Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Dotseth.
Hi Kimberly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
It’s good to be with you! This begins my 16th year as a broker/owner and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. There is freedom in making the decisions and taking the risks or trying new things in real estate. Prior to opening my own shop, which was the day I passed my broker’s test, I was a corporate director in commercial real estate. Prior to that, I was a wholesale mortgage loan broker. And in the 1980s, I worked for Merrill Lynch and Shearson Lehman. My first real job was a teller and loan officer at Bank of America. Working for myself is a dream I dared not dream. My background is all business all the time.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The greatest obstacle for an independent real estate brokerage firm is capital. I analyze all my dollars. Some get wasted by implementing my own decisions that don’t lead to clients. But other decisions, simple and inexpensive, have led to my best and biggest clients. Being nice is critical in business – and genuinely nice. Maybe nothing comes of being nice in the moment, but I believe it comes back to you in referrals and kind gestures sent your way. I just turned 60 this year, which was a shock. But that milestone also helped me release past obstacles and focus only on the brilliance of a happy future. I’m also halfway through an Invisalign treatment plan! I wanted a fresh smile and it’s been easy!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
After winning Broker of the Year winner out of 12,000 members of my realtor association, a goal of mine, it was time to try other fun things or explore side talents. I wrote a children’s book a few years ago, “Surprise of the Season.” And I also just finished a three-year project writing a book about the real estate of Betty Beoderick. Finishing that book was a long, personal goal and it will be on Amazon soon. It’s called “She Gave Her Pearls” and I am proud of it. I have enjoyed communicating with Betty in prison since 2019 and am now looking for my next book idea. Lately, when not wrapped up in a real estate contract or a book project, I feed park cats every night and have become addicted to sashiko, a Japanese slow clothing repair method.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I love Instagram as the best app out there. But I also have a decent following as an anonymous account on Twitter where I talk politics. And I am also very addicted to the podcast True Crime Garage. I can’t explain my involvement in this topic, but it clears my head of all stress. This podcast also helps me retain a sense of my surroundings and personal safety. I power walk early every morning while solving crimes in my headphones. My favorite book ever is My Dark Places by James Ellroy and can’t recommend it enough. He’s a fiction writer, but this is non-fiction as he goes back in time to try to solve his own mother’s murder.
Pricing:
- She Gave Her Pearls will be $15.99 on Amazon.
- Blend Luxury Real Estate has three commission offerings for sellers.
- My Invisalign was $5,900 for a full treatment plan.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @blendluxuryrealestate
- Facebook: Facebook.com/blendluxuryrealestate
Image Credits
Kimberly Dotseth
Kerry Garnett
