Inarrabri

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Interview by Craig Jollow
Rob, could you briefly outline the
history of Reg Gilbert Real Estate
and your involvement in the busi-
ness?
This business was established by my
father Reg Gilbert in the 1950’s. I
joined him in the early 70’s... I did out
a year straight out of school work-
ing on farms and driving trucks and
the old man asked me to give him
a hand for 3 months... which turned
into forty odd years... Pauline and I
purchased the business from him in
1984 and I have been the licensee
since then.
What are the biggest changes
from when you first started and
today?
Well... cynically I would say honesty...
but lets not be cynical... The price
for properties would be one and the
amount of properties sold per year
another. Narrabri has grown quite
considerably in the past forty years
as a regional centre and the recent
introduction of mining and gas has
furthered this growth. But also the
makeup of a lot of businesses has
changed. I remember when I first
started there were a whole heap of
Greek cafes along the Main Street...
Narrabri had seven butcher shops
and now there's one... We now have
two major supermarkets, Wool-
worths and Coles, which we didn't
have back in those days... instead we
had three privately owned enterpris-
es fulfilling that role... Permewans,
Narrabri Co-Op, W.A. Fox & Co...
and there were corner stores every-
where... There are also a number of
hotels that have closed down over
the years... The seventies were far
more simpler times... as technology
has grown and people have become
far more dependent on technology
everyone seems to have less free
time... But our standard of living
has improved considerably. Narrabri
and its facilities have improved and
grown considerably. Narrabri is still
a great town and I would have no
desire to live anywhere else.
Being part of the Narrabri commu-
nity for so long and the knowledge
you have must be an advantage...
It is both an advantage and an as-
sett. You have to be involved in the
community when you operate a
service based business. You meet
a really broad cross section of the
community... you get to know peo-
ple I suppose... from my experience
it has been great and it still continues
to be.
What other attributes must you
possess to be successful?
A sense of humour and fun, the abil-
ity to converse with people... and a
cool head when trying to deal with
technology and overseas call cen-
tres!
What gives you the greatest sense
of satisfaction in your job?
People saying ‘thank you’ whether
they be clients and/or customers.
Helping people sell and achieve
their goals, helping first home buy-
ers get into the market. The ultimate
aim is to have a willing seller, a willing
buyer and a happy outcome. People
may expect it and say that's just part
of your job, but when someone tells
me "thankyou very much, I really ap-
preciate it"... that makes it all worth-
while!
Real Estate may essentially be
about selling, renting or leasing
properties & business but I’m sure
there is more to it than this...
A large percentage of your time
goes to providing advice... At the
end of the day they could end up
going somewhere else... but advis-
ing people and giving them a true
appraisal of the market and, as best
we can, perceive what the market is
going to do in the future. Everyone
wants you to have the crystal ball
but you can only go on past sales
and history to map the future.
And what about the little things
that many customers don’t notice
but take up a lot of your personal
time and energy?
All people in business do many
things to make their clients’ path
a little smoother, whether they’re
aware of it or not.
Making them aware of these things
is sort of like blowing your own horn
which I have always tried to avoid.
It doesn't matter if you are a me-
chanic or a real estate agent, or in-
volved in insurance or retail, there
are a lot of things that business own-
ers do that they just don't talk about.
Being in the centre of town you
must have witnessed some unusu-
al events over the years. Are there
any you can recall?
There has been a few car related
incidents, quite a few Centrelink re-
lated incidents... it was next door for
many years... observing human na-
ture in all its forms... I've seen some
blues, different drunks wobbling
past, trying to borrow money... it's a
menagerie of memories just observ-
ing different facets of human nature
I suppose!
The Real Estate industry in Sydney
seems to be at an all time high.
How is it travelling out here?
Narrabri has a totally unique market,
unlike any other surrounding town.
It has always been strong & values
have remained firm, yet not exces-
sive.
How do you unwind?
A small lager shandy, on the odd
occasion. I'm involved with the local
Lions club and as I have grown older
I spend more and more time with
my family and grandchildren, which
gives me a great deal of pleasure.
Something to Spoil every mum
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Celebrant
business owner - rob gilbert
Local Business
12 iNarrabri Magazine May 7th - May 20th