IF YOU ARE THINKING about taking your career to the next level by becoming a business owner but have been a little daunted by the thought of the administration and upfront costs, then talking to the Eview Group may be a good option for you. Samantha McLean met up with business owners Maria and Manos Findikakis to find out more about their exciting business model, ‘Your Brand, Your Business’, and how it can help you take the next step in your career.
My job today is to find out a bit more about how it’s possible to have the best of both worlds as an agent: my name on the door, and an experienced solid back office that handles all of my administration.
The whole Eview team comprises approximately 130 people, from administration to property management and sales agents, and is managed by owners Maria and Manos, who have been in the real estate industry for about 12 years.
Their enthusiasm for the industry and the business is obvious as they start talking about the model they have created from what they saw as an ‘obvious gap’ in the market. I start by asking them how long Eview Group has been operating. Maria says, “We’re eight years old already! It started as an idea Manos had one day about giving people the opportunity to be in business for themselves, but not by themselves.” Manos continues, “We were in a traditional franchise, and we felt it was simply outdated. Eview is a platform that has been designed so people can excel. Whether you are an agent, in property management or a business owner, our model is designed to let everyone perform to the highest standards.”
“We also saw a revolving door in the industry,” continues Maria. “There were a lot of good people coming in and then leaving. There was clearly something missing; people were not being looked after financially. We also saw people getting bogged down in a lot of administrative things that kept them away from what all agents love to do, which is listing and selling real estate.”
How did you come up with the idea? Maria explains, “Manos and I are really lucky – I’m a true salesperson, and Manos has a head for business. Our partnership worked really well because I was able to tell him what I didn’t want to do as a salesperson; for example, loading properties onto the internet, trust accounting or talking to any solicitors. I didn’t want to have to worry about marketing either. I wanted it to look really good (of course!), but I wanted a marketing department to do that for me as well. Manos was able to go away and put this amazing system together, and that is what Eview is today.”
The Eview promise to its agents is ‘Your Brand, Your Business’ (YBYB). I ask how that works alongside the Eview brand itself. Manos answers, “Individual branding has been discussed for many years in the real estate industry. YBYB was established so that we could take the traditional branding of a franchise group away, and put the agent in the forefront. The brand then has the individual’s own logo, their own identity, but it is backed by the Eview Group.”
We know that outsourcing is popular in terms of increasing agent productivity. I ask Maria and Manos to tell me a bit more about how the backend administration works from a central point. Manos answers, “It was a challenge to get the technology right; we knew we needed to make an investment to ensure the platform was rock solid and easy to use. We’ve developed customised programs to enable our sales agents and our property managers to have a seamless flow of work. Some people want us to do everything, right down to financial accounts; some only want us to do some administration and bookkeeping. We’re very big on having those processes in place, with a great cloud-based CRM system which is easily accessible for all users.”
How does the marketing side of things work? Maria explains, “We have a graphics department, Jelly Bean Media. They sit down with an agent and construct their whole business. The marketing of that business will be a direct reflection of the agent and the area where they work. Jelly Bean will design their brand so it reflects them in the best possible way, and continue as their marketing department to ensure consistency.”
How long does it take to get up and running? Maria explains, “Within two weeks we can have someone in their own business, as long as they’re a fully licensed estate agent and they’re a good fit.”
Do you look for a consistent culture for the agents that who join the Eview Group? Maria says emphatically, “Culture is very important to us and culture starts from the top. We know that a lot of people pay lip service to culture; we create it. Culture is family, actually. I know it might sound a little bit over the top, but that’s what it’s all about for us. It’s family. We have a lot of events. We have a lot of food at our events too!” she laughs. Adds Manos, “I always say this business is about three things: Culture, Money, and Freedom. They are the three big words that underpin this business and the people in it.”
What if I’m having a bad day, or a bad week? Maria smiles and says, “We send you home! (laughs). No, we’re always here for our team. We don’t micro-manage our people. They’re in business for themselves, so they’re a different calibre of person. But the door is always open for quick chats. We don’t have one-on-ones or anything like that, but we’re always there for the team.”
Manos adds, “The support is also there if you wanted to go away on holiday or needed someone to look after your clients; we’ve got people who can do that for you too. I know some small businesses where the owners have to take their laptops with them to do their trust accounting and pay people. It’s not really a holiday then, so we aim to look after all that.”
So let’s get down to business. How much does it cost to become a member? Manos says, “We structure our pricing model based on what services are required. We made a conscious decision when we started Eview that if anyone was to join us it had to be more profitable for them to be with us than not. We have our group buying power that offsets a lot of the costs, and a reward system.”
Is the Eview model applicable to property management as well? Maria confirms, “The way it works in property management is similar to sales. The property manager owns the rent roll so they own that business. We provide services so they can look after their customers better. That way they can spend their time looking after their landlords and tenants, rather than worrying about doing the trust accounting and all the administration.”
What’s next for Eview? “I do believe that the market will stay strong throughout the rest of the year,” says Manos. “With respect to ourselves at Eview, we truly believe we can double in size in the next twelve months. We’ll continue to improve on our systems and our offerings, and our search for finding the right people to join us in our business.”
For more information about the Eview Group, visit eview.com.au.
