The founder of a Barnsley based lettings and property management company is celebrating transforming his business – and winning an award recognising his business success.

Craig Phillips from G8 Property, which specialises in HMOs, has grown his profits by £500,000 and was awarded Agent Rainmaker of the Year at Agent Rainmaker Live 2022.

He explains: “Only a few years ago, I would say I was struggling. The business was going nowhere, and I was spending too much time involved in the day-to-day running of the company, I didn’t have any time to focus on improving it. It was a very lonely place, and there was no one to turn to for help.  

“We were doing everything, literally everything, for landlords. I’d regularly get calls on a Saturday evening requesting that I go round to change a lightbulb. And I’d go. I was too fearful that they would make a complaint or leave a negative review, that I was bending over backwards, doing all the leg work, anything and everything that was asked of me. 

“One day my daughter Laura approached me about an industry bootcamp she’d seen on social media to enhance procedures, structures, processes and accountability. I wasn’t interested – it seemed too good to be true, and I was happy with my spreadsheets, but I told her she could attend. 

“When she came back, she was full of ideas, proposing to overhaul our policies, procedures, and infrastructure. So, I realised I needed to come on board, too. I quickly understood how wrong I’d been at first – suddenly, we were surrounded by like-minded people in similar positions, all sharing ideas and experiences, and being given the tools to implement positive change. 

“After weeks of persuasion, Laura convinced me to change our fees … One Friday evening I sent out a letter stating that we were doubling our landlord fees. I was petrified come Monday morning. But, much to my surprise, we only had one response. One. After this, I was adamant to implement new procedures, and really progress the business. In turn, it freed up my time, so I could seek new landlords, new business, and new investors. I employed more staff, and we moved into a bigger office with a town centre location. Things were really positive – for the first time in a long time.”

Phillips says he “completely shocked” to have been awarded the Agent Rainmaker of the Year award.