Words of Wisdom – with Recruit RE and guest Will Gosse

“I was given some great advice early on in my career that the path will take care of itself.”

As one of the shareholders and directors of leading Sydney property group BresicWhitney, Will Gosse has been involved in the evolution of the company for nine years.

In his current role as Chief Operating Officer, Will looks back on the lessons learnt about himself, the industry, how to drive innovation, focus and importantly – how to bring people along the journey for the better.

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

I started my career in finance, working in investment banking for two and a half years. Being only 17 at the time and trying to balance my studies proved difficult and I soon found myself burnt out. Intent on finishing my degree, I took a part-time sales associate role and ran with that as an opportunity to learn and earn an income. While sales wasn’t completely suited to my personality, I quickly fell for the industry and more specifically, the business of real estate. It led me to think more about the future of the industry and how I could play a part in that. 

I was grateful to begin working with BresicWhitney in that capacity and build my career from there. 

My role now focuses on growing and improving the business and taking it into new areas – literally and figuratively. We’re on the path to expansion and it’s exciting to be able to play a role in how we shape Sydney real estate. Our reputation and brand are well established and how we move forward in respect to our creative offering is another area of the business that I’m involved in and passionate about.

What I’ve always enjoyed about real estate, and continue to enjoy today, is that no two days are really the same. From interacting with clients, supporting our agents, evolving our operations, tools, and technologies, it’s an amazing industry that allows us to interact with and make a meaningful difference to so many people.

Additionally, I love that in real estate, you can make it what you want it to be. There are opportunities to create change and build a career at a young age which is one of the most appealing components of the industry. 

How has previous experience shaped your career now?

Having a background in finance was an advantage and one I continue to draw on today. It allowed me to combine a business, operational-focused mindset with a more financial one to build a holistic understanding of how the industry, and agents work and thrive. It would be challenging to shape a business in an industry if you don’t understand the mechanics.

How would your friends and colleagues describe you? 

I'm well-known for being quite calm and relaxed in the business, I consider myself thoughtful and spend time on the detail.

Authenticity has been and remains an important part of my leadership journey. It had to be, because when I started at 23, I was leading people who had twice my experience, and were sometimes twice my age. The best way I found to successfully do that and make a meaningful difference was to be trustworthy, true to myself and always interested in building relationships and rapport. As I got older, the ability to deliver has proved equally important and I’m proud now that people know that what they see is what they get. By this mean, I’ll either action a request and follow through, or be honest that I’m not comfortable with something and we’ll work through a different solution.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? 

The people. I know that might sound like a stereotypical answer, but genuinely, I think the reason I enjoy coming in every day is the people that I work with. 

Often what we do in a leadership capacity can be challenging but at the end of the day, if you've got good people around you, it really makes it worthwhile.

I think that as an industry, real estate can be undervalued and in fairness, sometimes we do that to ourselves. I see great opportunities for different experiences to be delivered in real estate that really impress and push the industry forward. Part of this is continuing to showcase the myriad career opportunities available to people and how you can carve out a path that’s authentic to you.

Have you had any unexpected opportunities that have come from your current role? 

The most unexpected opportunity I had was to buy in to BresicWhitney. This is often thought as an opportunity only reserved for top salespeople. 

It was an awakening, not only about the progression of BresicWhitney and its desire to do things differently, but also the organisation’s willingness to encourage and inspire me to demonstrate that the industry doesn’t just reward those who earn the most commission and to continue fostering similar opportunities for others.

Also, being lucky enough to meet and speak to hundreds of people in the industry in different capacities is an opportunity for personal growth that’s been very valuable. 

What does a typical day look like for you?

My attitude is that you should do what works for you and make time for what allows you to either switch off from your work or feel relaxed or refreshed.

For me that's often going on a long walk in the morning with a coffee and listening to music or a podcast (that’s not usually industry based). I enjoy the slow pace of my life outside work because the pace of my life at work can be quite frantic. 

The last two years for the industry have had a lot of positives in terms of tech adoption and flexibility and these are very valued in our business. But equally it’s an industry where we need to continually come together and have time with each other and our clients.  

My workday is about our people and supporting them with what they're working on, development, problem solving and making sure we’re aligned on ambitions and outcomes.

How has your company helped you reach your career goals? 

When you're an employee you're looking for what your employer can give you. That might be in remuneration or training, clients, or leadership. But when you become a business owner, the mentality shifts to not what can the business give me, but what can I give the business.

BresicWhitney supported me with trust. I was very lucky at a young age to be trusted with a significant amount of responsibility and ultimately that trust allowed me work forward.

There have been mistakes along the way, and I've been allowed to make those mistakes, learn from them, and continue to be trusted. Ultimately that's allowed me to progress. 

Is there anything that you would do differently?

I'm a big believer in the fact that doors open for a reason, and you should usually step through them.

I've known what's interested me and taken the opportunities as they’ve appeared. A lot of people coming into the industry now are fixated on what a career in property should look like, and as leaders, we can guide them to consider other journeys.

I've trusted that the path will take care of itself and that's worked out quite well. 

Advice for early career professionals

It's important to do what you say you're going to not only for clients and colleagues, but for yourself. Remain committed to your goals, but also be open to change along the way.

It’s an industry that can defeat you if you’re willing to put in the work to get where you want to be. Being committed to those early years and staying focused when things get challenging will reap rewards.

Patience is a key component of career progression, so having a short-term and a long-term plan about what you’re trying to achieve is important. It might not always work out, but at least have something that you’re working towards and that you’re clear on. This will help guide you when it comes to the point of making decisions. 

What advice would you give real estate agents for maintaining good mental health?
 

I think mental health is a holistic thing. It's not necessarily tied to the industry or the individual, but the intersection between the two is important to focus on.

It’s important for self-preservation to be calm and it’s not to say don't be emotional, but acknowledge things as they are, rather than trying to change them to what you want them to be.

Successful people aren’t swayed by the circumstances, and instead work methodically, guiding people and processes toward outcomes.  

Find things that help you in life and adapt them to suit you. I find going out for a walk, catching up with friends, sitting outside in the sun or getting in nature is more effective for me than things that may work for others, like meditation.

What do you think the biggest recruitment challenges are that we’re facing in real estate? 

Many people that don't understand the industry and see it as a sales or as a product-based industry, when we're a service industry.

The only way that services are delivered effectively is through people and I think it's one of the reasons why technology hasn't been able to replace people in our industry. It assists the process, but we don't function without people.

Therefore, the attraction and suitability of the right people is ultimately going to determine the success of your business and if the right people aren't there, then the business won't be what you want it to be. 

For us at BresicWhitney, being able to offer an experience that our peers can't is important. It's not just the benefits we have which include leave over the Christmas period, incentives for staff when they come to lease or sell their own properties, and referral fees for recruitment candidates. We've also got events, mental health programs, and other sources of direction and inspiration from leaders both in and out of the organisation. Again, taking a holistic approach is important.

How do you find the best talent out there? 

We utilise recruiters, however we've also invested in a talent acquisition manager and her role is to act like an agent in the sense that she's building a database of active candidates, with the ultimate goal of delivering high quality candidates to the business organically.  

What's your opinion of the current real estate market? 

My view is that we will continue in a period of uncertainty until at least the middle of 2023 with further weakening of not just price but also transactional volumes. 

If you look at the last 40 years, particularly in Sydney real estate, there have only been three or four periods where prices have dipped, and those periods have never lasted more than 12 months. It's not to say that the past tells us the future, but I would say that Sydney property will remain desirable in the decade ahead.

Advice for current people looking to buy or sell a home? 

Patience is key, and that applies to agents too. If you haven’t interacted with the market in the last two years, you've been conditioned to be impatient certainly as a vendor, less so as a buyer.

Be prepared to take things at a pace that's more strategic and thoughtful and put in more work than what was required 12 months ago.

What is your top tip for flourishing in the real estate industry? 

Enjoying it.

I know that's super simple, but you see people in the industry that fundamentally either after a long or a short period of time don't enjoy what they do. The best way to flourish in anything you do in life is to enjoy it. 

‍