What led me to the real estate industry?
Good Question.
Is it the fast-paced environment? The flexibility of running my own business? The constantly changing and dynamic nature of every day?
Of course! But there’s a whole lot more to it than just that.
Let’s wind it back to the start.
Look at any one of my report cards from my childhood and you’ll find comments along the same lines.
If Lauren applied herself, she could really do wonderful things.
Testing boundaries is what Lauren does best.
Lauren is not very good at following rules.
Fast-forward more than two decades, and I’ve realised my teachers weren’t wrong. I still find it just as hard to sit down and apply myself to one task at a time. I really struggle to stay focused long enough to finish projects – until there is a deadline looming, of course! When I can see the end in sight, it feels like I make a year of progress in under a week.
Looking back on my younger years, it was definitely this personality trait that led me to my role as a legal executive in a law firm straight after high school. After probably watching one-too-many Hollywood blockbusters, I was sure this new role would give me the opportunity to really explore myself, work in a fast-paced environment and somehow my future would beam down to me from the heavens above.
Oh, boy! How wrong was I!?
I was bitterly disappointed by the mundanity of my position. It honestly baffled me to know my work could be wrong dependent on whether I put a page number at the top or the bottom of the page. I felt demoralised and unintelligent, which didn’t help boost my motivation levels and eventually saw me struggling to apply myself yet again.
When the switch flicks.
Unsatisfied in my job but uncertain about what I wanted to do with my future, I did what most 20-year-olds would do in the same situation – I partied. On one particular night out, I met someone that would go on to change the course of my life.
I remember thinking he was a bit too tall, a little quirky and had a big forehead, but he seemed nice enough. After chatting for a while, I discovered he was a local real estate agent that had really made something of himself. He had the confidence and motivation I so desperately wanted in my life, and for one reason or another – he saw something in me.
Unlike many chance meetings on a night out in your 20s, this introduction ended with an interview offer. I went off to my first real estate interview in 2010 in the small town of Hastings, without really knowing too much about the industry at all.
After securing the job, I immediately jump on-board a full-speed rollercoaster of learning. I learnt how to list, sell and navigate the real estate industry. My weeks quickly filled up with auctions, negotiations with buyers, getting signatures on papers and learning how to connect with people from all different walks of life.
As a sales executive with $100 commissions, I certainly wasn’t doing it for the money! It was one of the first times in my life I felt truly passionate enough about something to pour everything into it. The unique mix of excitement and anxiety that came from knowing I was dealing with hundreds and thousands of dollars was all it took to get me up in the mornings – and keep me going well into the night!
But there was more.
Although I jumped out of bed every day with more enthusiasm and focus than I ever thought possible, I knew my passion went beyond real estate. I knew I wanted to travel and experience the world before I settled down. It was my desire to see the world that led me to pack my bags and head over to Europe.
After returning to Melbourne seven months later and walking into Mornington for the first time, I knew something wasn’t right. The job that once filled me with excitement now felt stale. I was facing some pretty tricky challenges at home, and I felt weighed down in every aspect of my life.
My first job back in the real estate industry was to review the process and systems of our agency to identify any opportunities for improvements. I spent many months making my way through the seemingly never-ending workload, while also back listing and selling properties to help support my family situation.
It wasn’t until my family situation started to calm down that I finally felt like a cloud was lifted off my shoulders. I could finally think clearly again, and that passion started creeping back into my life.
One small step at a time.
During my time in the industry, I learned that a real estate business is valued by its rent roll and not its sales business. It was during a meeting with the bank manager of our agency during my first few months back that I discovered something that I simply couldn’t stop thinking about.
The Yearly income of a rent roll is worth 3X that amount to a bank!
I applied the formula to our own business model. At the time, we had roughly 20 properties under management, which was far less than I knew we were capable of balancing. I used the analysis to go to the business owner with an opportunity.
I asked him:
“If I can secure 100 property management contracts by Christmas, can I use half the asset to buy you out of business?”
The proposition gave me 6-months to grow the portfolio by 80 properties, which I figured was very possible given I knew good property managers could bring on 15 to 20 new properties every month. The only factor I failed to consider before setting myself the challenge was that I had never actually worked a day of property management in my life.
Fast-forward a few years.
It took me years to learn how to work with people. Along the way, I discovered the importance of not only bringing them on my journey, but also building the trusting relationships they need to bring me into theirs.
After thousands – no, millions! – of mistakes, I can proudly say I now lead a team of 15 incredible, inspiring and passionate individuals. We work together every day to set new goals, redefine the standard of success, and touch as many lives as we can along the way.
This is just the start of my story, and I’m looking forward to sharing the journey with you.
Lauren.