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While unprecedented crisis events can drive most aspiring entrepreneurs to run for the hills, this business owner believes that “tough times” can be turned into opportunities to thrive.
To say that Mark McGill’s foray into being a business owner was difficult would be an understatement.
He recalled that his namesake firm, McGill Agency, was launched in March 2020 — just as when lockdowns in Queensland were rolled out to prevent COVID-19 from wreaking havoc on the state.
But rather than seeing the restrictions as a deterrent, Mr McGill said they used the period as an opportunity to get the foundations of his business on the right footing from the get-go.
“Tough markets don’t scare me. Whenever it gets challenging, I see opportunity,” he stated.
Mr McGill shared that this is not the first time throughout his 13-year career that he was faced with a massive hurdle, disclosing that he started his stint in real estate during another unprecedented event — the global financial crisis.
And while the brand is now boasting a nine-man team composed of four sales agents and several property managers, Mr McGill said that their firm started out from humble beginnings.
When he opened the doors to his new brand, Mr McGill said he only had a small team in tow, including his sales assistant Alana Luchetta and property manager Holly Amon.
Mr McGill also recalled how the firm’s initial base of operations was an industrial shed in the central Sunshine Coast suburb of Buderim.
He credited the strong expansion of their team to the main values he instilled in business culture: flexibility and inclusivity.
The business owner noted many of his team are working mums who work on a job-sharing arrangement, and it was a testament to workplace culture he hoped to bring to his own business.
“My main reason for going into my own business was because I wanted to do things my way. I wanted to be able to adapt and change as quickly as the market does,” he said.
Mr McGill said that with his business vision anchored on operating independently, he chose to launch his brand under the Agent’sAgency network as it allowed him to have full reins over his business while receiving ongoing administrative support.
With the boutique agency managing to find its stride amid different hurdles in the last two years, the McGill Agency has a new badge of honour to wear after being named the Small Residential Agency of the Year by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) on 29 October.
Mr McGill explained that while he managed to take home REIQ’s Salesperson of the Year award twice throughout his career, this year’s win was “particularly meaningful”.
“It recognised our team effort as a whole, including our commitment to customer service and was especially exciting as we’re pretty much a brand-new business. We are only a small business with a boutique rent roll, so to be recognised among the best of the best in the state so early in our business life is big,” Mr McGill reflected.
Commenting on McGill Agency’s win, Agents’Agency chief Manos Findikakis said that the McGill Group’s win was a testament to the standard Mr McGill had set for his brand.
“He was looking to create a business that provided a great experience for his clients, and this award recognises that,” Mr Findikakis said.
“In the process, he’s developed a phenomenal team, and we’re thrilled to see them acknowledged.”
As for what the future holds for the business, Mr McGill said a new office space was in the works, with the site yet to be revealed.
“Our staff have worked incredibly hard, and they deserve a new home,” he concluded.
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