Yesmeen “Yaz” Abdullatif

When Taking a Chance Leads to a Career

By Robbyn Moore

Photos by Jermaine Buie with Perfect Light, LLC

Exemplary leadership is not something that can be taught in a classroom. Leaders are bred and taught through their experiences with adversity and conflict. Through precisely those types of experiences, Yesmeen “Yaz” Abdullatif has evolved into the kind of leader that any company would be lucky to have leading the way.

At 16 years old, Yaz faced an unfathomable amount of adversity when she suddenly lost both of her parents. Most 16-year-olds would break under such circumstances, but Yaz couldn’t. She’s the oldest of four children and knew that she needed to stay strong for her brother and sisters. It was at the same time that most kids were deciding where to attend college that Yaz was getting custody of her three siblings and buying her first home.

It was around this time that Yaz was introduced to the world of real estate. She was given an opportunity to work for a brokerage and jumped on it without hesitation. As her experience expanded, so did her passion for all things real estate. Even more so, her new leadership role at home and her growing knowledge of the industry had her ready to take the next step in her career. To further evolve her skills, she began working for a Detroitbased title company.

In no time, Yaz was moving up within the company and took on a leadership position within the company’s real estate team and began leading at a national level. Yaz knew exactly what she was meant to do for a living — helping people grow and hone their skills through coaching and training. The same experiences that caused so much pain allowed her to evolve into a leader with a perfect balance of empathy and assertion.

“Buying and selling homes are two of the most important and emotional decisions someone will make in their lifetime. Being able to assist with that is rewarding on so many levels. The best part about my job was not only helping in that area but also having the privilege to help friends and colleagues create a career for themselves as well,” Yaz explained. “The chance to teach others became so rewarding that I began to find every opportunity to champion others. In turn, I was learning something new every day.”

A little over two years ago, Yaz listed a home for sale in Canton, MI. It was during this transaction that Yaz met Erik Wright, who was working with a small brokerage out of Plymouth, MI, at the time. He was representing the buyers, and they both had to work together to get through several speed bumps throughout the deal.

“Everything that could go wrong with this deal, did,” Yaz recalled. “In an effort to get our clients to the closing table, Erik and I maintained a very level-headed relationship. The disruptions of the transaction had nothing to do with either one of us personally, so we focused on the goal, and, together, we were able to get both of our clients the results they were hoping for in the end.”

After the transaction was completed, Erik approached Yaz about an idea that he had to start his own brokerage with a focus on the strategy that had allowed him to build his personal business. He was doing something new in the industry by leveraging social media and technology to sell homes more effectively. With Erik’s expertise being geared more toward business strategy and marketing, Yaz was the perfect partner to handle the operational side of the company.

“While I was earning a very healthy income at the time, I wasn’t feeling strong about my future growth possibilities,” Yaz shared. “I’ve never chased money to make me happy, so I was excited to hear more about what Erik was working on.”

After a couple of months of Erik trying to sell her on starting this company with him, Yaz decided it was time to take the leap. Yaz has always been hungry for growth and for further developing her own skills, and this presented the opportunity to do just that. They decided to name the company Social House Real Estate Group (SH) after their strategy, which is heavily focused on paid social media marketing.

“I’m so glad that I took the leap and invested in myself,” Yaz said. “I’m healthier and happier after finding the type of autonomy that I was looking for, which has led to a whole new level of confidence in myself. Bottom line, best decision I’ve ever made.”

At SH, Yaz acts as the Chief Operating Officer where she puts her talents on full display — training their growing team of agents and helping them achieve their goals by implementing their innovative, new strategies.

They currently have 15 licensed salespeople and two staff members, with plans to more than double their team in 2021. “We continue to see technology threaten to replace jobs all over the United States, and real estate is no exception. Anyone can simply list a home, but merely uploading a home to the internet isn’t going to cut it anymore. We need to do more for our clients and, in turn, help them make more money when they’re selling by leveraging strategic, paid social media ads that get their home in front of hundreds of thousands more people,” Yaz explained. “It’s important that we don’t ignore the obvious changes in people’s expectations when it comes to buying and selling a home. Blockbuster, for example, refused to adapt to consumer needs, and we saw how that ended for them. I don’t want the same to happen to our profession.”

“The saying, ‘people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care’ really resonates with me,” Yaz said. “I think a lot of leaders like to jump in and tell their teams about everything they’ve learned or know without taking the time to learn about their people. My question is: If you can’t take the time to invest in the people around you, then why will they invest in anything you’re building?”

It’s that mentality that has led Yaz to become an incredible leader, both in and out of the real estate industry. In addition to her role at SH, she also serves as the president of a nonprofit organization called Pet-A-Pet where she helps volunteers who offer their personal dogs and/or cats as pet therapy animals.

Yaz has no plans of slowing down. “I’m excited for what else is to come,” Yaz said enthusiastically. “I owe a debt of gratitude to Erik for seeing something in me and never giving up.” Her appreciation has been poured into her business, which is led by a genuine work ethic and fueled with compassion. “I’ve always believed in myself, but it’s nice when others do, too.”

A lesson that Yaz learned early in her career, which she offers to other agents, is to take a chance on yourself. “You won’t regret it,” she concluded.

Yesmeen “Yaz” Abdullatif - Celebrating Leaders