Universal Commercial Profiled in Memphis Business Journal

Date: Friday, June 29, 2012, 5:00am CDT - Last Modified: Thursday, June 28, 2012, 12:20pm CDT

Michael Sheffield

Staff writer- Memphis Business Journal

A look inside five minority-owned Memphis businesses

Darrell Cobbins remembers his grandfather working six days a week as a residential real estate broker. Cobbins’ grandfather started his company in 1959, and Cobbins’ mother, as well as Cobbins and his brother Donnell, grew up around the business. While all three eventually got into real estate, Darrell Cobbins took it a step further by launching Universal Commercial in 2007.

His brother and mother joined the company soon after.“I’d say 90 percent of our business comes from people we’ve gotten to know over the years,” Cobbins says. “In Memphis, people are predisposed to do business with people they know.”  While that atmosphere may seem inviting if you happen to know a lot of people with a lot of real estate, Cobbins says those relationships also can prevent business opportunities for companies looking to break through those bonds.

Cobbins began his career with Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors, where he learned the philosophy of “working with whatever came through the door.”

“You just don’t show up and somebody hands you their business,” he says. “The smallest real estate transaction could represent hundreds of thousands of dollars, and people are trusting you with a big part of their business.”

Universal Commercial currently has four brokers, but Cobbins wants to grow to 10. The company is beginning to work in the nonprofit sector after starting in the private sector. Until the economy consistently improves, Cobbins sees more competition for fewer deals around the city. And while the familiar business practices are loosening up a little, he says the community can truly grow if it continues to evolve.  “We need to speed it up,” Cobbins says. “There needs to be more examples of complete success through inclusion. The more inclusive we can be from an economic standpoint, a lot of the other issues in the city will take care of themselves.”