Years in the industry?
The end of August will be two years in real estate in Tamworth for me. Before that I was working in flight operations for Jetstar in Melbourne.
I loved the city life, but being born and raised in the country, I was always going to come home.
What’s a special place in your local area?
Well I live in the country music capital, so I think I’m meant to say the big Golden Guitar on the side of the highway.
Tamworth is an interesting town, it has a huge food and café scene but you can drive for 10 minutes and be on a mate’s 2000-acre farm with nothing around but beautiful country… and cows.
Did you choose real estate or did real estate choose you?
I have no one to blame but myself for this. A good mate I grew up with moved back home after living overseas. He had just bought an LJ Hooker franchise and offered for me to join and work for him.
I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a brand new business and make it my own, so I hit the ground running and haven’t looked back.
First sale?
4 Iris Close. It was a little three-bedroom place, getting sold as a result of a divorce, sadly.
I remember feeling so sorry for them. I was helping tidy up the backyard on the day of settlement, asking myself what on earth kind of career I had gotten myself into! Definitely a trial by fire.
Most memorable sale?
8 Golf Street. The elderly couple I was working for had this amazing old place in a prime suburb.
We had it sold in 14 days to a young family, my vendors insisted on meeting the buyers and welcoming them to their new home. It was a really sweet moment.
What type of business do you focus on?
I focus on residential mainly, although lately we have had people approach us to take on some commercial assets, so I’m excited to learn more about that side of the game.
What’s the most important part of your day?
I have to get the morning right. If I don’t get up and do some sort of exercise to get me thinking about the day ahead, I just feel foggy and unproductive.
It goes without saying, coffee is a big part of the morning routine.
Where would you like to be this time next year?
Face-mask free and with a greater market share, that’s the simple answer.
The two years I’ve been doing this have been challenging for totally different reasons, yet I’ve still had positive growth. I have an amazing mentor in LJH Corporate that I owe that to.
Challenge for the industry?
Adapting to whatever the ‘new normal’ is going to be. In Tamworth, COVID hasn’t heavily impacted us, but convincing people of that is the challenge at present.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given
I’ve been very lucky to have lots of strong positive role models in life, so I couldn’t pinpoint one piece of game-changing advice.
Whenever I’m unsure or nervous about something I have to do, I remember something I once heard: “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”.
