Focus during COVID19
Running a business is hard at the moment isn’t it?
My business is a direct barometer of the state of real estate. In the last month we have seen a real downturn from the great start we had to 2020.
We’ve weathered many storms in Real Estate in Brisbane but the Coronavirus seems to be the daddy of them all.
Other property styling companies are pivoting – providing staged to stay, interior design, on-line workshops or transport services. I admire them.
The truth for me is that I love property styling because I love real estate. Teaching someone how to dress a bed or ordering a table for a client to finish their dining room just doesn’t cut it for me. I love to make houses more marketable for my partner agents but I live for a SOLD sticker.
As with most downturns some agents and property stylists will leave the market. I’m lucky that my business model of hiring not owning furniture and having contractor stylists not employees leaves me with very few overheads. I’m also aligned with a furniture supplier who is backed by a secure National company. I feel confident that my business will come out the other side, yet there are no guarantees.
My focus is now two-fold.
Firstly, I have the time to set up my business so that it can grow coming out of this. Working on the processes that allow each job to run like clockwork, partnering with new agents that are aligned with my business and values. Thinking about where I need to spend my time and who else can help because 12 hour days and trying to do it ALL aren’t working. The greatest gift this virus has given me is to see that work was taking precedence over family.
Secondly, we are still serving our current agents and their clients. As I write this we are still able to offer property styling for both vacant and occupied houses. In May we are offering free weeks (4 weeks plus 4 weeks free) and half price extensions too if required plus a pause on every contract if we go into full lockdown. We’ve got good levels of stock and a short turn round time. We are helping in any way we can.
Who knows how long this will last. It might be a long trip but to change slightly the words of E.L. Doctorow
“running a business is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights but you can make the whole trip that way”
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