Life and Work with Jami Kolev

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jami Kolev.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
While I was born in Florida, I only lived there three months before my parents moved us out to Colorado, and I have been here ever since. I have lived all over this city including Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, Denver Tech, and Downtown Denver. I attended the University of Colorado at Denver earning my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. I put my degree to work at Chase Bank climbing the ladder to Assistant Branch Manager at a branch in Littleton.

While I had what was blooming into a successful career in the banking industry, entrepreneurship was my dream. I had seen the difference between corporate and entrepreneurship with my parents, and while I was terrified, I longed for the freedom and growth potential that it offered. While on vacation, I told my now husband, who also worked for the bank, that I just couldn’t do it anymore. The 60 – 70 hour weeks on a small salary were killing me. So, after seven years with the company, and with the full support of my family, I decided it was time to pursue something different. I entered into real estate working with Supreme Realty Group as a Broker Associate. I was taught the actual ins and outs of day to day real estate from my managing broker Jenelle Bezdek, one of the best in the business, which set me up for success. Looking to now learn the marketing piece and grow my business, I made the switch to Keller Williams as an independent agent in May of 2016. Again, I learned invaluable marketing skills that have helped me get to where I am today, but my business was still not what I wanted to be.

After much prayer, I took a terrifying leap of faith in December 2017 and opened my own brokerage. While this meant I had so much more responsibility on my shoulders, it also meant I could build the brand and the culture that I wanted. Honestly, real estate agents get such a bad rep, however, there are plenty of agents out there that are the reason for that. Many people think getting into real estate is an easy way to make a quick buck. They focus on the dollars and forget about the people. I want to change that. I want my clients to know that they are the priority, not the money (which believe you me, I work my butt off for). So, I built my company by putting faith, family, and friendships (and by that, I mean relationships with my clients) as the foundation.

Working in the industries that we do usually mean a lot of paperwork and tedious work for my husband and I. Because of this, we have found a love of design and construction, and it really has become our outlet. We’ve remodeled most of home in the last four years since we have bought it, and it has been so much fun learning along the way. We decided with me working in the industry and our new found love for remodeling, we should try our hand at fix and flips, and so in 2018, we also opened our remodeling business, Property Spouses, on the side. While it is still a side gig at the moment, we are having the most fun with it. We’ve seen so many people lose homes to investors, and while we are investors ourselves, our heart is really to renovate these homes for people who dream of owning. While each project is a gamble, it has been so fulfilling to see our vision and hardwork come to life.

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?
It has been anything but a smooth road. From disagreements with my managing brokers over giving a discount to a client to clients yelling at me because they lost their dream home because they got outbid, the path has been littered with problems. But I remember my husband telling me that every single obstacle that I faced would ultimately teach me something that I could learn down the road. I can be a perfectionist, so I am not one that likes to fail. However, I’m trying to change my mentality on that and be grateful for all the issues that I have had to face and deal with because I HAVE grown because of those very things. I remember crying around my sixth or seventh real estate deal because no transaction had been even remotely similar, and I felt like I was never going to learn this business. Now, five years later, I thank God they were all different because it prepared me to handle them as a new managing broker.

Now, our fix and flip experience have taught me a whole other realm of things when it comes to challenges. With remodeling, you aren’t dealing with people, their emotions, and negations, you are dealing with a leak, a furnace that doesn’t work, or God-forbid mold. You don’t have many options. You can’t get super creative. Something is broken and needs to be fixed, and that usually means more $$$. I’m one that will stress and agonize about $50 for the next week, especially when it was caused by something that we did wrong, but this business is really teaching me that sometimes you just need to let go. For example, at our most recent project, I completely snapped the roller off the laundry room door (I later found out my husband actually did this and let me take the fall for it, but that’s not the point). Now, it was either a new door or I find the part that I broke. Normally, I would be so upset that I would let it ruin my whole day, but instead, we had a good laugh about it, we spent the money to fix it, and we moved on.

So, what advice can I get young women looking to start their journey in entrepreneurship?

1. The journey isn’t going to be a paved road. It’s going to be a gravel road with plenty of bumps along the way. As difficult as it is trying to embrace it and learn what you can from it. It is all setting you up for bigger success down the road.

2. When you fall, get back up, brush yourself off, and move on. Sometimes, you just have to laugh at your stupidity, and then let it go.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Triple Crown Properties Denver & Property Spouses – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I own/run two business.

I am the employing broker of Triple Crown Properties Denver, a real estate brokerage which specializes in residential real estate. While other companies are trying to remove the relationship from real estate, the goal of Triple Crown is to focus on it. Buying or selling your home is one of the biggest things you will ever do with your life. So, while we provide top of the line services (market expertise, marketing, photography, aerial footage, technology, etc.), we pride ourselves on the customer relationships we form.

I am also one half of Property Spouses (the other half being my husband), a residential design and remodeling company. We currently focus on fix and flips with the hopes of providing families with the dream of owning their own beautiful home, but we hope to expand to more investing, design, and construction opportunities in the future.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
There is still a decent portion of the population that has this mentality that men are better than women. Why this is I will never know. I have come across so many men in my industry that have questioned my ability to do my job. I won’t lie and tell you it hasn’t angered me, but I KNOW that I am capable and qualified to do my job so I’ve had to let it roll off my back. Don’t get me wrong, I have a mental list going of those that don’t think I can do it.

Contact Info:

• Website: triplecrowndenver.com
• Phone: 720-635-3257
• Email: jami@triplecrowndenver.com
• Instagram: @thatdenvergirl; @triplecrowndenver; @propertyspouses
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/triplecrowndenver

Image Credit:
Property Photos are taken by Virtuance

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