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Jennifer Macquarie from the Fountaindale Group

Finding a niche market has always been an angle that can help you get an edge on the market, but how do you discover what that niche is and what they want? We will explore this question and more as we speak with second generation developer Jennifer Macquarie.

Jennifer is from the Fountaindale Group and she has worked in residential property development for more than 25 years, after learning the business from her property developer father. Jennifer and her brother have expanded the family business and have so far completed more than 80 projects.

Jennifer has tertiary qualifications in marketing and finance, and is also a licensed real estate agent, heading up the group’s sales team. She certainly has an interesting story to tell, and I am sure you will pick up lots of gold nuggets from her experience so far.

In this conversation we cover the importance of discovering niche markets, what its like working in a family business, women in property development and why the structure of a project makes such a big impact on its success.

Keep an ear out for a growing market that Jennifer and me both feel is under-serviced.

Property Development Training

If you are interested in learning the fundamentals of property development, in your own time and at your own pace, then be sure to head over to www.propertydevelopertraining.com and take a look. I take you step by step through the development process so you know exactly what is needed to find a site, run a feasibility and complete a small scale property development, be that a duplex or 3 or 4 unit site. The training includes a bonus program called Taking It To The Next Level for people who may want to go into developing full-time, along with another bonus course called Raising Capital which covers how to raise money for your projects.

So head over to propertydevelopertraining.com and take a look… I would love to see you on the inside…

Property Developer Quiz

Keen to find out how ready you might be to become a developer? Then take the Property Developer Quiz (https://www.propertydevelopertraining.com/quiz) and get a sense of where you are at…

Become a Million Dollar Property Developer

Grab my book Become a Million Dollar Property Developer about my journey into property development. This book is ideal for anyone who intends to get into small-scale property development and wants an insider’s guide to successfully obtaining wealth, fulfilment, and glory.

In this book, Justin will share how he succeeded in delivering a 20-townhouse project on his first property development project and what he learned along the way.

Many people have a dream of becoming a property developer. They aspire to build properties, grow portfolios, and amass great wealth. However, many people often struggle with making the leap into property development.

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Lessons for property developers

Here’s a couple of things I took away from my conversation with Jennifer.

1. Understand the gap in the market that your stock is going to fill

Jennifer explained how she is always looking at producing stock that fills a hole in the market, for example smaller units that may suit regional women coming out of relationships, if you can find these niches you should enjoy more success in selling your products, and it may help your business to grow and evolve. Keep your eyes and ears open for market feedback about gaps in what is being offered.

2. Boost your marketing budget when the market softens

Having a marketing background has helped Jennifer evolve and adapt to different market conditions, and with the current softening of the markets she has ramped up her marketing budget. Jennifer mentioned that she is doing a lot of Facebook marketing and finding that females respond far better to her campaigns. So it may be worthwhile bumping up your marketing spend but being more targeted in how you approach your audience.

3. Be careful about over leveraging

Jennifer shared her experience of scraping through the GFC and having to let staff go, and how many developers who over leveraged got caught out. It taught her a lesson to be conservative with the gearing on their projects, and she feels this has served them well. Jennifer also touched on the importance of getting your financial structure right and how much that can help the success of the project. Partnering with land owners has been another way that Jennifer has helped with de-risking projects and keeping the gearing low, so perhaps you could try something similar.

Okay, if you enjoyed that chat with Jennifer then you may enjoy my chat with my old mentor Troy Harris in episode 45. Troy and me discuss many things about developing including some of the myths about being a developer. I’m sure you will enjoy Troy’s story of going from toy shop owner to successful developer, so jump back to episode 45 for a listen.

Alright, that’s just about it for this episode, remember to drop a comment in iTunes if you are enjoying the show. If you are feeling fired up and want to take action on learning how to develop property, then email me, justin@propertydeveloperpodcast.com to find out more about the property developing mentoring program.

So until next time, may you find a way to capture the attention of a niche audience…

Links

Fountaindale Group – http://www.fountaindale.net.au
Justin’s walkthrough of his latest project – https://youtu.be/UzpwHAA949E
realestate.com article – https://www.realestate.com.au/news/is-this-melbournes-most-ott-sales-pitch/