Meet Jasmine Ward | Realtor, Cultivator, & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jasmine Ward and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jasmine, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work-life balance was a foreign concept to me for years. Coming from a military background where you’re essentially always “on call,” I carried that same mindset into my work after. Real Estate is also a work around-the-clock job – deals happen at all hours and there’s an expectation to always be available.

It’s important to know your productivity levels. I’ve learned I work best early in the morning up until about 3 pm.

I give myself at least one day off a week where I don’t check emails or anything – lately, it’s been 2 days off. Taking a vacation 2x a year saves me from getting too stir crazy and I’ve recently implemented not working at all on these vacations.

Balance means something different to everyone and at times it changes for me. I don’t believe in being too rigid with my schedule. If one day I’m being called to spend more time with myself and less time engaged in work (granted there’s nothing pressing), I’ll listen to that feeling. I get a lot of my ideas and solutions, in moments of idleness. I also merge my days with work and creative projects – I like my work to be a complementary extension of my life, not a thing I resentfully compartmentalize.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Honey Home was created in 2018. I’ve specialized in Los Angeles leasing since 2015. A lot of realtors would rather do sales than leasing. However, people will always need a place to live and not everyone can afford to buy…and contrary to popular belief, not everyone wants to buy.

Making leasing as curated and hospitable as sales is important to me. Renting in the L.A. market can be just as exhausting and competitive as buying, and people deserve to have a fun and visually appealing online space to search for their new home.

That being said, Honey Home does more than rentals. We do sales and help our clients with interior designs and remodels. I look at Honey Home as a curator and community connector. Once someone has rented or bought from Honey Home – you’re part of the hive! Need a cleaner? I’ve got a few I LOVE. Need a contractor? Happy to share mine. Looking for a REALLY good natural wine for that house warming party? I got you.

Exploring Los Angeles is one of my favorite things to do. Sharing my findings is my other favorite thing – I’ll share with anyone who will listen. And now I share a lot of that info with my Honey Home Fam in a monthly newsletter. It’s a way to stay connected in a community within a community.

Getting to this space wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be either. The most challenging aspect was learning to trust myself. What I’ve learned is that failing is never failing in the sense you think. There’s a lesson in every “failure”, so it’s not reeeally a failure. At the start of 2020, I not only had to completely rebrand myself, but then the pandemic hit and I had no clue what the future of real estate was going to be.

Be like water. Fluid (I tell myself this, often).

Being in a state of rigidity and resistance doesn’t produce fruitfulness. I quickly learned that holding onto the old ways of doing things was no longer working. I invested in rebranding, reworked my mission statement, rehauled my internal systems, reevaluated my beliefs, and resigned from toxic work habits. I was trained to take every client, every property, and place blame on myself for anything that went wrong – using it as “feedback” for how to be better. As a result, I was in a constant state of anxiety and guilt – those emotions are not conducive to running a business, working well with others, or attracting the right kind of people.

After my rework, I was conscious about implementing systems and beliefs that come from a mindset of abundance and not lack …and boundaries, always boundaries. If you respect your boundaries, others will too.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So many places and so much to do, like:

Grabbing a pastry and tea/coffee from Just What I Kneaded (IYKYK) and walking to the L.A. Bike river to enjoy it.

Maru has the best matcha in town – I go here religiously and force all my friends to come with me

Brunch at Bacari in Silver Lake and Manuela

Walking around Arts District

A picnic at Barnsdall Art Park – gotta stay long enough to catch the sunset

Cocktails at Atrium are my favorite right now. Other faves are Bar Calo, Bar Flores, and Bar Henry.

I love the natural wines at Good Clean Fun and Melody.

For going out: I like The Friend and Short Stop. Good music, good ambiance, and cool people

Hiking at Eaton Canyon in Pasadena – especially great to go after it rains, as there’s a waterfall on the trail.

A movie at Alamo Drafthouse

Dinner at Little Prince after a stint at the beach.

The farmer’s market in Santa Monica

And the Los Feliz flea market

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ve been blessed with an amazing support group. I have amazing friends and loved ones who go above and beyond to express their support in my endeavors. I also sought out a few self-development courses along the way. I had a coach for a little while and took a negotiation course taught by Chris Voss. Surrounding myself around those who know more than me or are more successful than me in areas I want to grow in, has played a vital part in my confidence.

I’m also always reading. Some of my favorite business/self-development books are: You are a badass, Good to Great, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Getting Naked, Slight Edge, I Will Make You Rich, and Never Split the Difference.

Books that have just CHANGED my life in every area – indirectly affecting my business in a big positive way are: Becoming Supernatural, The Power of Now, and Reality Transurfing.

Website: www.honeyhome.me

Instagram: honeyhomeltd

Other: Personal Instagram: @jasmineliketheflowerr