When Jodi Ford commenced at Coronis in 2001, she was the only property manager in the team and had a modest portfolio of 300 properties. Fourteen years later, she is now the Coronis Property Manager Director and manages the largest rent roll in Queensland with more than 6,500 properties worth over $2.7 billion in transactions per annum. She also has a staff of 60.

Ford said her strategy for growth came down to location, organic and acquired growth, and nurturing the people in her team. "When I joined Coronis, we only had one office in Stafford so when we started expanding, we mapped out a list of locations where we wanted to have a presence, and sought out established real estate agencies with existing rent rolls looking to sell, that fitted our wholly-owned business model," she said. "We have now acquired 21 offices throughout South East Queensland and have purchased additional rent rolls to build our portfolio."

Ford also manages business development managers who have generated more than 1100 new managements let for the company in the past year. "I set them a goal of 1600 properties for this financial year and I’m delighted to report that we are already well on the way to achieving that," says Ford.

Ford said people often sell their rent roll due to a lack of productivity, with too many porperty managers needed to run the rolls. "Some leaders make the mistake of throwing more people at a problem, rather than getting to the root of the problem. Maybe it is the systems or training but more often than not, it is a cultural issue. If people don't feel valued and appreciated for what they do, they will not do it well. I have extremely high expectations of my staff and we remunerate the team generously to attract the very best property managers who are responsible for portfolios of 200 – 300 investment properties with the added support." 

Ford said her strategy is to employ the best people and treat them like gold so they will take the best possible care of clients. "I think the reason we have been so successful is because we are a wholly owned business with control over our standards and customer service. Our culture here at Coronis is phenomenal, the leadership team have created a workforce that is supportive of each other, who work hard and play harder so everyone is motivated to contribute and see the company grow."

Ford said she has been able to grow from a property manager to a Director through the mentoring she received from Andrew and Theo Coronis, and Coronis Sales Director Craig Gillies. "And through a lot of trial and error. Hindsight is a beautiful thing," she says.  "I try to take something away from every person I meet no matter what industry they are in. Every contact with someone is an opportunity to learn."