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eNtrepreNeUrs
what are some of your achievements in
business?
I’m proud that, in spite of experiencing a few very
rough patches, the company I founded 17 years
ago, Chorus Letting, is still in business. I’m extremely
proud of my team that worked so hard to build the
vision, and who astound me with their character
and personal growth. I’m happy to now be able
to spend almost all my time at work doing what I
love, which is creating, activating and mentoring
businesses.
what are some of the problems new property
investors are facing?
The economy is rough, and this means that tenants
are struggling. Landlords need to screen potential
tenants carefully before placing them in their
property. Almost every landlord I know experiences
cash flow challenges. Budget carefully and run your
property investment like a business.
what are some obstacles you have encountered
in business?
The challenges mainly revolve around resources
and the lack thereof, including a lack of finances,
and then finding and developing great staff
members. A big challenge is to not compromise
my values in the society we live in.
daVid beattie
David Beattie is an entrepreneur, business steward and author of The Expert
Landlord — a resource for private landlords to manage their residential
properties more easily.
at what age did you realise your love for entrepreneurship?
In my early twenties I realised I wanted to grow assets and build a business.
But it took a few years to get to a point to go out on my own. From wanting
to earn a consistent salary only, it took 5 years to grow to a point where I was
able to leave my job and work 100% on risk — that all my income would
come from business I created.
what is expert landlord and what do you wish to achieve through it?
The Expert Landlord is a resource for private landlords to manage their
residential properties more easily. It is in the form of a book, The Expert
Landlord is available at leading book retailers, online retailers and on
Amazon. In addition, there is a selection of free and cost-effective resources
at www.theexpertlandlord.com, including articles, guides, checklists and
documents. We are also developing an online resource and app tool for
landlords, called PocketLet (www.pocketlet.com), to make their property
management experience seamless and cost effective. Try our free Rent
Estimate Tool, which is ideal for landlords to check that the rent they are
asking for their property is comparable with other properties in their area.
what are you aiming to achieve as a South african author?
If I could add practical, tangible value to my readers I’d be super happy.
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www.transformsa.co.za
who are your clients?
Our clients are mostly landlords owning residential properties. They range
from private landlords owning a single unit, to professional and institutional
landlords owning hundreds or thousands of properties.
how does your business model improve lives?
I hope we are building a business which is a positive environment for our
team members to work in, and which makes a difference to their lives. We
seek to achieve superior performance at our landlords’ properties by providing
world-class leasing and management services. We also aim to provide quality
and welcoming homes for our tenants.
how many people does your business employ?
We presently have around 75 staff on our payroll. We have an exciting future
as this number is now starting to grow rapidly as we build a family of property
services companies under the Equip Property Services brand.
what advice do you have for startup entrepreneurs?
• Know your market and provide a product or service that solves a real
customer problem.
• Strive to be excellent in everything you do and be your own toughest critic.
• Work very, very hard.
• Be relentlessly positive and optimistic.
• Never stop learning and growing personally.
• Serve others – your customers, your team and your suppliers. It will come
back to you.
• Know your values and stick by them, even if it costs you financially.
