Jim Austin is the founder and owner of Austin Company Commercial Real Estate, a property management and commercial real estate service that has been operating in the Fort Worth-Dallas area for over three decades. In addition, Austin is the co-founder of the National Multicultural Western Heritage Foundation and Jim Austin Online, where he has brought various large cultural events to the DFW area.

In 2003, Austin received national recognition from the National Association of Realtors as a recipient of the Realtor Magazine's Good Neighbor Award for his community service work. Austin graduated from Howard University in 1976, where he earned a BA in Business Administration and Management. Prior to founding Austin Company Commercial Real Estate, he worked as a real estate agent at Sam McCall and as the district sales manager at American Express.