Your New York City Guide: SERHANT's Casey Joe on Taking Risks, Building Real Relationships, and Living Authentically
Portrait by Serhant Studios.
By Julia Gamolina
Casey Joe is a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson at SERHANT in New York City. She is a member of the Jennifer Lee Team which has sold over $500 million of real estate and counting. Originally from Southern California herself, Casey enjoys being a partner and guide to those looking to move to NYC and make the city their home. Before real estate, Casey started her career in entertainment where she worked at Katrina Wan PR, William Morris Endeavor, and also spent some time as the assistant to Stephanie Shepherd of Kim Kardashian-West Brands. She then pivoted to tech where she specialized in internal communications and events at Hulu and The Walt Disney Company before moving to the startup world as a product marketing manager.
When she’s not showing homes or taking out clients, Casey can be found indulging in the latest reality TV craze or helping coordinate events for Madame Architect.
JG: You have such an interesting story — you worked in marketing and public relations in Los Angeles, and for some very significant cultural figures, and just recently went through a career transformation and are now a real estate agent in NYC. Why the foray into real estate, and what are you focusing on for 2024 and beyond?
CJ: I’m definitely no stranger to career transformations — I think real estate might technically be my third! I started my career in entertainment in Los Angeles working in PR, creative and script development, and at a high-profile talent agency. And yes, I even spent some time as an assistant to Stephanie Shepherd, COO of Kim Kardashian’s executive team at the time! In 2017, I made my first pivot into tech and began working at Hulu in Internal Communications and Events. During my tech era, I worked at two other startups, one of which helped move me to New York City. Moving from California and trying to find an apartment in the city was a wild ride, to say the least, and that experience is what originally piqued my interest in the NYC real estate market.
As very much a people person and lover of all things interior design, a career in real estate has always been on my radar. However, I’m a Capricorn rising and a Taurus moon, so logically I never would have quit my comfy tech job to pursue a career in sales that I had no prior experience in. But clearly, the universe had different plans for me — more on this later. Now that I’ve found my footing in real estate, 2024 and beyond is going to be all about building, branding, and balance.
Casey Joe and her teammate Peyton Bias at the SERHANT. House for their summer social.
Let's come back to the beginning now. Why the focus on communications and all things marketing, and how did you end up at your early jobs?
I’ve always been passionate about building connections, fostering relationships, and working with people, so communications and marketing just felt like a natural path that would allow me to do all of that and more. My very first job was at Katrina Wan PR, a boutique film PR firm in Los Angeles. I actually started out as an intern during my sophomore year of college. The internship was only supposed to last four months, but because I hustled, built genuine connections, and quickly figured out how to bring value to the team, I ended up working at KWPR for the next two years and even after graduation. I’ll always be so grateful for the growth and mentorship that I received from Katrina and her team of kickass women during such an early stage in my career.
“My work goes beyond helping people buy and sell real estate. The best part of my job is being a partner and a guide, enabling others to fulfill their own aspirations of moving to the city and making NYC their home, just like I once did.”
Tell me more about your switch — both about your desire to be in New York, and why real estate and being an agent?
Moving to New York was on my vision board at eleven years old. When the pandemic lockdown slowly started to lift in 2021, I pretty much decided it was now or never, and my husband and I picked up our entire lives and moved across the country from LA. Moving was easy, but renting our first New York City apartment was an eye-opening experience — it was insanely competitive and strangely complex, but somehow I still enjoyed the process. Scrolling StreetEasy for the latest inventory became one of my favorite ways to pass time, even after we had moved into our apartment in New York.
I was no longer happy working in tech at the time, so I thought it would be “fun” to try doing real estate in NYC on the side and started working toward my license. Throughout my entire career, building deep relationships, creating extraordinary experiences, and helping others achieve their goals always brought me the most joy — becoming a real estate agent just felt like the perfect next step. Then one day, I was suddenly laid off, and it was the big reality check I needed. I got licensed a month later, jumped head first into real estate, and I’ve never looked back!
How did you come to SERHANT?
I kept that same proactive energy and mentality from one transition to another, and it eventually is what helped me get my foot in the door of real estate. I didn’t have any prior connections in the industry, but I had been following this agent named Jennifer Lee online and saw that she was hosting an open house in my neighborhood. I walked over to the open house, introduced myself, gave my elevator pitch, and asked to buy her a coffee. The next week, I started my new journey as a licensed real estate salesperson at SERHANT. on The Jennifer Lee Team.
What have you also learned in the last six months?
I’ve learned to chill . . . a little. At my core, I’m the type-A planner friend with the color-coded, hourly itinerary that includes scheduled time for breaks. But with the nature of this job being so unpredictable, I’ve really had to learn how to let things go and be okay with not being in control all the time. So much of my job as a real estate agent depends on the availability of other people: clients, buyers, sellers, landlords, other agents, etc. And even though most of my days don’t always go exactly how I plan, I’ve become much better at rolling with the punches. I’ve also been learning to incorporate a bit of meditation into my life, which has helped me immensely.
The Jennifer Lee Team at the SERHANT. Serves community service event with City Harvest
Looking back at the entirety of your career so far, what have been the biggest challenges? How did you both manage through perceived disappointments or setbacks?
One of the biggest challenges in my career was the recent transition from the corporate world to being an entrepreneur, which is really what being a real estate agent is. After spending nearly a decade within the structured routines and hierarchy of corporate life, the freedom of being my own boss was exciting, but really scary at first. No matter what tasks I accomplished, or how productive I felt, I always felt like I should be doing more. Other days, I had no idea what I should be doing at all. Coupled with the unpredictability of the real estate market and the absence of a guaranteed paycheck, it all became pretty overwhelming at one point.
Ironically, I think what helped me step into this new entrepreneurial mindset was being able to lean on my corporate experience to keep myself organized and productive. I went back to the basics that I had relied on for years: I made to-do lists, set weekly goals, and time-blocked my calendar. It’s an ongoing process.
What are you most excited about right now?
When it comes to work, right now I’m most excited about doubling down on social media as a way to continue growing my business and personal brand. I’ve been dabbling in content creation a bit, but I’m excited to be more intentional and invest more of my time into it. The clients — and now friends — that I’ve met through platforms like Instagram and TikTok have been one of my favorite parts of my real estate journey so far. Right now I’m working with my first international client moving from France who found me through TikTok! Social media has made it possible for me to connect with so many different types of people who all share the same dream of making the city their home, and it makes me love what I do.
And in my personal life, I’m most excited to plan my wedding! My husband, Thomas, and I got married at the courthouse last June and we are now in the midst of putting together a very small, intimate ceremony for our family and closest friends in Barcelona. We’re high school sweethearts, so this celebration has been a long time coming!
“Be in the mindset that no job is too big or too small. Adopting this mentality early on will open you up to more experiences and opportunities that will only help you in the long-run.”
Who are you admiring now and why?
My friend Amy Chang recently moved to NYC and is bringing her love of jewelry to life through her own handcrafted jewelry brand. I‘ve loved watching her hone her craft and share her vision with the world. My friend Conrad Alumia just made a huge career pivot and decided to pursue a master’s program in urban planning, something he’s been passionate about for as long as I can remember. These are just a couple examples, but I will always admire anyone who is bold enough to take risks and go after what they want.
What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? And what does success in that look like to you?
I strive to live my life in a way that uplifts and inspires people to be the best version of themselves. I’m the biggest cheerleader, because I want everyone to have the confidence and support to follow their passions. To me, success is being able to lead your most genuine, authentic life, which I hope would create a more positive world for us all.
I see this play out in my career as well, because my work goes beyond helping people buy and sell real estate. The best part of my job is being a partner and a guide, enabling others to fulfill their own aspirations of moving to the city and making NYC their home, just like I once did.
Casey at The Rockwell — a SERHANT. New Development on the Upper West Side. Courtesy of SERHANT. Studios.
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
Be in the mindset that no job is too big or too small. Adopting this mentality early on will open you up to more experiences and opportunities that will only help you in the long-run. When you’re just starting out in your career, you should take advantage of every opportunity to learn something new. Asked to join a big meeting to help take notes? Great, now you’re officially in the room and part of the conversation — be a sponge. Asked to lead a big meeting or take on a new project that’s never been done before? Don’t shy away from an opportunity to challenge yourself, but also don’t be afraid to ask for help or guidance along the way.
My advice for women would be the same, but I would take it one step further: keep that same drive but also keep healthy boundaries for yourself. Sometimes you have to say no in order to prioritize the opportunities you really want to say yes to — those are the experiences that are going to benefit you and your career most in the long-run.