Advice on starting a CRE Marketing company.
I am not a licensed real estate agent, however I am a web developer, digital marketer and skilled craftsman and photographer.  I build websites for boutique real estate brokers, take pictures for their listings and market their businesses. 

I would like to combine my strengths to create a commercial real estate marketing company.  My idea is to organize all the miscellaneous listings at the retail/class B level and take proper pictures/virtual tours of these properties to list on my own CRE MLS website. I would brand the company/service as a unique CRE marketing company that landlords and brokers alike can use to market their properties. Think of LoopNet, but with its own 'feet on the street' approach - in that you pay a one-time fee for each listing, but get a branded sign in the window with my CRE MLS's URL to direct passers by to the website to view the property. The one-time or monthly fee would cover the photo shoot, floor plan, virtual tour (360 degree walk through) and all the leads/inquiries would go directly to the person who pays for it - whether that be the landlord or listing broker. 

The current listings in my target market don't have any online presence (they typically are listed with a no-name broker who primarily does residential, or they are listed for sale/lease by the landlord them self with a cardboard sign scribbling their phone number with a black sharpie in the storefront). 

Let me know your thoughts on the challenges, opportunities and overall assessment with this idea. 

Thank you in advance for any/all comments. 
[{"id": "dk3041f", "text": "Sounds like a lot of work. \n\nA MLS is only useful if people use it and it has significant market share. \n\nReal estate agents are old and hate listing things on multiple services. You want to add another one and charge us for it. \n\nWhy would we do that? \n\nAnd you want to do a virtual tour of retail space? Why? These people are going to do their own TI's anyway. Everything they need to know is on the sheet. \n\nAnyway, you may have better luck in your market. I would continue subcontracting out with people who have money rather then spending a bunch of time to create something that nobody would use. \n\n", "replies": [{"id": "dk37gwm", "text": "What do you mean by 'subcontracting out with people who have money...'?\n", "replies": [{"id": "dk39gcj", "text": "You mentioned you create websites for real estate brokers. \n\nContinue doing this if they continue to pay you. \n\nI would also advise getting your real estate license and learning as much as you can about how this business works. \n\nBeing a broker is about networking, knowing people and getting in the middle of deals and most importantly getting paid. \n\nGetting calls and getting your property in front of people is stupid. You don't need to lease a lot of properties, you need to lease ONE property. And the worst way you can do it is to spend all your time with jokers who have no money and only ideas. \n\nYou have to qualify your leads. You have to qualify your listings. More is not better. More just creates more work. \n\nAnd this business is not about work. It is about getting paid. So how is ANYTHING you propose, going to get me paid? ", "replies": [{"id": "dk3cujh", "text": "I like what you are saying. I have a client who is pushing me to get my license under her brokerage. \n\nWould I be your hero if I did this: create the local CRE MLS under its own brand and then offer it up to make $ in three ways:\n\n1.  Single Fee to Mr. Landlord for pictures, 360 virtual tour, Floorplan, branded sign in window and listing on my MLS with his phone number and all leads going to his email. \n\n2.  Same single fee from above, but sold to a broker who likes the MLS system/site and wants to try it out. The broker will also get all digital assets for use on their own website for the same/included price. \n\n3.  I become the listing agent for Mr. Landlord and do the pictures, tour, floorplan for free. All leads come to me and I broker the deal for commission. \n\n\nTell me what you think about that please. ", "replies": [{"id": "dk3e6l4", "text": "Option #1. No fucking way would I want people talking directly to landlords. You are cutting out the brokers completely. Brokers are your customers and repeat business.\n\nOption #2. May work for smaller shops. The broker essentially farms out the bitch work to you. They already have a sign guy and an office admin, so why pay you? I think this is what your client is trying to do, make you her admin. \n\nOption #3, you are a broker doing broker work. Brokers only get paid when things close. This is why it takes like 5 years for them to start making any real money. \n\nShit man, try all three and see which one actually works. It seems like you are going to try to create a MLS which is a lot of work anyway. Link them together on the back end and then have three different business models. \n\n.#1 and #2 are the same idea, just different clients. \n\nWhen you are prospecting with clients, see if the will pay you. Then #1. If they don't trust you, well then you convince them to have you represent them, doesn't cost you anything, and then put them into #3. \n\nAnd if your shit is good and starts to get traction, well then #2 will come to you to help list and sell their shit. \n\n.#1, #2 and #3. \n\nAnd you need #4 and #5 and #6 too. \n\nI want 10 ideas by tomorrow on how you can make this idea pencil out. ", "replies": [{"id": "dk3fqxn", "text": "Spot on! Except that no one really specializes in this segment of CRE - the small office space/sublets and storefronts are the bastard children of the industry. \n\nWhat I am selling in all three is 'The Platform' one entity that houses any/all properties that need to be marketed to the public. Brokers won't get too mad that a landlord is using the platform for his 20' x 60' storefront - the broker doesn't have the time to show that property 30 times before someone signs a one year lease for a tiny commission. \n\nI want to make a platform that outperforms the smaller shops in CRE simply on brand-awareness. Think 800FLOWERS. They completely took over a large segment of the market based solely on the brand-awareness. Local flower shops still make the flowers, deliver and get paid. Those leads just compliment/add to their business - but being a provider of 800FLOWERS. \n\nLong story short is that I am creating a platform that will give me exposure to opportunities - something that resonates with anyone in real estate. I'd be opening myself up to potential leads through each of the 3 money-making options. \n\nSince I am not a licensed agent yet, I don't care if I make $250 taking pictures with a landlord or $2500-$25,000 as an agent. Money is money to me. \n", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dk3262c", "text": "&gt; (they typically are listed with a no-name broker who primarily does residential, or they are listed for sale/lease by the landlord them self with a cardboard sign scribbling their phone number with a black sharpie in the storefront).   \n\nWhy not go straight to these people and offer your help setting up a web presence for the property? I agree with Fuck_You_Downvote that there isn't going to be much of a market for another subscription fee service. ", "replies": [{"id": "dk37yal", "text": "I see it like this: Century21, ReMax, etc. What are they but a recognizable name? Brokers open franchises under these brands because they are recognizable brands. \n\nIf I were to create a web presence for each individual commercial property out there - I would have no 'recognizable name'.  I am thinking like 'Papa Johns' instead of 'Sal's Pizza'. \n\nI agree that it is a huge undertaking, but my market is right outside the door and the potential 'brandable' listings are staring me in the face everywhere I drive. \n\nPutting in the work and gaining market share is how this will happen. \n\nThere just needs to be better marketing and organization in commercial real estate at the  'local' 'retail' 'small building' level. I would love for it to take off and move into Class A and larger - why not? \n", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dk37ehs", "text": "The idea is to give those 'listed by owner' a viable online option instead of them putting a cheap sign in the window with their cell phone number. Because they will be part of a larger MLS for CRE - they will see it as a way to get more attention to their listing. \n\nThe retail CRE market is underserved because CRE agents see it as a waste of time and residential agents don't specialize in it. This leaves landlords with no option other than putting a crap sign in the storefront window. \n\nMy market (NYC and suburbs) is just completely underserved.  There are thousands of commercial spaces that are 'all over the map' when it comes to finding their info online.  My CRE MLS will organize all the listings and give them a one-time fee for Pictures, Floorplan, Virtual Tour and online listing with window sign. \n\nWith each listing I will be growing my MLS brand and gaining the much needed market share necessary to gain momentum/growth. \n\n", "replies": [{"id": "dk38y35", "text": "CRE is all about gatekeepers. Century21, Remax ect. are amateurs. You little rinky dink listing service may work for them, but I doubt anyone at JLL, or CBRE would think of using it, espeically if they have 40% of the market already for the higher end properties. \n\nAnd lower end properties, there already exists loopnet. Or fuck, even craigslist. \n\nAnd retail is the worst way to get into this. On the lower end you are putting in water stores, no name mom and pops ect. \n\nOn the higher end, you have real estate departments at T-Mobile, Taco Bell ect, who run the demographics and traffic counts to figure out where to go. They are not going to put a Long John Silvers into a space because they saw some cute video online and toured some shitty property virtually. \n\nI am saying that there is no market for this on a large scale. And continue freelancing and learn something about the market and the people with money, and what they are willing to spend it on. \n\nSee if you can create something like this internally for a company, cause from what I can see, nobody is going to buy what you are trying to sell. \n\nI mean, have you looked at what Costar can do? Do you even know who and what you are competing against? ", "replies": [{"id": "dk3c38o", "text": "I agree with you completely on a lot of what you say. No way would I compete with CBRE, JLL, Ripco, etc. \n\nAs for the rest, yes there is CoStar, LoopNet/Showcase, etc. However, those are 'online only' listing services that mostly get filled with minimal info and pics on the buildings because the listing agent doesn't want to put in the work of properly showing their listing. \n\nI know there is Craigslist and other free services, but they are also filled with garbage, in a disorganized manner and you have to go through the Craigslist relay - it is all very 'back door' at that level. \n\nSimply put: There are vacant properties that aren't being marketed properly. If you want to find &lt;3k sq ft of office space or a small retail location, you are forced to drive in your car all around town taking down number in windows and making phone calls for showings. On the other side of things, landlords don't want representation from brokers because they feel their space isn't going to be shown to enough people simply because it isn't worth their time when they are busy frying bigger fish. Landlords don't have a better option for marketing their properties themselves. I feel my CRE MLS will organize all the misc listings out there and be a viable option. \n\nThere is plenty of room for this in a 2017 world. ", "replies": [{"id": "dk3dl6q", "text": "I agree with all this. \n\nIf a landlord is not going to get a broker, and is not going to do much more than put a sign in the window and wait for the phone to ring, or hand it over to their cousin to market, or their residential agent, or some dude at church, then how would you get paid? \n\nHow would you know when to remove the listings? \n\nOne problem with Loopnet is that they have listings on there that are old and expired. It is a lot of work to call people and ask them what happened with that space they had listed. \n\nGood luck. There is a problem, poor people cannot find space, and shitty landlords cannot lease space. Not sure these are the clients you would want, but hey. It is a garbage listing service for garbage properties and me as a broker may check it as a hail mary to keep that one clients wife happy about her cupcake shop. You still have not convinced me how this thing pays for itself.    \n\nOne thing I think would work would be to talk to chamber of commerce, ect. Most cities and municipalities have a section of their website devoted to attracting business ect. If you linked your listing service to to each city and had a city contract to pay you for your service, I think there is a business there. \n\nSorry to shit over your idea, it looks like it has been rolling around in your head for a number of years now. The CRE business is not about everybody. When you look at the numbers, only like 40% of transactions involve a broker. This means that 60% of transactions are off the radar deals between landlords and tenants directly. \n\nGood brokers have a region and a specialty. I have seen many come and go and try end up doing deals in the ghetto. My advice, you cannot make money in the ghetto. The great thing about being in brokerage is that you can choose your clients. Nobody wants to deal with small tenants and clients. Sure they may be the next big company, but chances are, you are busting your ass trying to help someone out who is just going to fuck you over down the road. ", "replies": [{"id": "dk3h40r", "text": "I would always make money by charging a fee to do the pictures, floorplan, tour, etc. The site would have separate login info credentials set up for each user - whether that be landlord, broker, or myself as the admin. \n\nI understand this is the low end of the market, but if there is money to be made, there is a business there. I know plenty of businesses that deal with shit, headaches, low margins, etc. but make a killing in the volume as they scale their businesses. \n\nUBER for example carved out its own niche in an already viable and controlled industry - so there is plenty of room at the table for everyone to eat. \n\nI am aiming big on this and can see it from a larger perspective. ", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]