.
HAS BEING A WOMAN AFFECTED HER AS A COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE AGENT?
“My personal opinion is that there are probably a few doors that have been closed, but there are other doors that were opened. For every one instance that it has hurt me being female, there were probably two times that it helped me being female. When you walk into a room people will look at you and make a visual determination, but as soon as you open your mouth with what it is that you know, none of it really matters. They will discount you and underestimate you and then say, ‘Oh, she is really smart.’ The best way that I can help woman is by being professional and good at what I do.”
HOBBIES
“I love golf.” She plays golf every Sunday morning with her mom and dad. “My dad is my greatest competitor.” She also enjoys gardening and cooking.
FAVORITES
Instead of going out, she enjoys having friends over for an Italian, fresh pasta, grilled or seafood dinner. When she does decide to go out, she enjoys the “The Outback Crab Shack.” Her favorite book is “The Prince of Tides” by Pat Conroy and her favorite television show is “The West Wing.” She also watches a lot of gardening and cooking shows. Her favorite place to visit is the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River. “We don’t go to the movies, we watch them on television. If I have two and a half hours of time of grownup time, I’d rather sit and enjoy a bottle of wine and talk to my husband.”
—by Michele Newbern Gillis