Jan Jens is a 28-year-old entrepreneur and the man behind Jatina, a multimillion dollar luxury rental business in Miami. Here’s how he got started.
At 22, many people may still be piecing together degrees or building hands-on-experience as interns and freelancers. Some of them are jittering with energy and inspired to conquer, looking for a ‘why’ and a ‘how to get there’.
For Jan Jens, the ‘why’ was simple – break away from his family construction business in Germany and make it on his own – but it was not a decision he took lightly. Now 28, he has come a long way from when he started out.
JAN JENS
Jatina’s clientele includes celebrities like Leonardo Dicaprio, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart and Drake, to name a few.
Moving to Miami
Jan had always had his heart set on Miami – the fast-paced, affluent culture, the sun and the beaches, which is why he emigrated from Germany to the US. The self-confessed workaholic spent months researching the luxury rental property market, and, after careful deliberation, settled on a property that he could negotiate a sub-let.
“In 2014, I took a three-week vacation to Miami and I rented out a villa from a Concierge service that I found online,” he tells Thrive Global. “Their customer service sucked as they were not even picking up my calls while I was vacationing in one of their properties. That’s when I felt I can probably provide better service as a concierge by starting my own company.”
“I have a keen sense of ‘attention to details’ and I thought that it will definitely be of help here.”
Jan, with the help of a $39,000 loan from his father, secured his first rental property, a five-bedroom villa in Miami. He advertised the villa on sites such as Airbnb and HomeAway and within six days he had booked his first guest. From there, he built his business, Jatina, to rent out luxury properties to some of Miami’s most affluent clientele.
Jan paid back his father within three months and redirected his focus on really understanding the vigorous demands of the luxury rental business and the power of word of mouth.
Building Jatina
Jan focused on building a strong brand, seeing to clients experiences personally. He created a website, and with simple advertising and search engine optimization, was soon managing twelve rental properties, subleasing eight and managing the other four.
With a simple re-investment strategy, his company, the Jatina Group, was turning over a multi-million dollar profit within a few years, with US$5 million in annual growth from 2017 to 2018.
For Jan, focus is everything. “I understood its importance when I lost it! I was strictly into concierge services from the beginning but then at some point of my journey, I lost focus and started getting into restaurant business which failed badly and also affected my concierge business, he says.”
“I had to re-think and remind myself why I was doing good when I started out and the obvious answer was FOCUS.”
He left the restaurant business and completely focused on Jatina Group. “It started growing very well and I got a chance to connect with Quincy Brown who helped me gain contacts in the music industry.” This opened doors for him and helped the company land big names like Justin Bieber and Kylie Jenner.
Fast forward to today, the Jatina Group hires six employees with profit margins over $10 million, and Jan is amongst a list of entrepreneurs maximizing the growth in Miami’s exponentially growing rental market.
Not about the 9 to 5
Jan believes that a modest nine-to-five job would have curbed his personal growth. He credits his success to hard work and unrelenting drive. He celebrates his financial and social freedom by pouring more into his work, and despite directing a luxury rental business, barely takes a moment out for him to relax.
For him, it is part of a new millennial mindset to break the mold to be willing to step out of comfort and security and into the unknown.
For a budding business owner, or simply a twenty-something go-getter keen to carve out their own piece of the pie, passion and drive goes a long way – just ask Jan Jens.
