We recently connected with Natasha Collins and have shared our conversation below.

Natasha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

Yes, I love vacations. Its the time I’m most innovative. At NC Real Estate we insist on holiday. Each team member, including me, has 25 days holiday with all the bank holidays and the period between Christmas and New Year off as well as a week off for summer break. Business does not grind to a halt, instead we thrive as we come back refreshed and ready to take on the world.

I systemise everything. The majority of my time is spent putting together systems and flows within the business so that when I am away, the team can run everything. I also have another trusted member of the team who can make payments and see our finances, so if I’m not around to make those decisions, someone else is!

If you plan this way, you can definitely switch off and go on annual leave. And trust me, take that holiday, you’ll come back with so many more ideas!

Natasha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a chartered surveyor that specialises in commercial property investment strategy for UK portfolios.

I started NC Real Estate (NC = Natasha Collins) in 2017 as a way for smaller investors to get access to professionals who can assist them in making smart investment decisions and help them to overcome obstacles when the going gets tough.

My background is from working on large estates. I knew they had the advantage in the industry as they could afford to pay professionals like me a six figure salary to make sure they were always making money. However, when I looked around I saw neighbouring properties owned by smaller landlords not doing so well. That didn’t sit well with me because if one property is in decline everyones property is in decline. So I created a Members Club for smaller investors at a more accessible price where they could get access to a team of professionals to help keep their portfolio in tip top condition.

This means, letting to the best tenants. Upgrading the building in innovative ways to make sure they can cater for the 5 year property trend cycles (at the moment its co working space and smaller boutique retail with large industrial for online businesses)… and then also work together to share ideas and tenants as tenants move around.

This innovation is what keeps the market buoyant and everyone making money. Its revolutionary!

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I didn’t know how to raise money, in fact naively I thought that everyone who went into business turned a profit from the start… therefore I relied on myself. I’d purchased a flat that had gone up in value and used the equity there to fund my start up! Its been bootstrapping from the beginning!

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I was so embarrassed the first time I nearly missed payroll I thought I was the only person it had ever happened to and so I hid it with bright confidence. With my tail between my legs I phoned the bank and asked for an overdraft. Then I started researching… this happens in small business. The way for it not to happen is to firstly track your cashflow, I use Float which connects into Xero to track it. Secondly talk to other business owners and mentors, this is so good for a second opinion they made me see that it wasn’t a terrible thing and that I could tweak my expenditure and it wouldn’t happen in such a catastrophic way again. Did it happen again, yes but it wasn’t so edge of my seat, terrible. I clawed it back weeks in advance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ncrealestate.co.uk/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ncrealestateltd?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/honest-property-investment-with-natasha-collins/id1211204441