Alumni In The Spotlight: Byron Froneman – One Year On
5 min read
Recently, we caught up with Validum Alumni. Byron Froneman graduated 12 months ago and is happily working in the real estate industry as a Commercial Asset Manager for PRDNationwide in Mackay and is doing extremely well.
We were interested to see how Byron’s first year in the industry has gone and he has graciously agreed to share with us how he has found working in the real estate industry.
We hope that if you are thinking of a career in real estate, this could give you some insight into what your first year could be like!
Q: How did you get your first job in real estate?
A: I knew that I wanted to be in commercial and industrial as opposed to residential. I prefer to deal with business to business, so I looked for commercial real estate jobs available and applied online. I went through the whole interview process and was offered the position, which was an exciting time for me.
Q: Why did you choose your company?
A: I chose PRDNationwide (“PRD”) because they condensed sales, leasing and property management into one position and renamed it Commercial Asset Manager which I liked because it gave me the ability to do a few different roles, not just one.
I also live in Mackay so there wasn’t a lot of opportunities available – but the director of PRD, Greg Chappell is extremely well known and recognised for his brilliant work. So a friend recommended I contact him and now he acts as my mentor and has taught me a lot.
Q: What do you love about real estate?
A: I love that everyday is different, you’re always learning something new. I love that property is a tangible asset and it doesn’t change that much but circumstances around property are changing all the time so there’s always new things to learn.
I also love that I don’t have to sit at a desk all day, I get to go on site and meet heaps of different people before I head back to the office and it’s a very high energy role – the thrill of signing deals and winning business is definitely a high.
Q: What did you learn in your first year?
A: I had to learn how to deal with confrontation. It’s important that as a tenant, businesses manage cash flow – in commercial, you must remove them from the property if the business is not performing and rent isn’t paid.
Having to confront people like that is very difficult because we’re human and we have to deal with those emotions as well, but we do have a duty of care to our investors as agents and it’s the harsh reality of business sometimes.
Q: What is your biggest achievement in your first year?
A: As a team we secured the managements for quite a large commercial property – a GP super clinic, which has multiple tenants in it and that was massive highlight for me.
Q: What advice would you give to those people looking to join the industry?
A: Don’t overthink the decision – do your research into the different areas of real estate and make a choice about which position you want to try but once you’ve found that position then just go for it – the sooner you get into real estate the better.
Q: What does the future hold for you in real estate?
A: I would like to move into property development at some stage. The more I learn about it, the more I lean towards that sector of the industry.
I think it’s natural to progress through the industry and grow into different roles but it’s good to start somewhere and go from there to figure out what you like.
That’s the great thing about the real estate industry, it’s so versatile and there’s so much opportunity.
Looking for a career change? We can help you with our flexible and affordable real estate courses. Call Validum Institute on (07) 3193 5270 or visit www.validum.edu.au and experience the Validum difference today.
