Style: March 02, 2018

Lynette & Louis 1999
Lynette & John
Years ago!
McFadden Family 2008
YEAR
ANNIVERSARY
Lynette & Louis 2004
HARCOURTS GOLD
Have you ever celebrated a birthday and
stopped to wonder exactly where that year or
years had gone?
It comes upon you as either a pleasant
surprise or a deep awakening and the
nostalgia it creates leaves you remembering
what happened whilst posing the question,
how did I fare?
I’m doing just that and I’m wishing Harcourts
gold a happy birthday. From small beginnings
to great success on an international stage,
being named the no 1 franchise in New
Zealand consecutively and having the no 1
office for Harcourts in the world 3 out of the
last 5 years, as well as Papanui being the No.
1 office I Christchurch and New Zealand, this
company has become an integral part of who
we are as leaders in our industry and members
of the community.
Twenty years ago, my husband John and
I started in business by purchasing one
suburban real estate office. It was situated
in Papanui and had been left leaderless
after the tragic suicide of its then owner.
Understandably both the small team of
consultants, the caretaker manager and the
owners of the few properties listed were in a
transition stage whilst the business was put
up for sale.
It was a nervous time, we were members of
a four-person group that sought to purchase
the business and with three of us already
working at a large successful competitor’s
office it’s fair to say our purchase didn’t make
us flavor of the month.
Leaving where we were was very tough,
paying the loans off that allowed us to
purchase tougher, whilst the workload
mentally and physically was exhausting.
Having our youngest son not too far into
ownership also added to the complexity of
building a business.
A new baby, who didn’t sleep, a business in
growth mode and the expectation to sell
full time wasn’t easy and I will remain forever
grateful for the family support I received
during that time.
But slowly and then not so slowly the tide
started turning. Like all home-grown success
stories whilst the start is often simple,
momentum creates its own magic as does
innovation, luck, a massive work ethic and an
unholy drive to succeed.
That one office rapidly became four and
those four original offices still comprise much
of the business we know today. But it hasn’t
always been a linear journey, at one time the
company mushroomed to include seven
offices with branches on the West Coast and
Wanaka.
Logistically this was difficult and meant
John would clock up enormous hours and
miles traversing the country to oversee the
various offices. I look back and wonder at his
endurance. Later a near fatal crash whilst John
and our two sons were traveling as passengers
with another driver on holiday in Wanaka and
an admission that we felt stretched meant we
went back to our Christchurch roots and sold
the outlying offices to colleagues.
Neither partnership changes, market
movements, earthquakes or any of the
many struggles have caused us to lose our
commitment to our industry, our business or
our people and the incredible pace has meant
the twenty years has gone in a flash.
From one office to five, 17 listings to 1300 a
year, 10 people to 123, it’s been such
a privilege.
The lessons learnt have been huge.
Two that stand out for me include;
There is no such thing as work smart not hard,
sorry, to succeed you will have to do both.
Get a business mentor, for most of our years
in the industry we have worked with Gilbert
Enoka, it has been enlightening, encouraging
and essential.
There you have it! I love birthdays and this one
feels very special. Can I say on behalf of the
team, thank you to everyone who has made
the twenty years so worthwhile.
Thank you for everything
Lynette McFadden
HARCOURTS GOLD BUSINESS OWNER
HARCOURTS NZ INSPIRATIONAL
WOMENS AMBASSADOR
TALK TO
ME TODAY!
PH: 027 0432 0447
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