Eddie Ellis / Mehak Kazmi

Ask the Expert

Eddie Ellis

Owner of the Chorlton & Didsbury JP & Brimelow office, Eddie has a wealth of experience in the South Manchester sales and new homes marketplace, and has worked in the estate agency industry for more than 20 years. He is frequently out and about in the local community, be it at sports events, charity events or socialising in the local restaurants, cafes and bars in Chorlton.

What is the property market like at the moment? January is always a very busy month for me and the team here at JP & Brimelow. So many clients have had a chance to sit down over the festive period and discuss options, plans for 2022 and areas of interest. I’m noticing that more and more clients are looking for extra space now due to changes in their workplace and working weeks.

Review of 2021 and best property marketed and sold? 2021 was a busy and exciting year for my team, as many rare homes hit the marketplace due to people’s desire to move out of the city and into the countryside or by the sea. For the second time, I sold the most expensive home here on Manchester Road, Chorlton for over £1.4 million. One of my favourites, I sold it to my clients many years ago and then they updated/ remodeled, and it always helps when Sonia Pabla-Thomas of SPACE|AP in Didsbury does the design. STUNNING! The only thing that was missing was an indoor swimming pool!

Outlook for 2022 property market? I personally feel that the market demands and conditions we’re currently experiencing will carry on in South Manchester as couples, first-time buyers, professionals and families enter the market looking to make the next steps. I launched 12 market-ready properties prior to the December 26th rush, and all have received a fantastic amount of interest, with several achieving sales now. We have built a sleek sales process and all my team at the Chorlton and Didsbury office are knowledgeable, professional and skilled in their marketplace. So, if you’re looking at making that next move, I’d love to help you achieve your next property goals.

Mehak Kazmi

Mehak is the co-founder of a digital marketing agency Kaybox in Manchester. Her previous experience was as a qualified recruiter, working for Sky, British Airways and the Home Office. She has a keen interest in helping small businesses succeed through marketing

What was it like starting your own business? How do you get sales on a consistent basis?

When we co-founded Kaybox, we wanted to help small businesses. But after a few months, I was overworked. This is when we decided to bring in systems to manage the workflow, which meant it helped produce consistent work and made it easy to hire people and train them on the systems. My advice would be to take your business to the next level, you should start to implement systems. I was lucky enough to have a co-founder who happens to love systemising. Small businesses struggle to generate consistent leads. Using Instagram, I looked for businesses that didn’t have a website and messaged them with the aim of a quick chat, and the leads started to come in. This became our main lead-generation process every month.

I advise any business to have one main method of generating leads. How do you help small businesses grow?

Small business owners don’t have the time to run their marketing and struggle to generate consistent sales every month. Kaybox offers marketing at affordable prices, enabling people to grow their business. With better marketing, businesses succeed.