Successful business woman thrives in male-dominated industry

In 2008, only 27% of winning estate agencies were run by women, this figure has now increased to 67% and there are calls to get more women into the industry. More and more women are taking on the challenge of opening their own estate agents and proving that they can perform just as well as men, if not better. Franchising is a great way for many of these women to get back into work and be fully supported by a well-known and established brand. Gail Loller is just one of those women making a huge success out of running her own estate and lettings agency in West Derby, Liverpool.

Gail has been the proud owner of her franchise since 2001 and has been expanding her business not just by opening one extra office but by opening three more offices. Gail has been part of Whitegates since 1989 and was ready to make the move to running her own branch, having had a great overview of all aspects of the business during her employment.

“When I started working for Whitegates I was an Office Junior and had joined after the birth of my second child because I wanted something new to focus on. Having worked my way up to Branch Manager, I knew that I would have the skills to run my

own lettings and estate agency business. I had worked in financial services, lettings and sales and my husband was a surveyor so we had plenty of knowledge between us. I asked Whitegates if they would consider franchising the two branches I was managing at the time. At first they said no but in 2001 I took over the business as a franchise and became the owner. I was the first of a group of eight managers to make the move – once they saw me do it and saw the benefits, they decided to take the leap too.”

Like Gail, many women choose to get into franchising as a route back into work after having children and for something that will give them the freedom to spend time with their families. Not only has Gail managed to build a successful business around her family life, she’s also managed to break into a male-dominated industry both in the property industry and in the business ownership world.

“I chose franchising because I wanted to work for myself and be in charge of my own destiny without all the red tape. The estate and lettings industry can be a very male-dominated world and I always found that, being a woman in the industry, you have to be 10% better than the men. That has never stopped me from trying to push  

both myself and my business forwards though! As a manager I was always frustrated with the decisions that were being made at a senior level that were inhibiting both my own growth and the growth of my business.”

“You do need to work hard to succeed in this business but you’re in charge of your future and you reap the rewards – they’re the biggest benefits for me. Since MartinCo took over the group of property franchises, I have had a lot of extra coaching with sides of the business I wasn’t as confident in. To be a franchise owner you can work as little or as much as you want but I know that I’ll never know everything. I’m always looking to push myself further and MartinCo have really helped me to do that, if they hadn’t have taken over the group then I probably wouldn’t be buying my third and fourth offices.”

The MartinCo property franchise group operates one of the UK’s largest property franchise businesses with nearly 300 offices and five franchise brands; CJ Hole, Ellis and Co, Martin & Co, Parkers and Whitegates. The group’s franchise owners manage approximately 43,000 properties on behalf of private clients. In 2014/15 lettings accounted for around 80% of income for franchise owners with 140 of the network having owned their franchise for 5 years or more.

“MartinCo have really helped me and recently I’ve had coaching in breaking down the structure of my business and looking at it in different ways to help give more clarity. I have a real passion for the business and that’s mirrored by the franchisor. I don’t take a lot of time off work, not because I don’t have time to but because I love what I do and don’t feel the need to take lots of time off. You shouldn’t buy into a business or franchise thinking about the time off but more the passion you have for the business.”

“Throughout my career, my children have always come first but now they’re a little bit older I have much more time to focus on my business, which is what I love doing. I make time to look after myself too, I get up at 5am every day to go for a run. I’m 47 but I’ve got so much energy and I think it’s because I’m so happy doing what I’m doing. The day I don’t get a buzz out of selling or letting a house will be the day I quit.”

“I love running my business and I feel very fortunate to be in this industry. I always try to treat my staff and clients the way I would like to be treated. As long as you’re honest, I think you can go a long way. Anyone can open an estate agency because you don’t have to be licensed. However, you’re dealing with a client’s biggest asset so you need to be professional and have a big brand behind you so you know what you’re doing.”

The number of women starting up their own businesses has increased over the last few years. FTSE report that the representation of women on their boards has doubled in four years to reach almost 25%. Women are becoming a more prominent presence in the business world and Gail is a great example of why women thrive as business owners. Gail has an unrelenting wish to learn and is always looking to push her business forwards.

“My plans for the future are to grow my business and eventually have five offices. My West Derby office has won branch of the year three years in a row. I still make lots of mistakes but I’m willing to learn and improve myself. I’ve tried to manage two offices on my own before and it just doesn’t work. This time I’m changing the structure of how I work and putting a proper plan in place. I won’t have managers for the office but each role will have an expert in place so that we can continue to offer a professional and qualified service.”