Andrew Coronis

Andrew Coronis
CORONIS REALTY
PROPERTY

Age: 39
Business Est: 1984
Number of staff: 112
Growth: 19 per cent
Turnover: $9.85 million

WHEN Andrew Coronis took over his father’s real estate agency in 2000 there was only one office, but nine years and nine outlets later the company is set to capitalise on rapid growth in the Western Corridor.

Coronis admits he could have taken more risks than he has already, but with a solid base to work with he now plans to have 50 offices within the next five years.

“In the first six months of next year we’ll open up two new offices on the north side, building client bases from our existing offices in Aspley and Burpengary. Our business model is not to open up an office and try to make it profitable, it’s to open and immediately be profitable,” he says.

“Our revenue last financial year was $9.85 million and I’d expect a 20 per cent growth level this year as we open up another couple of offices. For the last six years our business has doubled in value every 11 months, but recently that growth’s gone down a little as our size has reached that larger scale.”

His father Theo started Coronis Realty in 1984 and Andrew joined four years later when he was 18, learning the trade from the grass roots up.

“I always had goals to get somewhere in life and to be successful, and when I took over, I didn’t want to build that one particular office too big, so we opened a new office in Arana Hills in 2002,” he says.

“We split staff and it was to the benefit of sales, so I thought we could build more of these.

“From business I’ve learned that nothing, unfortunately, can replace hard work and determination, but in a way it is fortunate as most people don’t do that.”

Coronis believes in setting high goals and offering incentives for employees to work towards their dreams as well.

“As they say in cards, ‘know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em’. There’s no point setting goals so low that when you hit them there’s no challenge,” he says.

“You have to be innovative with staff, to re-engineer people’s jobs within two or three years or else they leave – that means you need to offer promotion opportunities, and a chance to buy into the company.

“For instance, our sales secretary is a partner, so it isn’t just a right reserved for agents.”