Universal Fulfills Long-Standing Real Estate Legacy

FROM THE MEMPHIS DAILY NEWS
(Photo: Lance Murphey)

Memphis Small Business Spotlight

Universal Commercial Built On Deep Family Legacy
By JEFF IRELAND
Updated 4:11PM

For some people, the prospect of working with one’s brother, wife and mother on a daily basis would be a less than enticing proposition.

Darrell Cobbins, right, is president and Donnell Cobbins is vice president of Universal Commercial Real Estate.

But as far as Darrell Cobbins, the owner, president and CEO of Memphis-based Universal Commercial LLC, is concerned, there’s no other way he’d rather do business.

“I’m real big on trust,” said Cobbins, who founded the real estate business that focuses on tenant representation and brokerage services four years ago. “Nobody will have your back, or your best interests at heart, like your family. For three generations we’ve been a real estate family. It’s not a hard hurdle to get over. It’s actually very rewarding to continue a legacy that was started more than 50 years ago.”

In the 1950s, Cobbins’ grandfather, Samuel Cobbins, developed one of Memphis’ first black middle-income neighborhoods, Lake View Gardens, located in Southwest Memphis off Horn Lake Road.

The 400-house subdivision housed African-American professionals who were pursuing, as Darrell Cobbins puts it, “the American dream.”

Samuel Cobbins also mentored several real estate professionals who went on to enjoy long and successful careers.

Darrell Cobbins is doing his best to continue to build on his grandfather’s real estate success, albeit in different ways.

When Cobbins first started the company, Universal Commercial had basically one client.

Today the company has clients in the private sector like FedEx and in the government sector like the city of Memphis.

Universal Commercial is licensed in Arkansas and will soon be in Mississippi. The plan over the next three years is to have offices in Little Rock and Jackson, Miss.

“We see ourselves evolving as a regional services firm where we can service clients in those markets,” Cobbins said. “We plan on growing and building a client base in those areas. … We also plan on adding more brokers to our team to help grow the company and grow the footprint. Building and growing the team and expanding our service area geographically is what’s at the forefront of my mind over the next three to five years.”

Cobbins said Universal Commercial is different than larger companies like Colliers International and CB Richard Ellis.

“We’re not into property management,” Cobbins said. “We’re not leasing to fill up buildings. We’re on the other side of the table. We focus on market knowledge, market expertise, negotiation and representation for businesses going into properties.”

While Cobbins’ grandfather was instrumental in his success, his current family is a big part of the operation now.

His mother, Shirley Cobbins, is a licensed agent with the firm who worked with Samuel Cobbins. Cobbins’ wife, Mickey, joined the company in 2007 and handles the company’s operations. A younger cousin, who was a student at Lemoyne-Owen College, has interned at the company.

And his older brother, Donnell Cobbins, is also a licensed agent and part of the team.

Like his brother, Donnell Cobbins said he sees working with family members as a positive.

“It’s actually rewarding,” he said. “We’re uniquely connected. We know each other very well. … There’s a saying that if two people always think alike, one of those folks is not needed. Darrell and I bounce a lot of ideas off one another. We work collaboratively to service the needs of our clients. I think we do a pretty good job of working together.”

Darrell Cobbins graduated from Memphis University School in 1991. He earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology and sociology from Rhodes College and a master’s degree from the University of Memphis in business administration.

His first job in real estate came in 2001 as a broker with Commercial Advisors LLC and he also worked for Guardsmark and the Greater Memphis Chamber.

When he was a student he wrote a paper about his grandfather.

“He’s legendary in the Memphis real estate community,” Cobbins said. “He helped a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t have become homeowners. He laid a long legacy for us to pick up and try and carry forward.”

Bankers Panel Marks Third Installment in Power Breakfast Series (August 2011)

Executives urge small and startup businesses to build close banking relationships
By James Dowd
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Posted August 6, 2011 at midnight


Photo by Brandon Dill // Buy this photo

Panelist Joy Bowen talks with Roby Williams before the start of Friday's Minority Business Enterprise Power Breakfast. Likening it to a medical checkup, Bowen urged new business owners to meet regularly with their bankers to head off problems.

While accessing capital is a challenge for many small-business owners, securing adequate financing can prove even more difficult for minority and female entrepreneurs who lack established contacts within financial networks.

That's why developing close relationships with local lenders should be a top priority for entrepreneurs, a panel of financial industry leaders advised during "The Million Dollar Question" forum held at the University Club on Friday.

Sponsored by Universal Commercial real estate company, the event featured panelists Joy Bowen, vice president of diversity banking at First Tennessee Bank; Dorothy Cleaves, vice president of private banking at Paragon National Bank;

Joshua Shipley, vice president of commercial banking at Independent Bank; and Shawn Thomas, vice president of lending at Tri-State Bank of Memphis.

"The first thing I tell anyone thinking of starting a business is to develop a relationship right away with a lender and not wait until a crisis occurs to ask for an extended credit line," Cleaves said. "Open an account, get to know your lender personally and be completely transparent about your finances. In this economy, you've got to be proactive if you want to survive."

Bowen agreed, comparing regular visits to bankers to routine trips to see dentists or doctors.

"You go for a physical or a dental checkup to make sure there aren't any problems or to detect them early on and take care of them," Bowen said. "Use that same mentality with your lender and schedule regular meetings to go over your business operations. You'll be in a much better position to apply for extra capital if you're engaged in the process from the front end."

A midyear report released by the National Small Business Association indicated that more than one-third of small-business owners are facing difficulty obtaining adequate financing for their companies. The issue is exacerbated because many small-business owners don't have adequate assets to apply for traditional loans.

Recognizing that some entrepreneurs may not qualify for institutional financing, Thomas said that alternate sources of lending should also be explored.

"You may want to consider using your personal savings or taking on investors or even working with venture capitalists if you're willing to give up some level of control," Thomas said. "The bottom line is, if your business idea is important enough to pursue, then you need to be diligent about maintaining the finances to keep it going."

Recent economic conditions have led many small-business owners to resist taking on added debt, Shipley said, due to fears of paying loans back. However, he stressed that banks are committed to helping small companies through a variety of avenues.

"We've got credit counseling services and resources available to help small-business owners grow their operations," Shipley said. "We want them to succeed, because that helps us from a business perspective and it benefits the community by creating jobs and wealth."

And that's imperative for the future of the city, said Tomeka Hart, president and CEO of the Memphis Urban League and a commissioner on the Memphis City Schools board.

"There's a disparity of wealth in our community, but supporting minority and female-owned small businesses can create a lasting positive impact in Memphis," Hart said. "It's a huge economic issue, but when one succeeds, we all succeed because our community prospers."

-- James Dowd: (901) 529-2737