Caleb Venneri grew up around real estate but never dreamt he’d become an agent himself. But all that changed when his father teed him up with a job when he moved to Melbourne. Here, the Barry Plant agent explains what he loves about the job, his most memorable sale and the clear goals he has for the future.
What was your first job and what did it teach you?
I would love to say I was self-employed at 15, selling pens and bracelets that I purchased in bulk from Alibaba during my school years, however that wasn’t quite enough.
So I started working in hospitality at a local restaurant.
It taught me how to deal with and accommodate a range of personalities at a fast pace.
I became accustomed to long hours as I would also DJ every Saturday night at a local club, where I learnt a lot about the power of social media marketing.
Did you choose real estate or did real estate choose you?
Real estate chose me. I needed extra hours of work when I first moved to Melbourne and fortunately, my dad placed me at a local Barry Plant office, as he was the director of Barry Plant in my hometown.
Despite having grown up around it, I had not planned to go into real estate, but that all changed rapidly.
What type of business do you focus on?
Residential sales.
I’ve built a lot of my business up from the apartment market and have since had a great mix of houses and apartments.
What’s your most memorable sale and why?
The sale of a stunning home in Keilor East.
It set a new benchmark for the area, which no one thought was achievable at the time.
We were thrown in and out of lockdown during the campaign, to the point where a colleague and I had to “exercise” at the same park to have a phone bid off between our clients for the property.
What’s the most important part of your day?
The morning.
I’m a firm believer in, ‘How you start the day is how you’ll finish it’.
Starting the day with an optimistic view will ensure I’m in a great mood, and that allows me to enter the ‘flow’ state much easier.
Where would you like to be this time next year?
I would like to create a clear distance as the number 1 agent throughout multiple suburbs.
My focus is on growing my team and their individual performance to ensure we take the second and third spots also.
If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?
The stereotype we have and having more people understand that real estate is a professional industry.
It is the skill, expertise and ethics that separate the good from the bad.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given and who gave it to you?
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
I was put onto this quote by one of my mentors, Rik Rushton.
The power of the mind is unbelievable, and I’ll often find myself repeating this, whether it be before listing appointments or anything I may find challenging in life.
