Hard work and some considered risk-taking has served Alan Bourke well.
ALAN Bourke believes the most successful businesses are those in which the owner takes on a certain amount of personal risk.
Perhaps its ironic, then, that the principal of Alan Bourke Real Estate, which has stood on the same patch of Canning Highway land opposite the Como Hotel since 1988, says his only regret in business is his relative conservatism.
“I think I have been a risk taker, but not to the extent of a number of other people,” Mr Bourke told WA Business News.
“There are times when I wish that I’d bought another property, there are two or three of those where I’d wish I’d been a bit firmer and bought.
“A lot of people look back and say I’ve been very lucky in business, but I hate that word.
“Any real business person risks everything, they put their house on the line, and they hope through blood, sweat and tears the business will achieve what it needs to.
“All of us (in real estate) work nearly six days a week, and for many years I worked seven days a week. I reckon I’ve earned every cent I’ve got.
“They always talk about perseverance and perspiration, I guess that’s really what it’s all about; there’s a little bit of inspiration and there’s a whole lot of perspiration.”
Despite his investment regrets, which he describes as minor, Mr Bourke has built a successful real estate business that has stood the test of time.
But it hasn’t always been easy.
“We’ve got a pub on one corner and a psychiatrist on the other; it’s pretty appropriate I reckon,” Mr Bourke says.
“In every business, at times you hit a wall. Whether it’s a motivational wall or a financial wall, at times you think ‘this has gotten too hard’.
“I still remember sitting on my back step of my house with my wife, Julie, 10 years ago saying: ‘we need another $180,000 from the bank to keep this thing going’, and at times like that you say ‘yep, let’s bite the bullet’ and you keep on going.”
Alan Bourke Real Estate survived that scare, and Mr Bourke attributes his continued success to a comprehensive regime of self-improvement and additional training.
“I went to a seminar a number of years ago, and the seminar was titled, ‘Carl Lewis has five coaches, how many do you have?’,” he says.
“Anyone in business has got to look at having external coaches come into your organisation. Sometimes to just look at your personal coaching and give you assistance from time to time.
“I have had the benefit of life coaches, I’ve had financial coaches come in, we’ve had strategy coaches, and you need to learn things.
“Just like Carl Lewis had starting coaches, finishing coaches and fitness coaches, its important to know you don’t have to do it on your own, you can go out into the outside world and get consultants and coaches and improve your knowledge and your motivation from time to time.”
Along with a commitment to training and education, Mr Bourke says an important part of any individual’s success in real estate is to understand the importance of self-branding and self-promotion.
“You start off in this industry as a salesperson and you start to understand that you’re running your own brand under an umbrella,” he says.
“It’s Alan incorporated, so to speak, and you have to look at your own business within a business, how you increase your own branding inside someone else’s business, and how you attract your clients.
“You’ve also got to look at everything from a long-term perspective, not just a short-term gain.”
The hard yards have obviously paid off, and alongside his real estate business Mr Bourke is president of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, a role he took on in November, taking over from Rob Druitt.
He says his role isn’t to set the direction of the organisation, rather to ensure it remains on its present course.
“The president is very much at the helm, knowing the direction of the boat, so the president doesn’t get in, madly spin the wheel and change the direction of the organisation,” Mr Bourke says.
“It has its course plotted, and the role of the president is to make sure that whatever knocks the organisation takes, the president and the council steer the ship on its course.”
One of the most challenging knocks Mr Bourke has experienced in his short time at the helm of REIWA is the prevalent attitude common in the local real estate market.
“The challenge for us in the real estate industry is that everyone has this boom/bust mentality; there’s a razor tooth psychology that says we’re either in a boom or a bust,” he says.
“This year, 2010, will be a business-as-usual sort of year, going back to long-term averages, and people who have been monitoring it for the last five years are so used to it going up and down, to have a gentle rise is going to be unusual for these people.
“The challenge is a matter of toning down the expectations of a lot of the sellers, to say ‘hey, there are a lot of breaks in this, interest rates are going to rise, there’s high vacancy, there’s a lot of factors that are going to keep it steady in the year 2010 and not go berserk.’
“The problem we have with all sellers is, the minute Gorgon is announced, or some other project is announced people expect their house is going to double in value.
“It’s a matter of keeping a lid on expectations. Some people will obviously make good money, but we need to hose down over-enthusiasm.”
How would you like to be remembered?
As a person who gave back in business and for society, not someone who just took.
What's something few people would know about you?
Yesterday I went to a medical for a scuba course, and apparently I have the lungs of a 39 year old - 54-year-old skin but 39-year-old lungs.
Favourite thing about Perth,
The water - the beaches and the river. I live near it, and I'm in it, on it or under it every day of the week.
What's Perth missing?
A soul inside the city. I'd like to see the Melbourne-style persona brought over to Perth, where the inner-city is a vibrant place to be after hours.
Top business tip
Develop a long-term perspective, and treat every customer as a customer for life.
A million dollars and one day to spend it?
I wouldn't need a day; I could get rid of it in a couple of minutes.
Three desert island items?
Funnily enough I'd take a boat so I could cruise around. Seriously though, I'd take some snorkelling gear, a damn good book, and a nice gin and tonic.
Last book you read?
And what the dog saw, by Malcolm Gladwell.
Describe yourself in three words.
Friendly, outgoing, loyal.
