How did a fledgling real estate business go from startup phase, all the way to becoming the fastest growing real estate company in Australia within 3 years?
Sunil formed Reliance Real Estate in 2011, with the support of one other business partner. Reliance started out in a period of decline in the real estate market not only in Melbourne, where Reliance was formed, but across the country. The first few years of business for Sunil were a struggle. At times, it was difficult to pay the bills, and Sunil even considered throwing it all in and going back to a safe and steady job.
Even when the business was going well, Sunil recognised that he wasn’t receiving enough support to take Reliance to the next level. Sunil was stuck in technician mode, and not spending nearly enough time on managing and winning new clients, and building Reliance’s brand. He was spending far too much time working in the business, not on the business.
Sunil joined The Entourage’s Elevate Program in 2014. After a few months of working with The Entourage, Sunil had a clear 12 month plan for the business, with quarterly focuses. Prior to this, Sunil was doing anything and everything, and not leveraging his true talents as a leader and entrepreneur. Having a team of advisors helped Sunil focus on what would drive real growth for Reliance, and how to best hit those goals. This helped empower Sunil to step out of the day-to-day management of the business and transition from technician and manager, to leader and entrepreneur.
We had a very challenging time in the beginning, like most businesses do.
With the help of The Entourage, Reliance is now going from strength to strength, with Sunil, in his own words, “leading from the front.” In 2017, Reliance became the fastest-growing real estate agency in Australia. The annual revenue of the business grew from $1,000,000 to $16,000,000 in 3 years; the annual number of sales increased from 200 to over 1000; and Sunil also grew his team from 15 people in 1 office to over 100 people in 7 Reliance Real Estate offices. In 2020, Reliance Real Estate made the AFR Fast 100, a list for Australia’s fastest growing companies, for the third year in a row. With even more growth on the agenda, the future for Reliance is brighter than ever.
The main thing I learned from The Entourage was clarity. Own the plan.