Danielle Boyd was just 13 when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, but she hasnโt let it stop her chasing her dreams. From reception to general manager, the Wiseberry agent has worked her way up the ladder with a positive, never-give-up attitude. At just 29, Danielle says sheโs only just getting started.
If you put a hurdle in front of Danielle Boyd, you better believe sheโs going to jump it.
At just 29, the effervescent real estate professional has overcome a serious health condition, which threatened her life on three occasions, to become the general manager at Wiseberry Taree.
She fulfilled her lifelong dream to run and grow a real estate team and office of her own earlier this year, arriving at the Victoria St office to witness the challenging aftermath of the March NSW floods.
The first time Danielle made the two-and-a-half-hour trip from Wyong, where she previously lived, to Taree, the town was still cut off by floodwaters, and she had to turn back.
โA couple of days later, I got in,โ she recalls.
โI pulled up at the office, and when I walked in, Iโll never forget it because the whole office was a mess from being flooded.
โIt was all mud. It was horrible, and I stood at the door holding back the tears.
โAt that moment, I was thinking, โWhat have I done?โโ
A NEW BEGINNING
What Danielle had done was pick up her comfortable life in Wyong, where she had family and friends, and moved more than 200km away.
โI moved from the Central Coast to Taree on my own, no partner, no children,โ she says.
โI didnโt know anyone; I just packed up and did it.โ
Danielleโs first day in Taree was spent ripping up carpet and knocking down walls in the office with a few local firefighters on hand to help out.
The first two weeks were spent cleaning up, and the following two consisted of renovating to ensure the office once again looked like a real estate agency.
โIt took about four weeks because everyone in town needed trades, and there were backorders on things like carpet and flooring,โ Danielle explains.
โWeโre still waiting on things even now, but itโs nothing too bad.โ
Danielleโs career leading up to her becoming general manager at Taree is just as eventful.
A CHALLENGING DIAGNOSIS
At just 13 years old, she was diagnosed with Crohnโs disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the whole digestive tract.
While Danielle claims the title of being the first child in the country to trial chemotherapy as a treatment for the condition, it, unfortunately, didnโt work or aid her recovery, and thereโs still no cure for Crohnโs disease.
โThey (doctors) did everything they could for me between the ages of 13 and 16, and then they just said, โWe canโt do any more. We need to take your large intestineโ,โ she says.
โSo they went in, and they took my large intestine, and thatโs when I was given the ileostomy bag.โ
Over the next four years, Danielle was in and out of the hospital with various complications, including some that were life-threatening.
She had a severe reaction to medication and later developed an infection post-surgery that doctors caught just before it turned septic.
NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
But it was Danielleโs third life-threatening complication that saw her just an hour away from death.
She was working in real estate at the time and was at home cooking dinner with her partner when she started feeling unwell and vomiting.
A trip to the doctor saw her diagnosed with gastritis and sent home with pain medication.
Still in severe pain the next day, Danielle went to the hospital, only to be given the same diagnosis and sent home with morphine.
โI knew something wasnโt right, so I said to my partner, โYou need to take me to John Hunter Hospital because Iโm not okโ,โ Danielle recalls.
โWhen we got to John Hunter Hospital, they rushed me straight in for emergency surgery because my bowel had started perforating.
โLater, they told me that 50 minutes is all that I would have had left.โ
THE LUCKY ONE
Danielle says her illness and close brushes with death have fuelled her to live life to the fullest and to be grateful for every day.
She says she has met some inspiring people through her illness, but not all of them have made it, making her realise sheโs one of the lucky ones.
โWhen youโve come close a couple of times yourself, and youโve met people that havenโt made it, it just really makes you go, โIโm very gratefulโ,โ Danielle says.
โI might have this bag attached to me for the rest of my life, but when Iโm dressed, you donโt know (itโs there).
โIโm very lucky. I was told Iโd never work full-time, so that’s why when I work, I work really hard. Being told you wouldnโt be able to do something and then doing it means I just want to go all in.
โIโm like that with every aspect of my life because you really have no idea when things can take an unexpected turn.โ
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE FUELS HER CAREER
Danielleโs career in real estate started eight years ago and was fuelled by her own experience of being unable to secure a rental property.
At just 18, Danielle didnโt have a rental history, and she struggled to find a landlord and agency to take her on.
After undergoing surgery for her Crohnโs disease, Danielle finally found somewhere to live with a department of housing unit.
โBecause I struggled so hard to get a rental for myself, thatโs when I decided to get into real estate because I wanted to help people secure accommodation,โ she says.
Danielle went to TAFE and got her Certificate IV in Property Services and then her Certificate of Registration before calling and handing in her resume at every local real estate agency.
The tactic worked, and she got a job with Raine & Horne Wyong on reception.
She also got experience in sales administration and property management, before moving to Raine & Horne Lake Munmorah, which was then bought by Wiseberry.
โFrom there, I became Kimberley Burkeโs personal assistant, and then Darin (Butcher) moved me into property management where I worked for 18 months and managed more than 200 rental properties,โ Danielle says.
โThe property management role is what well and truly pushed me outside my comfort zone, and itโs where I learnt my confidence.
โI went from being a personal assistant where I was told what to do, or where I asked what I should do, to running a portfolio of over 200 properties where I was in control, I had to make the decisions and I had to run it my way.โ
THE GREATEST LESSON
Danielle says one of the greatest lessons she learnt in property management was not to take things personally or to take work home with her.
She says itโs a fine balancing act between caring enough to develop a trusted relationship with landlords and tenants and being able to switch off once you leave the office.
But Danielle stresses there is lots of enjoyment working in property management, and she loved nothing more than catching up with tenants during their first periodic inspection.
โItโs really rewarding when you do your first routine inspection, and you see a tenant come in and make a property that youโve seen vacant their home,โ she says.
โWhen you approve someoneโs application as a tenant, it really does have the power to change their lives.
โYouโve given them a home in a location that theyโve always wanted, that is close to their childrenโs school and you watch them turn it into their home, and you get to watch their kids grow up. Thatโs rewarding.โ
REACHING HER GOAL
Despite her clear love of property management, Danielle says when Darin offered her the position as general manager at Taree, it was a no-brainer.
โGeneral manager was always my end goal,โ she says.
โWhenever I sat down with Darin and did my goals and where I wanted to get to, I always said general manager.
โSo when I was offered general manager at 29, I couldnโt say no.โ
Taking on the Taree agency has also seen Danielle switch to becoming a selling agent – something she only had limited experience in before this role.
But she says having worked in almost all facets of real estate earlier in her career and working as Kimberleyโs PA had stood her in good stead.
โI was always in awe of her negotiation skills, and I listened to her going back and forth with offers,โ Danielle explains.
โI studied her vendor management, how she built relationships with buyers and I understood the whole sales administration process.
โI had the background, the understanding and the knowledge, so it made it (switching to sales) quite easy.โ
Danielleโs first sale at Taree came from a buyer that walked into the office just to see what she had listed.
โThey said, โThis is what weโre afterโ and I said, โThis is the one for youโ,โ she says.
โIt turns out they were from the central coast, so we were talking for 20 minutes about how different it is here in Taree to the coast, and then I took them out to the property.
โI sold them the property then and there, on the spot.โ
ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
Danielle says sheโs now able to live with Crohnโs disease and manage the condition by eating well, exercising and listening to her body.
With stress one of the main things that can cause the condition to worsen or โflare upโ, Danielle says itโs important that she takes time out and slows down when she notices that sheโs becoming mentally and physically weary.
โIโm also really big on self-development,โ she says.
โEvery morning, I practice gratitude, and I think that really helps. If youโre starting the day and constantly saying what youโre grateful for, itโs harder for life to bring you down.
โAs an agent, you can have some tough days because youโre dealing with a difficult client, selling a deceased estate, or selling a property because of a divorce, or you havenโt hit a target, or youโve lost listings.
โThereโs a lot of stress and pressure, and youโve got to learn to pull the positive from any and every situation.
โYouโve also got to take time out for yourself, whether thatโs reading a book, going for a walk, listening to a podcast or getting a coffee.
โI love pilates – thatโs my thing.โ
THE FUTURE IS STRONG
Danielle says she was sent to the Taree office to build and grow the agency, which now comprises five team members, including Karlee Felton, Murray Robinson and Alister Currie.
Since she started, Danielle has employed two โyoung gunsโ who focus on prospecting and training to become a buyersโ agent or a listing agent.
Danielle says she has clear personal and agency-wide goals for the future.
Sheโd like to buy into the Taree office and see Wiseberry Taree named the most improved office at the annual Wiseberry awards.
She is establishing a property management department and wants to see Wiseberry Taree become the top agency in town.
โIโd love to see that by the end of the year,โ Danielle says.
โIโd love to see us up there as the Number 1 in the area, and I donโt see why we canโt do that.
โWeโre all on the same page, weโre working really well together, and we have a team that has that drive.
โI said to Darin the other day, โTaree is like my baby. This is it; this is my life. Itโs going to grow, you just watchโ.โ
- Since first publishing this story in 2021, Danielle has moved to Samma Property Group in Melbourne and for the past five months has been the group’s relationship manager.