Startup Story
The real estate sector in South Africa is one that is highly competitive, and to build a business that has longevity and importantly a trusted reputation, requires a long and hard road to be travelled. Pam Snyman, founder of REDZetc has done just that, and today she is duly recognized as one of the true doyennes of the real estate sector in the country and on the continent. Not only that, she continues to innovate and to make real and lasting contributions to the future of the sector.
Pam Snyman, founder of REDZetc in South Africa has been actively involved in real estate for more than 34 years. She owns an innovative real estate company, REDZetc. She has a Master’s Degree, Diploma in Advanced Property Practice, Diploma in Property Investment and Valuation. She has achieved the highest possible status in real estate in SA, that of Chartered Practitioner in Real Estate (CPRE) – a professional real estate designation that has been awarded to only eleven doyennes of Real Estate. She is also a Certified Director and member of the IoDSA. Pam has served on a number of boards e.g. the SSETA, the Property Charter Board and also serves on the Board of the Institute of Estate Agents of SA. In 2018 Pam was honoured by being named as an honoured by the ‘7% Tribe’. According to the Business Women’s Association of SA only 7% of all company executive directors are female. The Institute of Estate Agents, also honoured Pam for her valued contribution to the property sector by bestowing her with the Geoffrey Seeff Award. She also received the same award way back in 1994!
Lionesses of Africa chatted to powerhouse Pam Snyman this month to learn more about what it takes to build a leading real estate business and one that keeps innovating to stay ahead.
What does your company do?
Market, sell, let and manage real estate.
“Each participant is an entrepreneur in his/her own right and builds their own business around themselves.”
“The word entrepreneurship connotes a special, innate ability to sense and act on opportunity, combining out-of-the-box thinking with a unique brand of determination to create or bring about something new to the world.”
What inspired you to start your company?
The need for a service-oriented real estate company that puts servicing the clients' needs above just earning money.
"We do not sell property. We get people to buy from us."
Why should anyone use your service or product?
At REDZetc we believe that each agent must be a leader who continuously observes, thinks, reflects and learns in order to understand the people that they deal with in the world around them and have what I call Leadership Intelligence. In other words: they need to be aware of, and in a position to deal with daily challenges and demands like ongoing change, diversity, interdependency, communication and complexity in our ever-changing, emerging real estate world…
Real thinking estate agents are people with authenticity, realism, creativity and vision who strive to serve their clients with excellence based on values.
Tell us a little about your team
Our team is extremely versatile as they service a myriad of different real estate markets throughout South Africa. Each market segment is specific in its requirements and needs to be served by an authentic person who understands the particular market. They are also all work together by referring potential clients to one another. Our model provides that all our agents throughout the country can offer a property collectively to all their potential buyers at once.
“We do not sell property. We get people to buy from us.”
“At REDZetc we believe that each agent must be a leader who continuously observes, thinks, reflects and learns in order to understand the people that they deal with in the world around them and have what I call Leadership Intelligence.”
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
After being part of the corporate world for 27 years, I felt the need to do something different for the industry players. My business model was not only one set up by an entrepreneur, but also for entrepreneurial estate agents. Each participant is an entrepreneur in his/her own right and builds their own business around themselves. My company provides leadership, training, documentation and back-up at all times to all our participating agents. This model has been proven very successful and acts as an example to the real estate industry.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
We need to understand where we are in today's world and grasp the available opportunities by making a difference and bringing about change to our world. Our goals at REDZetc are embedded in igniting real estate business opportunities in order to develop skills, stimulate new venture creation, empower people, create jobs and promote home-ownership through education...
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The word entrepreneurship connotes a special, innate ability to sense and act on opportunity, combining out-of-the-box thinking with a unique brand of determination to create or bring about something new to the world.It is about being a visionary with the passion to achieve financial goals. And that is exactly what provides me with the most satisfaction...
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Don't hesitate...do what you have to do to make that difference!
Contact or follow REDZetc
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL pams@redzproperties.co.za
Why LoA loves it….
At Lionesses of Africa, we love meeting with women entrepreneurs from across the African continent who genuinely are industry leaders and shapers, and Pam Snyman is definitely one of those women. Over the past 34 years, she has worked tirelessly and with a passion for the business to help shape the real estate industry in South Africa. Today, her thriving and constantly innovative business, together with the people who have been touched by her own inspirational leadership, are a testament to her life’s work. Pam is a force of nature and a force for positive and lasting change in her industry sector and her legacy is being felt in her lifetime. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa