Niketa Misco With Atlanta Turnkey Locators

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by on pay. Atlanta’s New standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is my very favorite. This is the GSU radio segment where we spotlight all of the great work that’s happening through the GSU center. And today we have Niketa Misco with Atlanta Turnkey Locators, and she is part of the Main Street Entrepreneurship Seed Fund program. Welcome.

Niketa Misco: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Atlanta Turnkey Locators. How are you serving folks?

Niketa Misco: Okay, so Atlanta Turnkey Locators is an agency that helps with employee retention by helping companies relocate their team members to Georgia.

Lee Kantor: So what is your background and what was the genesis of the idea?

Niketa Misco: Okay, so I have my real estate license. I’ve had it since 2015, and I’ve usually in the past have helped like individuals relocate or move here to Georgia. But I did notice a discrepancy when like they were moving for work and things like that, like the heart problems they had, the things that were going on in their life that they felt like they needed that support. And so I started pivoting my company to help the companies to help relocate their team members here to the beautiful state of Georgia.

Lee Kantor: So have you started doing this? Like, at what stage of the business are you in?

Niketa Misco: The beginning stage. So I’m still pulling my discovery, understanding what each party wants. So like, for example, as I was discussing with some of the team members who were relocating some of their issues was kind of that upfront ness about what the relocation package will look like. So instead of saying, Oh, you get this bonus, instead be like, okay, well it’s a reimbursement or something like that. So just like that, clear communication with them. And then from the company perspective, it was more so that they wanted to be able to track what process their team member was in, in the process of moving. So it’s just definitely I’ve been at the beginning stage of discovering that to really understand my audience and really understand what their needs are.

Lee Kantor: Now, are a lot of people or companies moving to Atlanta? Does that happen a lot?

Niketa Misco: A lot of people actually move to Atlanta per year. Like Atlanta alone received about 64,000 people a year. So it’s really understanding what those needs are and to keep them here because a great deal of those people then leave. So, for example, if you know, they come to Atlanta, they expecting like that support system and things like that. But then when they get here, they don’t have that support, they end up leaving. So then Georgia ends up losing out on really great talent that they could have had if they had that support.

Lee Kantor: Now, what is the have you figured out the primary reason people are moving to Atlanta?

Niketa Misco: A lot of times, like if they’re moving from up north, it’s usually it’s because like it’s a little bit more affordable or they feel like they would get more bang for their buck. So being able by being able to save money on like rents or housing or buying a house, they can then do more things with their family. So go out and have fun. And definitely here in Atlanta and many of the other cities within surrounding Atlanta, there’s a lot of things to do. So being able to have that ability because now you’ve saved that money, it’s like a very strong point for them.

Lee Kantor: Now when you’re dealing with an individual who is looking for a job or looking for more opportunity, that’s a different strategy than going after a business that’s looking to relocate a business with existing employees, right?

Niketa Misco: Yes, absolutely.

Lee Kantor: So how do you approach that differently? Like, how do you find a company that’s even considering moving to Atlanta?

Niketa Misco: Yeah. So first it started with my research first and my process of my research. I kind of had the hypothesis that, of course, companies that have more than 5000 people, that they would be the biggest bracket for being able to move in people because they have so many people. But it actually was small to middle sized companies that were moving their people more frequently and needed more of that support. So it’s definitely started with just a better understanding of research and then better understanding what was the current status quo. So what were they currently doing? And then in my research I found that a lot of times the company might have like a third party to like help the person move so literally, you know, pack up their house, move to Georgia. But there was no real support before that after that. So being able to really understand what would it look like moving here to Georgia? So some of the things that we would do that we do is say, for example, they cannot make it all the way out here to look for a place. We help them. We navigate by, you know, pulling up an iPad and showing them like going to the properties, showing them what they look like, asking them questions about what they’re looking for so that we can really tailor the. Property to them. And so by having that, they have that additional support. We also building out a process to where they’re able to connect with other new people within the company. So say the company is moving five people, they’re able to actually communicate and talk with each other. So at least they have that one person of contact when they get to the job and they don’t feel so alone when they get there. And so by building out different ways that the employee or the team member feels supported, it helps the company build that loyalty with that employee or that team member.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re talking to the people in the business, do they even have kind of the lay of the land of what Atlanta is? Because Atlanta is big. You know, like moving to Atlanta isn’t kind of a simple, oh, I’m just going to move to Main Street. Like there’s lots of neighborhoods and areas that might be appropriate for them. Do you help them in that regard as well?

Niketa Misco: Absolutely. Because a lot of people, a lot of my clients and other people, it’s just the truth. When you first move in, you’re not trying to immediately sign into a year lease, two year lease, like you don’t know where you want to live, you don’t know what you want. And it can look different for different people. Like, you know, a family might want to move to the number one school district, so they might be like, okay, well, I want to move to Buford, but they don’t know that until they get here. Well, another family might be like, Oh, no, I want to be next to the aquarium and a zoo and like all the like, attractions. So everybody has their different areas. And it’s not till they’re here that they better understand, okay, this is where I want to move. So, like, helping them navigate that journey before they get here, when they’re here and after they understand what they want. Because you’re absolutely right. There’s over 242 neighborhoods in Atlanta alone. Like that’s a lot to navigate. And that’s not even talking about the other cities that then goes around Georgia. So it’s definitely that support and help that they need to navigate moving here.

Lee Kantor: Right. Because I would think that some people, they’re like, oh, I’ve heard of Atlanta and they, you know, maybe seen a football game on TV or something. They think that that’s Atlanta. But there are so many, like you said, hundreds of neighborhoods. And from a business standpoint, you know, they’re they where they locate it could impact their future employees, like who’s near them. And, you know, if you’re looking for like, you know, tech people, it might be good to be near Georgia Tech. Right. You know, but if you’re looking for a different type of an employee, it might be better to be in a suburb somewhere.

Niketa Misco: Exactly. And then different people have different preferences. So, you know, someone wants might want to be close to the most amazing restaurants that Atlanta has to offer where somebody else just want peace and quiet and don’t want no traffic. So it definitely looks different. And so when we build out our profile, we we create like a link tree. And as they answer questions, it navigates them through the process of what they’re looking for. And some questions might pop up that they didn’t even think of, you know, um, and simple things like if they want to even come out here to Georgia to come look at the property because unfortunately some Atlanta properties, you know, they look beautiful on pictures. And then you go they I’ve had a couple clients who have signed a lease and then they get there and it’s like, oh, this didn’t look nothing like the pictures. So having that person there, that’s being like, okay, well, this is what this property actually looked like. This is what they have to offer that person. Don’t feel shocked, you know, when they get here. And that is so important.

Lee Kantor: Now, what got you interested in real estate? What what compelled you to get your real estate license a while ago now I guess.

Niketa Misco: Yeah. Um, I got originally got my real estate license because I was going through some family personal things and I needed something to where I would be able to support my family but like have that flexibility. And then so I had got my real estate license and just never looked back since I really enjoy it.

Lee Kantor: Were you able to start selling like, I guess you were a residential when you started?

Niketa Misco: Yes. Well, I didn’t start out with homes, always knew that I wanted to do leasing. Leasing is just my area. I know some people will be like leasing. Why? But I absolutely love leasing because I feel like people feel like, okay, well, I can experience a neighborhood before I move there and it’s like us helping them navigate that journey. So, you know, if you want to move to Duluth, Georgia, right, But you don’t know what Duluth is like, you just thinking, Oh, well, I drove past and it was nice. Well, you get to lease a space there and we get to help you navigate that. And then if you want to, then go and buy a house as like a lease, you are familiar with the area and you don’t have those regrets that you would if like you just chose a neighborhood based off, um, just price, for example.

Lee Kantor: So your specialty is leasing houses.

Niketa Misco: Leasing the combination of it. So I lease houses are lease condos, penthouses, townhomes, apartments. So it’s all of it.

Lee Kantor: And then how did you decide that that was the path? Like, did you try selling houses first or you got into leasing and you’re like, Well, this is perfect for me.

Niketa Misco: I think so. I did do houses for a little bit, but it just didn’t feel the same as leasing. So with houses it was a lot more, um, kind of that waiting game. And I get it because you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house, so, you know, of course you might want to take nine months to look for a house and decide make that decision and things like that. And I just needed to move a little quicker than that. So that’s what kind of lead me more to leasing than houses. And I think like it’s nice, like I like the part of like, you know, having open houses and getting to know the neighbors and part of that aspect of it. But the rest of it, I just wasn’t the best match with, um, and leasing just really spoke to me more.

Lee Kantor: Now. How did, how has working with the Main Street program helped or has it helped?

Niketa Misco: They are amazing. The program has been absolutely amazing. It’s really helped me understand and like understand a process. You know, when we’re new businesses, it’s kind of like, okay, I understand that the basics, you know, I just kind of Google, okay, when I start a business, you know, they like give you a list of 10 to 20 things to do. But it’s just so much that goes in between those that list of things like even from doing discovery, understanding what the target audience is like. So for example, you know, you go to YouTube and they’re like, Oh, well, you just got to find your target audience. And it’s like, Thank you very much, but can you show me, you know, how to find my target audience? You know how to dive deeper into it. So Main Street has been really amazing at helping me through this process.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you feel like your business is in more kind of building a stronger foundation?

Niketa Misco: Absolutely, because before I was like, I was more so doing my research on relocation, like, okay, so what are they currently doing with relocation and things like that? And I couldn’t find as much research, but as I continued to go through the program and. Also was in the 12% accelerator program with Liz J. Simpson. She’s incredible. So the combination of the two really helped me understand, okay, you want to focus on people with specializations, so you want to focus on people who are coming here for us with specialized skills that these companies need. And so it’s been a journey to, like, really understand and break down those pieces and understand the in-betweens of the 20 tasks or more that I have to do.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Niketa Misco: Huh. That’s a great question. Um, I would say.

Speaker4: Do you.

Lee Kantor: Need help? Are you building a team? Do you need more people to get involved? Do you need more companies that want to have a conversation with you so you can learn what their needs are? Do you need money? Do you need funding?

Niketa Misco: Yeah, I would definitely say I still want to be able to talk to companies, um, small to middle sized companies that do relocate or is looking to relocate their team members. Because when I define it, when I am working on my brand voice and my brand personality, I really wanted to speak. You know, like if you if you love a brand, right, it’s because you feel like they get you. You feel like what they’re offering, it matches you. And that’s what I’m looking to do to like talk to companies so that when I am front and center in front of them, it’s like, Oh, this company understands my needs, this company understands what I’m looking for. And even the process that they have matches the needs of my team, members of what we need.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to connect with you and learn more, where should they go?

Niketa Misco: Okay. Um, I can be found on LinkedIn, so my LinkedIn is just Nikita Misko. So it’s Nikita. Last name Misko Misko. And that is the best way to reach me.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, congratulations on all the momentum. It’s exciting.

Niketa Misco: Thank you so much. I’m so excited as well. And thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: Sure. You’re doing important work. We appreciate you. Thank you. All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on GSU radio.