TikTok, Truth & Transformation With Megan Eighteen

Breaking barriers isn’t just what Megan Eighteen does, it’s who she is.

From her “accidental” start in estate agency as a temp between ski seasons to becoming the youngest ever ARLA president, Megan’s journey rewrites the industry playbook.

In this episode, she opens up about managing 14 offices single-handedly during COVID, hitting burnout, and how that experience led to a complete transformation, personally and professionally. From losing seven stone and finding balance to becoming one of the most authentic voices on TikTok, Megan shows what modern leadership really looks like.

You’ll also hear how her social media presence led to being invited by the Ministry of Housing to advise on the Renters Reform Bill and why her presidency at Propertymark is about creating a future where agents value wellbeing, education, and innovation over outdated burnout culture.

This is essential listening for independent agents, leaders, and self-employed professionals who want to thrive in tomorrow’s estate agency.

👉 Listen now and discover how Megan is breaking barriers and building balance in the property world.

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This episode is sponsored by Iceberg Digital, the AI Operating System for Estate Agents. They replace outdated CRMs, disconnected marketing tools, and manual prospecting with one intelligent, AI-driven ecosystem, built to increase revenue per employee and future-proof your agency. https://iceberg-digital.co.uk/

Transcript

Introduction to Megan Eighteen

Speaker 1 0:00

Estate NCX the UK's number one estate NC podcast discussing the future of estate agency entrepreneurship and business. Host Mark Burgess and Lord Brady. So on this episode of Estate NCX I've got Megan 18. We discuss her soon to be role as property mark ARLA president. So we cover the career that Megan's gone through where she started an agency in an independent corporate days, the difference between her sales role and her lettings role, how she actually managed to get into TikTok and become sort of an influencer in TikTok on lettings. So we cover a wide range of things on this one. So I hope you enjoy this episode. So, megan, welcome to the show. How's?

Speaker 2 0:44

it going.

Speaker 1 0:44

All the way from Reading, so not too far. I still call it the North, but it seems like you've had a travel in a hot day today. We've had today. So thanks for your efforts in getting here. So for anyone listening out there who's probably lived under a rock because you seem to be everywhere, just a bit of background on who Megan is and what arrived you into estate, you see today.

Speaker 2 1:10

So I'm Megan, 18. I am the head of development for a company called home finders in Swindon, so we're sort of the west. And then I'm about to also be the president of Arla Profity Mark, which is like the sort of regulatory body for letting agents, I guess nice and simple nice and simple. Yeah, oh, and how I got into it. I think you'll probably hear a lot. It's tilt flute.

Speaker 1 1:33

So okay.

Speaker 2 1:33

So I always like to lead with the first question what was the first day of a stay agency like for you? Or letting agency, a stay agency? So I've always done both. So everyone always associates me with lettings, but actually I've always done both. I'm just as qualified in a stay agency as I am a lettings done exactly the same amount of time an estate agency as I am a leffing's done exactly the same amount of time. So my first day was a administrator. So I basically got a job between ski seasons. I was working as a ski and snowboard instructor and I came back and I just needed like just a temporary job. My mum was an estate agent and she was like, oh it's a shame you can't type, but I was like I'm a millennial, of course I can type. Yeah.

Speaker 2 2:05

I was like I spend my day on MySpace, like what do you need? And basically somebody in her office was going on long-term sick. They were going through cancer treatment. So I basically went and covered her job for like five or six months typing property details, ordering hip reports, do you remember? Those.

Speaker 1 2:31

Back in the day. So yeah, so that was literally my job. I was just like admin really, so it sounds like pretty much most of stay in these entries in like accidental. We actually had someone that we interviewed with one of our clients.

First Steps in Estate Agency

Speaker 1 2:34

Actually he was a ski instructor oh really, and uh and he I think it was his mum's business and he ended up deciding to to work in it and then sort of fell into it and carried on. It's been in it for like decades now. Okay, so and so what? What was that? Uh, agency? Like working for that agency?

Speaker 2 2:51

it was actually, it was a lovely agency. So it's a company called farmer and dyer who are local to me in reading, uh, in this nice little uh part of reading called calvasham, which is where I live, um, and it's, you know, it's very middle class, it's lovely, it's really pretty. And they were a small independent business that had just started their lettings book. So I worked for them for about six months, went off, came back and started a job with chancellors as a property manager and then, about nine months in, farmer and Dyer rang me back, went do you want to come be our junior negotiator? And I was like, yes, yes, I do I could not, I was like I don't want to be in property management.

Speaker 2 3:29

Nine months was enough for me, so I uh yeah, I went back, took a massive pay cut because obviously you were nothing as a junior negotiator, and uh, and started again there. So it's a really lovely company. I'm still really close with the people who own it, um, and they're super proud and they often chase after me on the school run because our kids go to school together and go. It's the most famous letting agent in the country and I'm like stop, so, so.

Speaker 1 3:53

So you, um, how long were you there for then? Like so, okay, what was that? What was that journey like? So you went from like it sounded like you. You entered into a, the agency, into the shit roles that people don't tend to like, like administration and property management. I mean, what a baptism of fire as the second entry into agency lettings, especially being a property manager. Yeah.

Speaker 1 4:15

And then you went from that to what you would expect that everyone thinks that happens at state agencies. You get driving around in a nice BMW showing people through like million dollar mansions, and then that's like you're adding fortune them. So what was, uh, what was that? Um, how, how you went as obviously a junior negotiator. So so what was that?

Speaker 2 4:37

the roles that you did within that so when you're in a small business like that, you tend to get stuck in with everything, don't you? So you know one minute you're doing viewings and you're doing a bit of property management. You know, there's not necessarily that clear definition of role. So for me it was a great time to really grow all the different skill sets. I actually learned so much in property management Like it was like a crash course in like legislation and it was there. I then decided you know what I want to get qualified and do all that stuff. So I started all that when I was a junior negotiator.

Speaker 2 5:07

I think the thing is with those roles is I actually really loved them because for me they were kind of especially administration, felt quite low pressure at the time, but I think it was just because I would have to do this little bubble Certainly didn't drive a BMW. I had a little Kia Picanto which I actually took the bumper off of once, doing a terrible job of reversing off a driveway. But really I was that really stereotypical junior. I made all the tea, I did all the leaflets and it's a completely different process now for people.

Speaker 2 5:38

But, I literally just grafted all the way through and then it reached a point where actually I needed needed because my mum worked there at the weekends. I needed my own thing. Yeah, so at that point it's about I think it was about five or six years I thought, right now it's time.

Speaker 1 5:55

I don't want to be, you know, someone's daughter, I want to go and do this off my own back now and I moved into a kind of corporate role yeah with a company called davis tate, which a part, or were part of lsli yeah and then so because obviously, like, what did you learn even from, uh, when you're at chancellors, into that independent? Was there anything that you fluttered between, back to, between the two and then move into a corporate? That is that seems quite because a lot of people identify and I go for corporate and go into independent, stay into independent and go back to corporate. So going from maybe a there's no like the smaller, smaller agency, the smaller, independent, that niche market, you have a particular client turning, then moving into like a large corporate machine. How is that experience going for you?

Speaker 2 6:43

I actually feel really lucky to have spent a huge amount of time in both yeah because I'm somebody that likes to be creative, which I think plays to that create, to that independent model yeah I think I'm somebody that likes structure as well yeah and so corporate model really suits me in that respect.

Speaker 2 6:58

So one thing that I struggle with after being in corporate life at the second time was trying to go to businesses that that took compliance and took legislation as seriously, or you know, and had the procedures in place. Yeah, so I ended up carving out roles for myself where I basically would go into businesses and almost be the corporate voice in the independent and put it on that track. So for me, I learned loads from corporate life. I do not regret spending time. I mean, half my career was in corporate.

Speaker 1 7:28

And obviously where you said you were training, starting to have that route of going. Actually I want to be, I want to have some qualification behind it. There was probably a part of that development in yourself obviously then helped those independents because you were buying that knowledge that they might not necessarily had. And just just keep doing it this way, letters, way yeah and you're going like no, actually like, this is well, it was funny.

Speaker 2 7:52

I used to come back and they'd be like can you stop? Because we know you've just been on a course. But you know, can you just like chill out? But it was funny because actually I sat with a colleague, calvin, who I was still quite close with, and we sat together in that first course and they went around the room and it was all these quite fancy people in their fancy suits and they were like, oh, I want this, I want that. And they got to us and they said what do you want to gather that today? And we were like we want to stop winging it. We want to know what we're doing properly, we want to do this correctly, we want to do it by the law, like, oh god, like commoners. But actually it's totally true, we wanted to make sure that we were doing the right thing.

Speaker 1 8:27

Um, and actually being able to do it with a bit of personality, I think was important too and and so that second uh time back into corporate was that, was that back into a lettings role?

From Corporate to Independent Roles

Speaker 2 9:19

so no, I did you all so. So every business I worked for up until the last three years I've done sales and lettings full time. So I literally did the role side by side. So I never felt I had a specialism and I think that a lot of people associate me with lettings because of my ALA and property marks, because that was.

Speaker 1 9:41

Less is better than paying a nutshell.

Speaker 2 9:43

And yeah, so that's where that all came from. But people don't tend to ask as many questions about house buying.

Speaker 1 9:48

Um lettings has my, my heart like, because I just love it but I think, like, like from my background, I came from sales and went to lettings and then went back into both and I always felt like there's so many agents I still speak to now and even agents that like, were you know in the even in the office or even in competitors or people I used to you know down the street talk to, and they're either going to be sales or lettings and there was no merge. It was like you're in lettings or yourselves and there's even, like a that office politics around who's who does the better out of the two. But I always did always feel like developing in your role into the dual role, you always had an upper edge on on agents out there like you know you, you talk to a landlord, their mom just let tell their landlord about the rents, how much you get and the property in mind. You can tell them whether, like, they're actually overpaying on the value of that home and what they should be buying and what they shouldn't be buying. And there was always that mist by people not doing. I was just lifting like, wow, you like you haven't got this knowledge that the client needs and you're asking reliant and another team member to deliver it in the same way. So it's really good to hear that you had both sides to it. And obviously I don't know same here, like as much as my first part of the career was in agency, getting into lettings.

Speaker 1 11:03

I don't know what it is, but I don't know. I've always had a softer spot for that part too. I think it's. I think it's that long-term relationship you build out, whereas sometimes a state agency is great, you have this really intense relationship and then you stop and then you keep in touch with them. I mean, most things say they keep about touching, but most of the time it's bullshit. Um, but then with lettings, like you do have those longer relationships. You get to know those 10 minutes. You have to know those landlords. Those landlords come in and they chat to you and, depending on the relationship, you have those landlords.

Speaker 2 11:34

Like you know, I used to go out a lot of the time with dinners and bunches and sort of stuff like when they you know it sounds awful, but like funerals, you know when they die you're you go, but not because you have to but because actually you've had a relationship with that person all that time. Um, you know, I remember when I have my son and I was too scared to tell them that I was having a baby because I didn't dare take time off work and I waited as long as possible until I was in tesco's one saturday and I bumped into a landlord that's massive bump and they looked at me and were like, is there something you want to say?

Speaker 1 12:04

and I was like, yeah, I'm going to be off in a few weeks, about two weeks time and literally months.

Speaker 2 12:08

I literally waited till the week before I finished to tell all my landlords, so they didn't get worried it's hard, isn't it really hard?

Speaker 1 12:16

I mean, we had this, we had those situations in the office where we had property managers in that position and, like you, you want to tell them, but at the same time you don't want them to panic. And then you so secretly behind the scenes, you're prepping everything, yeah, just then to say like we've got it all sorted, this is what's happening, so and so. Um, when you're in that sort of that corporate role, you said you, you had half and half in in corporate. So how long were you in that job for?

Speaker 2 12:41

so obviously, three years ago, things have changed so I so basically I was with that corporate then for like another seven years well and then, um, through lockdown, yeah, we um everything shut down.

Speaker 2 12:55

I did not get furloughed, I was left to keep the business going. Oh yeah, I was the only person in front end. It were 14 offices, offices left, sales and lettings. Everybody else was directors, property management, accounts, keeping that side of it. And there was one conversation they said to me they said, well, if we don't make any money, your colleagues can't come back. And so I then suddenly went God, I've got the weight of all of my friends, families, mortgages, everything. At that point we didn't really understand what furlough was. It felt a bit like a death sentence for a lot of people.

Speaker 2 13:32

People thought that's it, I'm going to lose my job. So I felt really honoured that I didn't go in that position. Very quickly realised that actually they were all having a great time in furlough.

Speaker 1 13:44

They were sipping roses.

Speaker 2 13:44

Absolutely great Thailand furlough. They were sipping roses, absolutely. I remember them saying what are you up to Like? Oh, I've learned Spanish. I'm like great, I'm so happy for you. Um, and they actually earned more money in furlough than they did.

Speaker 2 13:53

I did working, and I worked every day for months. Uh, and when they brought back then the offices, we obviously opened them slowly, slowly, and I think I got two people back with me at the time and it was chaos, but it was magical because I had somebody to talk to. Yeah and uh, and as it got longer and longer, obviously they started drip feeding people back. I suddenly was going I'm really struggling now I am burnt out to an absolute crisp. I am struggling like this isn't okay.

Speaker 2 14:20

I kept saying that I really need, I really need some time now. Now you've everybody back, now let me have a rest because I'm not doing so good. And they kept pushing me and pushing me and pushing me, until one day I just absolutely crumbled and my doctor signed me off for a month and I was out, and so I went back to the business, thinking that that would be okay, and very quickly I was put back into that very um, exposed role where there was no, no support, and I just thought I can't do this especially because how old, how old, how old was dexter, the science, so he was two.

Speaker 1 14:55

Yeah, wow.

Speaker 2 14:56

So yeah, it was like I mean 100 he was potty training whilst I was like juggling. I was like naked child running around. At the same time, I took my roller roll on as well wow um, so it was.

Speaker 2 15:07

It was a really intense time and for me it was a case of I kind of fallen out of love with that, because suddenly I realized that corporate life was about being a number and that that wasn't a part of it. I I loved, so I sort of sat on it for a while and there was another local business, uh, locals who call haslam's, who are massive. Uh, they were the biggest market leaders in reading by a landslide uh, recently just sold foxton's and they had been trying to get me for a while. Then I just sort of went to me yeah, okay, well, these are my terms, and and so then that the wheels went in motion there.

Speaker 1 16:23

Really, wow, yeah, because I think you get to the point that recognizing that burnout is a key, key part. I, like someone who'd worked, that did. I worked from covid as well, and, like everyone else, like you, look back now and I was like, even look, think I remember those covid days where, like you know, you could just do anything. And, like my partner kel she talks about it as being a teacher she was off and I was like I don't remember any of that.

Speaker 1 16:45

And obviously recognising that burnout was a key part to it. So you went, you went. You changed roles. Yeah, what was what? What did you need? Immediately feel different in that new role?

Building a Career in Lettings and Sales

Speaker 2 17:03

I think I went from being a an integral cog in the machine to suddenly being somebody that was making decisions. Yeah, and that was quite a big change for me because you know, when you work in not only corporate but like lsli is a big beast yeah so you know, you had your, your structure in your business and you had the lsli structure and then the lsl structure.

Speaker 2 17:25

To trying to get change or ideas done was virtually impossible. There was amazing things about it, but and and I got the best training in the world from it. But if I had an idea, we'd be talking months down the line and suddenly I was in a position where they go well, what do you think should we do this?

Speaker 1 17:41

and I'm going oh god okay this is you're turning around shit.

Speaker 2 17:44

There's no one else actually there too I know, and I remember the first time I signed a contract and thinking like, am I allowed to do this? Like is this, is this okay? So it went from being like a, just like a, a body in in the business, to suddenly making big decisions in a business and it was quite a clear brief. You know, there was no secret that behind the scenes that they wanted to gear up to sell and so we were getting everything in shape. Yeah, absolutely. And we did that and we did it beautifully. At the same time there was an acquisition, so they bought another business nearby. So we had all of that fun to do. So it was a really great time. Um, I, I just didn't. It wasn't a long term. You know, it was like a castle came in, I did it and then at the end, sort of they were like, right, so do you want to go run that branch? And I was like no not really.

Speaker 1 18:32

And was it with this decision you were making? Was they still sales and lettings based decisions?

Speaker 2 18:37

that was a more. That was the first time that it was more lettings, yeah, um. So I didn't get to dabble too much in sales.

Speaker 2 18:42

We did a little but, the sales department, you know, to be fair, didn't really need a huge amount. It was more like enhancements, and that was actually what was really interesting. I wasn't going into a business that was suffering, I was going into a really good business, yeah. So it's really difficult to make, yeah, good businesses, amazing, like even better. It's much easier when they're on the floor, because anything you do will be an improvement yeah and so that was quite hard way to work out that.

Speaker 2 19:07

And uh, there was an amazing team there of people that were working on it and and I feel really proud of of what we did there and how amazing they've done and and you know all the money they made from foxton's buying it, so they did really well. And then, yes, and then I went back, went back on the road and ended up at location location in hackney and uh, and we came in with a, with a goal in mind, and uh, and then we decided just to change a few things along the way and then again we sort of moved, moved from there really and and throughout all of this.

Speaker 1 19:40

One of the things I wanted to cover was like your, your tiktok and sort of move from there really, and throughout all of this. One of the things I wanted to cover was like your TikTok and sort of your part of obviously. You spoke at Property Mart Trust the privilege of watching you speak there and you talked about, obviously, the role of video and having an identity with regards to marketing and stuff like that. Role of like video and being having identity regards to marketing and stuff like that. So so many people are stared to come out of their nutshell, yeah, and like and and expose themselves to the world.

Speaker 1 20:05

So how did how did like your background? Obviously you work for smaller independents and corporates, so you didn't really have any of no one ever come to you and said, right, we're going to do it this way. You had that inspiring person that you're going to an estate agency and they're already doing it and you know that knowledge. So what? What whilst you're doing all of this? And then you had this other sideline which was like your own identity coming through, your own fame. Uh, when did that start? How did that even? How did that even come through? Have you always been theatrical or like stand on stage?

Speaker 1 20:38

yeah or the center of attention.

Speaker 2 20:39

I was a drama, theater, kid okay so yeah, and it makes sense yeah, drama, theater, studies, um, but actually I really really hate being center of attention, which really throws people. So like being on stage really freaks me out and like so I I have no issue being on camera, but put me on stage and it's like yeah so, um, I I like to think I'm very good in like a supportive role um but but yeah, that that big limelight moment is um a lot yeah so the the video thing was actually off the back of my ala role, so I basically got this regional role and I said, okay, so what, what's my job?

Speaker 2 21:14

and they were like, right, well, your job is to communicate with the members in your region. I went great, give me their details. And if I can't, it's a gdpr. And I went all right, well, how do I communicate with my members then? And so I started posting on linkedin. And then what? What I would do is I would stalk the members that communicated and add them and, yeah, slowly like started filled my little group people. And uh, and then we sat on a course that somebody put on for us, just like a evening with a glass of wine, talking about social media, and at that point I'd already sort of established myself as a bit of a linkedin person yeah and and they went.

Speaker 2 21:52

Well, the big one's gonna be tiktok. Nobody's doing it yet like nobody's brave enough. And the next morning I wake up and went fuck it, I'm gonna give it a go. And I literally it was. It was a snap decision and they were right, nobody was on there and I recorded a video. It was like the five things we look at when we come to value your property. And it was like you know me with the boiler, it was really cheesy and it did really well. And then somebody asked the question on there about pets, which I responded to, and when I responded to it it just like exploded. And then suddenly everyone was asking questions which just fed me content and I just kept responding. And and because I was the first one, that's why people always ask me about it, because I I was the one that sort of broke that barrier between agents, being that odd off and also also doing it in a more professional way, like I it.

Speaker 1 22:42

I see. You see, some agents in that period, when that ticked on, started to come a bit more knowing you'd get on there and they'd do these stupid fucking trends and then you'd go like, but there's no, there's no, but it might be fine. But like, what's, what's the value in that like, whereas I, you know, I, I met you via that and getting to know you via that, we met, obviously, on a digital phone. I feel like I know you a lot, even though we've met twice now yeah, that's true.

Speaker 1 23:08

Yeah, I feel like we've known each other forever but so, like you know, when I watched those videos and I thought oh, it's really good actually someone getting on there actually responding back to it because you know, you know it well enough and, like me being in that letting side to it, loads of people want advice out there and I think sometimes we're quite forgetful that if you've been in industry 5, 10, 15, 20 years, you think everyone knows it. You're so so common to think that like everyone knows what. What happens when a market appraisal is like no one knows that because they just maybe sold their house once.

Speaker 2 23:39

Yeah.

Breaking into TikTok and Online Presence

Speaker 1 23:40

Or they might have just been a brand new landlord and wondering, like what do I need to do to it? Yeah. So I started following you on that part and I was always intrigued, like from someone who doesn't. Was it someone who'd like just thought do you know what? Fuck it, I'm just going to do videos and I don't care what people think. And how did? How did you? How did you take to the reaction of like people, liking and sharing and commenting and stuff like that?

Speaker 2 24:08

it's funny, I'm going back to the like center of attention yeah, that bit I still find it really weird, yeah, and like people will come up to it conferences and be like oh, I follow you and I'm like okay yeah I'm sorry about that and like people seem to be like why do you apologize? I don't know, because I don't know what else to say to people yeah um, so it is.

Speaker 2 24:24

It is like a really weird thing, but it has opened so many doors for me, like literally recently. I haven't even posted about it yet, but I got approached by the ministry of housing to be one of the leading independent voices of.

Speaker 2 24:37

CRS for the renters reform bill. So now suddenly working really closely with them is an opportunity I just never would have got before. And they want to work with people that have got real voices, that aren't just spouting stuff for clickbait. And it's actually, you know, when people say to me, oh, I only got 200 views, I'm like, well, if you had 200 people in the the room with you, you'd be delighted if they were listening to you.

Speaker 1 25:01

it's really people need to just chill out with it there was actually I think it was, um, I think it was like a relationship coach. I saw on one of his programs and he said he did something on youtube and he only posted a couple of videos and one post got like 12 views and one of the views was oprah winfrey oh, wow and then she then got in touch with her and said do you want to come on my show? And now he, now he, now he coaches relationship advice to celebrities around the world.

Speaker 1 25:24

Wow, and it all came off that one video yeah, if you're watching me it's just crazy, like it's a great point, especially it's nice to hear that, especially when you've got the exposure you've, you've reached on having some of your videos and TikTok, to then having saying, like you know, know, just remember, like 200 views is actually still 200 views of people, 200 people in a room.

Speaker 2 25:47

If you had a landlord evening and you invited all these people, you'd be like, oh my God, 200 people turned up. Yeah, it's amazing.

Speaker 1 25:54

So Arla, yeah, property Mart. I used to be a former ALA member. I was level three qualified and there's obviously, when I left agency Still there in your heart. I've got a certificate, but I'm not. I'm not. I don't know why I'd be still a member if I'm. I'm working as a supplier.

Speaker 1 26:13

Um, so I I learned a lot. I mean, we used to. We used to use a lot with Propertymark Arlo or it was originally under just Propertymark for a lot of legislation, advice contracts Dutton Gregory I think we had at the time. They were absolutely amazing when it came to legislation and advice. Didn't necessarily go to any conferences but we just had it more as like a regulatory body. And sometimes you'd find frustrated when you've got other agents up and down the road with no qualifications and then, like you'd that's, you know you'd land a landlord to buy the property and you go where's the electrical stimulus up? I ain't got a certificate and it's like a bit of a frustrating part. So you obviously got your qualification level three, level four, was that quite quickly straight afterwards it's quite different between the two, hugely different.

Speaker 2 27:00

So I did my level three and lettings when I was about 23 and then when I was at like first corporate or second corporate gig, technically, there was one senior negotiator position left in our branch and we worked dual across the both and one guy was more sales and I was kind of a bit more lettings and I thought we're not going to turn this into a competition because there is no way he is getting that job over me.

Speaker 2 27:22

So I went and collected the sales books and I had it all completed within two weeks. I was like not having that, not messing around, and then I flirted with the idea of doing a level four, which is the equivalent, I think, about a year and a half of a degree. Uh, it's intense and I like really, really contemplated it and eventually decided to do it. And then found out I was pregnant literally almost immediately after my first exam, because I threw up in the bin in the exam hall. I thought, oh, it's not that bad right, and so then I ended up doing a two-year course in nine months because I wanted to get it done.

Speaker 2 27:55

Yeah it was intense. I was like studying birthing techniques whilst different medical grounds were in possession, so it was a really intense time.

Speaker 1 28:03

But like for me, Just different type of eviction process.

Speaker 2 28:06

Yeah, exactly, I was like it's actually 21-somebody, it's time to get out. It was almost like a mental test for me because I was like I'm not going to have my body going through pregnancy change what I wanted to do yeah and of course it changes what you want to do. I was like throwing up out like five times a day through my pregnancy.

Speaker 2 28:27

It was horrendous yeah um, but I I kind of wanted to prove to myself I could do it. I almost did it. But my final exam was Berkshire. He came early so I had to move my last exam.

Speaker 1 28:39

So I think I finished it about three months after he was born still, though, like even three months in, but after, after birth and a child and sleepless nights yeah, I'm saying that, but no, I mean, my partner went through exactly the same thing.

Speaker 1 28:52

She's she's about to be new qualifies a therapist counselor, so she's been there five years. Yeah, we've got three, they've just turned three. So when she was going into a level three slash four, she was in that say 100% and the commitment for that, especially doing a level three and then the step up to a level four. It's not like it's just an intense one week course, extra fair play to you to be able to do that whilst, um, you know, getting yourself ready to actually give birth to a child at the same time, social hormones, sleepless nights, getting just naturally changes a stubborn attitude, yeah and what, what, where did that come from my mum?

Speaker 1 29:31

yeah 100.

The Journey to Property Mark Leadership

Speaker 2 29:32

My mum, so my mum, uh, so single mum yeah and so she raised us all and she so. So watching her as an estate agent in the 90s running branches, I didn't realize that that women didn't do these things, yeah, so it was only really in the last five years that I realized that actually what a super mom thing didn't didn't happen, and there was women that didn't do that.

Speaker 2 29:54

So so for me, growing up, there was no boundaries. And then so we, and then we lost her. Uh, it would be 10 years next year and uh, and suddenly it was like dawned on me like actually she was like superwoman and like we just thought it was totally normal yeah, yeah but stubborn as yeah, so so right, so you've done the level.

Speaker 1 30:13

You're three, you're three months, uh, post, post, child. You've done your level four. Uh, you start obviously going to the process of becoming a regional representative of isla. Why did you want to? Why did you want to do that instead of just staying a member? Now, what again? I like, I just like I always like with these episodes, to get to to the heart of really the individual.

Speaker 1 30:37

Yeah, and, like you know, some people would just take their take membership, some people, I think, grandfathering if it's still no, no, no so, yeah, like we had, we had our agency, had sort of grandfathering taking place if I wanted to get qualified, I wanted to be that under that uh band of like fake legislation. I know what I'm doing, but I don't really know I'm doing, yeah. So so why did you want to get more involved with property mark and all I like? What was? What was the draw for it?

Speaker 2 31:03

for you, it sounds like a bother sales pitch when I say it, but it's not because I genuinely believe in what we do at property mark and like it's been something that I was passionate about before I joined. I, for me, didn't go to. I flirted with the idea of university, chose a life on the mountain instead, and so, for me, I didn't have a degree to fall back on. So in a way, I always felt a little bit inferior to my friends with their fancy degrees and the pictures of them with their caps at their mum's house.

Speaker 2 31:36

And I didn't have that, and I decided that I wanted to be as legitimate as possible yeah and so, for me, I wanted to be the best at what I could do, and one thing that I've learned through my life is that if I decide that I want to do something, I will do it the best way possible. In my view, yeah, and I will do it to the best of my ability, like I don't half-ass anything and, uh, motherhood's been no different, my job's been no different.

Speaker 2 32:05

This is like once I'm in it, I'm in it yeah and uh, and for me, I just believe in what was I remember watching um, uh, what was his name from?

Speaker 2 32:16

uh, right m David Cox, who was the head writer at Arla and when we were going through the tenant fee ban and he'd hear an update and they'd have a camera on him within 10 minutes of that update coming up and he'd all be all flustered, but he'd be there championing. People don't realise that things like furlough commission only happened off the back of a campaign from property market, like people forget. Yeah, what a lot of the things that we've done behind the scenes we don't necessarily shout about to me.

Speaker 1 32:46

Now we're starting to learn that we have to start shouting about it a little bit more yeah, because I've always found what's been a nice hearing about sort of the, the role that you you're going into and the roles of of even your predecessors as well. I always felt and I'm going to be honest with you, I always felt that when I was involved with it it was like an old man's club.

Speaker 1 33:04

Yeah, I get that and I felt like a bit. It was a bit like these I don't know middle aged white men, All business owners, and it was like everyone was in suits and ties and it was very formal. And for someone who didn't really like a state agency in the way it is and hated being a state agent although I was in a state agent used to be like shameful and we used to people used to say like what's your career? And I go, I work in property, and then they get out of it. You're going to be a state agent, and they go, oh, he's not a state agent, I'm not.

Speaker 1 33:34

No, I much as I was a part of the membership because I wanted I believe in that same thing being legitimate. I didn't go off to university. I wanted to have a qualification of some sort to say actually I do know lettings, but then there's always that I don't know. I didn't really get involved in the conferences purely because it was a bit like old man's club snooty. It's really evolved and and and I have seen it even just the logo, the freshness of who's getting involved. So it's nice to hear, like I know you, you wanted to have that be in that next evolution coming through yeah, I'll let you into a secret rob.

Speaker 2 34:08

The reason I decided to go for the presidency was because I was going to be the youngest one they've ever had yeah and I wanted that to be a like stick in the ground to say, look, it doesn't matter whether you've got 50 years experience or five years experience or whatever it looks like.

Speaker 2 34:25

Yeah, like your opinions matter and count. And I had this really lovely moment where I knew I'd made the right decision when my nan went to sell her little retirement flat and it's about 40 minutes down the road from me. She said do you want to sell it? And I was like what, over 55? Yeah, we're talking like no third of the floor, no lift. I don't know why she bought it. And I said look, I tell you what. Let's find you someone local, I'll do a scope, I'll get you three. And then didn't ring and say who I was, just sort of did it over and she was in the middle of evaluation. Apparently.

Speaker 2 34:56

This young girl came up. She must be like 22, 20, carry. At the end of the evaluation she goes. I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you related to megan 18? And she was yes, my granddaughter.

Speaker 2 35:04

She was like, oh, what she's done for women and I feel like I can do anything and I want to be a president now. And I said to my that's why I do it 100, because for me I didn't identify with that side and actually I had a really lovely guy come up to me at the last conference, which was last week, and say to me, like exactly what you said, like I've been a member forever, I didn't really get it and now I get it. Like now I feel a part of something and I'm really proud of that because I feel like I'm a big part of that change and I think bringing me in was a start of that change. And now you know we've got a really good mix. Like the board is like almost 50-50 women and that's a voted for board by our membership. The roles come up every four years, so it's not as easy just to like wipe it out and start fresh. The board's full of amazing women who are in amazing positions within the business. I think that's a really big thing too.

Speaker 1 35:57

But what's nice about what I found with you as well is that no, not, not a no disrespect on any of your career. Sometimes you get people into the roles we're in there, that they are senior roles within large organizations and they're put in there and almost what I've loved about you becoming that next line is you've, you're, you're actually championing the true independent of what the property mark all actually means to be a part of yeah, they're going back to the roots of when you first got into agency, a small agency brand yeah who needs to understand legislation.

Speaker 1 36:30

Have that greater voice and just don't get left behind. So it's it's awesome to see that full circle come back, that you're.

Speaker 2 36:37

You now understand those people yeah, oh, totally, and I also. And one thing I always say to people, I'm still boots on the ground yeah like I am in the senior team but I go out and value properties.

Speaker 2 36:46

You know I was doing viewings on an auction property last week. It was grim but I was doing it. You know I work on a saturday and I go out when I do viewings to help the team out. We are a boot on the ground kind of business and for me that means that when people come and talk to me about their issues I'm not totally get it.

Speaker 1 37:02

Yeah had it same thing, yeah, yeah, really it's really good. So so, and your, so your current role now? Could you like location? You had a flutter with doing some videos of, like property developments and stuff like that and involved in that. So what, what, what would you say, is your role now within?

Speaker 2 37:21

so my role is a bit.

Speaker 1 37:22

I know it's obviously gonna probably be a bit like it's an it's a bit it is a bit of a mixture.

Speaker 2 37:27

It's a bit of an like an evolving role. So, uh, the business is run by a wonderful lady called sue and she has run that whole business and she just needed, like she said, I'm essentially like her overflow. So, um, we sat once. I said, oh, someone turned around. I said you're doing brand development. She was like, yes, that's what you're doing. And what I'm doing is, as I'm working on building our social media, we're sort of reviving our marketing training as processes in place. Um, I'm currently working, I sort of partially responsible now for our sales department. You know, getting that off the ground. I'm just about to launch the home finders academy, which is to train, uh, young people to negotiate a position. So, literally writing that as we speak. So, yeah, so it's a really different role.

Speaker 1 38:11

Um, I love it because it's so different and what are you taking from all your so that academy role like for for someone out there who you know, an agency out there? I see a lot of them go. I just can't get the teams anymore, I can't get the beginning staff. No, no one wants to be an estate agent anymore. Um, then it's not. There's not the job that everyone wants. So what would you say out there for people actually listening, what? What do you reckon they need to establish in their own businesses to attract the next generation of people coming through?

Life During and After COVID

Speaker 2 38:40

I think one thing that really irritates me at conferences is the same question gets battered around every conference. They're like why don't young people want to work as hard as we did? And I'm like, oh guys, look, the world's changed. We are a generation or they were a generation. I think I sort of straddled the two that wear burnout like a pride badge, like, look, I've burned out because I was so good, like I'm working at 10 o'clock at night. Wow, look at me, that's lovely. But like, actually, the next generation, they don't want that. They have such a good balance on life that I think we should be listening to them and adjusting. So for me, there's a whole piece in my presidency speech about if we don't adapt our industry to fit that next generation, we are going to lose what makes it special and there's lots of talk about like ai and what's that going to do for jobs and you know all these different changes. Well, if we don't adapt, that's exactly what's going to happen. It's going to take our jobs.

Speaker 1 39:40

But if we actually start investing in younger people earlier, but creating a job that people want to do, yeah, then maybe it won't become, you know, transactional and yeah because I one of the things that we get and within when obviously being technology company, like things like you know, first line um autoresponder now, like it qualifies a tenant yeah, qualifies, qualifies a so people go, what am I going to do? And it's like, well, really like if you get a lettings lead that comes from, you've got 20 inquiries. Can you really spend quality time going for those sets of questions? So what you can do is then now you can look at the people that have done that initial line response and then speak to them and give them a better service and like so and speak to them and give them a better service. And it takes it away from being those administrative roles that you started in the agency, which I know you said you liked. But when you're doing administration on such a scale, that's where burnout happens, because you're just burning out doing nothing, whereas the technology replaces it into a new role where the role could be a lot more fun and a lot more rewarding and you don't have to have 20, like you know, five legs doing one where you could have two necks technology doing and they get paid more money and they have more fun and like so.

Speaker 1 40:53

I've only just been to a client the other day and he's saying I don't know what it is, the team aren't just performing. I said you, you just told me you had like the best three months ever and you've got a load of money and you've just given them a load of rewards and that a lot. I said, but have you had a downtime for a week? Because you're telling me, like you're moaning after a week, that they've put a bit relaxed, it's like it's because they're fucking burnt, so just give them time off. And he was like, uh, but they've earned money. I was like it's a difference between money and you see me as a, you see me as an individual in a company, you see me as a human being. And I think sometimes that people forget that you don't actually have to pay people more money. You just need to give them a bit more freedom to do stuff, a bit more freedom to be great Freedom from responsibility.

Speaker 2 41:38

Ultimately you've got to put that trust in it, and I actually think that COVID, in a weird way, sort of gave our industry the push that it needed to evolve. Yeah, you know like if I could have had those autoresponders in place by the time covid happened, I don't think I would have burnt out yeah because I wasn't dealing with those volumes of inquiries coming from every time I was in less here. You, literally we used, we used to shut the phones down at six and then we would deal with the offers because that was the only time the phones automatically went to like an auto.

Speaker 2 42:08

You know answering service at six, and so at that point we could actually call people to give them their offers because, we physically couldn't do it and so like. For me, those kind of things free up people to do more meaningful tasks, like speaking to clients, building relationships, doing a bit of proactive maintenance rather than just, oh, your boiler's broken.

Speaker 1 42:27

Or even just spending time at a property a bit more than five minutes, because that's the only time you've got. Yeah. Or showing someone around a property and spending 20 minutes with them out of urine and actually really showing them the property and really getting to understand them and thinking, shit, I've got seven other eight tasks. I've got to get back to the office and get them done, for, like the day ends.

Speaker 2 42:45

It's about it's care, isn't it? And I think I feel really lucky that I joined agency just as Rightmove was becoming like a thing right. So I learned the skills of not having Rightmove as I became benefiting from Rightmove and all those portals that have come since. So for me, I feel like that's given me a really solid foundation that really understands, and I think that over the years we sort of lost that skill a little bit, and I think that by having good technology in place, it frees us up to be able to do those meaningful tasks, because we weren't dealing with those volumes when I was a junior negotiator you had flurries.

Speaker 1 43:21

You had people walking in the office, like you know, like the are there, so you have people phoning up, but you'd register details and then you'd send them out something. In those days, actually you were doing more proactive calls out to those people to say, hey, I've got this three bedroom property coming on. Are you interested in viewing it? Yeah.

Speaker 1 43:40

Rather than chucking on Rightmove and getting the barbent of a load of people who just like to browse it, but like there's only gonna ever be one buyer, one tenant taking the property um it's having a filing cabinet in your office with all the property details in oh yeah and then like and then I'd speak to rob on the phone.

Speaker 2 43:55

I'd come up and be like oh, I'm gonna post him yeah, this one, this one and this one, because actually my crm didn't let me email him out.

Speaker 1 44:02

Yeah, I, I I'm saying same era. So I remember those days joining an agency.

Speaker 2 44:07

I worked for connells and it was like a computer in the back and that was if you were lucky to touch it oh yeah, the rest of it was like your little box and that's where I didn't even have a rightly feed for letting, so we used to have to manually upload letters. Yeah, mentor.

Speaker 1 44:18

Um so, um, two things I want to ask before we go. Uh, first one is like go back to your presidency and all that. Like how, how far, how long is it off before you're officially el presidente? A week a week now wow next night and so what's your? What's your? So you've got a four year term no, so this.

Speaker 2 44:40

So I've already done two years essentially in the vice president and then president-elect role.

Speaker 1 44:46

So this will be my year, and then that's it and what do you, what do you hope to achieve in that year?

Speaker 2 44:51

I think very much what I've sort of been working along the whole way through. So I want to build that foundation for that next generation. So I want to make it more accessible for people. One thing that I keep harassing our qualifications department for and I'm sure they love it when I do it is that the level four has changed since I did it, and so it was more of an applied lettings role document before, and now it's more about business ownership, and for me, as somebody that even now is not a business owner and doesn't really want to be, um, there wouldn't have been a level four for me that would have fit, and so I feel really passionate about having more qualifications for people so their journeying doesn't have to stop at level three if they don't want to be a business owner or not ready to be a business yeah, but understanding like a more detailed, more leadership role in, like you know, going from someone at level three could be a property manager, very good property manager, very good, qualified, but then you might have a lettings director.

Speaker 1 45:48

He's a lettings director but not necessarily the owner. Yeah. He wants that next level of understanding of it. Yeah, 100% get that, because, especially when it's a, you know, you said like you smash that in nine months yeah it's that I know it'd be unwise, I'd see doing that because all of a sudden the owner's always going to be stuck in that position of trying to run the business deal. When you get someone who's a bit more qualified and a bit more understanding and take that role and another evolution that the property owner couldn't expect.

Speaker 2 46:21

So like when I was at hasland we bought a portfolio and uh said they went oh my goodness, they're regulated tenancies. I was like I know. I know they can deal with this, don't worry about it. Pass it to me and like actually I'd never even seen one in real life, I'd learned about them, so I was really excited.

Speaker 1 46:37

I'm going to be honest, you on the level three, when I I'd been sucked into lettings, never really had an experience. So it was like a baptism of fire for about two years before, three years before I did my level three. So I had the book and I'm quite relaxed and I thought I'm not going to stress, I'm learning everything in that book. So I was like I'm just going to take the course and see how I go on and I managed to pass it all. I don't know how, but I managed to pass it all. And then someone else I knew in the company was doing it at the same time.

Speaker 1 47:08

So well qualified, well qualified before me Was memorised in every single page and we got into it and sadly she didn't pass her first one, although she should have, but she just overthought it and I felt so guilty at the time. I was thinking like I just blagged myself for level three. Obviously I knew the knowledge because you still have to pass it. It's still the, you know. You're still in that driving test then to start set up. But I always look back and I was thinking like I came out of there I was like I passed. And then I found I was like it's like I feel really guilty now, like you should actually be a little bit faster.

Speaker 2 47:38

I should be unfailing it's a bit like what you do your driving test and you read the questions and you sometimes like overthink them yeah that's what I loved about the level four is that there's no way of them tricking you because it's it's written answers, so they're not clicky boxes, or they weren't. Then you had to write essays for the answers. So for me I would literally go well, uh, if I read the question this way. But if I read it this way, I thought, ha, you cannot scratch me out although that I've just done a level seven in coaching and mentoring in organisations.

Creating the Next Generation of Agents

Speaker 1 48:10

So how do you deliver in strategic organisations? Half of the calls they said you can't write in this particular way. Now, because of AI, you are literally now to write it into first hand because it was a part of the Chartered Management Institute. Plagiarism has happened so much that people were basically hacking what they need from the exam, writing it in a different style, and they'd now changed it to here's a, here's a, a theory. But also try and apply where you would apply that into your business, your organisation, your working movement. So everything was I and we and the business.

Speaker 2 48:41

That's good, though, because I did my. I did a leadership and management qualification with the charter management institute, and I was just sat with only saying, because you have, ai would be so good for this work I'll say through like no, you can't do that it was such a time slug doing that, it was uh, but it was good.

Speaker 1 48:56

I mean I'm glad I did it, but it was a lot and so the last question I don't know my asking this, so I've I've someone who's's gone through a lot of change fitness wise. I've got a big passion towards a lot of the business owners I speak to and the people in leadership positions and the people trying to stretch themselves. I always try and encourage them to do some form of not just extreme fitness but some sort of mental resilience changes in their life so that they stretch that and then enable them to stretch further beliefs beyond their business capabilities. So, like, in the last sort of few years I've been sort of a quite a proud person to talk to you about certain things and get involved and be your absolute champion. So, like, you've gone through a change of like fitness and you've done very, very well and I want to applaud you for the.

Speaker 1 49:43

You know you've just done boot camp, youcamp You're pretty much every time I see you on social media you're at some bootcamp or running it at six o'clock, whatever it is. How has that affected you? Like if you don't mind asking like you got into why did you take that step to change and how has that helped you in your career and your mindset going forward? Like, is it okay to just?

Speaker 2 50:06

yeah, absolutely. So I went through. I've been quite vocal about the fact I went through some really bad mental health, like since probably since since I probably compare and like went through the hormone changes, like my mental health just tanked and a few years back I went through some really really really dark stuff like and something that I've never talked about publicly is that it got so bad that I triggered all the safeguarding, so, like my therapist started contacting my GP saying she's going to kill herself. You know it was really severe. And when I got the phone call from my GP to say you know, basically, you know we're concerned, we've had your safeguarding triggered, we need to speak to you I was like man, this has got so severe, I need to speak to you. I was like man, this has got so severe, I need to make some changes.

Speaker 2 50:49

So that was sort of sat there on one side and then, um, and he's really really open about there's a lovely chap called mike holden who was the nea, so the sales president. Uh, I think he was the year before last and during his presidency he had a major heart attack and almost died because he was, you know, unhealthy, he wasn't looking after himself, his stress was through the roof and it's an absolute miracle that he survived and he reset his life and basically did a big piece to us as the ALA lot and the NEA lot to basically be like our jobs are so stressful but you have to look after yourself. So there was that also there, and so we all started like taking our blood pressure and my blood pressure was actually pretty good, but I started to get like really worried about not being here for decks.

Speaker 2 51:35

And then obviously the thought of doing this presidency year with no energy, like bouncing from conference to conference, you know, meetings to meetings. So I made the decision that I wanted to do something and I turned around to one of my friends, david Mintz, who and I said to him I want to lose two stone and we always laugh about this because he turned around and went what are you going to do? Chop off her arm. And I was like stubborn. Megan went, you watch? I was like I'm going to do that and more. And so he now says that he's now my motivational coach because he um, you know, spurred on. So we're now seven stone in, um, phenomenal.

Speaker 2 52:09

So I started off by reducing my food and then added water. So basically I re-read atomic habits. It was all about habit stacking. I thought this is where I've gone wrong. I normally just throw myself at it and then it just fails after a month. So I started with food and then I added water and then steps and I lost about four stone before I started exercising because I wasn't ready to integrate that. And then, when I was between jobs working out what I wanted to do, my mental health was pretty shit yeah and so I thought, yeah, do you know what, maybe I should get out and do some something.

Speaker 2 52:41

So I tried to do the couch 5k but my knees wouldn't hack it because it was still really heavy. It was just too much on my knees and I and I was really uncomfortable. So I started. So I went to boot camp and uh, and I just went from there and I started off with little three kilogram weights and, you know, slowly got the bug for it, but I could only manage it once a week for a while because obviously physically it's very demanding and I didn't do anything, I didn't't half-ass it, I went straight into the deep end and then, yeah, slowly integrated it more and more. So now we're on like four day a week and then sort of run in the middle of that. Now, amazing. So now, and as of this week, I'm now training for a marathon.

Speaker 1 53:17

Well done, well done and a marathon.

Speaker 2 53:18

Yeah, well, I say well done. I haven't started it yet and everyone has a marathon in time it's. I've always wanted to do it. Yeah, always.

Speaker 1 53:30

It's been a dream and I actually got ballot placed twice previously and didn't do it. Wow, that's like.

Speaker 2 53:32

That's like I win the lottery, I know I know I don't think I'd appreciate it, so I knew it was um something I had to do. But the first time was, uh, I was my mom died, so that was a good excuse. And the second time was I had hip surgery so I just physically couldn't do it either way.

Personal Transformation Through Fitness

Speaker 1 53:48

So so, yeah, so it's been it's amazing because, like you've, you've a lot of people who obviously go in to try and get into fitness. Uh, just go too much. All in and then, like two weeks later, or three weeks later, four weeks later, there's like, oh fuck this shit, and you, you've done it a structured way, but like it's a, it's a discipline and a commitment to yourself yeah so, all right, how is?

Speaker 1 54:11

the reason why I wanted to ask you is how has that affected you in? Like your roles and stuff like that? How do you what? What changes have? Has that made in how you approach a meeting? Standing on stage, sitting on stage last week, yeah, um, your mental well-being that you know. Taking on stress, like different, jumping in roles and stuff like that. Like what, what have you found in that new, new self? I?

Speaker 2 54:35

think I found like definitely got a new confidence in myself because I feel like I really have shown myself that I can do really hard things yeah, so I mean that that's really important.

Speaker 2 54:43

Um, for my stress I can't, yeah, like best stress buster. That could go to the point that now I'm like really miserable if I don't get to do like boot camp. Like I always thought it was a really weird thing that people would say, and now I totally get it. I threw a massive hissy fit last week because our boiler broke and I couldn't wash my hair. So I was like, well, I can't boot camp because I've got work tomorrow. And it was like, well, I can't, but you can because I've got work tomorrow, and it was like it was like you punched me.

Speaker 2 55:08

So from that point of view, it's massively changed my mindset on things, but it's just given me more energy. So I am somebody that is a. I've got ADHD and suspected autism. I don't think that's surprising for people. Someone said to me they're like well, yeah, you physically can't done all the things you did which you didn't do, like it would have been impossible. I think it's superpower. Yeah, um, and for me it's definitely helped control it. Yeah, because it's it like rests my mind, it rests my body.

Speaker 2 55:35

It keeps me at a permanent sort of reduced level of energy. Yeah, um, which is really good. I know this is gonna sound super cheesy, but it helped me remember who I am not the girl that goes on podcasts, not lettings in a nutshell, not that. And actually I massively reduced my social media off the back of that, um, because it's been really nice to sort of almost find that again yeah, 100%, no, no, no, it does I 100% get it?

Speaker 1 56:01

because I think, like when you're, when you're in a boot cab, while you're surrounded by other people, it's still you versus you. And and I think sometimes in a world where social media uh, dopamine, you know hits that try and come from some uh, non, uh, the sort of best habits of trying to turn to get those hits as good feel factors, I say we, we, we tend to lose ourselves and like I was only speaking to someone I've got a passion towards adhd and leadership and I was only chatting to someone last week and she was talking about it. She said I think someone's got an adhd. I was like, yeah, I think you are right on it. And one of the questions that she's always struggling I said to her is like how far do you feel you need to strip back the layers before you actually find yourself? That is the non-mask version that you want the world to see. And she was like fucking hell, rob, that's like worldy but she's now gone off on this world of trying to find that so no different than fitness.

Speaker 1 56:53

Fitness strips you all the way back, you versus you, and then you rebuild yourself from there yeah, I agree, I think as well.

Speaker 2 56:58

Like for me, I always wanted to be a fitnessy person, like I did, but I just never felt I could be. Like I didn't feel like I had the right body and the right fit. And you know what? Like I'd be going to do cam now for what's that? Like nine months and I'm still the slowest. I still reckon I'm probably on one of the lowest in terms of weights, because we're all like super fit yeah they like run marathons and like stupid times, like like you, um.

Speaker 2 57:23

But I love it because, like, as I run past them and they're like sprinting and I'm like they're like good job, meg, like you're doing great and it's like it's. It's such a lovely community as well of people, and one thing I feel really lucky about since doing this is the people I've met. Like it's opened part of our industry. I didn't even know like now I'm being invited to like five plays in the morning on a conference rather than out for beers, and I said four. It's like a totally different yeah, different.

Speaker 1 57:48

Yeah, I saw that last last week, wasn't it? Yeah, I've been tagging me and I was like, um, I couldn't, I couldn't make it. But I was like, how far are we going? Do you want to lead it?

Speaker 2 57:57

it was just when they went, but yeah, yeah, we're gonna go slow. I was like, yeah, but what's your time?

Speaker 1 58:00

yeah what's like?

Speaker 2 58:01

and they were like what's the date for you? I said because I'm quite new to this running thing. They told me. I was like, yeah, I'm just going to go to the gym. Good luck, have fun.

Speaker 1 58:06

I'm going to go for a walk instead.

Speaker 2 58:08

Yeah.

Speaker 1 58:09

I just want to say thank you very much for coming on. It's been an absolute pleasure and I just want to say, like a week's time, I hope you smash the year ahead. Thank you, look to achieve and I look forward to again cheering from the sidelines thank you, I appreciate it just want to say thanks for coming on thanks for your support, thanks for having me thanks for listening to this estate agency x podcast.

Speaker 3 58:31

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