Artist, Entrepreneur and Inspiration
By Lisa Morgan
Many people meet Christian Jelmberg for the first time as they are being shown a potential property. In business with his parents, the Jelmberg Real Estate Team has always been successful working together. Other people meet Christian for the first time under a bridge, or in their homesteaded camp in the tamarisk trees off of the freeway. These are the homeless people in our community whose dream of having a home has long since given way to hoping only for their next meal or fix for their debilitating addiction. Christian is just as much there for them, as he is for the homebuyer with the pre-approved loan, if not more so. Come to think of it, the last time I witnessed Christian opening the trunk of his car to unload supplies for StreetLifeProject, the homeless outreach he spearheads, the real estate signs or flyers were buried under all the clothes and food supplies for folks in need. Christian lives life in two extremes – one among the financially successful, and the other among the down trodden. He is comfortable in both, and the person who is Christian Jelmberg, is everything in between.
Raised in the state of Washington, Christian had his first job at 16. “I had my own lawn mowing business and fruit stand. I would wake up early and go pick cherries at a local farm and sell them out of my pickup truck, then go mow grass. I never liked working for someone else.” Upon earning his degree from the Art Institute of Seattle, Christian helped his family grow the largest privately owned Internet company in the nation, along with a computer and copier company. “We really worked great together, because I brought the creativity and they brought the boring stuff,” he kids with a gleam in his eye. “I had recently sold another business, when my parents called and asked if I wanted to work together again, this time in real estate. I decided to move to California and join them. We created the Jelmberg Team, which is now doing over 50 million in yearly sales, and is ranked in the top 1% in the nation.”
“I am also the founder of StreetLifeProject homeless outreach. The StreetLifeProject started as a vision many years ago, and it’s all based on a culture of love – the kind of love that transforms people and unites communities for one cause. That cause is to go after the broken and hurting that are normally disregarded by society, and love them back to life. We provide food, clothing, life coaching and medical services to around 300 homeless in the Coachella valley.”
“Inspiring someone else to see their own potential is what makes me tick,” shared Christian. “There’s nothing like watching someone realize that their setback can become their comeback, and that God has a plan for their life! What bothers me though is when people are ego driven, and not purpose driven. It’s not about putting on a show and pretending, because God knows our heart. It’s about thinking less of ourself and learning how to love others unconditionally. One more thing that ticks me off is when people say they love what I do to help the homeless, but they won’t make any effort to do what I do.”
Recently, Christian experienced a career, if not a LIFE defining moment. He was selected out of over 120,000 agents for the Keller Williams inspirational award. “I really don’t care about awards, because all the glory belongs to God, but I love any opportunity I can get to share the StreetLifeProject outreach. The award was presented, and a video was shown to over 15,000 agents at the KW family reunion event. For me to take StreetLifeProject nation wide, (which has always been the goal) we need this kind of exposure and support.”
It would seem that with as much as Christian is doing in business and in the community, he wouldn’t have much time for anything else, and perhaps he doesn’t have as much as he would like. But Christian is also an incredible artist. “I love art – drawing, painting, photography, tattoo, computer graphics – the list goes on. My goal with my fine art is to capture a story in an image. For example, if I draw or take a photo of a homeless man, I would like people to see and feel his journey in one picture. To me that’s what art is all about.”
Observing Christian in action, you could say his best trait is his ability to connect, on a very personal level, with people from every type of culture and economic class. He can be talking with a homeless man one day, and then an ultra wealthy business man the next. “To me,” shares Christian, “they both have the same value.”
You can follow StreetLifeProject on Facebook: www.facebook/thestreetlifeproject.com
Find the Jelmberg Real Estate Team at www.jelmbergteam.com
