“On day one, go out and find a successful agent and offer to work for free. If you do an internship or volunteer, you’ll have incredible access. Observe what makes that agent tick, look ‘behind the curtain’ and find out if this is the career you really want.”
Big, hairy, audacious goals.
When it comes to making plans, Joshua Charles, the Managing Director at One Commercial, always aims high. And it’s this willingness to tackle big challenges with enthusiasm and determination that’s kept him at the top of his game.
“If you’re going to take the time to make a goal, you might as well go for it – and go big,” he explained.
“That’s why I love the thinking behind BHAG – big, hairy, audacious goals. It’s about short, medium and long-term planning, as well as ambition and maintaining momentum to achieve. It can be applied to both business and personal goals.
“Henry Ford said it best: ‘Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.’”
Take every opportunity
Like many successful agents, Joshua knew the real estate industry was for him from day one.
“I remember when I was in high school, we had a family friend who was in real estate,” he said. “He was very successful and the most charismatic person I knew. I think that was part of my attraction to real estate early on.”
Joshua soon began volunteering on weekends at a real estate agency near to where he grew up – a step he said was invaluable in putting him on the path to success.
“I helped out at open homes to get a foot in the door,” he remembered. “It was a great opportunity to see if the industry was right for me.”
After high school, Joshua began his career at PRDnationwide in residential property management.
“It was a baptism of fire, but also a great place to start,” he said. “I learnt negotiation skills and how to deal with different kinds of people from established agents. I was working at an agency that was dominant in residential sales and leasing, and was constantly learning. I was also exposed to agents doing commercial deals.
“Looking back, I know that what I learnt in those first few years really set me up to take on bigger roles relatively early in my career.”
After just two years, Joshua landed a role at Colliers International where, he spent 10 years in industrial sales and leasing, becoming the youngest director in the business. Then, at 28, he was recruited by CBRE as their youngest Managing Director to run the South Sydney office. Under his leadership, the office had the second highest percentage of profit in the Asia Pacific region and grew from a team of eight people to 35 in just four years.
Joshua was then appointed to the role of CBRE’s Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Investments Business for Sales and Leasing. The need to oversee hundreds of people in 25 offices presented Joshua with the challenge of moving from a geographically-focused strategy to a country-wide, helicopter view of the business.
When global giant Cushman & Wakefield sought to supercharge their business in the Pacific, they appointed Joshua as the Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand Capital Markets (industry jargon for large investment sales) and all sales and leasing businesses, as well as the NSW Managing Director of every business unit.
“These were two big roles in one,” he explained. “I was working to restructure and organise, as well as grow, the business. In a lot of ways, my focus was less on real estate and more on recruiting.”
Then in 2016, Joshua took on one of his biggest challenges and launched his own commercial agency – One Commercial. While he had a list of enviable achievements to his name and consistent career success, Joshua admitted the decision to step out on his own was not one he took lightly.
“It was a big decision for me,” he said. “I knew I wanted to do it at some point, and it’s fair to say I was at the top of my game, but it’s still very risky to run your own business.
“It’s exciting, but at the same time you do think ‘can I really do this?’ Anyone would have those doubts, especially in commercial where transaction volumes are lower than residential. But within eight weeks, I was again doing large transactions across the country and I’ve never looked back.”
“For me, it’s about having balls in the air. You want to have many leads and plenty of different deals on the go all the time, so if one deal falls over you aren’t brought to a standstill. Success for me is focusing on identifying opportunities and being good at winning new business.”
Striving for success
Finding himself on a steady trajectory to success very early on in his career, has given Joshua a unique understanding of how to help up-and-coming agents get a foothold in the industry.
“I did have a lot of opportunities early on in my career that were rare for my age,” he said. “But it all started by putting myself in the right situation.
“At the age of 21, I was part of the team in Colliers’ industrial group. It was a small team and I was surrounded by highly successful people. And that’s one of the best ways to learn – by being with the best and doing what they do.
“In that environment I thrived and gained confidence, which allowed me to take on more challenges. Most people who have worked with me will tell you that I have a serious work ethic. In my early years, I was out-working my competition, putting in longer hours and getting results.”
His advice for agents who are just starting out is simple.
“On day one, go out and find a successful agent and offer to work for free,” he said. “If you do an internship or volunteer, you’ll have incredible access. Observe what makes that agent tick, look ‘behind the curtain’ and find out if this is the career you really want. And if it is, then find ways to become indispensable.
“That’s how you’ll find success.”
An energy game
“There’s zero doubt for me that real estate, whether it’s commercial or residential, is an energy game,” he said. “You need to have enthusiasm for what you are doing and that builds momentum. I’m that guy who, after three days of holidays, wants to go back to work!
“If I believe in the deal, then our team and our clients can also see it clearly. That’s what wins business. You need the expertise, but it’s the energy and passion that clients really want.”
Joshua said that his energy for real estate is greater today than it’s ever been.
“I’ve really made a conscious effort to focus on what matters to me and what matters to success for the business,” he explained. “In a large commercial agency, it’s easy to get stuck in back-to-back meetings or be pulled in other directions. But today, running my own business, I make sure my whole day is spent doing what I love – transactions that produce results for clients.
“It’s clear to me now, after 25 years in senior roles at global firms, that I should have been recruiting more people who had started their own businesses. They are the people who make very rounded executives and have a laser focus on results.”
Joshua said having a clear definition of success and processes in place to consistently deliver results are key to maintaining momentum.
“You must have an incredible work ethic, consistency and enthusiasm to be successful in this business – and that’s as true for me today as it was when I was starting out.”
“Don’t get me wrong, we have more fun than most, but when its game time, it’s on,” he said.
“I worked out early on that deals can fall over as quickly as they start. As commercial agents, we can work for months on a deal and then, after one phone call, it can all be over and you get nothing for the time you have put in.
“For me, it’s about having balls in the air. You want to have many leads and plenty of different deals on the go all the time, so if one deal falls over you aren’t brought to a standstill. Success for me is focusing on identifying opportunities and being good at winning new business.
“I love going up against the big firms and knowing that our team, a smaller firm in Sydney, has been chosen because of our level of expertise. What’s important for me is that we can deliver personalised service to our clients, and the team that they meet is the team that handles the whole transaction.
“We also have a helicopter view of the national market, which makes our service different to agencies that focus on a smaller geographical patch or are part of a global business.”
Getting social
As the leader of One Commercial, Joshua is always looking for ways to expand the agency’s reach and ability to cultivate new clients. This year, for the first time, that strategy has included social media.
“In the past 12 months, I’ve really seen the power of social media for commercial agencies,” he said. “I think a lot of people would be surprised to hear that I’m actively working on building my profile and the businesses’ profile on social media.
“I was resistant to it for a long time, but I’ve realised it comes back to the concept of touch points. When I started out, I would print 500 letters, sign them and send them out to clients. But today, I can make the same, if not more, impact through engagement on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.
“I’ve quickly seen how effective social media can be to directly connect with existing and potential clients. Social media isn’t something that’s done in the commercial space as much as other areas of real estate, but if it’s done right then I think it’s incredibly valuable.”