Industry leader’s podcast lifts the lid on self-employed agents

One of the best known faces in estate agency has launched his own podcast - and is giving Estate Agent Today readers an exclusive advance of the first episode.

Sean Newman is the owner of a 16-branch Fine & Country franchise as well as his own Newman Property Experts chain.

In future podcasts Newman will interview other leading figures in the industry but for the first episode he keeps it a family affair, with Newman himself being interviewed by his 24 year old son Tyler.

In the lengthy first podcast - a video of the recording is below - Newman speaks enthusiastically of the self-employed agency model that he has epitomised for over a decade, as well as his experiences of becoming an agent for the first time, with Countrywide, at the age of 19. 

He talks of his poor background but how the financial struggles he faced at the start of his career have been overcome - giving inspiration, he hopes, to others in the industry in a similar position.

He also argues that self employed agents help drive up standards in the industry, which he feels lags behind the quality of agency in some other countries.

Newman says: “Many bosses will try to put their staff off the idea, however the reality is estate agency business owners, corporate or independent, should be very worried about their top lister or manager leaving to join one of the self employed models.

“We are seeing the biggest ever change in the estate agency industry with more and more people becoming self employed estate agents. This a fantastic opportunity, not only to earn a life changing amount of money but also to raise the standards in estate agency.” 

Future episodes will include interviews with self employed estate agents who explain their journey into the industry, their experiences in corporate and independent companies and why they made the move to becoming self employed. 

Newman himself says: “Hopefully many estate agents will be able to relate to these stories and also see what life is really like as a self employed estate agent”.