A year ago, Jay Giblett often felt like he was robbing Peter to pay Paul.
He was the number one agent in his area, but he constantly felt like he was battling to balance his business with his family life.
An array of scheduled tasks meant he was running from pillar to post, but he longed to spend more time on the core of real estate – listing and selling.
“We used to have a Monday sales meeting, a Tuesday caravan to see new listings, Wednesday would be call sessions, Thursday would be training, and Friday was more call sessions,” Mr Giblett said.
“That’s pretty much half your week done before you’ve even listed a house, sold a house, showed a buyer or anything.”
After eight years as the number one agent in Endeavour Hills in Melbourne, he wanted to find another way, so he could spend more time with his young family as well.
That was the reason he joined Area Specialist late last year, opening Area Specialist Jay & Shenay.
Not only have his business expenses been slashed by 60 per cent, but he’s now got more time for his family, including his two young children.
“If you’ve got a spare hour, you can duck home and not feel guilty about someone looking over your shoulder,” he said.
“It certainly is a really good blend of having the lifestyle you want with the career you want as well and not having to rob Peter to pay Paul.”
Mr Giblett believes his honest and transparent approach is the key to his success in real estate.
When he started in the industry, he operated in the Berwick region, but saw an opportunity to capitalise on the growing pool of buyers in Endeavour Hills.
He relocated his office to Endeavour Hills and quickly established a market dominance.
“We had a lot of buyers when I was in Berwick who were coming from Endeavour Hills, so we thought that we should start an office there so we can leapfrog and get them first,” he said.
“When we started, it was an older suburb with a lot of the older generation selling and retiring and the young ones coming through.”
Mr Giblett said Endeavour Hills has been through several transitions and has a vibrant, multicultural population, with many renovations, subdivisions and revitalisation projects gentrifying the area.
“These days, sleepy old Endeavour Hills is on the move,” he said.
Mr Giblett was able to quickly establish himself in the area and build a brand based on the way he operated.
“What a lot of people say about us is that we’re just straight up and down,” he said.
“We don’t talk around corners.
“We don’t over-inflate prices or try and be the cheapest agent, but we are very honest, very transparent and just try and make the process easy.
“A lot of agents say that, but they don’t actually do it.”
Despite his success in Endeavour Hills, he wanted to change the way his business operated.
“I had a little look around at what other brands and options were around for us and that’s where I came across Area Specialist,” he said.
“Because of the market share we have had there for such a long time, it kind of fit perfectly with the name and allows us to do what we need to do to continue our service.”
He said he loves the fact that he has more control over his time.
“You have the freedom as long as you stay on brand,” he said.
“Market as little, or as much as you want, list as many as you want or as few as you want, if that’s what you want to do.
“It just gave a lot more freedom, to get back and just enjoy running a business, not having to hit a target here, a KPI there, and then all the charts and reports and Excel spreadsheets.
“There’s none of that, it was much, much simpler.”
Mr Giblett said the move to Area Specialist has seen his profits jump dramatically.
“We have more of a say around what we can do from a marketing level, my bottom line’s improved, my profit levels have improved and it’s given me a lot more freedom to do the bits and pieces I want to do,” he said.
Area Specialist charges a flat fee of $1500 per month, with no other marketing expenses instead of a franchise fee, and Mr Giblett said the model had been a game-changer for him.
“It perfectly suits us because we only work in one area and we are an Endeavor Hills area specialist,” he said.
Mr Giblett said he now operates with his business partner, Shenay Miller and is enjoying working with a small team and will continue to focus on Endeavour Hills.
“She runs a lot of the back office stuff and deals with a lot of the buyers and I deal with the vendor,” he said.
“She’s incredibly capable after 10 years of working together.”
He’s now looking forward to spending his spare time with his young family.
“You’re making more money, and having more time in your week, he said.
Area Specialist is a real estate platform for top-performing agents, providing the systems, tools and technology they need to create, grow and power their business. For more information visit beyourboss.com.au
