By Hedgie Gundry
After 20 years as Licensee and Director of LJ Hooker Freshwater, Cranston Schwarz was ready for a new and creative business challenge. The result is Schwarz, a proudly independent, boutique real estate agency servicing the southern end of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Launched in March 2019 with new branding and a fresh customer-centric approach, the 15-strong Schwarz team is gaining a well-earned reputation for its personal and highly professional sales and property management services.
“I’d been in the industry a long time when we began to realise consumer behaviour was changing rapidly,” Cranston explained. “Our target market was looking for a more boutique experience with new and innovative ways of marketing properties. They wanted something different and, therefore, we wanted to create a high-quality boutique agency that stood out from the crowd.”
Schwarz General Manager Hannah Carney has worked with Cranston for over 10 years and played an integral role in managing the new agency’s branding process.
“We were a little naïve when we went into this, as we honestly had no idea of the amount of work involved,” she said. “However, it was a great opportunity to take a step back and reflect on what we wanted the consumer experience to be.”
“Ultimately, we love our new branding with our distinctive birds logo, which has really resonated within our local market,” Cranston added. “We can now tailor our marketing campaigns to suit different clients.
“We're very marketing focused, but we’ve also pulled back quite a bit. We don’t give too much away. For example, our signboards don't mention the number of bedrooms, bathrooms or car spots. It's all about the property. We want to get people talking. We want buyers and vendors to pick up the phone and call us, so we can go back to good old-fashioned customer service.”
Personal approach
For Hannah, high levels of communication and an honest, personal approach sets the agency apart.
“I grew up in Forbes and I’m still a country girl at heart,” she said. “I see huge value in communicating with people over the phone or face-to-face, rather than relying on text messages, emails or social media, which can be overwhelming.
“And we pride ourselves on being honest, as that’s what people want from our industry. If you’re honest with people, honest people will want to do business with you. We don’t want to be the typical flashy agency. We’re all about helping people by offering an individual experience. Unfortunately, our industry has too much ego, which we do not tolerate.
“Our culture at Schwarz is very open, honest and family-oriented. Putting our people first keeps everyone motivated and wanting to do well, so the business does well.”
“Another important point is that I firmly believe in a flat management structure,” Cranston explained. “We work as a team and nothing is beneath anyone. So, for example, the sales guys are asked to help with rentals occasionally and vice versa. We make this very clear during our interview process.”
Community minded
When Cranston and Hannah launched Schwarz, they decided to take their community involvement to the next level. As a single dad of 20-year-old twins, Cranston knows how tough the teenage years can be on mental health. He therefore reached out to One Eighty, a Northern Beaches charity offering valuable mental health services to young people within the local community.
“One Eighty is run by young people, for young people, and they are doing some great things in this space, including offering free mental health training and peer support groups for those with lived experience of mental ill-health,” Cranston explained. “In addition to sponsorship, we also allow the charity to use our boardroom and breakout facilities for group sessions.”
“I'm also actively involved with the founders, who are all in their 20s, providing marketing and professional support,” Hannah added. “We assist with webinars, help brainstorm fundraising ideas and are always here to answer any questions they may have. It’s been a really rewarding partnership so far.”
Schwarz also sponsors a local soccer team and donates to various charities throughout the year.
At an industry level, Hannah is a member of the REINSW Agency Services Chapter Committee.
“I’m passionate about our community and our industry, and I love helping out where I can,” she said. “We couldn’t have made it through COVID without the REINSW Helpline and it’s great to give back to the industry.”
Looking ahead
So what does the future hold for Schwarz?
“The market has slowed up a little bit for various reasons, which we needed; it couldn’t just keep running the way it was,” Cranston said. “Our short-term goal is to make sure we stay strong and tight as a team. Looking after our buyers and vendors is very important, but it’s just as important to look after our people.”
In the long term, Hannah said: “We would love to grow our market reach while at the same time maintaining our boutique feel, both internally and externally. We’re proud to be a humble business, where our team enjoy coming to work, people love doing business with us, and everyone makes a dollar or two.
“You can’t ask for more than that.”
“Our target market was looking for a more boutique experience with new and innovative ways of marketing properties. They wanted something different and, therefore, we wanted to create a high-quality boutique agency that stood out from the crowd.”
Cranston Schwarz
“We would love to grow our market reach while at the same time maintaining our boutique feel, both internally and externally. We’re proud to be a humble business, where our team enjoy coming to work, people love doing business with us, and everyone makes a dollar or two.”
Hannah Carney