MAIN IMAGE: Marcelle Lovell – owner of Get Set Real Estate
Kerry Dimmer
Two years after graduating from the Rebosa Business Leader (RBL) programme, Marcelle Lovell has proven that the skills acquired from her participation drive success. In Marcelle’s case, her business plan submission, as an element of the course for which she received full marks, led to her opening her own agency, Get Set Real Estate, in Plumstead, Cape Town.
Marcelle did not anticipate that her 23-year career in banking would awaken an entrepreneurial spirit, leading her to explore business ownership of a pizza restaurant and an informal trading enterprise.
The desire to be a successful and passionate business owner intensified once she discovered real estate. “My husband was an estate agent at the time and I became interested in getting involved and working alongside him,” says Marcelle, who then had to juggle being a mother of three children along with studies and household chores. Yet, this was the burden of being a woman who grew up “during the ‘struggle’ in a so-called ‘coloured’ family and in a single-parent household,” she says.
Life became tougher after she lost her role-model mother when Marcelle was in her twenties. “I had to become tough and learn to fend for myself,” which is a characteristic that led her to join the RBL, as she sought to pursue an opportunity to fulfil her love for real estate and address her entrepreneurial desires.
“At the time, the curricula comprised 10 modules from the strategic positioning of a real estate business across communication, marketing, compliance, sales, recruitment, operational, financial, and IT. The final project was to submit a business plan.”
Instead of fantasising about a strategy, Marcelle was now equipped with the skills and “wings” acquired from her attendance at the RBL to formulate a plan for her future business. “I knew from Day One what I wanted the outcome of the programme to be for me. I lapped up everything I was taught because I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
The top marks achieved gave Marcelle the confidence to open Get Set Real Estate, which she currently operates from her home, but in her inimitable way, she is determined to deepen the business’s representation in other locations. With two estate agents on board, and with the first year of operation concluded, she is chuffed at how quickly they have built up their rental and referral network.
“Our clients love our sound business ethics and that we operate with integrity and trust. We haven’t even actively marketed our business as a result, but it’s also true that we don’t yet have sufficient manpower to take on this task,” explains Marcelle. But that will come, especially as Marcelle further applies the knowledge she acquired from the RBL.
“The programme is a great way to enter the real estate market as a business owner: the curriculum gives one direction; the coaches are excellent and knowledgeable; the sponsors, leaders and the speakers are awesome and willingly share so much of the do’s and don’ts of the real estate industry.
“I would wholeheartedly recommend the RBL to anyone thinking of starting a real estate business. It’s like a good book or a great movie that’s a must-read or watch!” concludes Marcelle.
