We recently connected with Jantrice Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jantrice thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I wanted a name that could tell a story.

In Sudanese, Muka means open. We don’t wait for doors to open. We create our own doors and open them wide for others. My Mom is the inspiration behind the name, she has opened a lot of doors for minorities and women in walking in her calling.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Jantrice Johnson

I am a Real Estate Agent with Intero Real Estate Services in Middle TN, mother of two daughters, wife, Director of Rutherford County Back to School Bash, Chair of Diversity and Inclusion of MTAR and owner of Muka, a virtual community connecting minority home buyers and sellers to trusted realtors.

Who we are at MUKA:

Buying and selling a home is one of the biggest investments of your lifetime. But recent numbers show that minorities are at a 41% homeowner rate, compared to their counterparts. With Muka, the information and resources are now at your fingertips.

Our goal is to providing educational resources and home buyer counseling to individuals, families universities, foundations and communities. Inequality and prejudice continue to contribute to the home ownership gap and our mission is to fill in the gaps with knowledge and education about minority home ownership.

How does it work?

We provide a space to equip borrowers with the necessary information and resources they need to make informed choices that promote minority customers’ long-term home-ownership stability. Educational resources can help potential minority buyers to overcome credit barriers by teaching them about the measures they need to take to improve overall credit history and financial literacy. This will also include the preparation of a budget and a documented action plan, as well as a component of home ownership education.

What we do:

Provide educational classes (in person and online) and resources on budgeting, credit and savings to build generational wealth.

Host a library of educational tools for communities, businesses and universities.

Connect minority home buyers and sellers to business resources, vendors and realtors.

Celebrate minority ownership worldwide.

I got into the business under my Mom’s mentorship, she has been in business for over 30 years and has guided me into doing this real estate business the right way.

I’m 1/3 of Smotherman Pros Real Estate Team-that my Mom leads.
We have been matchmaking for over 30 years. Buyers need homes and sellers need buyers. Our portfolio is always kept current and we pride ourselves on making the perfect match so that everyone involved in the transaction is satisfied!

It has truly been a honor to serve on a team with my Mom and Sister.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

My biggest lesson I had to unlearn is getting out of my own way. Giving birth to an idea is not for the weak at heart.

Believing the vision when know one else believes it can be tough. Completely getting out of my own head and trusting the process even on the bad days takes a lot of discipline.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My resilience, comes from my Mom. The blood that I carry in my veins has resilience flowing all through it, I come from a generation of women who have and continue to lean into God.

I share this story a lot when my Mom, as an African American woman coming into a white male dominated real estate business in the 80’s.

I remember her sharing that she went door-knocking for listings and had all the information for this particular subdivision and studied all the numbers.

She goes to this particular house and the lady listens to her presentation and looks my Mom in the eyes and says that the information was great but she could never list her home with someone of color.

My Mom had a choice, to walk away or stand on what she knew. She asked the lady if she could come in for 5 mins to finish her presentation and if after she still felt the same she would leave. My Mom walked away with the listing deal and has continued to serve her family to this day. That’s the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. That’s resilience at its finest!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mukaishome.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jantricejohnson/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jantrice.smothermanjohnson
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jantrice-johnson-580119175/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/mukaishome/?hl=en https://www.smothermanpros.com/

Image Credits
D. Pledger Photography