August 26, 2019

Meet Jessica Abegg of Live and Love Denver, Keller Williams Real Estate in Cherry Creek

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Abegg.

Jessica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a 5th generation Denverite, my family’s story has been shaped, for better or worse, by real estate. I’ve always been fascinated by the way choices and small gambles can shape legacies for generations to come. During the Great Depression, my paternal grandfather bought half the block on Blake St downtown, convinced that one day it would be incredibly valuable. At that time and for many years after, it was an incredibly run-down and derelict part of Denver. But my grandfather had a vision, and he held onto the property for decades, through the recession of the 70s and 80s, and then finally, feeling like it was

My maternal grandfather was part of the 10th Mountain Division in WW II- the famous “Soldiers on Skis” who were trained for mountain warfare. Much of the US ski industry was started by 10th Mountain Division veterans. After the war ended, many of his war buddies, looking for something to do with their skills in the post-war ski economy, went on to start ski resorts like Vail,Aspen, Copper Mountain, etc. They invited my grandfather to invest with them in the purchase of CO mountain real estate, but he saw no point. He believed no one would ever pay to go skiing. Whoops.

My parents bought their Park Hill home from the original family who’d once had it as a farm. They bought it for next to nothing in the 70s, and nurtured it over the years. It became the sole way they were able to retire.

Hearing and observing these stories growing up, I started to pay attention to inter-generational real estate stories. I would watch homes in the market go up for sale, and report to my mother how much the person was selling it for compared to how much they had purchased it for originally. I was a real estate junkie from the start.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Though I long-wanted to pursue a career in real estate, geographic re-locations made it difficult to build my business at first. In addition, I had some very good realtor friends who told me all the real estate horror stories. After I moved back to Denver from the East Coast to have my first son, I had a very good realtor friend tell me “oh, I think it would be absolutely impossible to build a real estate business with a baby.” I listed to that person’s opinion for years, waiting instead until I had THREE babies to dive in. And so I did, with the littlest baby accompanying me to showings and closings as I built my business.

Starting ANY business is challenging in the beginning. It takes great force and faith to get it off the ground, and you have to go through inevitable setbacks and failures before you ever gain momentum. The amount of rejection and stagnation can be demoralizing, so you have to have a strong internal compass and faith in the process to keep going some days.

The stats reflect this- 85% of real estate agents are gone after the first year, and 95% are gone after the 2nd year. Knowing this fact, and knowing that I was entering a very competitive game with 3 little kids, I made a soul contract with myself, and that contract became more important than what was happening around me. In my contract, I wrote that no matter what, no matter how much money I made or did not make, no matter how much rejection I experienced, no matter what happened, I would show up to my business with passion, commitment, and integrity, and give it my utmost for 5 solid years. I’m pretty confident that without setting that internal compass and being clear on my WHY, I could have just as easily have been part of that real estate dropout statistic. Instead, I have a business that I LOVE and that I’m very proud of.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Live and Love Denver, Keller Williams Real Estate – what should we know?
I am the founder of Live and Love Denver, Keller Williams. I help people buy, sell, and invest in real estate throughout Denver and the surrounding areas.

There aren’t many realtors in Denver who are even CO natives, let alone 5th Generation experts. I know this city inside and out, and am intimately familiar with its stories. In fact, I host monthly neighborhood walking tours to help others learn all about my city, and everyone from “just moved here” to “native” can learn something about the good, bad, and ugly of this fabulous city’s past.

In addition to knowing the city in and out, I also have a rare business acumen. Combining my two MBA and my Masters in International Business and Marketing, I am able to leverage my exceptional skills in negotiation, contract management, and marketing to get clients the best possible outcome in every real estate transaction.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
In real estate, it’s often said that the #1 quality to success is just staying in the game. But I think true success comes from operating from an Everyone Wins mentality. I treat everyone like a CEO, and bring a servant’s heart to my clients. Being consistent, being reliable, demonstrating integrity, and always searching for the Win-Win outcomes are qualities that I think my real estate mentors all bring to work every day. Of course there are many successful agents who do not act from integrity, and are just about transactions, but to build the kind of business I am proud to have, integrity, superlative service, and low pressure sales are imperative.

I know people are putting their trust in me as they navigate the largest purchases and sales most will ever experience. It can be scary and stressful, and I treat that trust as sacred. I never look at my clients in a transactional way, but as relationships for life.

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