Young Entrepreneurs in Property

Jenna Kitchingham, YEP committee member, associate, Standard & Poor's

Today I was thinking about personal goals whilst listening to an interview from inspiring entrepreneur Susan Sly, when I started thinking about whether my goals are really big enough? How big should they be? What is my full potential? Then I wondered how many other people are experiencing the same issues, and feel that their personal goals do not push them to their potential.

By Lauren Burton, business development manager at Skansen Interiors and YEP committee member

Take a dollop of Shoreditch socialites, a fine cut of tomorrow's leaders and a splash of liquor and  you'll get a taste of YEP's 'Networking with a Kick' event, held last Wednesday 4 April in Bar Kick.



With a fun ambience and a competitive spirit, guests were placed into random groups of four and thrust into the tournaments of all tournaments - that's right... table football!

Networking with a kick was a marvellous way of reducing the initial awkwardness, which we have all felt when braving it alone into a room full of strangers. In fact, many of our guests chose this as their introduction to YEP and networking, knowing it would be easier to meet new people in a social context.
 


The energy-filled evening was a great success, and I think our guests would agree that their networking was taken to the next level.  After two hours of footballing and a neck-and-neck final, the winners took home champagne and YEP threw in some boogie prizes for the runners up to ease the pain of their loss.  Then the networking continued.

A fabulous evening and a lot of fun!

YEP's next event is a breakfast panel debate, "London Development - What's Next?" on Tuesday 24 April. The panel will be chaired by Peter Murray, chairman of NLA - London's Centre for the Built Environment.  For more information please visit www.yeplondon.co.uk.    

Nine Elms? Where the hell is that?! That will probably be the most common reaction to this blog's title, but over the next 10 to 15 years, that's set to change markedly. Nine Elms is the area fronting on to the River Thames between Battersea Park and Vauxhall, and is the subject of one of the most significant regeneration projects that London will see in a generation. Developers St James and St George (part of the Berkeley Group), Ballymore and Treasury Holdings are working to transform swathes of the area to provide a mix of new quality housing, commercial space, event and community space, retail units, hotels and a significant amount of public green space; even the US Embassy is relocating there.

To compound this change in fortune for the currently down-at-heel, off-the-radar area, a second round of consultation to determine the route of the Northern Line Extension is under way with completion of the line currently aiming for around 2015.

What motivates you? Why did you choose to work in property? Questions such as these will generate a broad range of answers as we all want something different from our work. 
However, from my experience of the real estate industry we seem to be a sociable bunch that enjoy spending time with our colleagues, clients, peers and fellow professionals. Our business is a people business and to get ahead you need to be able to cultivate and maintain relationships with a broad range of contacts.

Young Entrepreneurs in Property (YEP) offers members the ideal opportunity to learn and develop the relationship skills which form such an important part of our careers. At YEP's events you will meet and get to know the leaders of today's, as well as tomorrow's, companies. YEP is free to join and our next event is on Thursday 23rd June. 

Talking of events... .although the domestic and European rugby seasons are nearing their end the highlight of the sport's calendar was Sunday 15th May with the National Surveyor Sevens at Richmond Athletic Ground. This sporting spectacular was in its 40th year and for the winners, Jones Lang LaSalle, victory had been a long time coming as they last one the cup in 1977!

 

Many of us are gearing up for MIPIM, printing our schedules and wondering how we're going to cram everything in. This will be my 11th year, and even with fewer people, it will be as busy and crazy as always, and it'll be over before we've had a chance to breathe!

In fact, fewer people mean a better event in my opinion. Last year's MIPIM was more focused, more about doing business and, dare I say it, more serious. I am expecting and hoping for more of the same.

How has 2011 started for you? You may be enjoying the trappings of January; going to and from work in the dark, ambitious plans to get to the gym at least three times a week and a detox regime that would put a Shaolin monk to shame. We've got to wait until 28th March before we can put the clocks forward and claim back some of the daylight, but what else lies ahead in 2011?

Working as an agent in retail and leisure property, I will be watching with interest the fortunes of high street retailers. Christmas wasn't great for everyone, even the big names.  For example, Debenhams and Next have reported the snow in December cost them £30m and £22m respectively in lost revenue. We've recently seen HMV announce plans to cut 60 stores and plenty of other retailers are reviewing their portfolios to see where they could make "efficiencies".  

However, it's not all doom and gloom, there have been success stories too. SuperGroup announced a staggering 94% increase in sales year-on-year in the nine weeks to 2nd January 2011 and last week Sainsbury's leapfrogged Asda with its "best ever" Christmas to become the country's second-largest supermarket.

After two upbeat blogs from my fellow committee members I felt it was probably time for a bit of a rant....

One could be forgiven for thinking that the UK economy is some sort of theme park roller coaster, with talk of sharp declines, the dreaded double dip and my recent favourite, the triple whammy. The fate of the construction industry is inextricably linked to the status of the nation's general economy and hence most of us in the industry read these headlines with a vested interest. The question I would like to raise is are we buckling up for another white knuckle ride on the roller coaster, or do all of these comments better resemble a balloon ride - full of hot air?

This Wednesday saw the 18th Annual London Property Quiz held on behalf of Lionheart, the charity arm of the RICS.

Forget the RICS Housing Price Index or the QS practices' Tender Price Indices; I would argue an event like this is just as accurate a tool of gauging the direction of market forces and the general market outlook!

When the crunch bit with a vengeance at the end of 2008, one of the first money pots to disappear from company budgets was the one marked "Corporate Entertainment".

In the run up to Christmas 2010 though, the taps seem to have slowly been turned back on with diaries filling with Christmas-time parties and dinners, far more so than seen in the past two years, a suggestion that the good times are beginning to come back once more.

First hand evidence of this was available on Wednesday night with over 500 attendees from a broad range of companies attending on the night, from lawyers to surveyors, funders to developers.

I am delighted to report that I was witness last week to the resilience and resolve of young people in the property industry.

Despite the tube strike, against all the odds, over 170 people made it to the Young Entrepreneurs in Property (YEP) birthday party, sponsored by Sq-M2.

YEP is now eight years old and over the last 18 months we've seen a surge in membership, which now stands at about 1,750.

This just goes to show the value of and importance placed on networking in a difficult market. Job security is in question and generating business has fallen to everyone in the organisation, so being visible becomes a key strategic move.

But, it's not just about that - it's about sharing experiences and having people to talk to, who can help by being supportive or putting you in touch with others.

Times will no doubt be difficult as we head into 2011, but it's good to see that this is giving rise to an entrepreneurial spirit amongst our future leaders.