There’s a simple reason why Jennifer Clarke Johnson has pushed forward in a profession where she doesn’t look like the other industry leaders.
“It’s for our daughters,” said the 45-year-old businesswoman.
Johnson is one of the leading women in the building industry tapped to join the Dallas Builders Association’s Professional Women in Building committee. The committee is led by 2-10 Home Warranty vice president of business development Jeanine Jones.
Johnson built a career in land acquisitions and later went on to lead Shaddock Homes, operating the sales, construction, production, design, and purchasing departments. She has numerous awards, including being just one of five women in the 2016 Professional Homebuilders Class of 40 Under 40.
Johnson got her start with a part-time internship for a home-building company while studying business management at Pensacola Christian College in Florida.
“I fell in love with it,” she said. “I worked my way up and got hired out of college to work for a home builder. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I didn’t set out to do this.”
And while she says she had to fight for her credibility in the early days, she now leads by example, and the fact that she’s a woman just isn’t really a thing.
“My first job was in land acquisition,’ she said. “At the time there was one other woman who held that position. We stuck out like a sore thumb. That was a very difficult job. You had to earn your stripes. If you could do that, you could do anything. Now there are many women who do this and they are welcome in the industry. It’s not really a thing anymore.”
Instead of telling the boys’ club that she knows what she’s doing, Johnson shows them.
“Even out in the field, walking houses, I had construction managers wanting to show me the ropes,” she said. “That didn’t last very long. It just takes time and being out there doing the job, for people to understand that you know what you’re doing. My method of proving myself is being out there doing it, shoulder to shoulder.”
Like a Boss
Johnson now does it all as founder and president of Olivia Clarke Homes, named after her children, who are both in college. The company has 50 homes under construction and has been operational for about a year. Seeing a finished product still gives her a feeling of accomplishment.
“I have outside investors; I do not have a wealthy family at all,” Johnson explained. “I’ve just worked really hard. I’ve raised money to start this business. I found people who believe in me and have seen my career and a good business plan.”
She recalled a recent time when she was driving up a hill and “had a moment” when the entire neighborhood was suddenly revealed.
“It was really an awesome feeling,” Johnson said. “The sun was setting, and I was seeing all those homes with families living in them.
“The reason we do this is not just to have four walls,” she condintued. “Anyone can do that. We want to have a place for people to live and build memories. We kind of saw that snapshot of life being lived right then. That’s what really drives us, to provide that.”
Breaking New Ground
Johnson and her team at Olivia Clarke are rebranding duplexes as “paired homes.”
“I want them to fit into any master-planned community and for people who buy them to not feel like second-class citizens,” Johnson said. “We will be building about 300 paired homes in the coming years. There is a need for sure.”
She recently got to help contribute to the curriculum for a four-year degree in home building at Collin College. And, of course, starting her own company is a pretty big accomplishment.
“I really just love what I do, and I love that the Dallas industry, all my peers, are cheering me on,” Johnson said. “They just really want me and this company to succeed. You know why? For their daughters. Literally, that’s why I am doing this, for the next generation of women, to do what they love. So it’s not a conversation about gender, or race, for that matter, just so everyone has an opportunity to do what they love. This is for our daughters. That’s why I can’t fail. If I do, when will the next woman get a shot?”
