We recently connected with Jen McConnell and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.
In 2018 my son Bodhi was diagnosed with Stage 3 Neuroblastoma when he was just five months old. In the hospital my husband and I promised God we would do whatever we could to help other children fight cancer if our son survived.
By the grace of God and the incredible staff at MUSC Children’s Hospital, Bodhi was diagnosed cancer-free after four rounds of chemotherapy. Since then, my husband and I have made it our passion to raise awareness and funds for Pediatric Cancer Research at MUSC in Charleston, South Carolina and hosted by Bodhi’s Oncologist, Dr. Jacqueline Kraveka. The amazing thing is her research is shared on a national platform, so it reaches so much further than just Charleston.
Once Bodhi was cured we became intentional on growing our business with a focus on how we could give back to Dr. Kraveka. So in 2020 we started setting aside a portion of each commission our brokerage makes to donate to Dr. Kraveka’s lab. We feel very blessed that Dr. Kraveka is in Charleston and is Bodhi’s doctor, as she hosts one of the only pediatric cancer research labs in the state of South Carolina. We were honored to donate $25,000 to Dr. Kraveka and her research in 2020, $50,000 in 2021 and are on track to donate $65,000 to her research in 2022.
Our clients have been extremely supportive in our mission. In fact, many of them kept asking how they could donate and contribute to our goal but it’s just not possible to accept donations as a brokerage. So in 2021, we founded The McConnell Foundation as a way to raise additional funds for Dr. Kraveka’s research lab. The McConnell Foundation provides support to pediatric cancer research performed right here in Charleston and is shared on a national network. In June of 2022 we held our inaugural black tie gala and raised just over $34,000 which went directly to Dr. Kraveka’s lab. We are excited about the momentum we have and donating just under $175,000 in three short years.
Every day, 43 children are diagnosed with some form of pediatric cancer — nearly 16,000 children per year, making it the leading cause of death by disease among children. And yet only 4% of the National Cancer Institute’s budget goes to children’s cancer research. Research to uncover better treatments and a cure for childhood cancer relies heavily on private donations. We are dedicated to continuing to support Dr. Kraveka’s research lab for the development of a cure for childhood cancers.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
From a very young age, I oddly had an interest in real estate. From elementary age and up, I remember watching Channel 2 on Sunday mornings which displayed all of the open houses for the day. It was the most fascinating thing to me that people were selling these beautiful homes and other people were able to walk through them and buy them. Of course I didn’t do much with the interest until my junior year of college when I needed an internship. So I grabbed my resume and I went out to the model home for a well known local custom home builder in town. I didn’t know if they were hiring but it turns out they had just filled an assistant position so they were no longer hiring. I persisted that I just needed to talk with the manager because I knew I was supposed to work there. They let me talk to the manager and at the end of the interview he went with his gut, and I got the job. Now with over 17 years of experience in the industry, I have a particular expertise in luxury real estate and custom home building. In 2022 I was awarded the South Carolina Women in Business Award, and chosen as a Top 40 Under 40 Real Estate Agent in Charleston. I have also been featured on Charleston Home Showcase and Lowcountry Live and have been featured as an industry expert by Charleston Real Producers Magazine, Charleston Style & Design Magazine, Southern Living Magazine, The Post & Courier, Charleston City Paper, Charleston Regional Business Journal, Charleston Daily, Greenville Business Journal, Columbia Business Journal and many others. I am a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist through the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing where I have been awarded the prestigious Million Dollar Guild award. I have also earned the coveted Realtor of Distinction Award achieving the highest rank possible as a Platinum Award winner through the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. The Platinum Award places me in the Top 2% of agents in Charleston.
I am the Co-Founder of King Tide Investment Group and Blue Ocean Investments, both residential real estate investment companies based in Charleston, SC and Greenville, SC respectively. In 2021 my husband Josh and I opened a boutique real estate brokerage, McConnell Real Estate Partners on Isle of Palms where I am the Broker-In-Charge.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
I am blessed that 95% of my business comes from past clients in the form of buying or selling with me again or sending me their referrals. A short three years ago it was the complete opposite as I was starting all over with my business after taking time off to care for my son. I have been able to switch my business to primarily referral based because of the level of service I provide for my clients and truly forming bonds with each of my clients. Real estate can be a transactional business and I see a lot of agents treat it that way. For me, this is a relationship business. I work very hard for my clients and ensure I go above and beyond their expectations every time. I owe that to them. Whether my clients are buying their first home, their last home or an investment home, I will always deliver because their real estate goals mean so much more to me than anything I could ever gain from the transaction.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is one of the hardest ‘codes to crack’ if you will and really the toughest part about it is you have to keep up with all of the changes that are happening. But I will say, it’s one of the best ways to expand your brand awareness and get leads that only costs your time and some creativity. I started out posting five days a week and have done that for six years, although now I’m posting more than five times a week. You really have to do trial and error and then inspect what you expect. Some posts you’re positive that you’re going to kill it and then there’s crickets. Other posts you throw out on a whim and they blow up. Pay attention to what works and then do more of that every month. I personally feel like you don’t need to shove what you do down people’s throats. If every post I made was about real estate I’d imagine that would be purposeful for people who are currently in the market to buy or sell right now but once that transaction is over, they’d unfollow me because I don’t have anything that would add value to their lives. I try to post things I enjoy seeing or learning about. For example, I have always done a #MillionDollarMonday post which shows a million dollar or more home I have listed or that is listed in my market. Who doesn’t want to see a $1,000,000+ home (and most are $3,000,000+ homes)? Most everyone! That is consistently one of my top hits every month every year. And now I have it down to exact posts I do on exact days of the week based on the data from my followers. And while I’ve always done videos, I’m now including reels because that’s what the algorithm likes. Data and tracking is super important in business but just as important for social media. You can waste a lot of time doing social media posts and if you’re not getting results, you may need to look at what your audience is telling you through the data. Social media can be super powerful if you are intentional. And I think because I am consistent and intentional with my posts, I have been able to gain a decent following.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chsestates.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlestonestates/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlestonEstates/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mcconnellrealestatepartners/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb1FUPMdHrEYGRHqrMbRyCg
- Other: http://themcconnellfoundation.com/
Image Credits
Emerson Grace Photography, Keen Eye Marketing