How this property boss built a winning real estate brand from the ground up

1 month ago 12

If you want to know what self-belief looks like, look no further than Damian Hackett.

Mr Hackett, the Brisbane property identity and chief executive of Place Estate Agents, opened a real estate agency with his business partners in the early 1990s before he ever sold a home.

But he doesn’t boast about it as some sort of a property extraordinaire – instead he reflects on it as one of the lessons learned on his way to building one of Brisbane’s leading real estate groups.

“I was in my early 20s at the time and had never sold a house before, so the early days were interesting,” he laughed while speaking to realestate.com.au.

“It was a steep learning curve back in those days.”

Mr Hackett and his business partners established Place in the early 2000s, expanding the sought-after real estate network to 18 offices and more than 500 property professionals.

Building up an independent group in the competitive world of real estate is no small feat.

And the journey for Mr Hackett and the Place business has come with twists and turns that have offered more learnings along the way.

Building a brand

Mr Hackett and his business partners – his wife Sarah and colleague Paul Curtain – founded Place in 2002 out of a desire to try something new.

They had previously operated as a franchisee of the PRD network, but looked to break away and offer something different.

The new Place agency zeroed in on branding and presentation straight away to set it apart, taking steps such as bringing on full-time photographers and copywriters from day one.

Place Estate Agents chief executive Damian Hackett started in real estate in the early 1990s. Picture: Supplied

Place’s growth wasn’t linear though. Mr Hackett said the company experimented with a few different business models before landing on their shared services approach.

For example, Place tried out franchising early on, but they realised there were pitfalls when it came to delivering the same best-in-class customer service right across the brand.

Mr Hackett said the secret to their success had been their shared services model, where Place operated in partnership with local agents while a head office handled everything from accounting, legal, HR and marketing.

"Our business owners just need to focus on generating revenue," he said.

Lessons learned

As a business founder still at the helm, Mr Hackett brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on building a winning brand from the ground up.

One of those lessons has been around focus. For Mr Hackett, the focus has been on growing the brand while serving the same high standard of customer experience.

“We’ve gained more focus over the past 10 years because of what we learned when we first started growing,” he said.

“In real estate, a brand can just be a logo, but for us it’s about delivering a consistent level of service to the client.”

Mr Hackett and Place directors Sarah Hackett and Paul Curtain. Picture: Supplied

At the same time, Mr Hackett wanted to avoid taking on too much control and dampening the entrepreneurial spirit of future business owners who wanted to join the brand.

“In this business, you need entrepreneurial flair and skin in the game at the office level,” he said.

So Mr Hackett and his team have concentrated on striking a balance between holding true to their brand while giving their business partners the space to do what they do best.

Life beyond work

For Mr Hackett, there is a life outside of the office and his family is his top priority.

Married with five children, he makes time for his loved ones despite a demanding career.

"The great thing about real estate is you’re not traveling a lot, so you’re able to spend time at home," he said.

He and his wife Sarah ensure they take time each year to travel together. Fitness also plays a key role in his life, training regularly throughout the week and squeezing in tennis with friends when he can.

"From a longevity perspective, staying active is important," he said.

Before Place

While Mr Hackett is well known in the industry, his career didn’t start in real estate.

He studied accounting at university and went on to work in his father’s tax practice before realising it wasn’t his calling.

"As lovely as life was as an accountant, it probably wasn’t going to fulfill me for the rest of my life," he said.

Drawn to the property industry for its potential to build wealth and the wielding of marketing and branding, he pivoted to commercial real estate in the late '80s.

Place Estate Agents is focused on Brisbane, which has seen some of the strongest home price growth in recent years. Picture: Getty

However, the early ‘90s brought a market crash that forced him to rethink his path.

"Commercial real estate is quite cyclical," he said. "When a crash happens, it stops pretty hard."

Mr Hackett looked to the relative stability of the residential real estate market – given people always need homes – and he made the switch.

It was then that he opened a small real estate agency in Brisbane with two friends in the early ‘90s with little but his accounting and commercial real estate experience.

The lack of transparency in the pre-internet era made the industry challenging, but persistence paid off over time.

"Persistence and resilience are the strongest characteristics in any game," he said.