Tag Archives: Job security

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The biggest lesson I’ve learned from this crisis

For a moment, I want you to imagine it’s 2019 – back when none of us had heard the term ‘coronavirus’.

It was a golden time, right? Well, no, it wasn’t, it was a tough year for many. My group, One Agency, has more than 150 licensees across Australasia, and when I visited our principals and agents, I saw just how many of them were operating in tough real estate markets.

Some, though, were thriving. Why? Because they’d built businesses designed not for summer but winter.

Fast forward 12 months and those principals and agents are still doing well, despite COVID.

That leads on to the biggest lesson I’ve learned from this crisis: you can never predict what will happen to your local market or the wider economy. So you need to build a business that can do well in any environment. How? By doing these three things:

  • Protect your revenue
  • Minimise your costs
  • Master your mindset

How to protect your revenue

Sales revenue is unpredictable, because you have no control over whether your local market goes up, down or sideways.

Property management revenue, though, is largely predictable, because rents are much less volatile than sales prices and volumes. That’s why every agency with a rent roll is safer.

Big or small, even one-person agencies can build rent rolls – you just outsource the different property management functions to freelance staff. One Agency has businesses of every size, including several solo operators, who do sales while managing more than 50 properties.

How to reduce your costs

You have limited control over your revenue, but you have complete control over your costs.

Remember: it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep that counts. That’s why you need to minimise your fixed costs and take a close look at your variable costs. Some ideas include:

  • Move from expensive main street premises to a cheaper, less visible office, or virtual office – these days, a strong digital presence is much more important than a strong physical presence
  • Send some tasks offshore – outsourcing will not only save you money, it will also make it easier for you to scale up and down when your revenue rises and falls
  • Refinance your debts – interest rates are at record lows, so you could potentially save thousands of dollars per year by investigating current lower-rate loans
  • Hold your group accountable – if you work with a branded group, research the market to see if you can find a group that will give you the same service for lower fees, as there is no such thing as a best brand, only a best operator

How to master your mindset

During my decades in real estate, I’ve learned that the market always turns – for better and worse.

You need to build a mindset that can handle these ups and downs. You can’t allow your mood to go up and down in tandem with the market, because that’s not sustainable.

When the market is booming, you need to remain level-headed; when the market is tanking, you need to remain optimistic.

Have a plan, work the plan and reset as necessary. A strategy with a goal keeps you focused.

So work hard on yourself. Hang out with positive people. Read personal development books. Take care of your physical and mental health. If you’re feeling down, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Andrew Reeves
Blog, Uncategorized

Your 5-step guide to transitioning from agent to principal

Do you want to step up from agent to business owner? If so, let me explain exactly how to do it. The process is simple, although it does require a lot of hard work and sacrifices.

By way of background, I started my business in 2013; four years later, it was named One Agency International Office of the Year. By the time I sold my business in 2020, it had two offices, 20 staff, 420 properties under management and annual GCI of $3 million. So the five-step process I’m about to share really does work.

First, you need at least five years of industry experience, so you understand the ins and outs of real estate. I had 14 years of experience when I opened my business, although, in hindsight, I realise I could’ve made the jump years earlier.

Second, you need to take advice from those who have been there and done that. An obvious way to do that is to join a group. I think I would’ve been successful if I’d gone out as an independent, but it would’ve been harder and taken longer. By joining a group, I was given all the back-end support I needed, which allowed me to focus on growing my business and maximising my profits. Another thing I did was seek outside support – I used a business coach and a property management consultant to become a better principal.

Third, you need to focus on building a rent roll. A rent roll is the foundation of your business. It gives you consistent income, which allows you to get through different kinds of markets. If you build a rent roll, you’ve always got a saleable asset. It also helps you in your local market, because it means more signs, more marketing and more exposure, which allows you to grow your brand. Whenever you sell a property to an investor, try to turn that buyer into a property management client.

Fourth, you need to remember the saying that One Agency founder and CEO Paul Davies has become famous for – it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep that counts. Profits are far more important than revenue. Always look for ways to minimise your costs, especially your fixed costs. (One reason I chose One Agency was because I didn’t have to pay commissions to head office.) Also, defend your income by building a rent roll.

Fifth, you need to see relationships as a form of currency. Our game is all about relationships, but they take time to build. The more people you get to know, and the more effort you invest in nurturing those relationships, the more clients and referrals you’ll attract.

Mark Mitchell One Agency
Real Estate Business Profit, Real Estate Franchise

Mark Mitchell Invests Commission Back Into His Own Business

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Mark Mitchell opened his One Agency business in January 2016 and is trading as One Agency Mark Mitchell Real Estate in the Geelong region of Victoria.

He wasn’t interested in going with a traditional franchise and didn’t want to take the risk of setting up as an independent agent, so the One Agency business model appealed to him.

“Being my own boss and also the decision maker was a big deciding factor for me,” says Mark, who has worked in real estate for the past 5 years. “I also love to have the flexibility to make challenging calls on winning a listing or losing one.”

Other factors that resonated with Mark were: receiving 100% of his commission directly back into his business. He also flags that cash-flow in any business is critical and so being paid in a timely manner was a huge factor.

“To wait a month after settlement to get paid for work I busted my butt off to get was so frustrating,” he says. “It really annoyed me, how, as the agent I was always the one who got paid last, weeks after the office and marketing were paid. I saw a lot of agents leave the industry because of this.”

“I was spending thousands on marketing myself and branding the company’s name, mostly  out of my own pocket, then having to split a great chunk of it away. I thought that if I’m paying to brand someone else’s business myself, with no marketing budget allowance from them, then I’d be better off spending my money on my own business, keeping all the commission and invest it back into marketing for myself.”

Housing Affordability
Commission for real estate agents, Job Security in Real Estate, Property Business Network, Real Estate Business Profit, Real Estate Commission, Real Estate Trainers, Tom Panos, Wages for real estate

Tom Panos – Real Estate Myths Debunked

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In this blog, taken from Real Estate Business Online, Tom Panos busts some common myths about real estate:

Myth #1: The most successful real estate salespeople are born, not made
Fact: Incorrect. Yes, a good agent may have a tendency and inclination to be a savvier negotiator with better people skills, but these are things that can be learnt and nurtured. Research shows that at a maximum, people are operating at 50 per cent of capability which means the majority of human beings are not realising their potential.

Myth #2: Agents that write $1m in gross commission do a lot of cold calling
Fact: There is no evidence that seven figure agents do cold calling. Seven figure agents run an attraction business that is built on momentum; their prospecting is best defined as either “warm” or “smart” calling. They simply are nurturing contacts they already have. In marketing this is called “lead nurturing”. At one stage they did have to do cold calling, but most of these agents have got to a level where they are having more calls come in than calls go out.

One Agency Group Real Estate Agent Job security
Finance, Job Security in Real Estate, Property Business Brand, Property Business Network, Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Business, Real Estate Business Profit, Real Estate Commission, Real Estate Franchise

Job Security in the Real Estate Industry?

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Are you a real estate agent and feeling undervalued or uncertain with your job security in your role with your current employer?

Or are you a real estate business owner who is swamped by massive overheads that are eating into your profits?

I meet a lot of agents and business owners who are disenchanted with the actual profit they get to take home at the end of each working week. Many established agents bring great financial reward to their employers putting in hard graft only to see a big chunk of their commissions going towards funding the bosses European holidays or luxury cars.

Dealing with the inequities on the sales room floor is why so many (and often very talented agents) burn out and leave the profession. There can often be internal politics, fighting for listings, losing hard worked territories after re-structures or simply being overlooked and undervalued with the goal posts constantly moving.

As an agent you may think you’re secure but you’re completely at the mercy of the business owner. But that’s no fault of the business owner, I’ve been both and employee and an owner and I’ve made some obvious mistakes along the way. So I’m not pointing any fingers here. It’s just the way the real estate business is set up.