Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Pierre Tjon-Joe-Pin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jon Pierre. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
How I got started is a story of multiple events culminating into 4 separate jobs/businesses. So my intro into entrepreneurship started in college when I and a couple college friends started a website that covered a bunch of parties. We spent A LOT of time partying and we decided to start a website about all the parties going on around the city. That led to us taking pictures of the parties that we would go to, but more importantly, we started getting into all the parties for free! That was a huge deal for broke college kids. LOL. Picking up the camera, and taking pictures of partygoers eventually led to a side hustle of photography outside of parties. With that side hustle in my back pocket, and after graduation, I was working for my family in the oil industry.
As time went on, and I got older, I came to the realization that I wanted to follow my passion. Which at that point, was mainly NOT working an 8-5 job and doing things that let me interact with as many people as I could. I was watching a ton of HGTV and decided that real estate (along with photography and basketball officiating) was the life for me! The officiating thing came out of a chance meeting with an insurance guy who came by our office to try and solicit business. While waiting in the front office, we struck up a conversation about sports, which led to me talking about my love for Mixed Martial Arts and the time I fought in the cage and, at that time, trained pretty consistently. He talked me into the much less violent and much more self-preserving “sport” of basketball officiating. I started doing that for the last 2 years of life in the “job” world.
When I knew the time was approaching for me to leave, I decided to go ahead and get my real estate license and received that with about 1 month left before I left my job. So with photography, a real estate license, 2 years of basketball officiating, a wife and a 5-month-old baby in my hands, I stepped out on my own! I left a very well-paying job, for the life of way less money but way more love and passion for my everyday life. I took those things, along with a commitment to all-out hard work, hustle, love and very little sleep and have been making it for the past 2.5 years. I work as a family and real estate photographer. I, along with my wife, got into Real Estate investing and have flipped 3 homes so far with a couple more in the works. I am a full-time Realtor. And I just got picked up this summer to referee a college basketball. Oh, and I still train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu on occasion! So my life has been a mixture of a lot of things that keep my life and my family pretty unpredictable.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Hell no! The ride still isn’t all that smooth, but it is definitely getting better. I think the main thing that I have found has been a struggle is keeping confidence in myself to be successful at the level I want to be. The agony of failure is still way heavier than the excitement of success. And those defeats can wear on me. You know, not having a home close on time, or struggling to find more clients or having a run of success followed by a run of no success. It’s just the everyday surprises that the unknown brings that is the biggest struggle… and learning to deal/overcome it.
Entrepreneurship isn’t for everybody. We all like the idea of freedom that everyone sees when you say you work for yourself. What most fail to realize when they are not in it is that the “freedom” you think exists shows up in the form of spending most of your “free” time working. When you are in it, being able to stick to that “freedom” day in and day out is HAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDD. Very, very hard. The sacrifice is real. Especially if you have a family and kids. Their sacrifice is often times greater than yours when you think about it in terms of them not having a father or a husband around like when he was just working from 8-5. So that is by far the biggest struggles. Confidence. Dedication to your business. Sacrifice. Failure… the list goes on… forever.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
So, obviously I have many businesses, but the one that is most important to me is the Real Estate ventures. Both as a realtor and as an investor. I represent buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in their purchase/pursuit of real estate property. I also buy, renovate and sell a property as an investor. I think the most important thing to me, and what I hope to be known for is Caring. It is important that my clients know that I care about them. I am there for them on the roller coaster ride that real estate is.
It’s not easy looking for your 1st home and deciding that “this” home is the home for them. It’s not easy selling the home you spent years making memories in and have to leave for a new job, or an empty-nester or needing something that fits their new family. So it’s important to me that they know I understand that this is possibly the biggest decision they are going to make in their life. I want and hope that all of my clients think, that is my distinguishing quality.
What were you like growing up?
I was very shy. Very shy. I didn’t have a girlfriend until I was 17. Shoot! I didn’t even kiss a girl until I had a girlfriend. I loved sports and competing… in anything really. Football and basketball were my favorite sports. I was an only child until I was 11, so I was very content talking to myself and didn’t need the companionship of other people. My biggest fear growing up was hearing “I am so disappointed” from my Mom. That would crush me every time! I guess I just wanted to be a good kid and not get in trouble. LOL. That’s pretty much it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.harperrainehomes.com www.jonpierreimages.com
- Phone: 832.608.4088
- Email: jonpierre79@gmail.com
- Instagram: @jpknowsre
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarperRaineHomes/?ref=bookmarks
- Twitter: @jonpierreindmix
- Other: www.jpknowsre.com
Image Credit:
Jon Pierre
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