Trust, communication and hard work: the cornerstones of success
In our July newsletter, the interviewer becomes the interviewee. This month, I'm in the hot seat to talk about why being a chartered surveyor and an independent valuation consultant are so important to me.
I set up Justin Mason Valuation Consultancy in 2018 and we will look at what has changed over the past three and a half years. I explain how I have met the challenges of establishing the business, building a personal brand and managing my own wellbeing, as well as adapting to varying levels of demand and the changing needs of my clients and the profession as a whole.
Best wishes,
Justin Mason
020 3409 0894
justin@justinmasonvaluation.com
|
|
Trust, communication and hard work: the cornerstones of success
Please share a bit about your background and your business.
As a chartered surveyor, people often wonder what my job actually entails. After starting out as a commercial property surveyor back in the 1990s, I went on to specialise as a residential surveyor in London in the early noughties. Having cut my teeth, I then had the opportunity in 2007 to join the Residential Valuation and Consultancy team at Knight Frank, where I started valuing property in prime central London.
I was with Knight Frank for 10 years and I saw the market go from the doldrums right the way through to the high peaks in 2014 and 2015 and the present day. I was doing mostly secured lending work, but wanted to stretch myself and so I became an expert witness, valuing property for matrimonial disputes or anything that required high-level advice in prime central London.
Having established myself with several different clients – from private clients to divorce lawyers and accountants – I decided to go out on my own. At the time, I felt there was a gap in the market for somebody who was truly independent.
There were a lot of people who didn’t feel comfortable dealing with a large corporate; they would use them for certain things, but when they were having to make the really hard decisions in life they wanted somebody who was able to work with them on a bespoke basis and to be directly accountable to them.
I founded Justin Mason Valuation Consultancy in 2018, initially doing valuations and surveys. However, I specialised in valuations very quickly because demand was so great. Over the last three and a half years, I have been able to grow and develop the business and my personal brand and I am pleased to have a bedrock of international clients.
What makes you tick as an independent valuer?
The difference between working for a large corporate and working for myself is that I spend time with my clients and properly get to know them. I get the satisfaction of knowing that my work makes a difference to them.
When you are a small firm working in a high-end sector like this, it’s totally driven by quality. For me, that means making a connection and knowing your clients and their needs inside out, so that you can give them the best advice possible. If you talk to anybody who provides professional services and they really enjoy what they do, they will want to enhance somebody else’s experience of a decision and give them confidence in their own decision-making.
What advice would you give to an in-house valuer who is thinking about setting up their own business?
When you start any business, you have to be absolutely clear in your mind that the business will develop a life of its own. What is important is what your clients think about your business. You have to be mindful of that and try to manage it by working hard on your marketing strategies. Do not try to be all things to all people. Keep it tight, keep it specific and make it about what people see in you and what no-one else can provide.
Another important foundation of the business is putting your own well-being at the heart of things; you have to look after yourself, you have to keep on top of your training and you have to make sure you are there for your clients – and that’s a really difficult balance for many people. It’s important to give yourself the space to stand back, look at what you are doing and decide what it is that you want to do and how things are going to change in the future.
What is your business vision for the next year?
I plan to continue what I'm doing, but make it bigger and better. Looking to the future, the key for me is to make sure we are responding to our clients' needs. I am always trying to incorporate new elements and services as a result of our clients' requirements.
We are already going through some important changes in property and real estate, as both residential and commercial are changing so quickly and dramatically. But I think we are going to see a greater change and some unexpected things in the property market over the next year. There are already rumbles on the horizon and we have yet to see the full-blown long-term effect of the pandemic.
There's also a raft of young people reaching the stage where they want to form their own businesses and they want to have a different, more flexible integration of work and home. This circles back to what I said earlier about putting one's own well-being first. Young people especially are going to look at other ways of working – frankly, they don’t accept the compromise that I think perhaps some of us did 20 or 30 years ago. Their expectations are much higher – and why shouldn’t they be? Life is a precious thing and you only get to do it once.
Is there one thing that you wish you had known 10 years ago that you know now?
I wish I had known that success can take many different forms and that to feel fulfilled or successful, you have to think hard about what it is that you are doing. Success is not always financial. For me, it is running a business that has substance and that enhances and improves people’s lives. I believe very strongly in being a chartered surveyor and the contribution we make to the welfare and stability of society.
Can you recommend a favourite book?
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee. At the age of 18, I found myself having to retake my A-levels after a disastrous first attempt and had very little confidence in myself, my purpose and abilities. Worse still, my parents and siblings had also lost a lot of faith in me. Something in this book inspired me and a friend to hitchhike to Paris in the middle of December with little money, no hotel booked and barely a word of French between us. It taught me that we have everything we need to survive and flourish.
For business, I’d recommend Unsexy Business by Jamie Waller, Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet. All three have influenced me greatly but, as a bit of pure enjoyment, I also enjoyed the following talks about the nature of fear and learning by a young coach called Trevor Ragan: 'How to overcome fear', 'Learning like a jungle tiger' and 'How to build a growth mindset'.
Come rain or shine in London, where do you go to reflect and gain some balance if life is a little hectic?
I find the V&A Museum a place of great inspiration. It has some quiet corners if you know where to look and the blend of the aesthetic, culture and craft appeals to me strongly. It also gives me a sense of continuity; I’ve always approached my profession of valuation as a lifelong skill to be passed on to other generations.
Is there a memory or moment in your life that you have passed onto others as a lesson?
I wouldn’t dare to preach as I think the best lessons are ones that you teach yourself, but I’ve always tried to encourage my children never to base their sense of self-worth on their treatment by their peers or adults. Both have struggled to find their niche, but by being brave and being themselves, they’ve grown in confidence, asserted themselves and rewritten the narrative that others have attempted to force upon them. Yes, there have been tears along the journey, but they have a strong sense of self-identity and know that they are loved and valued by those friends and family that really matter. Connection is vital, but it’s all about quality and not quantity. As I said earlier, we have everything we need to survive and flourish.
For a full copy of the interview, please get in touch with Justin - justin@justinmasonvaluation.com
|
|
|
|
