Leanne Taylor is very passionate about small business and here’s why.
“I didn’t get here by luck. I just received a Government Grant through JOBSNSW after working with our local representative for months to get this over the line. The focus was on supporting the real estate industry into the future as there is a lot of disruptive business models entering the market,” says this spirited solopreneur.
She adds, “We have to remember that agents provide a great service so this is just a streamlined way to connect from your home without knocking on doors. It starts the conversation and builds rapport. It’s a changing digital world so we all have to embrace it or get left behind doing much more leg work than we need to.”
She shares her journey so far in small business here:
Q. What is Match My Ride?
It’s a platform that connects people who want to buy a car with dealers. Buyers fill out a wish list in terms of price point, make, model, kilometres and that instantly goes to a dealer network. You can put your feet up and the dealer network will do all the running around for you and come back with some options.
Q. How did you get those dealer networks on board?
Being a single mother, and a woman, it was extremely hard because I’ve been working two jobs for the last four to five years trying to push this forward. I started by pounding the pavement, knocking on doors and getting some awareness there. I had some great feedback and had a few dealers get on board, then there were a few more. LinkedIn has been quite helpful. I’ve had a lot of people just look at my profile and say what a great idea it was and that they’d like to come on board
Q. So how does it work?
So the dealer gets the lead for free, then if a successful sale is made, there’s a $200 fee I take. It can get really expensive for dealers to list on other sites, so $200 per car is reasonable. I’m into affordability. I’d rather have a lot of dealers getting a lot of work than having a few and then taking the money out of their pocket before they can get it.
Q. How have you stood out?
It’s been tough – I’d get asked if I’d actually come up with the idea or if someone else had. Lots of people didn’t have time for me. I was thinking about hiring a man to go around and knock on the doors. I’m an ex police officer, so you know I worked in a male dominated area and probably because of my uniform, people were a little bit easier to talk to than if I’m going in without a uniform.
I did a lot of research on car dealers, basically, how the operation works, how the vehicles come in, what they’re charged to list on other sites. So I’d have the numbers and say “you’re charged a $1200 buy-in and $35 per click for your other platform. some dealers are getting between $300-500 worth of clicks over the weekend, so how many cars do you need to sell to actually pay for that and make a profit?” Once you have the numbers and show how you can save them money, it’s easier.
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Q. What’s your best advice for others?
They have to really study the field they’re in. Just because you have an idea doesn’t mean it’s going to work. Do as much research as possible.
Q. What is your new project Match My Home all about?
We are a service which opens in September 2017. It’s a One Stop Shop for Buyers and Sellers to get access to real estate agents quickly and efficiently online.
It’s in two parts-Find My Home: The customer puts in their price point, desired location and property type and pushes send. This then goes to the agents in that area in real time. They will then call the customer within 24hrs with any possible ‘matches’.
Secondly-Sell My Home: The customer enters their address and contact details and pushes send. The agents in that area will then Bid for their business by emailing them all their fees and charges. It’s transparent and the customer can sit at home and make an informed decision.
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