CREATING GENERATIONAL WEALTH THROUGH REAL ESTATE INVESTING

Sonia Booker is the CEO at Sonia Booker Enterprises (SBE). Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, SBE serves as the parent company for her real estate holdings and businesses. With over 20 years of experience, Sonia has developed and managed over $200 million in single-family, condominium, multi-family and commercial property.

Initially inspiring the world with a philosophy of ‘One dollar, one decision at a time,’ this mantra morphed into ‘One vault, one community at a time,’ and has established SBE as a progressive and inclusive company of the future. SBE epitomizes the perfect blend of inspiration, creativity and visionary thinking that has earned them national acclaim.

Early Days

Her legacy began in 1999, when the Mississippi born- and rearedSonia took a leap of faith and moved to Atlanta; she left Dalla s, and her first and only job at JCPenney, shortly after completing her M.B.A. She accepted a position with Allstate Insurance Company because it struck her as an unconventional opportunity to work in the insurance industry. Starting work as a life insurance coordinator, within a year Sonia seized an opportunity to become the youngest agency owner. She was one of the most decorated agents running her own agency and did so for five years before selling the business for a profit.

Sonia tells a story in her latest book, Living Legacy: Purpose, Passion and Prosperity, about how most people are shocked when she says that she had to eat peanut butter sandwiches for a year before she began to see any profits from her business. “I remember thinking about what the most filling and healthy option for me was to save money. The goal was to make sure that I had at least $20 a week in my pocket for gas; no eating out, no splurging. The only thing that I knew during these times was that failure was not an option.”

Real Estate Bound

Sonia showed an early passion for real estate when she was exposed to the construction business through her grandfather and uncle. First keeping books, then graduating to picking up supplies, before long, she was getting her hands dirty. She recalls being about twelve-years old when she knew that she wanted to be an entrepreneur, although that wasn’t the name being used at that time. It was more of a feeling of being independent and in control of her own destiny. She enjoyed going on “business trips” with her grandfather, whether going into the city to peddle produce, picking up burial policy payments or rental income, she often reflects on this these times as preparation.

Dabbling in real estate investment while an agent, she started investing with another agent, who was also a contractor. After partnering successfully on more than ten deals, she knew that it was time to go full-time into investing. Sonia used the funds from the sale of her agency and went all-in. She started by purchasing single-family residential properties. With some great successes and a few failures under her belt, she took scrupulous notes; she knew, one day, she would be sharing her experiences and never wanted people to make the same mistakes that she made. Turning around several wayward deals is what led Sonia to write her first book, Real Estate and Wealth: Investing In The American Dream. This book became an Essence Magazine Best-Seller in 2005. Around this time, Sonia had the great fortune to meet the legendary real estate giant, the late Herman J. Russell, Sr. The two would form a mentoring partnership that spanned almost twelve years. A revised edition of the book doubled its previous success when released in 2011 after the Great Real Estate Recession. Sonia followed up this book with Self Wealth For Women: An Inspirational Book and Journal. This book sparked a movement of women who wanted more, who desired to build wealth.

Living Legacy

Sonia wrote the book Living Legacy: Purpose, Passion and Prosperity as a way to celebrate her life and to remind herself and others that we are building our legacy every day. Legacy doesn’t start once you die, which is how most people think about the word. The reality is that we are all filled with purpose, yet most of our potential is never realized. “Every day, I hope that I have said something or done something to help someone to reach their full potential. I believe that real estate and entrepreneurship are the two best ways to build wealth and leave a legacy. So, I dedicate my life to fulfilling these goals for myself and others.” says Sonia.

Sonia’s investment selections, and later holdings, are often birthed out of seeing deep need or despair in the world. “There has never been a company that I started or invested in that I didn’t connect with very deeply,” says Sonia. That is why, when Sonia and SBE evaluate a project, each person and each company involved is a labor of love. It is the company’s goal to ensure that its message of inspiration, information and empowerment gets out in the world.

Today SBE is a one-of-a-kind company for real estate and wealth building education, entrepreneurship, youth empowerment, beauty, and film and music production. SBE believes that our greatest work is done through building people, investing in the future of education and the Creative Industry. We are proud that we are a company that bridges gaps between real estate, our vaults of talent and community. These traits are what make us the powerhouse organization that we are.

Sonia lives in Atlanta and is currently working in impact investing, as she and her team re-imagine affordable housing within the southeast. She enjoys traveling, homeschooling her teenage son and having unique experiences.

Currently Sonia is the CEO of 16th Street Equity Group, a company dedicated to re-imagining affordable housing. With over 20 years of experience, she has developed and managed over $200 million in single-family, condominium, multi-family and commercial property. Sonia’s areas of expertise include all aspects of construction, development and building exit teams.

Her hands-on approach to building is what makes Sonia’s talents stand out on the field. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty, working solo on some of her earlier single-family properties. Mentored and groomed by the late Herman J. Russell, Sr., Sonia embraces real estate project creativity. She has developed some of the most innovative strategies in the marketplace.

As an entrepreneur, Sonia has successfully started, sold and currently maintains four businesses including a hub for film production, known as Studio House Atlanta, located in the heart of downtown. She has created tools and systems that provide critical financial and operational information and has invested in half a dozen womenled startups. In addition, she has helped hundreds of newly formed and veteran entrepreneurs position their businesses for success through her work with the Georgia Micro Enterprise Network (GMEN). Recently, Sonia worked to launch a revolutionary approach to helping women learn and own a place in the $78 billion dollar wine industry through WOW Brands International.

Sonia has served on numerous boards past and present, she has been highly recognized for her work on the YWCA Greater Atlanta serving over seven years. Most recently she was selected to be the first Black female chair of the East Point Georgia Downtown Development Authority, currently overseeing a $111 million ground-breaking mixed-use project.

Honored as a Top 100 Black Women of Influence by the Atlanta Business League over the last eight years, Sonia has authored three books, including the Essence Best-Selling book, “Real Estate & Wealth: Investing in the American Dream.” A media personality recently featured on the cover of Women of Wealth and Real Atlanta Women Magazines, Sonia has been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, Black Enterprise, Think Realty, Atlanta Business Chronicle and she has appeared on numerous platforms sharing wealth building and real estate information, including ABC, Fox and NBC.

Sonia holds a Bachelor of Science degree, with a Marketing concentration, from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a M.B.A from the University of Dallas.