Founder Profile: Jewell Staley
Tell us a bit about your company
Grande Properties is a full-service luxury home staging, design, and project management company, whose work has been featured on A&E TV’s “Flip This House, in the New York Times, People Magazine, The Observer, and in Luxury Listings Magazine. In addition to the strategic use of staging, the company also helps its clients further differentiate their properties from others on the market by efficiently managing their remodeling projects from concept to reality when needed for a sale.
What inspired you to start your business / what opportunity in the market are you seeking to address?
While I was working at Goldman, I started investing in real estate with the plan to replace my income from my properties. In 2007, I left to run my business full-time and when the markets collapsed in 2008 I found myself having to re-strategize how my business would change going forward. During the time I was purchasing and redeveloping properties for my own portfolio, other investors started asking me who was doing all the design work on my properties. Eventually, I realized that a lot of investors and sellers didn’t have an effective resource to help them prepare their properties for sale from beginning to end. Grande Properties makes the often stressful process of selling a luxury property, easier and more profitable, by managing the entire process from renovation through to design.
What are one or two of the biggest wins or most encouraging experiences you’ve had so far?
One of my biggest wins was early on in my business when my company was featured on A&E TV’s, “Flip This House”. Another win is when I hear from clients that they’ve been able to sell faster and for more than they expected while being able to focus on their family and life, thanks to our work.
What about your personal background, experience, or perspective fuels your passion for this venture?
As far back as my teenage years, I always had a love for real estate. I bought my first multi-family when I was just 23 years old, and it was years before I would buy my next property. With my background having redeveloped multiple properties and having an MBA in Finance, I’m able to bring a unique perspective to my clients as both a seller and a designer. I know how challenging it can be to prepare a property for sale, especially if you need to make any updates, and I pride myself on not only making the process easy but also on focusing on the often overlooked ways to increase ROI. It’s never just about making a property pretty.
What has been one or two of the biggest learnings so far?
Biggest lesson learned: relationships are key to building a strong, resilient business. My business is 100% referral-based, which couldn’t happen without the relationships we’ve developed over the 14 plus years I’ve been doing business.
Follow Grande Properties or connect with Jewell for updates on Grande Properties’ progress
