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EE34 - Ray Cooke - The Journey so far...

EE34 - Ray Cooke - The Journey so far...

The Hidden Hustle Podcast vor 1 Monat

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48:09

He went from selling 100 houses a year to watching the market
completely fall off a cliff.

Today, Ray Cooke has built one of Ireland’s best-known estate
agency businesses with almost 100 employees, 10 offices,
approximately €11 million in revenue and more than 1,000 homes
expected to be sold in 2026.

And it all started with Ray on his own in November 2005,
admitting he knew very little about the industry but deciding to
give it a go anyway.

In Part 1 of our two-part episode with Ray Cooke, founder of Ray
Cooke Auctioneers, Lettings, Property Management, Financial
Services and Elron, we go right back to the beginning of the
journey.

Ray takes us through the incredible highs, the difficult years
and some of the decisions that completely changed the direction
of the business.

We discuss:

How Ray started the business by himself in 2005 with little
experience in the industry.

Selling 90 houses in 2006 and 100 in 2007 — before the property
market collapsed in 2008.

How he survived the financial crisis by pivoting heavily into
lettings and positioning the business as a lower-cost letting
agent.

The meeting with his bank manager during the crash that helped
him get everything in order and navigate one of the toughest
periods of his career.

Opening a new office in Tallaght at the end of 2008 when many
others were pulling back.

The extraordinary growth from selling just 13 houses in 2011 to
more than 1,000 expected in 2026.

How important office locations have been to the growth of the
business — and what Ray looks for before entering a new
area.

Why social media has become such a powerful growth engine for the
company — despite Ray originally setting up his own social media
account simply to prove a point to someone.

The conversation with his brother that changed how he ran the
company forever — stepping away from personally selling
properties and allowing other people to take
responsibility.

Why moving from working in the business to working on the
business became one of the best decisions he ever made — both for
the growth of the company and for giving him more time with his
children.

Growing the company to almost 100 employees and 10
locations.

Why Ray is now actively looking to acquire other estate agents,
including the recent acquisition of a business in Clonmel.

The launch of Elron — helping people who want to invest in
property but don’t have the time to find, buy and manage those
investments themselves.

And Ray’s ambitions for where the business goes from here.

This is Part 1 of our conversation with Ray.

Part 2 is entirely focused on money and property — including
first-time buyer advice, the buying process, Ireland’s housing
crisis, adding value through renovations, the rental market and
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Links & Resources:

Ray Cooke: https://raycooke.ie/

Follow Ray on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-cooke-1aa7343b/

And all the other social media platforms for some great content!