Welcome to Episode 57 of our podcast, Courageous Conversations, hosted by Leanne Pilkington.
In this episode, our guest is Miriam Sandkuhler, CEO and Buyer/Vendor Advocate at Property Mavens, and best-selling author of Property Prosperity. Miriam talks about her transition to real estate from financial services, dealing with chronic fatigue and anxiety, launching her business, how to find courage and take a stand, her experience dealing with the gender pay gap and why you need to be an advocate before you become a service provider.
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00:50 – Miriam’s foray into real estate from a career in financial services
02:00 – Launching Property Mavens while suffering from chronic fatigue and other issues in her life
03:30 – Understanding how to be an advocate before selling a service; if you can’t sell, you won’t succeed as a buyer’s advocate
04:00 – How Miriam’s independence and security in having her own home (an income stream) gave her the inner strength to start her business despite her illness.
05:50 – Miriam’s challenging road with managing her anxiety
06:20 – The breathing technique Miriam learned from Christine Heart Savage
07:20 – When we get stressed, we forget to breathe, which is why these breathing techniques are vital
08:00 – Property Mavens’ new franchise model – they are also the first property advocacy business in Australia to do this.
10:20 – Mentoring and training her franchisees; laying out the importance of buyer advocacy
11:50 – Negotiating for your worth; Miriam’s advice for approaching those conversations (having the courage to value yourself and take a stand for yourself)
13:15 – Miriam’s own experience with asking for a pay rise that was reflected in his results.
15:00 – Discussing the stigma around the husband or partner supporting the woman, and how this plays a role in the gender pay gap (Miriam being told that she has a boyfriend and that she shouldn’t care about her lower than normal job package)
17:00 – We can choose to be victims or follow the path of acceptance, or choose to be empowered to make a change.
18:00 – The pay gaps in real estate and Miriam’s own experience with a lower commission rate than the males in her team for being new to the company…yet she had at least 12 months of real estate experience.
20:00 – No one’s got your back unless you have your own back, and we’re responsible for what we want in our lives, and be able to justify it assertively.
22:00 – A Principal’s role is to manage and lead the team and thriving, or be a selling agent competing with the team. You can’t do both and expect to have a successful business.
22:30 – Miriam’s own tips for how we can have our own courageous conversations (mentoring, courses, roleplay difficult conversations, etc).
24:00 – For more information on Property Mavens, visit propertymavens.com.au or connect with Miriam on LinkedIn