Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Hsu.
Hi Jonathan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
For the first 8 to 9 years after graduating with a degree in Dance and Kinesiology from the University of Maryland, College Park, I worked as a professional dancer—touring with companies and teaching at various studios across the DMV. It was during this time that I really developed a love for content creation. YouTube was still relatively new back then, and everyone wanted to make their own dance videos. So in college, I bought my first camera with the intention of creating my own.
That idea quickly shifted when I realized I couldn’t film and be in the videos at the same time. However, since I had the camera, I started bringing it to rehearsals and classes to practice filming the dancers around me. As I progressed in my dance career, I continued bringing my camera along to events and slowly built a reputation in the DMV area as someone who specialized in dance photography and video. That turned into a fun side gig alongside the rest of my freelance work as a teacher and performer.
When I went on tour, I began vlogging our adventures and used that as a way to hone my video editing skills. I was constantly creating and posting on social media to promote myself and find more opportunities. Being a dance teacher taught me how to be outgoing and connect with people of all ages and backgrounds. Looking back, I can clearly see how the Lord was using all of these skills to prepare me for what He had next—real estate media!
Fast forward to 2023—I found myself seriously considering a career pivot. While I still loved dance as a form of expression, I was starting to feel burnt out by the freelance artist lifestyle. At my busiest, I was performing with two to three companies and teaching at three to four studios all in the same year. I knew that pace wasn’t sustainable long-term. I had also recently gotten married and started thinking about our future. I realized I wouldn’t be able to support a family on a dance teacher’s salary, nor did I want to spend weeknights and weekends away from home, which is often when most performances and classes happen.
That’s when real estate came to mind. My mom is actually a real estate agent, and over the years, I’d occasionally helped her with listing photos. To be totally honest, they weren’t that great. I really didn’t know what I was doing when it came to real estate media at the time, but it planted the seed.
As I continued to think through different career options, real estate media kept coming up. I already had the equipment, I understood the basic principles of photography and video, and the idea of working mostly during the week and during the day was really appealing. Plus, I liked that it had the potential to scale and grow into a business with a team if I wanted it to. I was sold.
Fast forward again to the end of 2024—I had been trying to get my real estate media business off the ground for about a year, but with very little success. I was still teaching full-time, juggling a few other freelance gigs, and the business just kept getting pushed to the back burner. Then, my wife and I went through a really difficult season with some personal family challenges. Even in that hard time, the Lord was so gracious—He surrounded us with friends and family who loved and supported us in ways we’ll never forget.
That painful season became a wake-up call for me. I knew it was time to get serious and give this business the focus it deserved. That’s when I joined a coaching program, and it was exactly what I needed. With the guidance of the coaches from REPP Coaching created by Eli Jones and encouragement from the community, by early January 2025 I had everything set up and started reaching out to agents.
And the rest is history—well, the beginning of it anyway! My company is still very much in its early stages, but I’m absolutely loving it. There are so many aspects that remind me of what I enjoyed about being a freelance artist—from meeting new people to helping them achieve their goals through the content I create. I still get to be creative with my photography and video work, and while I’m still learning how to navigate work-life balance, I love that I’m home more in the evenings.
I’m incredibly grateful for how the Lord has sustained and guided me through this journey. From my dance career to now running my own business, I can clearly see how He has been guiding me every step of the way. My prayer is that I would continue to use the opportunities He gives me to glorify Him and to point others to His goodness.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not! I think a challenge every business owner struggles with is just setting it up. How to create an LLC, what kind of permits do you need, what’s the name of the business going to be, etc. Afterwards, I had to research my competition to make sure my services and prices were competitive, make sure I had the right equipment, create the entire back end system so agents could order from me, create a delivery system, and more.
Consistency has definitely been the biggest challenge! Consistently posting on social media, consistently working on client acquisition to make sure my business continues to grow, consistently keeping track of my finances, consistently following up with agents I’ve already worked with, the list goes on and on!
Burnout is so real. Especially as a small business owner in its infant stages, you feel like you need to say yes to every opportunity and be available 24/7, but that’s just as non-sustainable as what I was doing before as a dancer. I’ve been learning to set better boundaries between the business and my personal time, as well as setting clearer expectations with the clients I get to work with. Every day I’m learning something new!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Lucent Real Estate Media?
At Lucent Real Estate Media, my goal is to be a one-stop shop for real estate agents in the DMV area when it comes to listing media. Whether it’s photos, floor plans, videos, 3D tours, virtual staging, or headshots, I aim to make the process seamless and stress-free. Agents shouldn’t have to juggle multiple vendors just to get their listing live—I want to be the person they call because they know everything will be taken care of.
I’m especially excited to be stepping into luxury listing videos soon—something that felt intimidating at first but has quickly become a new creative challenge I’m passionate about. Learning to serve that market with excellence has stretched me in the best way, and I’m excited to keep growing in that space.
One thing that sets Lucent Real Estate Media apart is my approach to problem-solving. My background in freestyle dance and choreography taught me how to stay flexible, think on my feet, and adapt quickly. That mindset has served me incredibly well in real estate media. I had a shoot once where the owner had lived in the home for over 20 years—and there was stuff everywhere. The agent and I spent hours clearing and resetting each room, moving everything around so I could get clean shots. It was a ton of extra work, but the photos turned out great, and the agent was thrilled. I love jumping in to make things happen, no matter the challenge.
On top of that, I bring a strong eye for storytelling and aesthetics—whether I’m framing a wide-angle photo or coaching an agent through on-camera branding content. My experience as a teacher and director in dance helped me learn how to make people feel confident in front of the camera, especially when creating video content for social media. With more agents building their brand online, it’s important not just to have professional media—but media that makes you feel like you.
I also prioritize being easy to work with. I keep turnaround times quick—typically 24 to 48 hours for listing photos—and I’m always aiming to be clear, responsive, and proactive in communication. My hope is that agents feel confident handing over the media part of their business so they can focus on what they do best.
Most importantly, I view my business as a way to serve others well and reflect the values I hold as a Christian—integrity, excellence, and compassion. I truly believe the Lord has guided each step of this journey, and my prayer is that the way I work and the way I care for people would point others back to Him.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My current favorite podcast is the Spiro Podcast which is specifically for real estate media business owners. A recent book I read that was really helpful is “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy. Additionally, I don’t know what I would do without my Google calendar and notes app. I use Google calendar to make sure I don’t have any conflicting appointments/commitments, and when I’m super slammed with work I’ll create a simple check list of all the things I need to get done that day or that hour listed in the order I need to get them done in. That’s helped me stay focused and not jump around from task to task.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://book.lucentrealestatemedia.com/order/jhsu/default
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucentmedia.re
Image credit:
Josh Kim and Myrrh Hsu
