Jessica Mojica, Principal Broker, Eleven Real Estate – Making Deals in Heels – Spring 2022 Cover Story – Interview and Photography by Maxwell Alexander – Makeup by @makeupbyzerina_ – Purchase the print version on Amazon >>
Maxwell Alexander: Hi, Jessica! Congrats on your photoshoot! It was such an amazing experience and I felt all this creative energy during the entire process! You are a natural beauty and it shows in your photographs. So what’s your story? How did you end up in the Hudson Valley?
Jessica Mojica: Thanks, Maxwell. Yes, it was a lot of fun! I Moved to the Hudson Valley when I was 4, and grew up here. Always having been very competitive and driven, I played soccer and ran track. After I graduated high school I moved to south Florida and never imagined looking back. When I started my career in real estate, about 15yrs ago, I worked mainly with investors which led to heavy buyers agent activity in bank-owned properties, or REOs, which ultimately led me to the listing side of those properties for major banks. Once the REO market in Florida started leveling out I moved to Long Island where I met an investor who happened to mention Poughkeepsie as a place of interest and it was like, “Wow, I hadn’t heard that name in a while”. Eventually, my interest in returning to the Hudson Valley grew and I started doing real estate acquisitions, and construction management here in the Mid Hudson region which led me to open 845 Property Management INC. and recently its’ sister company Eleven Real Estate Group.
Maxwell Alexander: Wow, that’s a truly cool story! I guess time does run around in circles 🙂 Now that you’ve been in and out of the area, what is your personal definition of Hudson Valley Style?
Jessica Mojica: Hudson Valley style to me is kind of like vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles on top. It’s a comforting place that feels like home, with all the charm of small-town/suburban living plus the added “sprinkles” of eclectic, New York City style. If ever there was a place to be called “the best of both worlds”, I’d say it’s the Hudson Valley.
Maxwell Alexander: Please tell us a bit more about style and work, or shall we call it the workstyle?
Jessica Mojica: My workstyle can be summed up by my pseudonym “making deals in heels”. That name was actually given to me many years ago as a successful young woman in business who was always running around in South Florida, doing real estate, in high heels! Someone randomly shouted “There goes Deals in Heels” and I loved it, it stuck. I’ve since hosted many womans’ networking and empowerment events in tune with my “Making Deals in Heels” personal brand. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to give back to my community by supporting woman’s shelters, and other organizations, donating business attire, and shoes (high heels of course), and even helping write resumes. I’m extremely grateful to use my platform and personal brand to help other women also feel empowered.
Maxwell Alexander: This spring is the first post-pandemic spring when we are getting to some sort of normalcy. What is your strategy on how to seize the business opportunities and current trends coming along?
Jessica Mojica: Fortunately enough I never really stopped doing business during the pandemic and while many were sadly closing their doors I was expanded rapidly, but it was definitely more difficult than expected. Finding new spaces, building materials and just navigating the new post-pandemic reality has been challenging. I’m the type of person who thrives in chaos so I believe that’s what pushed me through the pandemic smoothly. In general, the era of traditional real estate marketing and sales has passed and the pandemic accelerated the shift tremendously. Social media has been a huge part of this change. We’ve hired a social media manager who is on top of digital trends and we are confidently embracing the new ways of doing business. We also started offering virtual tours during the pandemic and that has become a client preference that has carried over to post-pandemic.
Maxwell Alexander: Tell us more about your team?
Jessica Mojica: I am so lucky to work with an incredible group of women. They really inspire me to be the best mentor possible. I am so proud to be in a position where I can be a part of their milestones in business from passing a real estate exam to completing the first closing. I am fortunate that they believe in me as much as I believe in them and we are off to a very strong start as one of only a few boutique brokerages in the Hudson Valley. I can confidently say that all of my agents fully represent everything that Eleven Real Estate stands for. We strive to provide a next-level, elite, real estate experience.
Eleven Real Estate Group is a growing real estate brokerage with a focus on a higher level of service than its competitors. I think that the old school model of real estate sales we see in many of these big-box brokerages is just not relevant anymore. We believe that our bespoke approach is the most effective in today’s market and has already proven to show amazing results for us and our clients.
Maxwell Alexander: Impressive! On a personal note, how did you manage to make all this happen? I mean balancing your business success and the family.
Jessica Mojica: It’s been a lot of work on all fronts. I am a single mother of 2 amazing young boys, Jake and Leo. They’re very much interested in all of my business enterprises and they love hearing about all the new things going on in the office. While I might work long hours sometimes, we are still able to take several trips together throughout the year and I make sure to have quality, uninterrupted, time with them.
Maxwell Alexander: Well, spectacular indeed! Thank you so much for the opportunity to shed the light on your truly inspiring story and we are looking forward to catching up with you very soon and updating our readers on all the developments on all fronts 🙂
