REAL with Derrick Luckett Real Estate Expert YBNB: Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today? DL: I started on my journey to getting into sales by knowing that I could not be an employee’s journey started by me being unemployed and looking for work as a young black man in Chicago IL. I go to store one day and I see an Ebony magazine with the Black salesman of the year on the front page. I was startled to know that I recognized that man on the Ebony Magazine. It was the man that I had seen every day, sometimes two to three times a day. The man of the year was my Landlord who lived directly up over my head on the
second floor of the building I was living in. I immediately purchased it and ran home to ask him for a job. He explained he could not hire me because he was selfemployed. I was not familiar with the terminology, so I got a better understanding and said yes that is me. When he stated he was his own boss my ears stood up. I wanted to be my own boss, determine my own paycheck, and work my own hours. I know this was a double-edged sword, but it was what I needed to be independent. Because I knew if I had no discipline this could be devastating to my family who was relying on me and my income being Self-employed. So I have been Self Employed over 35 years as a Licensed Insurance Agent, Realtor, and Mortgage Broker. To this
day I have received numerous Community Leadership awards from my efforts. Awards from Congress, the Senate the U.S Assembly members, Numerous Boards etc. this is my give back to the Community in which I do business in. YBNB: We strongly believe in the significance of pursuing your passion and loving what you do – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that getting to that point isn’t always that easy… Overall, would you say things have been easy for you? DL: No, I would not say things have been easy for me. I did not go to College to become a business owner, so my lessons were from the school of hard knocks.
