This week we chat to Lauren Moore. Now a Brisbane-based prestige property buyer’s agent, Lauren wasn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers by swapping sellers for buyers with the intent of creating a more level playing field in her local real-estate market. In order to achieve this, Lauren launched her eponymous buyers’ agency in 2018.
ISB: What was the inspiration behind you “flipping the switch” from being a sales agent to becoming an advocate for buyers?
LM: I saw a massive gap in the Brisbane market for a strong industry leader in the prestige residential buyer’s agency space and I decided to go for it. For too long real estate agents and vendors controlled the narrative leaving buyers with little support. I saw the frustration from buyers in my local market and I knew that my industry experience was better placed advocating for buyers and impacting change in the Brisbane marketplace bringing it more in line with Sydney and Melbourne.
ISB: What was the biggest challenge you faced in getting the enterprise off the ground?
LM: My biggest challenge to date has been around scalability. I need to grow my business as I am running at capacity but I need to make sure I don’t expand too quickly. It’s getting the right balance between how many clients we can take on and how many staff members we need to service them exceptionally well. My business motto is “Creating clients for life” and the only way to do that is with exceptional customer service.
ISB: You were recently announced as a finalist in the 2020 AusMumpreneur Awards, what role have mums played in the growth of your business?
LM: Brisbane mums have played a huge part in my business; it was actually from hearing about property frustrations from local mums at my son’s school that Lauren Moore Property was created. Everyone who works in my business is a working mum, I believe women who are working and juggling kids are the most motivated, time efficient people on the planet. Most of our clients are families; being a mother myself I know what families want, which puts us in the perfect position to understand our clients’ needs and match them with the perfect home.
ISB: How has COVID affected the operation of the business, and how have you adapted operations to keep it going?
LM: COVID-19 has been amazing for our business as we are busiest when there is limited stock on the market. The majority of our purchases are off-market and due to COVID, vendors were hesitant to list on the open market which was a perfect combination for us with limited stock plus hundreds of off-market options. A lot of our clients have been restricted from accessing Queensland. Whether they be interstate or international buyers, we’ve been on the ground representing them as there has been a huge migration to Queensland during this period.
ISB: What is your vision for the venture in the next couple of years?
LM: My main focus is to continue building my brand in the Brisbane real-estate market so that when someone thinks of a prestige buyer’s agent I am the first person they call.
ISB: Finally, what is the number one lesson you’ve learnt on this journey you’d share with others looking to transition from an established career to starting their own business?
LM: I think the biggest lesson I’ve learnt from starting my own business is to not worry about the outside noise. Focus on your goal and be relentless when it comes to achieving it.
