Suddenly I heard a man’s voice say, “Go into real estate.” The voice seemed to come from over my right shoulder and I turned around quickly, feeling slightly foolish because I was alone in the car. But there was a warm, comforting feeling in my stomach. I felt safe, peaceful and protected. I realized the voice had come from my heart. “Could God have spoken to me?”
Real estate, I never wanted to work in this industry. I couldn’t think of anything worse than standing in other people’s homes all weekend while they are out enjoying themselves. It was at least another eight hours before I’d reach Adelaide so it gave me a lot of time to think.
I arrived at my city shop/warehouse around 7.30 am and the first thing I did was have a cold shower. I had installed a small camp shower on my toilet wall soon after I bought the property in the mid eighties. I was very grateful it still worked, even though the electricity had been turned off and the water was freezing.
After changing into fresh clothes and eating a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs at Carrington Café, across the road from the office, I got back into my car and drove straight to the Real Estate Institute to ask about studying for my license. The receptionist said, “Our next course is a Traineeship sponsored by the Government and you have to be employed.”
“Book me in, I’ll find a job and let you know who my employer is next week.” I confidently told her. The rest of that day, with no sleep, I sat on my mobile phone in my empty shop making appointments with real estate agents.
I had a very restless night trying to sleep on an old, lumpy couch in the cold, draughty, warehouse and being disturbed all night by a rustling sound. I finally got up and turned on the light. I’d managed to have the power reconnected during the day.
As soon as I turned on the light a big, fat brown rat ran out of some cardboard boxes behind the couch. I hate mice and to be sharing my bedroom with a rat gave me such a scare that even though I was dead tired, I couldn’t go back to sleep. I made a mental note to pick up a box of Rat Sack in the morning.
The next day I managed to get rid of the rat, buy a bed and attend appointments all day and for the rest of the week. By Friday I had seven job offers. Because parking had been so difficult to find in Sydney I chose the firm that offered the largest staff car park.
Business Club Australia
The course started on the 2nd November, giving me just enough time to publish a book titled, “Networking Games – Making Profitable Connections”. A book I had co-written with John Rich about “Business Club Australia”. Austrade had set up a virtual club on the Internet two years before the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games began and had invited thousands of international companies to join the Club and attend Club functions for the 17 days of the games.
I was so proud to call myself an Australian and thrilled to be a Club member. For 17 days Australian companies introduced their services and products to thousands of visitors while they attended breakfasts, morning and afternoon teas, luncheons and dinner meetings. We were served the finest foods and Australian wines all day long. I must admit I didn’t attend many of the sporting events, but I had wanted to be in Sydney for the games to meet business people and this Club was an unbelievable answer to a prayer.
The amazing thing about the Club was that, I could have missed it! A client, who owned a shop in Darling Harbour, introduced me to the Club membership a few days before the games began. I met John Rich each day at the functions and we decided to write a book about it because we were so overwhelmed by it all.
When the games ended I told John we had two days to write the book. He and I sat all day for the next two days at my rental home in Sydney. He did a lot of talking and my fingers flew over the keyboard of my laptop computer. Now back in Adelaide, I had just enough time to bring out the laptop, meet with my editor, Nancy Flannery and organize the printing of the book with Peacock Publishers, before my real estate course began.
It was a busy time and even busier once the course began. I was pleased though, because it helped me to keep going, and stop worrying about Steve in Sydney. How he got through the HSC I’ll never know, but he did manage to gain his certificate. I was very proud of him.
I started my new job in late October, the course in November and went back to Sydney in December to pack up the house and bring Steve back to Adelaide. I felt so young and full of energy, no wonder clients were amazed when I told them I was 55 years old when I started in real estate.
After completing the twelve-month Traineeship, I immediately started studying for my full Manager’s license so I could open my own business. Six months later I had completed all the subjects and was just waiting to receive the official certificate from TAFE so I could start my business in my own offices and shopfront.
I knew if I found another agent willing to be my Licensed Manager, I could go into business before I received the official Certificate to hang on my office wall. I was getting very frustrated because I was nearly there and I had worked so hard. In only 18 months I had achieved what was almost unheard of in the industry.
I was sitting in the office of a business client discussing his need for tenants for his warehouse and how much he may get for the building if he put it up for sale when I happened to mention how frustrated I was working for a boss. I told him I wanted to start my own real estate company, but I would need to have a fully licensed manager for my company.
This businessman is a great networker and as soon as I mentioned I was looking for a woman with a real estate license, he gave me the telephone number of Jill Luscombe. I couldn’t wait to meet her, so instead of ringing her, I drove straight to her office after our meeting finished. Jill’s business was in an adjoining suburb. She was wonderful, everything I had been searching for in a business manager. She owned six businesses, one of which was a property development company with her husband.
“Let’s get on with it!” was her immediate response when I told her my story. She picked up the telephone and rang her accountant. Early the next morning the wheels were in motion, her accountant Craig came to his office at 8 am to meet Jill and me. He gave me a few jobs, which included collecting government forms, completing them and returning them to him for processing. Then I had to get a police clearance organized. That took a few weeks. Nothing happens quickly enough when you’re ready to start.
The process of starting your own real estate company with a licensed manager can still take some months to organize, mainly because of government red tape. But eventually we had it. My company, AWARE Properties Pty. Ltd. would finally open. It was late in May 2002 when the license came through. It took just over a month setting up my office and visiting clients before I officially started AWARE Properties on the 1st July. My ex boss was very upset. He didn’t want to lose me because he’d been enjoying a very lucrative income from my property sales.
I’d offered him the chance to become my company’s licensed manager (so I could be paid as a company and not an employee as I was losing too much money in PAYE tax), but when I suggested it he thought I was crazy.
“Lucille, why would I want to become your company’s licensed manager when I have my own real estate company? Why don’t you wait, I want to retire soon, you can buy my business,” was his response.
Goodwill for Business
I didn’t want to pay goodwill for his business, especially as he and I never agreed on anything. I believe goodwill walks out of the business with the previous owner. I love the challenge of starting my own business from scratch. I had so many plans and couldn’t wait to start my own real estate company.
I remember telling him, “I’m attending the Diploma of Business Management - Real Estate course at the Mawson Institute of TAFE, four nights every week, two days a week and sometimes on Saturdays, so it won’t be long and I’ll have the four year part-time course completed. I plan to have my real estate license in nine months. So I’ll have my own business whether you support me or not!”
“It will take you years doing it part time, four maybe five years. When I got my license I took a whole year off work and studied full time, and it wasn’t anywhere