When it comes to understanding the needs of onsite teams, there is no substitute for lived experience. That’s one of the reasons we deeply value the insights of Jen, our Director of Marketing. With experience in various roles on property management teams, Jen guides our strategy by keeping her finger on the pulse of the industry and leading with empathy.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I was a ballerina. And at 46, can still rock a solid arabesque and a double pirouette!
What’s on your bucket list?
My parents are first-generation Americans. One is Mexican and the other Russian. I would love to visit la ciudad de Guanajuato and Kiev to see the places in the stories I’ve been told.
How has your career path led you to Homebase?
In the last 15 years, I’ve mostly been on the property management side in leasing, marketing and managerial roles which opened endless opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the world. It was when I was leasing up a new highrise, just a couple of blocks from our Homebase office, that I met our founder, Blake.
It’s no secret in the multifamily world that property technology has been inefficient, difficult to implement, and time-consuming to learn. When I met Blake, he started asking questions no other proptech vendor had ever inquired. We started meeting regularly as he worked on creating something that would work seamlessly, integrate with what we already used, and make us enough money to cover upfront costs.
How does your previous experience as a property manager impact what you do here?
I know the pain.
And by “pain” I mean the challenges of managing and marketing a building where at any given time, one of at least 450 individuals could ignite a fire and rain devastating havoc with a pizza box. #IYKYK
Or when, at any given time, typically between the hours of 6pm and 6am, one or 10 individuals will lock themselves out of their home. Which means I’m up, and someone on our team is driving back to work.
By truly knowing the experiences of all levels of property management, I’m able to advocate for what they need, rather than what someone on the outside thinks they need.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Be present.
Everything you’re doing right now will help your future self. It’s tough to reconcile the fact that the worst job, life experience, or relationship was worth the pain (and yes, there are some that defy reason), but there will usually be something you learn from difficult times.
You’re not done learning.
Being curious is the key to success in business, personal fulfillment, and family. Whether you’re a stay at home parent whose last kid graduated college, a titan in business at the top of your company, or somewhere in between, there’s always room for growth. Keeping your mind open to new things is the key.
Don’t fear mistakes.
Despite our perception of perfection through social media, there is no such thing. Embrace the really great mistakes that lead you to do something different.
For me, my biggest “mistake” was walking away from a solid career trajectory in Human Resources at one of the nation’s largest mutual fund & commercial real estate companies when my first son was born 23 years ago. It made sense for my new family, but it was something I struggled with through the years of babies, toddler conversations, and frankly just loneliness. But the decade I spent with my children as my primary focus taught me patience, strengthened my emotional intelligence, and surprisingly developed a new talent in conflict resolution.
