Who is she?
Tell us more about Ohmyhome
Understand that Ohmyhome in-house agents are amongst the top 1% for HDB flat resale transactions. How did you make this happen?
“We’ve definitely come a long way since we started back in 2016. From the beginning, we operate on the philosophy to put customers’ needs first. Since then, we have been building our technology, operations model and sales system by being laser focused on our customer’s well-being and interest.
When we first introduced the ground breaking fixed-fee service for all HDB transactions in 2016, we were faced with a lot of skepticism simply because this has never been done before. The simple reason we introduced such fixed-fee pricing is to provide all our customers, regardless of the value of their property, the same unbiased service, marketing efforts and sincerity to help them transact their home. Thankfully, we had a steady flow of forward thinking customers who gave us the benefit of doubt and engaged us.
Fast forward to 2020, Ohmyhome agents are now the top 1% in Singapore, with them being the top 100 agents with over almost 30,000 agents nation-wide in terms of HDB flat resale transactions.
How we made the impossible possible is because each Ohmyhome agent is fully supported by a dedicated team in customer service, marketing and technology, and provided with unlimited marketing budget to accelerate the transaction process. Without a doubt, we have a very strict onboarding and training system in place, therefore you don’t have to be lucky when you engage an agent of Ohmyhome. They are all fantastic and professional in their area of work.
When customers engage our agent, they are in fact tapping into Ohmyhome’s ecosystem of services rather than an individual agent. Often in the existing market, when you engage an agent, that’s the only resource you have. At Ohmyhome, it’s completely different.
One of Ohmyhome’s top performing agents has also recently tapped on Ohmyhome’s virtual viewing tools and closed a five-room HDB flat in Woodlands at a record-breaking price, within just 4 days of its exclusivity contract with Ohmyhome.
We have not only achieved 10x improvements from the status quo, our agents are 28x more efficient than the market average and our work is not done yet. We believe that we can further push our performance to another 10x in the near future.”
How is Ohmyhome coping with the challenges of COVID-19?
“With offices in 3 countries, each with different approaches to combating the virus, we have had to be conscious of the different needs of each team, figure out ways to best support them and emerge from this crisis stronger than we entered it.
Previously, when Singapore first implemented its Circuit Breaker measures back in April, many non-essential activities including property viewings and open houses had been suspended to curb the spread of Covid-19. This brought a surge of interest to Ohmyhome’s virtual tours and we find ourselves taking lead in the ushering of a new era, where house buyers can purchase their next homes through virtual viewings, without traditional physical viewings through the Ohmyhome platform.
We have also been organising live interactive webinar sessions, ohtalks!, which are free for the public to attend on our Facebook page to cover a diverse range of in-depth property and home-related topics. The public can receive helpful guidance on navigating their property journey by interacting with our team of experienced real estate professionals, marketing experts, mortgage advisors, and our in-house interior designers.
During the circuit breaker period, Singapore saw a historic low level of property transaction numbers and we are no doubt directly affected as well. Thankfully, once the tight measures were lifted, property transactions reached a whole new level in June. So if you’re wondering if we are recovering, we are glad to see a V-shape recovery for our business!”
What advice do you have for aspiring business owners?
“Before getting started, we have to study the market demand, size of potential market, existing solutions in the market, longevity of the business and research on funding possibilities and ensure that you have a good team to start with. It is crucial to think about the business model and various revenue streams because when you’re out fund raising, most investors aren’t as idealistic as founders to ‘make a change’ in the world simply because VCs are running a fund and they need to know that their investments are very likely to provide returns for their investors.
Starting a business is no easy feat, you’ll need to have resilience, grit and a ‘can do’ attitude. The journey will be fraught with roadblocks and humps so these traits will help you get your business off the ground. Never underestimate your ability to overcome obstacles as you meet them daily.
There’s no doubt that it’s going to be a tough road ahead. But if you’re in the business for the right reasons, you’ll keep working at it regardless of the challenges.”
Do you have any quote which you would like to share to all aspiring female entrepreneurs or leaders?
“Believe in yourself and don’t think of yourself as a female or male because it can become an excuse to fail. You can do so much better if you stop doubting your abilities and potential. If you want to do something, just do it. You’ll definitely learn along the way and these lessons learned will be part of your skill sets to help you succeed eventually.”
Check out Ohmyhome Singapore here.