After seven years climbing the ladder at one of the UK’s leading property agencies, Charlie Knapp made the leap to start his own business with Keller Williams in early 2021. Being powered through the Oxygen Marketing Centre, the last two years have been a journey full of ups and downs! But with an incredibly successful second year now complete, Charlie is focused on the future, with big plans for his business.  

Charlie previously worked as a property manager and negotiator for a global agency in the salubrious locales of Henley On Thames and Windsor. His decision to go out on his own was fueled by quality of life, as opposed to financial reward. With a sizeable commute, set hours and the challenges of a demanding role, Charlie found it difficult to fit his hobbies and interests in around his job. Having learnt about Keller Williams a year before, he spent a long time researching the pros and cons before making the decision to launch his own business.

The first year of business was challenging, but ended profitably thanks to the support of his local centre and Charlie’s preparation for self-employment in advance of leaving his high street role:  

“Making the leap is scary. To mitigate that fear, I thoroughly prepared and planned ahead. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and that the success of the business was entirely down to me. The other thing I learned in the first year was to roll with the punches. It doesn’t all just magically happen – you have to put in plenty of effort.  

At the beginning, I learned that I was going to have to adapt. I took on listings from all over the place, as long as I felt I knew the area well enough to do a good job and provide a top-notch service. I didn’t carve out a niche with a particular type of property or client as I think it is important to understand all aspects of the market and offer a comprehensive set of skills.” 

Charlie’s flexible manner of working set him in good stead, as his listings now include a £3m block of apartments in Maidenhead, and numerous high-price properties across the south of England.  

Charlie is from an equestrian background, and so riding and keeping horses has always been an important part of his life. This, however, is now starting to play a part in his professional life, with equestrian listings now a key part of his business. With his connections in that world and his fairly unique understanding of equestrianism, these listings have led to a transformative second year.  

“My biggest success isn’t a single moment or transaction, but rather the fact that I’m now the owner of a successful business that allows me to enjoy everything I want to in life. Being able to have time to do the things I enjoy makes life more worthwhile.” 

Charlie’s partner, Nikki, is a joint director of the business, overseeing the administration and finance while Charlie manages the sales and lettings. The next step for his business is to consolidate his success and drive the business even further forward. When asked what advice Charlie would give to anyone else looking to start their own real estate business, he said:  

“Go into it with an open mind and take time to prepare before you make the jump. Keller Williams will support you with the tech, processes, finance and all the tough stuff, but ultimately it’s going to take discipline and a bit of money behind you in the first instance to get going. Don’t pigeon-hole yourself at the start, take the leads as they come and carve your niche once you’ve spent some time learning.  

Two years into it and life looks very different for me now, in the best of ways, and the journey has been every bit worth it.”

END OF PRESS RELEASE

About Keller Williams UK (KWUK)

KWUK currently has over 350 Associates and is part of the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count. Keller Williams has more than 1,100 offices and 200,000 associates across 56 countries. Since 1983 the Austin, Texas-based company has cultivated an agent-centric, technology-driven and education-based culture that rewards agents as stakeholders. 

The Keller Williams mission is to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning, lives worth living, experiences worth giving and legacies worth leaving.

Keller Williams’ philosophy is agent-centric and values-based, helping agents grow their own businesses using proven principles and models, training and technology and giving guidance, nurture and support to succeed. 

Keller Williams is changing the face of real estate in the UK by moving the property industry from transactional to relationship-based engagement.

Contact:

[email protected]

www.kwuk.com 

With over 20 years’ experience in the property industry, Sue Wragg launched her own business powered with KWUK in 2020 – and after seeing early success brought her husband George on board as her business partner. The pair are now valued local property experts in their home village of Rossington and the nearby City of Doncaster, enjoying the success and flexibility of running their own real estate business. The success and models of KW allow the entrepreneurial couple to earn twice the industry standard commission rate when selling client’s home – such is the attention to detail and level of service they offer.

It all began when Sue was made aware of the opportunity with KW by a contact who was an existing Team Leader with a Market Centre. Having always wanted to run her own property business but put off by the pricey technology and platform fees, the opportunity to launch with KW’s assistance and support was in her words, “a no brainer!”. To start off with, Sue continued working with her large, corporate employer whilst she put things in place to launch, but after being asked to return to an office, mid-pandemic, she decided enough was enough and the time was now.

“Neither George nor I are risk takers. He was a military man for 34 years and I was always in full-time employment with large real estate agencies or housebuilders. But I was confident that this was my opportunity to fulfil my dream of having my own estate agency business. And the tools and support offered by Keller Williams made it an easy decision.”

Fast forward to May 2023, and growth has been exponential, particularly since committing to the models, training and advice shared by local leadership:

“The team at KW Plus guided us to use the 411-productivity tool and held us accountable – which has been fundamental to our success. We were enjoying good results prior to this year, but since implementing Claire Reading’s advice in January, we have seen significant growth each and every month. The support from the Regional Leadership, Plus and Leeds Market Centres really has made all the difference. I had to unlearn a lot of bad habits and relearn the Keller Williams way, which is much more customer focused, and the results of doing so were transformational.”

So far this year, George and Sue have secured 26 listings and were recently approached to manage lettings, an entirely new arm of their business. As such, they’ve brought on their first team member as well and an assistant to manage bookings and administration.

There’s a clear split of work, with George managing off-market and investment properties, as well as all viewings, whilst Sue carries the deal forward from the point of sale and manages administration. But the couple carry out every valuation together. George explained why:

“We do things this way because we haven’t lost many valuations that we have carried out together. I think people like the dynamic between us; we bounce off each other. I suppose that’s what happens when you’ve been as married as long as we have!”

The couple are not only reaping the rewards of a successful business, but also enjoying the flexibility it gives them. With Sue now believing herself to be “unemployable” now that’s she’s used to being her own boss, the couple have control over their own time and the ability to spend it with their new grandchild. And that’s their biggest success so far. The couple also appreciate the way they’ve become better known in the local community.

When asked what advice they’d give someone looking to start their own business, Sue answered:

“Do your research and be prepared to work hard. And if you’re starting your business with Keller Williams, read the big red book once a quarter. That’s what I’ve been doing and I find something invaluable each and every time I read it. It’s not rocket science. We’ve done the training, implemented what we’ve learned and made a success of it. Consistency is key.”

George’s answer was a little more philosophical:

“The opportunity is far greater than your fear of doing. Since starting this journey we haven’t looked back.”

George and Sue are a sterling example of what it means to live a life by design and that, with a little hard work, can be achieved with the Keller Williams way.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

About Keller Williams UK (KWUK)

KWUK currently has over 350 Associates and is part of the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count. Keller Williams has more than 1,100 offices and 200,000 associates across 56 countries. Since 1983 the Austin, Texas-based company has cultivated an agent-centric, technology-driven and education-based culture that rewards agents as stakeholders. 

The Keller Williams mission is to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning, lives worth living, experiences worth giving and legacies worth leaving.

Keller Williams’ philosophy is agent-centric and values-based, helping agents grow their own businesses using proven principles and models, training and technology and giving guidance, nurture and support to succeed. 

Keller Williams is changing the face of real estate in the UK by moving the property industry from transactional to relationship-based engagement.

Contact:

[email protected]

www.kwuk.com 

In April this year, KWUK celebrated the success of the entrepreneurs empowered through the real estate network with its quarterly State of Your Company (SOYC) Awards. These awards recognise the successes of agents (who run their own businesses) across the country, and have excelled in doing so. The SOYC Awards take place quarterly as part of a wider meeting which includes key industry updates as well as KW internal updates such as developments in training and technology offerings. During the awards, celebrated agents and their achievements are shared with associates across the UK.

This quarter’s first place winners for each category are listed below: