- 10 years ago, Wouter Jellema was a student living in the Netherlands, owning two suitcases
- Hopping on a place to Sydney, he ended up in Perth in commercial property management
- He is also one of the most prolific contributors to The Property Tribune
How commercial property manager Wouter Jellema went from international student living in Netherlands, owning only two suitcases, to property investor, commercial property manager and The Property Tribune contributor…
The early days
Back in 2010, my wife and I decided to leave Europe, and so we took all our belongings, placed them in two suitcases, and off we went to Sydney.
Australia – a new country
The first weeks and months were challenging for us. However, I soon realised that I had a passion for property, an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of fellow Australians. I met my first Australian employer in Sydney. He introduced me to Commercial & Industrial Property Management and offered me employment in Perth.
Working in Real Estate
I have had the opportunity to work for big names in the Perth real estate market, such as Burgess Rawson and De Freitas & Ryan Commercial. Currently, I am actively managing real estate assets and liaising between tenants and investors under Ayers Real Estate.
I learnt the importance of personal online branding and created ways to share my passion with the broader community through social media, videos, and news updates. At the same time, I built a strong network with like-minded professionals across the country.
The Property Tribune
For about a year, I wanted to push my online activities to the next level and I reached out to my network to see if others would enjoy collaborating with me. Many declined or sent me on my way as if I was looking for a free handout.
All I wanted to do was to share my experiences and knowledge about the industry that I love. It is essential not to focus on the nay-sayers and keep pushing forward and so I did. My first mentor in the property industry once told me how suppliers would not give him the time of day when he just started his business. Today, those same suppliers compete for his business.
One day, the opportunity that I was looking for was presented to me. Ashleigh Goodchild, from Soco Realty, introduced me to The Property Tribune, which was about to launch, earlier this year.
The Property Tribune represents a new, dedicated space for the latest and most important news and information on the Australian property market. Since February, I have shared about one article a week related to Commercial Property Management.
Today
About eleven years ago, I only owned two suitcases and a vision.
Today, I am a multi-international property investor, real estate expert, entrepreneur, and a proud contributor to The Property Tribune, and this is my 15th post.
My advice is to ‘go for it’, and never look back.
