Chris Tyson

Chris Tyson is quiet, intense and successful.

R1, 5 billion successful – money being one yardstick of success.

Tyson Properties, the real estate company he founded eight years ago did that in sales last year, double the turnover of 2011.

Forty-five-year-old Tyson was born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal and matriculated at Westville Boys High, though that’s a simplification of the story.

His step-father worked around the country and he went to 11 schools.

One constant in the life of this young Traveling Wilbury was the fact that his mom Chappy Brain was an estate agent.

Tyson describes her as dynamic, energetic and principled. She sold the houses they moved in and out of.

Something rubbed off on Tyson and he shyly acknowledges his mom’s influence.

But, he didn’t start out in real estate.

He was a kiddy entrepreneur and as a 10-year-old realized that he could make a mint by hiring out his hand held electronic games to the other children at school.

He says the bug bit when he realized he could easily multiply his earnings by using the profits to buy more Donkey Kong games. Eventually he had an empire of 15 consuls and was minting it.

After Tyson matriculated he went to hotel school and ran a restaurant in Westville.

Eight years later he moved to Boston in the US and managed eateries there.

When he returned to South Africa, aged 28-years-old he got a job marketing Child Welfare’s Red Nose fundraising campaign. He returned to Durban, renovated a house on the Berea and sold it.

The house sale re-awakened his interest in real estate.

Tyson joined RE/MAX and soon exhibited his flair for sales.

He won the group’s International Award twice and cranked up an impressive list of wins. After a few years he wanted to go solo, but because the market was so buoyant there weren’t any franchises to buy.

So Tyson started out on his own. He and Gavin Cunningham, a successful Durban businessman who owns Zultrans Transport, put together the seed capital.

Tyson says he realized he was starting a completely new entity with no presence in the market, so he had to gain a foothold quickly.

He did this by branding his firm as distinctly Durban, drawing on the potential of local loyalty.

“I did a lot of public relations, going to cocktail parties and golf days and people got to know me through the media.”

And Tyson’s biggest disadvantage, being a newbie, was his biggest strength: “Our competitors couldn’t rate us, nor see us coming, so we were a surprise.

“Ninety percent of real estate is your perception in the market place. If you successfully carry off what people perceive you to be, then you can do exceptionally well.”

Tyson’s logo is derived from Durban’s art deco buildings, but beyond that, the firm’s business is built around his reputation and on the good name of the six top agents who left RE/MAX to join him.

Tyson says he wanted to create the best working environment for the best people. He also pitched the business as a select agency dealing in top properties, which gave Tyson’s an aura of exclusivity even though it markets all properties in all areas.

Tyson says perception, marketing and good human resource practices have paid off.

“We knew if we attracted the right people, everything else follows.”

Tyson says he was the antithesis of the typical estate agent.

“I wasn’t pushy or slick and I still did well. I made sure that I did things the right way because I realized that how I conducted myself in the beginning would determine the amount of business I would do in the future and how people would view me in the market place.

“We all have that attitude here and it has helped grow the brand enormously.”

Tyson says growth and the energy of the deals invigorates agents.

Tyson knew he could multiply that feeling by attracting the best estate agents, but he wanted to do more.

“This is a hard industry and it tends to be unhappy. I’ve always wanted to create a happy work space, with good offices, where people can have fun and do well. We give our people good back up and good systems.

“We try and treat them well. When the money comes in, we pay the next day.

“My team have been the best advert for the business in attracting other good agents.”

Tyson says his good agents are top earners.

Tyson started in 2005 with six agents. Today the company he has over 270 staff in 19 offices.

He says the last eight years hasn’t been plain sailing.

He and Cunningham have invested money to keep the business afloat in the tough times, when turnover bottomed and costs stayed the same.

“We knew the downturn wouldn’t last so we positioned ourselves for the upturn.”

Tyson says beyond keen attention to marketing and human resource development, he’s managed to grow the business by being goal oriented.

He’s deliberate and acknowledges his detractors might just say he just wants his own way.

“I was determined to do it right…I probably make mistakes when I’m frustrated by the pace of things. Something inside of me drives me to try and do better.”

Tyson says he’s on a mission to educate himself about international property prices.

“I’m interested in how property prices overseas relate to those in South Africa. Markets are always changing, but I think a lot more people are putting money into property long term. Statistically it is proven that property prices double every 10 years.

“If you have a long term commitment you can capitalize on that, and KZN is good value.

“We’ve consciously chosen to confine ourselves to KZN because there is value here. Our strength is local. To go national would dilute our service offering in an unfamiliar market.

05 Aug 2015
Author Greg Arde

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