follow your dream

Alan joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of an Estate Agent is like. Alan works for Seeff properties in the Cape Town city bowl area and has been in the industry for 8 years. Alan studied at Stellenbosch University in International studies followed by Sports Science and finished with marketing and business management at UNISA. He opened Custom Level art during the Soccer World Cup 2010, selling wire beaded products. Alan has worked in PR for an agency as well as a pool cleaning service for 6 months. He has also worked for LR Plastics as an account executive/sales rep running large accounts including I&J, SAB and Coca Cola. Growing up Alan’s focus was mainly on sport and he considered teaching after school. Alan continues to also make moves as an entrepreneur and is constantly involved in charity work. We take a look at his career to date.

“Every day you are making phone calls and canvasing. There is always more that you can do.”

“Most appointments are during lunch hours or after hours.”

“No day is the same, which I love.”

“Being an estate agent, what you put in is what you get out.”

“It’s not that hard to make money from not a lot of work with a product. There are guys fashioning drift wood into sort of bird shapes, which sell.”

“I see money as opportunities.”

“I’m quite lucky that, I enjoy Mondays.”

“Be prepared for extreme highs and extreme lows. Sometimes you make a sale out of nowhere, sometimes you don’t sell for a while.”

“I have loved every job I have had as a social worker.”

“If you’re looking to become a social worker do it because you have empathy. Don’t do it just because you want a job. You need something inside you that really cares about other people. It has to be a profession you really want to do.”

Jane Payne joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a Social Worker is like. Jane’s most recent role was as Programme Director of Home from Home which is an NGO for cluster foster care, where foster mothers look after 6 children per foster home. Growing up in England, Jane wanted to become a social worker. Moving to South Africa she studied a BA degree at UNISA. Jane also studied social work through UNISA and has been involved in social work for 35 years. We take a look at Jane’s remarkable career.

“I expected too much after doing 2 years of fine art, I expected to be earning well quickly.”

“It’s hard to earn enough money from art, unless you are extremely famous.”

“An artist who has to earn their living from painting has to be far more productive, they have to put in the hours and churn out paintings.”

Pat Munro joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of an artist as well as a Managing Director is like. 

Pat studied fine art for 2 years with the goal of becoming a commercial artist. In order to earn more, he instead entered into the engineering field with his first job starting at a metallurgical laboratory at the Ford motor company in PE. After working at Armstrong Hydraulics he joined an American company in the oil industry where he progressed to the position of Managing Director/President of South African operations. 

After a 42 year period from 1965 to 2007 Pat returned to art, creating 45 paintings that went on exhibition in 2012. Now in retirement, Pat is a successful artist who believes that each of his two careers have taken place at the right times in his life. We take a look at what happened.

“You can study theory but when you are in the classroom it is different. The positives of a teacher’s college is that they allow you to gain more practical experience.”

Julie Doolan joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a special needs teacher is like. Julie always knew that she’d like to be a teacher and studied a Bachelors of Education at Stellenbosch where she completed her honours. We take a look at what happened.

“You have to have a very thick skin to become an estate agent. You grow every year as you face new challenges.”

Gareth Doolan joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of an estate agent is like. In 2010 he became an estate agent in the southern suburbs area of Cape Town and has been highly successful in selling in this area as well as offering a wealth of information on his website: The Real Estate Guy. Gareth studied sports exercise and sports conditioning and wanted to study medicine, he’s also a very passionate rugby coach. We take a look at what happened.

 “You cannot buy your health.”

Caron Train joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a buyer in the fashion retail industry is like. Caron left home at the age of 17 and from working reception at The Southern Sun has moved into a pivotal role at Queenspark. Also interested in Interior design, we take a look at what happened.

“As you get older, the colours of the painting merge into something that they weren’t back then.”

Tim Lewis joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a trainee accountant is like. Passionate about soccer, Tim sustained a 3rd (or 4th) degree concussion during his final year of study. He pushed through hard times to complete his degree. We take a look at what happened.

“I simply didn’t work hard enough in high school. You have to have the basics !” 

Pieter Pienaar joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a teacher is like. Pieter wanted to become a radio presenter/sports commentator and was also interested in music and medicine but didn’t have the marks leaving high school. He was not sure what career path he wanted to pursue and teaching offered a bursary which he had to work back over 4 years, 2 of these years were in the army. During his career he also worked as an estate agent. We take a look at what happened.

"Don’t be aggressive, rude or sarcastic, but be assertive."

Di Lewis joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a PA is like. With over 40 years of experience Di has seen it all, with some of her secretarial experience even covering driving for Avis as well as commercial diving. Di wanted to study Food technology and instead went into the secretarial field and enjoyed it equally as much. Many years later Di also managed to return to Food technology and so has left no stone un-turned in her career. We take a look at what happened.

“I would tell 8 year old me to have more faith in myself and have the confidence to decide what I want to do and just go in that direction.”

Andy Knoop joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a Shopper Marketing Manager is like. Andy started her own events company and moved into Marketing after deciding not to become an anaesthetist. We take a look at what happened.

"Do things that are true to yourself, if you don’t like playing golf and cycling then don’t pretend to."

Justin Erasmus joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a tech entrepreneur is like. He takes us through what he has learnt on his journey so far. After completing a life coaching course, Justin also takes us through some of the bigger picture thinking that he has adopted. Justin Studied Business Science at University because he knew that he wanted to be a successful Businessman. Turning down an internship at Goldman Sachs he then began his journey away from being ‘the Finance guy’. We take a look at what happened.

This interview was carried out in a wind tunnel.

"I'm happy as a teacher, I also wanted to be a musician or doctor."

Carol Pienaar joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a SENCO at a private school is like. With over 40 years of teaching experience, this guest shares some insights into the world of teaching. Although Carol enjoys her role as a SENCO, she wanted to become a musician or a doctor. We take a look at what happened.

Justin Pienaar joins us on the podcast for a look at what a day in the life of a biokineticist is like. After obtaining 27% for matric Afrikaans, Justin went on to become one of the top 12 Biokinetics students in South Africa. His journey started however, with journalism. Leaving matric Justin had not figured out what career he would like to pursue. We take a look at what happened. 

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