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Team culture is everything to this Central Coast agent, who places a lot of stock in the power of nurturing relationships.
Cathy Baker, the principal of Belle Property Central Coast with offices in Killcare and Terrigal, knows about the power of people and the big impact one person can have on your life. The industry veteran of 13 years had never worked in real estate or given it any consideration before a connection convinced her that her skill set was a good fit for property.
“I was offered a job by a friend who saw potential in me as an agent. I had never considered real estate as a career and knew little about the role,” she explained about her start in the industry.
More than a decade on and the principal is firmly convinced that making and maintaining connections is key.
It is, in fact, part of what makes her so good at the job that relies on a deep rootedness in one’s local community – and Cathy Baker certainly is that. On top of being involved in all aspects of residential real estate in the Central Coast area, with teams to deal with sales, long-term rentals and holiday lets, she also owns a lifestyle design store, runs a mentoring program and publishes a quarterly magazine, Central Coast Life & Style, highlighting the area’s hidden gems.
In all of these endeavours, she is focused on a single motivating outlook: to make each client relationship one that lasts a lifetime.
“I have built my businesses based on a long-term focus: clients for life,” she explained.
“I treasure every client interaction and everyone that I do business with.”
Now with a team of over 40, if the growth of her real estate business doesn’t speak to the power of that proposition, then perhaps her achievement in sales does: Ms Baker has long been present on REB’s lists of top agents and award winners, and in 2023 she was named to all three rankings, coming in 19th on REB’s Top 50 Women in Real Estate, 42nd on REB’s Top 50 Agents NSW, and 86th on REB’s Top 100 Agents.
But even with those standout results, she considers her biggest achievement of the year so far not to be one associated with numbers – whether rankings or sales. Instead, it’s something less quantifiable.
“My biggest achievement for 2023 was getting the dynamics and culture of my team to a level that makes my heart sing,” Ms Baker said.
“It’s so special to have such a special team of people that are all so invested in providing exceptional service,” she added.
Finding a team of professionals across her businesses who value connections and see the wisdom in her client approach has always been of utmost importance to the business owner.
In fact that’s also why one of her biggest challenges has been in recruiting and maintaining staff that hold the same values – not market swings or revenue growth.
“The biggest challenge has also been finding the right people that fit the long-term vision for the business and also fit with the culture of our team,” she said.
It’s no surprise that looking ahead, her future goals are similarly focused on personal development for both herself and those valued members of her business community.
“I am excited for a new chapter in my life and also in my business, growing my team and expanding their roles. [That, and] creating new lifestyle services for our clients and new value propositions.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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