Barry Wallace

• Company: The Good Agent
• Industry: Online Estate Agent
• Website: http://www.thegoodagent.ie/
• Location: Dublin

The Good Agent is an estate agent based in Dublin. We spoke to Managing Director Barry Wallace about what makes his business different and how he uses social media to promote his business.

What makes The Good Agent different from other estate agents?

There are three features which sets us apart from other estate agents. First of all we do not charge commission, we charge a fixed fee. Secondly, people selling or letting their property can choose which parts of the process they want to do and which parts we do. For example, if they want to take the photographs then they don’t pay for that. Lastly, we are based online so we can pass down the savings of not having a brick-and-mortar presence. This is not to say you can’t talk to us. Any customer can speak to us seven days a week if they want advice, support, or even just to talk about the queues at the post office!

What is your advice for other entrepreneurs?

Shout about your product or service. At seminars and industry events, I chat to people who are just starting a business and often they are very cagey about telling me about their new business in case I run out of the building and straight to the patents office.

Ideas are cheap; it’s the execution that counts. Plus, people usually have better things to be doing than hanging out at seminars stealing ideas. You should be telling everybody who will listen about your business so that they can give you feedback, introduce you to someone that can progress your idea, or even become a customer one day.

What social media does The Good Agent use?

I have made some great connections using social media tools. At The Good Agent we use Twitter, YouTube, MailChimp (for newsletters), Facebook, YouNoodle, LinkedIn (for recruiting), and WordPress (for a blog). The most important thing for us at this stage is getting our message across and we have created a video that does this in a beautifully succinct manner and put it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icLJtUc5g2c

Who do you look up to in business?

I read a story recently about a homeless man who set-up a business that sold second hand books online. That’s the kind of person I look up to. He had access to few resources, but commoditised one of them to make a living. More generally, I never tire of hearing about people who take a risk to start doing something they are passionate about.

What are your plans for the future?

In the short term, we have some features in mind that we would like to add to the site to make it even more user-friendly, but the long-term goal is to expand the service abroad. Initially, we will be looking at the UK, but after that who knows?