Women In Property

Interview with Michelle Cohen | Franchisee, Leapfrog Jhb North East

At Leapfrog we are proud of all of our agents, whether male, female, veteran or rookie. But, since August marks the month in which we specifically like to celebrate women, we booked some time out for a chat with Michelle Cohen, one of the many inspiring women that does the Leapfrog Property Group proud!

Michelle entered the property market in 2000 as a rookie agent, during what she likes to call the ‘’pre-property bubble’’, when there weren’t as many rules and qualifications required to enter into the business as there are now. She took to the job like a duck to water from day one.

According to her, she loved that every day was different, and that it requires you to know so much about so many things: from contracts to people, to business strategy and corporate governance – and especially the varied people aspect. She proceeded to win rookie agent of the year in her first year as an agent and literally ate, breathed and slept real estate!

Within 18 months she was doing company training for the agents at her office, which won Ekurhuleni Business of the Year in 2003. By 2005 she had opened two offices for the company she was with at the time, and had taken over as Sales Manager and later as Sales Director. In 2008 she felt the need to run her own Franchise with her own systems, values and goals, and subsequently resigned as Sales Director to do just that.

By 2013 Michelle rebranded with Leapfrog. Over the past 2 years she has served on the Board of Directors for the JHB North East multi-listing system (Property Listing Network) where she was also voted as Chairperson in 2015.

Her Franchise won Best Young Franchise in the Leapfrog Group 2013 and consecutively won Franchise of the Year for 2014 and 2015.

According to Michelle, she is grateful and delighted to have found a career that she feels this passionate about. We got some insight into this dynamic lady during her recent interview:

What are the most valuable takeaways you have learned in your time as Principal at the Jhb North East Branch?

‘’There is always a better way to do something! If you don’t know which way to go sleep on it, but only for one night, in real estate there is the quick and there is the dead! Also, tackle the hardest tasks early in the day and first!

Appreciate your loyal family and hardworking administrative staff and agents, acknowledge them!’’

Michelle Cohen with her awesome team from the Johannesburg North East Branch.

Why did you choose Leapfrog and what (as a woman) makes the Group a great one to join? 

‘’The Leapfrog Property Group is a well-run and professional organisation but has none of the big egos that are usually associated with successful people in business.  It’s great to join the Group as a woman because the “old boys club” doesn’t exists in the top management of this company. 

People are recognised and appreciated on their merit. The branding is trendy and catchy. The principals are friendly, hardworking and a great calibre of people, and everyone receives the same warm welcome at company events irrespective of colour, religion or gender.

The agents and offices have a sense of friendly competition and camaraderie among one another.  There is total transparency in what the expectations are and how the support office is run.

Both Jan le Roux (Non-Executive Chairman) and Bruce Swain (Managing Director) of Leapfrog are always available to give good advice or to assist the Franchisees. This is totally unique in real estate!’’

How would you like to see more women empowered into senior property roles in a field that has been traditionally dominated by men?

‘’I would like to see women empower themselves more (in this business and in general). Women should put themselves forward to go into top management roles within the big real estate groups. If more female real estate agents show their managers that they have the desire and the guts to work hard and go into management roles in this business, they would totally succeed in getting the opportunity. 

More women need to franchise and to start real estate companies, but they need to be willing to work hard and gain the necessary experience in top management achieve this.’’

What tips do you have for aspiring female agents?

‘’Enter the business knowing that you will have to make sacrifices if you want to succeed. Family time becomes a lot more limited. Make sure that your spouse and children are involved in your work life and buy into your decision to be an estate agent because it is all consuming.  Don’t resent the time away from your family and have strict rules about family time being only for the family. Don’t take calls when it’s family time, block that time out in your diary.

Never feel guilty about the choices that you are making as a mother and an estate agent.  You set a great example for your kids when you are hardworking, passionate and successful.  Put clear boundaries in place with buyers and sellers, lessors and lessees, this seems to come more naturally to men than to women. And keep on learning and having fun! 

Keep your sense of humour always!’’

What are the words you live by?

‘’This is a quote from my father, Hymie. He brought us up on those words and he now tells his grandchildren the same thing. It’s our family motto. My father inspires me, because despite living through some really hard situations in the past, he has always gotten back up, loves his family dearly, values people over material things, is not bitter about what he has lost, and appreciates what he has kept. My dad has been instrumental in the success of my business by giving me guidance and the benefit of his wisdom.’’

What are your predictions for the property market for the foreseeable future? 

‘’For the immediate future I don’t see any massive changes to what we are experiencing now.  The sellers that are real sellers are dramatically reducing their initial asking price to sell their properties and the agents are reducing their commission to make the sales work.

Buyers are nervous to commit at big asking prices because of another possible increase in the interest rate. Quality buyers are scarce. I think that by mid-2017, when the impact of the recent elections is felt by South Africans, the market will start to improve for the better. 

In any market, property is an excellent investment, it’s all about timing and position.’’

The Leapfrog Property Group

Our aim is to be one of the top national agencies selling real estate in South Africa within a few years. To get there, we need a strong team and for this reason, we will focus on enticing the best agents in South Africa by offering them an opportunity to build their own wealth. And that’s not an empty promise.

At Leapfrog, we have a commission an incentive structure that is unparalleled in the real estate industry. Additionally, our agents have the opportunity to acquire shares in the company. Furthermore, because we feel that the industry is lagging dramatically on the transformation front, we are embarking on an aggressive head hunting drive to recruit the best agents South Africa has to offer irrespective of race or gender!

Take the leap! Contact us today.