Jessica Prudden Took a Chance and Created Her Own Real Estate Marketing Company

Article and photos by Merle Minda

Jessica Prudden, partner and owner of Prudden & Company.Jessica Prudden was working away happily as a realtor and leasing representative for condo marketing behemoth FirstService Residential (FSR), a nationwide realty services company which handles a large swath of Twin Cities condos. She had already found her niche in real estate which allowed her to use her design interests as well. She then helped FSR to create their leasing division for condo and apartment renters, developing the branding, web site and marketing materials for that specific business.

Suddenly came the day, just over one year ago, when FSR no longer wanted to be in the leasing business. Enter Jessica with a plan to buy the leasing portion of FSRs business and create her own. Now Prudden & Company, just one year in business, is thriving in downtown real estate and condo rental services. Again putting her design smarts to work, this time for her own company, the branding, website and marketing approach came together quickly. All of FSRs rental/leasing customers became her clients. As a renter myself who went through this change, I can tell you that it was absolutely seamless. And for Jessica, being in her own business is a dream come true.

With a glam office on the main floor of 909 Washington Avenue North, Jessica and her team are busily working with clients and whatever turns up. This past week, for example, she took time out from a flood of Super Bowl rental requests to talk with me.

As a true business bonus, the housing demands of the Super Bowl have lent sudden urgency to her business. A recent article in the Star Tribune by Jim Buchta stated that Prudden & Company booked more than 30 house and condo rentals for the week, including two house rentals of over $200,000 each.

Jessica is a partner in the new company, and has now welcomed Peter Prudden, her husband and operations manager, into the business as another partner. The office and realty staff has swelled too, with Didi Aron, realtor; Catie Braun as Realtor/agent and Rachel Ellingson as office manager. During my visit, Jessica’s web developer Drew Mintz of Edition Studios, hovered as well.

Left to right, Didi Aron, realtor; Peter Prudden, partner and operations manager, and Jessica Prudden, partner at Prudden & Company.

Prudden & Company has a futuristic office, all huge glass street front windows, one long, large table studded with high-end computers where everyone sits at their own station. I did not see a piece of paper anywhere – no file cabinets either. Printers for those all-important leasing contracts were discreetly hidden behind smoked glass doors. Impressive!

 “With so many people downsizing and wanting to move into the Mill District, and so many new buildings going up, we are uniquely positioned to help clients with their specific needs and adaptation to their condo and life in the city,” says Jessica. “My contacts and relationships were already in place so I was able to hit the ground running,” she continued. “And I love every minute!”

Reach Prudden & Company at https://pruddencompany.com/contact/ or call 612-875-4675.

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About Merle Minda

Journalist and free-lance writer Merle Minda writes about travel, business, people profiles and other subjects for a number of national and regional publications, including Delta SKY, Mpls/St. Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Business, Star Tribune, Twin Cities Statement, Minnesota Monthly, and now Mill City Times. She can be reached at mminda@earthlink.net or TravelOverEasy.com on the web.