Resilience is about springing back, about weathering life on life’s terms, and – having done so – learning to thrive.

A story from homebuilding’s well of resiliency may always be there if you look for it, but today especially – against a global backdrop of fear, doubt, and uncertainty – we’re glad for this one.

Jennifer Clarke Johnson’s story of founding and building up a Dallas-area homebuilding company in the depths of early-2020 Covid panic is one of resiliency, hope, and expectations set free of hide-bound rules that homebuilding and its power, vision, and leadership reside with men alone.

To say the

Source: Olivia Clarke Homes

So, here was the genesis impulse that resulted in Olivia Clarke Homes, which is currently selling homes out of five communities in Dallas’ northern suburbs. What follows are a series of excerpted responses Jennifer Clarke Johnson gave in an in-depth conversation with The Builder’s Daily.

The Origin Story

I had reached the ceiling of what I was going to be able to do at Shaddock, simply because it is a family-owned business,” says Johnson. “And I’m very respectful of that – I’m not family. So I was looking for another opportunity because I’m just one of those people who always want to do more and learn and grow. I wasn’t looking to start a homebuilding company never dreamed of that, but an opportunity came up to partner with a land development company that had a built-in supply of lots. They were already in the market, selling lots to all the other builders out there. So, I stumbled on the idea. It took a while to decide whether I wanted to do it and figure out how we would capitalize the company. So we just started dreaming and realized we could do it. I know 2020 would not seem like a great year to start a venture. It wasn’t easy. But you know, we’ve all heard the phrase, ‘opportunity only strikes once.’ That was a pivotal moment in my life where I knew we do this now or we’re never going to have this chance again. Because this doesn’t come around every day. So really, God gave me peace about the decision and we moved forward. I quit my job without any of the capital raised and went out to raise the capital and get that done. And so thankfully we were able to do what was not easy to do and 2020.”

Why Olivia Clarke Homes?

I have two children in college and my son’s middle name is Clarke, which is also my maiden name. And my daughter’s middle name is Olivia. And we could not decide on a name. I didn’t want my name in the name of the company. So someone on our marketing team just said what are your kids’ middle names? And I said, Clarke and Olivia, and they’re like, Well, what about Olivia Clarke Holmes?

In 2020, when I was trying to set up accounts, with a window supplier or a brick manufacturer, the last thing they needed was another piece of business. They couldn’t even fulfill the orders that they had, but because of our reputation in the marketplace, they took our business and said, ‘Jennifer, we believe in what you’re doing, and we want to help and see you succeed.’

So it started with great relationships like that. They rallied behind us because they thought it was unique to be a woman-owned and woman-led company. And apparently, I guess they liked me as a person in lifestyle. I’ve done business all these years and they were just very supportive of what we were doing. So there are so many people that I’ll just always be grateful for because they didn’t need my business. Kind of like you’re so full at the table if you have one more bite you’re gonna get sick. That’s probably how they felt. But they were kind enough to do that.

I will say the market – both from the consumer, which is the most important, and our contemporaries – has reacted well to the brand and to the name. From the consumer standpoint, they’re very intrigued. They’re like, Who is Olivia? And is this a woman? This must be a woman-owned company. But then they walk in our homes and they say, ‘oh, I can totally tell a woman designed this home. And my team will say, ‘tell me why.’ The response: ‘Well, it’s functional. I can live in this townhome because everything is exactly where I would have put it had I designed it myself. There’s a place for everything. There’s abundant storage. It all makes sense. You walk in and it just makes sense.'”

Paying It Forward

I’ve received so much support from our builder, developer, and lending community here in Dallas. We are a very tight-knit community. A lot of men I’ve worked with for years and years have looked at their daughters going to college and they’re saying ‘What do you want to do, sweetie?’ Well, Hey, Dad, I want to do what you do.’ And Dad gets pretty uncomfortable in his chair and goes, ‘Well, gosh, I don’t know if you would get an opportunity to be successful like I am. Because they don’t see anybody successful.’ We’ve raised our daughters to believe they can do whatever; work hard and achieve anything. But then they look around in our own field and say, ‘I don’t see it. There aren’t any women doing what I do, sweetie. This is going to be an uphill battle for you.’ In the past couple of years they’ve come along and said, ‘Jennifer, we think this is great because my daughter wants to be involved in this business. But I don’t see a clear path for her. So we see you as blazing that trail.’ They have been so very supportive for that reason alone. That’s a big motivation for me – for the next generation to just have a fair shot.”

Resiliency At Work

I love any opportunity I can to inspire or to mentor or just be a word of encouragement to other women who may be apt to say, ‘nope, it’s not for me.’ I just always wanted the opportunity to succeed. If I’m the best person for the job, I just want to be considered for the job or have an opportunity. Like my first land position where I wasn’t even considered because I wasn’t a man. It’s getting better these days, to have it matter less what gender we’re looking at. We really just want the best person for the job.

And if I’m not it, that’s fine. I’ll go work harder. But I just want to have the same opportunity for success. And so I think I’ve realized how important representation is I had not really realized that before or given it the credence because I hadn’t experienced it personally. But I think for other women to see a woman in a leadership position, succeeding in this role has very much helped.

When people ask, ‘how did you do it? How can we do what you did?’ It’s not rocket science. It’s just waking up and working hard every day. You know, and not being afraid to ask for that position in a respectful way.

I do anything I can do to encourage others. I love to give back in that way.”