Meet Jenny Wang

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jenny Wang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jenny, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I was born and raised in Beijing. I immigrated to Houston in 1991. I graduated from Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership of University of Houston. I had always been working on the restaurant’s side of the business as a student, so naturally, I was offered a “restaurant’s manager” job after I graduated. It was different running a restaurant in the real-world compared to working at our “magic-kingdom-like” Hilton College. Instead of setting a goal to climb up the managerial ladder, I was only frizzled by the daily operational stress. Being exhausted, I sank into a phrase of “lost,” not sure who I was, what I was doing and why I was there. I was up for a change. I went back to Hilton College to take some graduate courses. I thought the idea of pursuing a master’s degree may elevate me. But it didn’t. I was bored after finishing a few initial courses. I felt like drifting through a dark tunnel. Until eventually, one day, some friends talked me into selling real estate. Real estate, it sounded so new, yet I felt invigorated. I saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

Without much hesitation, I had dived into it without any experience, knowledge nor clienteles. Yet my heart was full, full of hope and determination. Obtained my license in August 2002, I joined RE/MAX Metro and started my career as a REALTOR. In the following 16 years, I grew with the Metro team, personally and professionally. Rain, or shine, I had never thought of changing brokerage. I stayed where I was. During those years, I rose, failed, and rose again. I earned countless awards, Top Producer, RE/MAX 20/20, Hall of Fame…along with the ups and downs in life, market fluctuation, and all the hurricanes we survived.

In 2014, I joined the Women’s Council of REALTORs Houston network. I served on board and started as VP of Membership. In 2016, I was honored to be the President of the Women’s Council Houston network. I served with passion and learned with heart. Serving the network helped me to root deeply in our industry. I was enlightened, in a sense of becoming aware of who I was, where I was and what I was doing. I gained a deeper and better understanding of what it meant to be Me as a REALTOR. I was no longer lost. I found myself. Through building strong relationships, I was bonded with our business, industry, and communities. “JWang on the block” was on the horizon.

By that time, we had already lived in the social media platform era for some years. Since Facebook was launched in 2004, many other popular apps were up hastily like popcorns. Though some called it “disruption,” I called it “revolution.” We evolved into a new way of communication and marketing. Serving the Women’s Council, we fully utilized social media to connect members, create educational programs and networking events. I was doing a lot of photos and video clips then, sort of the “president” accidentally turned into a “photographer.” Nonetheless, the more I did it, the more I felt a “need,” a “need” for a professional media presentation that can truly reflect us, our image, and our voice. So, I thought, what if I build a video production?

In February of 2018, I founded JWang Media, a custom video production to promote and market our real estate professionals. Whether it’s about a REALTOR’s profile, a lender’s insight, a title company’s statement, a networking event, or a property highlight, every quick video presents a theme, a personality, and an expertise. Since then, we’ve created, crafted, and produced many videos to blast out via social media platforms. Not only the listings gained more “limelight” but also the professionals gained more “Superstars’” exposure. In result, we received sky limit viewers and followers. The audience liked and complimented the true voices and authentic messages. It’s been an effective marketing approach that delivered both value and joy.

A few months later in November 2018, I obtained my broker license. I established JWang Properties, a Boutique realty with personal touch. I declared that “through our innovative system and custom video production, JWang Properties advances REALTORs to be the Superstars to serve our clients, industry, and communities. We offer one stop customized strategies and service plans tailored to each client’s individual needs in both residential and commercial real estate.”

Today, we have top producers and expert agents in both residential and commercial fields. Together we bring value to our clients and strive for multi-million and more sales volumes. Value, no doubt, is what we produce and deliver. Yet we offer more. We offer joy. I believe many REALTORs out there can relate, that when it comes to representing our clients, their problems become our problems and their happiness become our happiness. We get on this journey together, sharing the experiences and building the memories. As REALTORs, we are the hub and personal touch in every transaction. Even when we fail to close the deals sometimes, we let our relationships prevail. This is how we define us, the culture of JWang family.

In July 2019, I started to draft my debut novel, “Girl Wears Those Shoes.” Writing has always been a great part of me and finally, I decided to put it into a perspective. I’ve been a fiction lover, so I wanted to venture into that. There was no doubt that “creating a fiction” was the toughest project I had carried on. I wanted to portray characters that can inspire young professionals in the business. I wanted to share the ideas, experiences, answers, values, and even controversial issues in a young REALTOR’s life. The protagonist of the story, Gigi O, represents a new model of Chinese immigrants of our time. Through her personal and professional growth, the spirit, principle, and value are universal. The battle, discipline, and the strength it takes to run through the course are the same for everybody, regardless of any race, sex, or ethnic background. The triumph, like the Red Sole, does not prejudice. It loves the woman who rocks it!

On December 14, 2021, “Girl Wears Those Shoes” was officially released. I’m grateful for receiving much positive feedback. “What a fun read!” “I’ve never known it takes that much to be working as a REALTOR!” “I’ve learned a lot about real estate!” ….. I’ve always told people that my approach of the book is: “If you want to learn, you learn. If you don’t want to learn, at least you will be entertained!” The joy is what we love to bring and share! We love what we do. It’s a journey. Why not make it fun?! On 04/04/2022, I received my first honorable award of literary fiction from” The BookFest.”

In January 2022, we officially launched our new website: www.jennywanghouston.com.
This new site contains three landing parts: “JWang Properties”, “JWang Media” & “Girl Wears Those Shoes”. The book page leads to: www.jennywangauthor.com. There, I have created a donation button for our Houston Ballet, supporting the art and performance of our city. To conduct business, serve our industry and give back to our communities, I had established the business model of JWang, Inc.

Welcome to our JWang Family, an entity of Business with Culture. And sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, I am your #BrokerJenny!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
In my opinion, there are two biggest myths in understanding what we do as REALTORS:

Myth 1. REALTORS are “Salespeople.”
It’s true we are in sales. It’s also true that we need to “sell” by closing the transaction to make revenue. Yet, the word “sales” can barely cover the full spectrum of what we do. I think the definition of “REALTOR” should be, “a REALTOR is a Producer.” We are the builders of Productions. The production platform involves various aspects, such as: marketing, interacting with clients, listing, searching properties, showing properties, analyze the market & clients’ situation, advising & solve problems, facilitating the transactions, closings, follow-ups, and marketing again. The list goes on.
As a Producer, I established a “One Stop” customized real estate service that tailors to each client’s individual needs. For an example, a married couple has a very versatile real estate investment portfolio: a homesteaded luxury property, a few residential rentals, and a commercial building purchase and rental. They don’t need to call different agents for different purposes, buying, selling, or leasing. They call me, as the answer of “One Stop” and “One streamline” service. It makes their live easier just talking to one professional instead of a list of agents to achieve their investment goal. This streamline service challenges me and my team to be equipped with versatile skills to serve our clients in both residential and commercial real estate. Yet, it’s a fine attraction to our JWang brand. It offers knowledge, expertise, and convenience to our clients. “Save Time” is “Save Money.”

Myth 2. REALTORs are “house-ladies/men.”
To others’ eyes, we are moving “houses.” Yet, in our world, we are moving “People.” It’s the “People” we are working with first, and “houses” come second. Properties in one neighborhood may offer 3 or 4 type of floor plans, yet the stories and histories of the homeowners who live in those houses are way more than 3 or 4 types. Every file we have reflects that difference and significance. When it gets to serve the sellers or buyers, we don’t just show up and sell the house. It’s not like “Camera, action, done and gone.” Instead, we share the journey and walkthrough the process with our clients. We listen to their stories attentively. By acknowledging the facts, analyzing the situation, and exploring the solution for our clients. Through the process, we’ve become their “trusted advisors” in serving their real estate needs. Whether to sell, buy or lease, our mission is helping clients to achieve their real estate goal to the fullest within the least amount of time. Again, “Save Time” is “Save Money.”
To be a “Trusted Advisor” requires us to be the “People’s REALTORs.” We need to continuously dedicate ourselves in listening and understanding our clients. We need to be the toughest “Problem Solvers” to guide our clients. We need to learn different culture, art, history, and literature. Only knowing how to sell a house is simply not enough to perform as the “Trusted Advisor.” In Fall 2018, I funded “Business + Culture= JWang Properties,” a Boutique Realty with a personal touch. We offer custom service in both residential and commercial real estate that tailors to each client’s individual need. With the custom video production of JWang Media, we promote properties through each JWang team member’s individual voice and message. In December 2021, I had my debut and award-winning novel “Girl Wears Those Shoes” published. Through the storytelling, I portraited a hybrid Chinese immigrant model, Gigi O, and shared her inspiring personal and career growth as a young REALTOR in Houston, especially going through the era of market crash in 2008-2009. This has put a millstone feature of JWang, to bring “joy and value” to those whom we share.
As a “Trusted Advisor,” we also need to actively be involved in our industry and give back to our communities. As a broker and founder of JWang, I’m the Past President of Women’s Council of REALTORS, Houston Network, President 2016. I’ve been a member of Certified Residential Specialist Council since 2006. I’ve been an Ambassador of Houston Ballet since 2013 and serving on the Ambassador committee. In an addition, I’m a lifetime member of the University of Houston Alumni association. Business, industry, and community are the fundamental parts of the JWang platform.
So, I’ve shared how I define the JWang brand above, that a REALTOR is a Producer. As a JWang REALTOR, I am a “Trusted Advisor.” The team of JWang presents the model of “Business+Culture=JWang Properties.” Like any living creature on earth that involves born and grow, business is no different. I firmly believe that the continuous evolving yields growth in my business. Once the business model was fully established, we launched the new website: www.jennywanghouston.com, which consists of JWang Properties, JWang Media and Jenny Wang Author. I had put my whole heart into re-designing our JWang logo, sketching the draft myself. We’ve built the strong Social Media platform, including various pages via Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, Youtube, Alignable, WeChat, and TikTok. The JWang brand has been recognized in our industry. Our endeavor in developing the business model has attracted more REALTORs joining our team. Not only that, just now, we are having a new service model coming up, “One Streamline Estate Service,” including Trust and Will, Estate planning, Estate auction, Estate sales and retirement relocation. We are not just in Houston and surrounding areas. We have the beautiful Texas Hill Country to offer. How about to retire on a hilly ranch, ride horses and have wine at the nearby vineyard? Thinking to call me? Call me! JWang, we are growing by evolving.

Our mission is to bring the joy and value to those whom we share our journey with. JWang Properties is an entity of “Business + Culture,” a boutique Realty with personal touch, enriched with diverse culture, vibrant color, and timeless style. We are here to serve you and thrive for excellence!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
To my client, I’m the “Trusted Advisor.” To my agents, I’m the “Trusted Mentor.” I can teach the “bolts and nuts” of how to practice real estate, yet I’m an adamant believer that one needs to have the right mindset before starting this career. Being in the business for 20 years, I think there are 3 questions that set apart the top producers versus the struggling agents and the quitters. The question 1 is: “Why are you interested in becoming a real estate agent?” You may have heard something like, “because I love people;” “because I love money;” “because I think it looks like fun;” “because I love houses…” And here is the most common one, “Life would be so much easier to be my own boss.” There is no answer that’s a wrong answer, but none of the above answers that demonstrates the “right mindset” for a successful REALTOR.
The question 2 is: “Are you willing to work?” As a REALTOR, I could drive thousands of miles to show properties, and my buyer ended up not buying. I could spend thousands of dollars marketing a listing for sale, but the seller has decided to terminate with me and switch to another broker. I don’t get paid until the property is closed and funded. I don’t have a paycheck every other week, but I have bills to pay every month with the same due dates. Doesn’t sound like that much of fun of being your own boss now, does it?
The question 3 is: “Do you think all your work was wasted, the thousands of miles and the thousands of dollars in marketing without getting paid (as no closings)?” I’ve seen those who answered “yes” left the industry in a hurry and those who continued their devotion won the game.

The right mindset is, “I’m willing to put in as much as work it takes. It may mean to sacrifice weekend, holidays, personal time, family time…. But no work is ever wasted. I learn from working and failing. The more I work, the better chance of success.” It’s the “giving” without thinking to “take.” It’s the “working without thinking about the return.” There is no instant gratification in this process. It demands one’s full attention and dedication.

I obtained my license and became an agent at RE/MAX Metro in the summer of 2002. I was as green as a Granny Smith apple, with zero clienteles. So, the office showed me the big thick book of “expired listings” to call. After hundreds of calls hang up on me, I got to talk to a lady who said she was interested to list her vacant lot. It was a small lot in Bar X Ranch in Angleton, about 48 miles from Houston. I listed it for about $18,000. So, I would make $500, just enough to pay the gas, lunch, and advertising. And who would even drive that far to do it other than the “green” me?! I was excited, a listing regardless! It was 2002-2003, there was no social media yet. I paid the advertisement on the classified via Greensheet paper. Green me and Greensheet. What a match! After all my marketing effort, I got the lot under the contract within a month. However, I then learned from the Title Company that the title was not clear. The seller had a lump sum tax lien against the property. Lessons learned. It was my 1st listing and I didn’t do my due diligence. The seller had the option to pay it off at the closing, yet they didn’t have enough proceed nor cash to cover it. So there went my $500 commission plus all the costs associated with it. I had only about $200 in my checking account by then. Sure, I had a mother to call for “emergency dollars” but that was not the point. Just when I was sitting there and swallowing my failure, I got a call from another seller who owned another lot in the same Ranch. She lived in Florida and asked me to list it. I felt like my head thrusting above the water from drowning for a moment. I listed and sold it myself for $25,000 within a month. After the property was closed, I received a letter from the seller lady. She said I sold it before her husband passed away. She thanked me for helping them moved the property on time. I was incredibly touched. The pride she gave me was sky limit. Her words made me understand more about the job I did, that there was no size of my commission could value. With that in mind, I indulged myself back into work. And the result of keep on working? Well, not too long after this closing, a young man called me inquired this same lot. Apparently, he was looking for a vacant land to build a car wash. So here I was, accompanied him to see the potential land as his buyer’s agent on my 1st commercial deal. I contacted the seller on the vacant land that my buyer was interested in. We got it into the contract for $250,000. After that, the seller asked me to list another commercial property for $795,000 in a prime area in Houston. I then got the full price of $795,000 under the contract overnight. Meanwhile, this $795,000 commercial building led me to meet new buyers who then bought a $1,000,000 commercial building as my clients. What a “chain reaction,” right?! And all of these took place within the matter of 5-8 months after that small lot of $18,000, 48 miles from Houston that didn’t close. Did I know all of these would follow me? Of course not. I couldn’t even comprehend the large number of $795,000 contract in my hand when I had it. It was a most pleasant “shock!” All I knew was I had to do something that others may not be interested. Working produced magic. My work was not only worth it, but also rewarded me hundreds-folds.
Tiger Woods once said: “It’s not putting the ball in the hole. It’s the swing of the club.” It’s a perfect put when I think of what we do. The work and dedication we render every day is the “swing of the club.” The more we practice, the better we get. “The better” means our skills of timing and pace in helping our clients to achieve their real estate goals. And the sooner we get better, the sooner the promising result will follow.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Running a business and a family life, surely, I feel overwhelmed from time to time. The symptoms of “overwhelmed?” Agitated mood, exhaustion, fatigue, and impatience. The most damaging effect is that I can’t figure out the problems and never mind finding the solutions. The cause of “overwhelmed?” Over-promise on over-workloads. When it happens, I tell myself: “Stop!” A few things I do to ease down: exercise, yoga, read a great novel, take a bath, ride a horse, go to Ballet, invite friends over, cook, eat, and drink wine … or simply being in the country and watching cows hanging out on the ranch for a few minutes. All the above help me to take a breather, connect with myself and come back into life itself.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Jenny Wang headshot by: Minnie Stamos

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