Dannielle Robinson, 37

Dannielle Robinson uses the word love a lot.

So much in fact, that during an 11-minute conversation recently she used it 21 times. At one point uttering it seven times in a two sentence stretch.

Photo by Mark Wemple

Robinson is a commercial real estate professional who is currently serving as senior vice president for Colliers in Fort Myers.

In her role, she works mostly with landlords landing tenants and negotiating leases for them. The work calls for Robinson to spend her days chasing deals, fielding calls, looking for clients and hammering out the complex details that come with these sort of transactions.

According to her profile on Colliers’ website, she has closed more than $200 million in leasing transactions since joining the firm in 2012.

“I love it,” she says. “I love transacting deals from start to finish. From the minute I take a phone call to the minute I hand them keys, I love it. I hope I always will.”

This, let’s call it passion, for her works comes in large part from her upbringing.

Robinson’s father, David Crowther, would tell her and her brother as teenagers that if they wanted something they needed to get a job. Along with that, he taught her that finding meaningful work means never having to “work another day in my life.”

“I've done a handful of things in my life. And look, nobody works for free, everybody needs money to survive. But I looked for financial freedom and a passion,” she says.

“My dad kind of carved that out (saying), ‘Don't wait on anybody else. You can only manage yourself and your work.’ I don't know any different.”

Robinson got into commercial real estate because her stepmother was in the business and then began to build her own practice.

Landlord representation means working on pre-leasing new construction projects and with shopping centers to attract retailers and restaurants to the spaces. And that, she says, is something she…well… loves.

“I always like to say that retail is the sexiest because, number one, they pay the most,” Robinson says. “But number two, you get to be involved with restaurants that everybody knows.”