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Hidden Gems: Meet Jewell Vold of Sold With Vold

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jewell Vold.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
Of course! Thank you 🙂 I am a proud mom of two beautiful boys, wife to an Incredible man, and daughter of two amazing parents. I have always had a passion for becoming a chef. I fell in love with the craft when I was six years old. I realized that dream when I began my apprenticeship at the Bristol Seafood Grill in Leawood. Under esteemed Chef Dan Uche’s instruction and education through Johnson County Community College’s award-winning programs, I became a Chef. I worked for seven years as a chef, five at the Bristol, two at J. Gilbert’s Steaks and Seafood, and many others. I always had at least another job while working as a chef, serving, bartending, private events, catering, management, and even being an at-home private chef. I wanted more than the hospitality industry, and new real wealth was built in real estate.

I didn’t know how to get there. Being a single mom then, I had to find ways to make ends meet without sacrificing too much time with my little one. At one point, I worked eighty hours a week as a Private Dining Coordinator, never seeing my baby. At 28, I bought my first home and loved keeping my money in equity rather than throwing it away in rent. I took a step back and went back to bartending. I decided to begin a jam and jelly business and bakery in the summer of 2017. Encouraged by friends and family, I started selling in farmer’s markets, themed events, and on Etsy. At one point, I had working relationships with The Monarch Bar, Blackhole Bakery, Made in KC, and Cerner. Before Covid, I was about to celebrate my seventh year at Jack Stack Barbecue when we were furloughed. The company had partnered with some grocery stores in the city and asked us to sack groceries for fourteen dollars an hour until they could call us back.

I had a mortgage and a young son. I have never been one to sit back and see what happens, so I did it. I collected unemployment for the one week I was transitioning, then began work. I remember it was St. Patrick’s Day, and the store was electric with energy. I was informed that it was twelve dollars an hour and that I would receive payment at the end of the week. Going from an average of thirty-six dollars an hour to twelve was more than a gut punch. I hustled and, after three days, told my director I couldn’t work for so little pay. He asked me to become a manager trainee that day, and I began that journey. People must realize the poverty level and the incredible wage gap that grocery workers face. Some teammates barely made ten dollars an hour with over ten years of company-wide service.

The health benefits trap most; quite a few are on food assistance and well fare. It opened my eyes. I became a Service Manager within the span of six months in an industry foreign to me. I rose to Customer Service Liaison and taught teammates how to be nice to customers. I serviced four stores this way. I realized I was in an endless feedback loop in a company that rarely promoted women and never practiced what they preached. I met my now husband there, and we had a beautiful baby boy in September of 2021. Between the new job, and new family, I had to let the jam business go. I do plan on bringing it back one day. While on maternity leave, I finally decided to plunge into real estate. I studied hard and returned to the grocery industry in the middle of December, which is the worst time for retail. I was done watching employees being taken advantage of and knew I was powerless to execute real change. I took the Real Estate Exam and failed the first time. I went back and honed in, retook it, and passed in Kansas and Missouri. I finally felt like I had my foot in the door to help change the world. I found a fantastic brokerage and incredible friends at Kansas City Realty Services. It has been an amazing journey, and I wish I had started sooner! One of the awesome friends/lenders and I host a monthly event where we bring in an expert from our industry to talk about what they do. It’s called Wine About Wednesday and is the first Wednesday of the month.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I closed my first deal a month after joining my brokerage. I thank social media and keeping good relationships with people for that. My first deal was with an amazing friend of mine from middle school who organically reached out. She had seen some reels/posts I had made to Facebook, and it worked! It is hard. You work from commission to commission rather than paycheck to paycheck. It’s a good income, and I made what I would have made in three months at the grocery store in my first deal. Sadly, they let my husband go right after Thanksgiving because he spoke against consistent injustices. If your whistle blow, you get allowed to go. So that has been a challenge, but we can only keep moving forward.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your business.
I’m a Realtor licensed in Kansas and Missouri. I love working with first-time homebuyers and investors—opposite ends of the spectrum. I love the ability to guide and hold the hand of new buyers. It can be scary. This may be the biggest financial purchase of their entire life. I’m humbled that they would entrust that to me and honored to help them.

On the other hand, investors know what they want when they want. They are all in as long as the numbers work for them (where they can make money after putting work into a property). Both provide their challenges, but the truth is told, every transaction is different. I’d much rather build a relationship with someone than sell them a property. I like making friends, not counting numbers.

Recently I teamed up with an amazing agent who has been in the business for over seven years. Sarah Legg specializes in historic homes and has a passion for the preservation and growth of those homes. Together we complement each other. She knows the Midtown, Downtown, and Westport areas, and I specialize in Northern Johnson County, Kansas. Together we make a fantastic team. We are beginning a youtube channel and podcast in April. So excited! Along with real estate, I provide restaurant consulting, and Sarah provides marketing/construction consulting. I have been fortunate enough to consult for and create the bar menu for Jasmine Thompson’s restaurant Senorita Margarita on 2000 Main. Sitting in on the KC Chamber’s hospitality round table has been awesome.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and are any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Don’t wait. Life is short. When an opportunity presents itself, go after it. There are two kinds of people: those who wait for life to happen and those who make life happen. You can do it, even if you fail. Put one foot in front of the other and start walking.

Pricing:

  • $50 an hour for restaurant consulting.
  • $75 an hour for marketing/construction consulting.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Sarah Legg, Kelsey Michale, Paul Titterington, Tyrell Vold (my husband) and kiddos Hunter L. (eldest) and Hans (baby), Dan Martin, Melissa Martin (not pictured but there), Kimmy Angier, Lauren Carter, Martha Sabin, Amy Stoecker, Peyton Young, Joe Carr

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