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Amanda Marshall first started helping out in the family real estate business when she was just seven years old. Today, she’s taking their legacy to new heights.
For most kids, the weekend is a time to relax in the backyard or play with friends, but for third-generation real estate agent Amanda Marshall, it was also a time for letterbox drops.
“You can tell you’re the daughter of a real estate agent when you’re doing letterbox drops from the minute you can walk,” said Marshall.
“My sister and I, we used to go into the office, we’d fold the letterbox drops up, and then my nan would take us around and we’d go and drop them in everybody’s mailbox. I think we got five bucks, and Nan would take us to get a Macca’s milkshake on the way home.”
Marshall’s grandfather, Max Schaefer, founded independent Armidale real estate agency Uphill & Schaefer in 1971. The business flourished and became a core part of the Schaefer family, with Marshall’s mother, aunt and grandfather all working alongside each other.
“I was never pressured into it, I just really enjoy it, so naturally I just fell into it,” Marshall explained.
Informal assistance on school holidays quickly became a full-time property management career after Marshall left school. While working alongside family members isn’t everyone’s dream, Marshall never experienced it as anything but a positive.
“When you grow up in a business-minded family, business is business,” she explained. “When we’re at work, Mum’s not mum, Pop’s not pop, it’s Max and Jules.”
And even for those who were not part of the family, the “longevity of the staff there was amazing”.
When she was younger, Marshall never minded that the family “ended up talking shop” when they were at home – after all, real estate was what the family “lived and breathed, so of course we’re going to talk about it when we’re not at work”.
But now, as the owner of a brand-new business, Marshall is aware that the real estate life comes at a cost.
“I’ve got very young children, and I’m very well aware of the sacrifices that I have to make moving forward with my family,” said Marshall.
“Real estate is not a nine-to-five job, and for anyone coming into it that thinks it is, it’s probably not the right job for you.”
Shortly after leaving school, Marshall moved from the Armidale countryside to Brisbane. Detours in Darwin and Sydney soon followed, but now Marshall is happy working in Brisbane – the city where she feels most at home.
In February this year, she launched RE/MAX East Brisbane in Kangaroo Point, the most densely populated suburb in Brisbane.
It’s been a challenging few months for the RE/MAX East Brisbane team, but Marshall still finds herself wondering: “Why didn’t I do it sooner?”
“I don’t have a Plan B. This is it,” she said.
“It’s not easy – if you think it’s easy, it’s definitely not for you. It’s hard, it’s really hard. But just surround yourself with great people and people that you respect and admire, and you will learn too much just from them.”
For those looking to start up businesses of their own, Marshall has one piece of advice: go all in.
“Go and do your research, speak to lots of people. From having those chats, you never know where it might lead you.”
“If you want to do it, nothing will hold you back.”
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