The Melbourne-based Area Specialist agent, who operates across the eastern suburbs including Ferntree Gully, Upper Ferntree Gully, Boronia, The Basin and Bayswater, attributes much of his success to one key decision: taking the plunge into business ownership while still young.
“I’d say to other people just thinking about it to not overthink it,” Rohin said. “Take the plunge while you’re still young, because now that I’m 30 and I’ve got a mortgage and my sister on my payroll, I can’t take the sort of risks that I used to be able to.”
An unconventional start
Rohin’s entry into real estate was far from conventional. He started young at 18, but the role didn’t work out initially.
Despite the rocky start, those six months taught him valuable prospecting skills that would later prove invaluable.
“I prospected really, really hard. I just sat in the office making calls for about six months straight, and then just doing the open homes on the weekend,” Rohin said.
After a four-year break working part-time jobs and gaining valuable life experience, Rohin returned to real estate at 24, at an agency in Boronia where he learned to work with buyers.
He then moved to an agency in Wantirna for more comprehensive training before making the leap to Area Specialist.
“Starting a business was something I always wanted to do, but I didn’t picture myself doing it that early,” he said. “But I guess the Area Specialist model just seemed really attractive.”
A landmark first listing
After what Rohin calls his “incubation period” – a year of building his database from scratch while working under Area Specialist founder Michael Choi at Keysborough – he landed his first listing in Upper Ferntree Gully. That first listing would prove to be a game-changer.
“These guys took a punt on me, like, just a really lovely young couple,” Rohin said. “They’d interviewed four agents. They’d actually already sold with one of them before and decided to give me a shot over everyone else because they felt that I would work the hardest for them.”
The home sold for $350,000 above reserve, which Rohin says turned heads across the region.
“It was a landmark listing,” he said. “I think that one listing probably generated about 50 sales for us.”
Building a family business
The success continued to snowball. Rohin’s sister now works with him, making it a family business still operating from home.
The accolades have followed, with Rohin recognised as a top 100 agent in Australia this year, Agent of the Year for four suburbs, and Agent of the Year for Upper Ferntree Gully three years running.
“We’re the only independents in the top 25 for Knox,” Rohin said.
He attributes much of his success to his honest approach with vendors.
“We actively encourage sellers with unrealistic expectations to use other agents,” he said. “I’d rather lose business than take on business where I’ve lied to someone to try and win it over and then manage their expectations.”
“I think a large part of the reason why we’ve grown so quickly is because we get so many five-star reviews and referrals. We’ve built a great reputation by being straight with people and having an unwavering conviction in our ethical approach.”
The Area Specialist advantage
Rohin said the Area Specialist model has allowed him to achieve success while maintaining excellent work-life balance.
“The Area Specialist model, you don’t need to be number one to live a full life,” he said. “I really value my work-life balance, which I think is excellent for someone in my position.”
“I still get the holidays in when I want to get them in. I spend heaps of time with friends and family and all my random hobbies.”
He said the real risk and reward comes from working for yourself, and opportunities to do so are limited.
“If you’re a half-decent agent, it’s so easy to get a job at any major franchise,” Rohin said. “The real risk and the real reward come in working for yourself, and you’re only really going to have so many opportunities in life to do that.”
Looking ahead, Rohin is content with where his business sits.
“If it stays as it is, I’ll be quite happy,” he said.
Area Specialist is a real estate platform for top-performing agents, providing the systems, tools and technology they need to create, grow and power their business. For more information visit beyourboss.com.au