How South Auckland lad became a $100m agent

In just 10 years in the real estate industry Jared Cooksley has gone from mowing clients’ lawns to selling more than $100 million worth of property and owning his own agency, Ray White Mt Eden. And he’s only 30 years old.

Was real estate always your preferred career choice?

Not at all. I’d never really thought about it. I went to Dilworth School on a full scholarship – you didn’t go there to get nine years of a great free education to be a real estate agent! After I left school I did a gap year in the UK and when I came back to Auckland I studied commerce but I wasn’t working as hard as I should have been. I was pouring beers in the bar at Akarana Golf Club to earn some extra money and one of the guys who came in was a very successful real estate agent. He said, “You should have a look at what I do.” It was one of those Wolf of Wall Street moments. I went to the open home and then the auction, where the house sold. He showed me what he got in commission – something like $20,000 – and I couldn’t believe it. I thought, "Right, I’m in."

Did you earn big money quickly?

No! I still have a payslip from my first year, I think I got about $27,000. I’d quit studying commerce, done my papers and gone to work for this agent but it was like an apprenticeship. I did open homes, I mowed lawns, I washed cars, I worked extremely hard. I stuck to this agent like glue, watched how he worked and learned a lot. But after a couple of years I felt like it was time for me to move on and see what I could really do. I went to Mangere Bridge, which is where I grew up (and where I still live), and teamed up with another guy called Jared [Hards]. We became #TeamJared. We absolutely caned it. We did amazingly well, we won all sorts of awards, I presented at the Australasian Real Estate conference in front of 5000 people in my mid-20s, which was insane. That was a bucket list goal for me.

How did you end up owning your own agency?

The opportunity to buy the Mt Eden office came up about four years ago and I was ready for the challenge. I felt I needed to grow. I bought it with another guy but ended up buying him out after a year. I was the youngest franchise owner in Ray White. Since then we have just gone through the roof. We are the fastest growing office in Auckland in the Ray White group. Recently we were the number five Ray White office in the country. We sold $60 million worth of property in November and we were up 400 percent from this time last year. It has been insane. In the last 12 months I have mostly stopped selling, although I will still look after really good clients and sell the odd house because I don’t want to get too far away from doing transactions.

What it scary going into business for yourself at such a young age?

Absolutely. It is a lot of responsibility. When you are an agent, you are a contractor with just your cell phone and your car, but when it’s your agency you have your team to look after. So the agents are my clients, and the vendors are their clients. It is quite scary. I am so grateful to Ray White NZ’s CEO, Carey Smith, who had the balls to back me even though I was so young.

Cooksley says it's important to show you care in real estate. Photo / Fiona Goodall

Why do you think you have been so successful?

I work a lot. You have to work hard if you want to get anywhere. And I think it is important to care about people and want to help them. If you can work hard and be a nice person, you will do well.

Being able to use your life experiences helps, too. I know I am still young, but I have had a lot of different experiences: I went to boarding school, I travelled overseas when I was young and my dad died while I was away. I have been in work situations where relationships have broken down and I have had to move on. You learn a lot from these kinds of experiences and it is up to you how you use what you learn.

Plus, I think if you have the kind of mindset that it is all about the transaction and the money you can earn, then you won’t be successful long-term. Yes, the money is important because it gives you opportunities, but true high-performers in real estate aren’t in it for the money. They’re there because you end up really stoked for people when you are able to help them sell their house, because it is a big deal, and seeing the smiles and the tears of happiness is wonderful. It’s about relationships, not transactions.

What really matters to you in your job?

Doing my best for my team. I want them all to do well. It is a competitive industry but I want everyone in our office to get pleasure when they see someone else being successful. I want our office to be a great place to work and I feel like the culture is really good. Everyone is supportive of each other.

I also really enjoy mentoring our salespeople and I get so much joy out of their achievements. We have a young guy on our team called Rick Mozessohn, who was a waiter serving me coffee. I could tell he had passion and drive so I said to him, “Come and do real estate.” It was like the guy who got me started – I really wanted to encourage him. So he did end up coming to work for us and he is doing really well. I’d love to see more young people going into the industry.

For me it really isn’t about the financial rewards. I am not into material things. Until about a year ago I was still driving a 2008 Toyota Corolla. When I sold it I only bought a VW Golf. I’d rather spend money on things like taking the team away to Queenstown to have a good time. It’s a very draining industry, it’s fast-paced and we work long hours. It’s nice to have some fun.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I have a two-year-old, so it’s all about dad life. We try to get outdoors as much as possible.

I’m also into classic cars and as well as the Golf, I have a 1965 Mustang convertible. I really love it. It drives like a bus and it smells and it has lots of quirks, but it’s great.

Do you ever take stock and think, look at where I am?

I still can’t quite believe where I have got to. I would never in my wildest dreams have thought having my own company was even remotely possible. But now I am here, I think, Okay, what can we do better? What can we do next?

I believe in the power of positive thinking – for example, I always wanted a classic car and decided I would have one one day, and I have. I am pretty relentless when it comes to working towards a goal, and thinking about your question about why I’ve been successful, I want to add that it’s because I don’t give up. If I get knocked down, I get back up. I’m not academically smart but I can hustle and I can work hard. So if I can do it, anyone can – you just have to keep going.