Justine Chan is the founder of Live with Plum and a licensed real estate agent. Live With Plum is a community-driven site for women looking to build wealth through real estate. She bought her first property in New York in her mid-20s and has since grown her portfolio through buy and hold properties.

Can you tell our readers about your background?  

I have real estate in my blood. From a young age, I watched my parents purchase property after property, slowly building a portfolio of real estate which eventually allowed them to retire early. After completing business school at Yale, I purchased my first property in NYC which kickstarted a passion in real estate, leading me to start livewithplum.com (a home buying community for women) and also become a licensed real estate agent.

What inspired you to start your business?

Watching my parents build wealth through real estate (instead of relying only on their salaried jobs) was very inspiring and I wanted to emulate the financial independence they achieved. I also deeply care about helping women achieve parity and think financial intelligence is one of the key factors to that.

Where is your business based?

I’m based in New York as a real estate agent, but Live with Plum is an online resource, open to homebuyers across the country.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took? 

Tactically, I started a website through squarespace and an instagram account. I was very clear that I wanted to focus on a few specific channels initially so I wouldn’t spread myself too thin.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

The most effective way is to utilize social media and pitch to reporters using different angles.. I shared home buying tips and the latest real estate news on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. Creating a consistent aesthetic for the brand and utilizing advertising can make your business visible to more people. I also wrote pitches to real estate journalists and have been featured in The New York Times and NextAdvisor with TIME. These featuring opportunities are so helpful for growing my business and strengthening the presence in social media. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Social media is getting more and more crowded and you’re always at the mercy of the algorithms. To overcome this, we have started building up more brand-owned channels instead.

How do you stay focused?

Staying healthy is important to me and I find that prioritizing sleep helps me stay more productive through the day.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

On social media, many influencers producing real estate content are male who target a more general range of readers, while my site is tailored to women. As a woman, I hope to use my experience and knowledge to help and inspire more women in their home buying journey. This is a field that has not been explored too much yet. Also, when I was purchasing my first home, the information online was fragmented and often contradictory. I hope Live with Plum can become a comprehensive guide to first-time homebuyers.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

As I mentioned above, social media and PR are helpful tools to grow your business.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Be patient. Seeing my parents painstakingly build up their portfolio is probably the biggest career lesson I've had. You don't have to 'win' every day but you have to think about now creating the building blocks for your desired future. Good things always take time.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why? 

I'm Singaporean with a family full of historians so I read way too many historical biographies... I love all memoirs from Lee Kuan Yew.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why? 

Google is my best friend! We also use slack a lot on the team.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Sam Zell for his prowess in real estate.

How do you balance work and life?

I try to schedule in time to work out, which helps my overall disposition. I also try to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?  

I recently started fostering a pandemic cat and she is absolutely adorable and the best way for me to decompress.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

We are preparing our first book, which is a comprehensive home buying guide for first-time home buyers, so stay tuned!

How can our readers connect with you?

You can find us at livewithplum.com and @livewithplum on instagram.