The making of an entrepreneur
Doreen Katzen, well-known property broker from Vered estates is driven by three factors – her family, her entrepreneurial spirit and her desire to make a difference to others.
Somehow she has managed to combine all three principles in her different businesses which have spanned over 4 decades.
Doreen’s entry into the business world began when she started a nursery school at the Libanon Mine, providing a service to parents and children while being able to be a part of her own children’s lives.
Career Moves
Maintaining a leadership role, Doreen then moved to Johannesburg with her husband, Ronnie and their children taking up the position as the principal of a nursery school, continuing her nurturing role through her service to others.
After 7 years, not one to let anything stop her, including labour pains, the couple, bought a corporate clothing manufacturing business on the night before Doreen gave birth to their fourth.
However, after being in clothing manufacturing together for 25 years they took a decision to close the business as it was not as viable as it had been in the past.
Determined to still work together as a team while working with people and providing a service, Doreen was drawn to the property industry with Vered, a key player in the residential property market.
Vered Estates and the property game
“What I love about being in the property game is that you can learn something new every day. Every deal is a negotiating and an exciting challenge. You meet so many interesting and lovely people and you have the challenge of mediating between a buyer and a seller to ensure catering to both of the parties’ interests,” says Doreen who believes in a strong work ethic, non-negotiable integrity and creating an equitable result for both buyer and seller.
“There is often a lot of tension involved before a deal is concluded, but with the back-up and expertise of Vered Estates we have been very happy and successful over the years. Vered has an open door policy and our directors are always available for advice and as a sounding board.”
Lessons Learned
Doreen is among the fortunate few who has loved all of her three careers.
My careers reflect different times in my life and each business has given me important skills from organising, networking, achieving results to assisting others.
“This is the key to my passion and motivation after so many years, together with the fact that I am passionate about selling property. I love what I do. I love the challenges that I encounter,” says this property dynamo.
9 Key Tips for entrepreneurial success
- Be very focused in what you want to achieve and prioritise everything in terms of that goal
- Have a clear plan of how to achieve your objectives
- Have systems in place which enable productivity being organised
- Respect the people from whom buying and to whom you are selling
- Keep all role players in the business in the loop by giving them feedback
- Always be professional, sincere and ethical in your dealings with people
- Be consistent in your work and persevere until your goal is accomplished
- Be economical with your time – have a constant awareness of where spending your time will be most effective
- Love what you do
These key points need to be factored in as systems in a daily routine. “In our business where 24 hours in a day is not enough, each moment must be maximised. This means keeping to a strict schedule of physical activity, work and most importantly enjoying precious time out with my family at least one night of every week, “concludes Doreen.