Words of Wisdom – with Recruit RE and Emma Brown-Garrett

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 “Try lots of things, be patient and your career and your passion will eventually come.”

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Emma Brown-Garret brings infectious energy and a dynamic force to the real estate industry and as forges her path in the world of auctioneering. As one of a few female auctioneers in the industry, Emma’s life force and resilience is one that comes from a lifetime of lessons.

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Now as a full-time auctioneer at Menck White, Emma is the happiest person in real estate and after two decades in the industry, she is carving out the next step in her career and is bringing a new dynamic to real estate auctioneering.

Tell us about your career and how you started in the industry

When I started working it was taking numbers on the doors at open homes. My whole career has been in boutique agencies in sales, leasing, property management and selling off the plan.

I've done just about everything,and never really felt like I had found my groove or my mission until I foundauctioneering around 5 years ago. I thought I could really give it a shot andbe great and entered the REI Auctioneers competition and won the first heatwhich got me through to the finals.

While I didn’t win the finals, I had found my calling and all those roles that I held and had worked on over the years have led me to this moment.

Joining the team at Menck White was fantastic for me. I had bounced around a few agencies and the most sensible move was to go and work as a full-time auctioneer and focus on one area.

There are four of us in the business, Clarence White, Paul Menck, Paul Crawford and me. We have a high standard of professionalism and when it comes to auctioneering, we train on a weekly basis.

We're always training for compliance, and how to improve so that we can assist our clients. We pride ourselves on being the best in the business. I love it and am the happiest person in real estate!  I'm doing what I've always wanted to do.

There are so many things you can do in Real Estate. I've started my career at 44 and I love everything about it.

Is real estate the only career that you have worked in?

This has been my core career, has always been there for me and I've always loved it. I had dreams and aspirations of becoming an actress, singer dancer, however, it's a difficult industry and I always fell back on real estate.

What qualifications did you complete to get into the industry?

I did my licence in real estate a long time ago. It was very different from doing your licence now. I worked during the day and went to school two or three nights per week for a year.

It was a long and extensive course, and while we touched on auctioneering a little bit, I didn't really aspire to become an auctioneer then when I completed my licence, that came later.

How would you say that your friends and colleagues describe you?

My coach is always referring to me as gregarious and curious. Bubbly, positive and I have a lot of energy.

How has your company helped you reach your career goals?

My mentor has taken me to different heights with my auctioneering and taught me that I could do so much more with my skillset. I've come so far in the last year and a half being in business.

I've always been keen to grow and I'm very ambitious. Having somebody as a coach, like Clarence, who guides you and makes you push and become better is invaluable. He's very supportive and helps you to understand that areas that you can improve.

What is your proudest career moment?

I've done so many things in real estate that I'm very proud of although one of my proudest moments is realising that to succeed and become the best at this, I need to work really hard. I’m proud of putting the time and the effort into becoming a better auctioneer.

I've made my career and really decided that this is what I want to do and be very good at it. I'm proud of pushing myself, not listening to everybody else and creating a career doing what I want to do.

What is the most rewarding part of your career?

I love every single Saturday, getting up and into a full suit, hair, makeup and totally organised then jumping in the car and starting the day.

I love knowing that the day ahead will mean working with some fantastic agents and I get to meet buyers, vendors, and neighbours. Saturdays for me is game day, my favourite day of the week, and it's the best thing about the job.

What advice would you have for early career professionals?

It's okay that you don't know what you want to do at 27 or 37. At any moment in your life, you can change your career, and you can make something happen for yourself. If you are in a role and not loving it, try a different role.

A good business owner and a good agency will utilise the staff that they have and move them within the teams to make it better. There are so many things to do in real estate now compared to three or four years ago.

Try lots of things, be patient and your career and your passion will eventually come. I wasn’t told when I was younger that success would come later in life, and I wish that it had been spoken about more.

What advice do you have for maintaining good health?

I don't like to exercise but I do. While I find it a chore, I do Pilates and take care of my body and eat well.

The main thing that we do not talk about enough is that it doesn't matter how much you work on your body, if your mental health is not well, nothing will be right.

You must absolutely take care of your mental health. Diet and exercise play a huge role in that as well, but I find that if my mental health is good, everything else in my life falls into place.

What do you think the biggest recruitment challenges are in the industry?

The biggest challenges would be finding the right person. On paper you might be suited for a role, but it might not fit your personality. Instead of only looking at your qualifications, also consider your skills and what you've achieved during the time you've worked in an industry.

Recruiting people is not easy and when employing someone after a few interviews, you don't know how they will perform with the people in your team, so it’s also important to focus on their personality and if they will be the right culture fit.

If you're with a team of people and they fit your culture, your ethos, and your brand, keeping them in the business is going to be easier moving them around to different roles versus finding somebody who just looks good on paper.

What is your opinion of the current real estate market?

We've had a shift and one thing that I struggled with during these months is buyers turning up to auctions and registering but not doing anything.

We're still having success and when you look at the clearance rate, we’ve been bouncing between 68 to 70 percent and properties are selling even with some buyers holding back a little.

At Menck White we don't predict where the market is going, but we document and log our numbers of buyers, how many sold, how many registered and collate the data that gives us an idea of where the market is.

What advice would you have for anyone looking to buy or sell?

Find an agent that aligns with your values and be open and prepared to have conversations and trust the process.

A good agent will know how to navigate whether you will have success or not at an auction and be prepared to work together with them to get to get a good result.

If you're a buyer and feeling overwhelmed, don't hesitate to contact a buyer's agent who can be very helpful working with you to find the perfect property. They know the ins and outs of the industry and can help you find success.

What is your top tip for anyone to flourish in the real estate industry

Always keep an open mind with what you can learn in terms of compliance. The more educated you are in the industry, the better. Your career will flourish with education and take any opportunity to attend an event.

If you're tired of your current role look within your business and see if there's another role that suits you. Don't be afraid to speak with your area manager or boss and let them know how you feel and see if there are other roles that may suit you.

There are so many fabulous jobs available in real estate and so much opportunity now, look at all the options available and you never know how it might change your