by Aleksandra Scepanovic, the co-founder and managing director of Ideal Properties Group
The one great thing about the past is that it always teaches us valuable lessons that connect us to ourselves and to each other. I think I had always hoped for a career that would help me better understand my present and my future, and equally importantly – my past, and how it could all work together.
I was born in the former Yugoslavia, and from a very young age, I was fascinated with human history. This led me to pursue a college degree in archeology with the hopes of working in the field. That was until the war that engulfed my country quickly dissuaded my view of archaeology as a viable career. I couldn’t sit on the sidelines of the history being made, not with an archaeologist’s trowel, shovel, and spade in my hands. It was then that I learned what would turn into my first business lesson: hold onto fluidity in all endeavors, allowing for quick adaption, no matter the circumstances.
I found myself with a computer in a newsroom, and it was not long until I was reporting from the war zones. My experience reporting on the Balkan wars drained of the region’s natural and human splendor, the country’s horizons peppered with broken buildings – left me longing for peace. It was then that I made the decision to move to the United States, and I landed in New York City.
Being new to a city, and not just any city, but New York is never easy. It was on my friend’s blow-up mattress that I took a step back and decided my next move. I knew I needed to design and create. This realization, coupled with my burning desire to rebuild, mentally and professionally, led me to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
After graduation, I took my life’s three-prong magnifying glass, re-evaluating where I’d been, where I was and what I saw for myself in the future. The FIT program awakened my inner eye for detail and strengthened my passion for architecture and interiors, but I still was on a quest for an adrenalin-packed business that I could call my own. This is when I took a leap into real estate, at first working with my partner, Erik Serras, for a boutique brokerage firm in Manhattan, and eventually co-founding Ideal Properties Group. Ideal is my professional home, chock full of amazing people who do well and have fun doing what they love to do. Ideal is also a full-service real estate establishment with an array of services for users of real estate product in New York City, ranging from pre-development marketing and branding to tenant relocation and buyer representation – and everything in between.
Since launching the company in 2007, I have been able to help develop Ideal’s foundation and technological edge, and I’m in charge of setting its mission and implementing a clear vision for its tomorrow. Today, I continue to formulate Ideal’s strategy, and I enjoy monitoring the markets and identifying trends. I continuously work to uphold the company’s values, oversee hiring and marketing, and consult with my partner on Ideal’s direction and strategies that will help us guide it there. Together, we continuously build upon our firm’s culture by creating an exciting, transparent and supportive environment for brokers to work in.
I utilize my ability to quickly adapt and mix it with my experiences as a war reporter and a trained designer on a daily basis. Ideal is a reflection of a number of good people being able to take their vision, career, and business to the next level by capitalizing on their passion. My passion for real estate in New York City, intertwined with the lessons from the past, and a hopeful eye on the future – have all been my beacons and my landmarks. We cannot always predict where life will take us. Still, I have found that by accepting where you are today and using the lessons you may have learned in the past, combined with a healthy dose of resolve and optimism, you will always find yourself going the right direction.