Achieving Breakthroughs in Entrepreneurship and Real Estate
Having the Grit
to Achieve Success
Stopping school and starting work at a tender age of 11 is unheard of these days. Yet, that was the start of Leslie Chan’s working life. Being a very hands-on person, Leslie started out working in his family’s aircon business, where he learnt about the logistics and operations of the business. However, the business declined rapidly after the passing of his beloved father.
Thereafter, one of his brothers and him started their own aircon business, where they worked hard in a competitive market for more than 10 years. Over the years, he has held many different jobs, like a banquet waiter, mover, newspaper delivery man and painter. At one point, he was holding 3 different jobs, so that he can provide for his family.
Then, in 2005, a friend introduced him to a career in real estate. Under the guidance of a mentor, Leslie learnt the art of the real estate market. Within 1.5 years, Leslie made more than $100k from commissions.
Shortly thereafter, he started spending more than he was earning, utilising the limits of his credit cards. It was not long for him to be in debt of about $100k to the banks. This serious financial situation gave Leslie a major reality check.
To facilitate the repayment of his debts, Leslie took on a role selling photocopy machines to businesses. With never say die attitude, Leslie persevered to reach his goals of clearing his debts and caring for his family. He was the top salesperson in his 2 years in the industry and managed to clear all his debts.
With a clean and fresh slate, Leslie focused full time on his real estate business. With perseverance and hard work Leslie excelled in residential sales, achieving top producer awards on a consistent basis. As his real estate career developed, Leslie started a team, where he personally coached and trained his team members to have an entrepreneurial mindset and achieve success.
Today, he has a successful real estate career, both in sales and team management. Besides, his real estate career, Leslie owns multiple businesses that are providing him with revenue streams. One of his businesses is a baby spa, where he has 15 outlets across Malaysia. Another business is an ecommerce platform that promotes health products. Lastly, Leslie also provides his consultancy services for business looking to set up in Singapore.
Delivering Service, Trust and Transparency
When he first started out in the real estate industry, it took him 6 months before he closed a sale of a 4 room flat in Yishun. He recalls that he did not know how to complete the Option To Purchase (OTP) form and needed the assistance of the co-broke agent to complete the form. The commission from the transaction was $8000, an amount that seemed huge for him. Through a mentor’s guidance and hard work, Leslie grew better and better.
In 2012, Leslie joined PropNex, which has been the ideal platform for him to build his sales, as well as build his own real estate team. After focusing on resale HDBs and condominiums, Leslie has progressed to managing transactions from high end residential and commercial properties.
With Leslie’s belief of providing service, transparency and trust to clients, his clientele is made up of past clients and their referrals. Most of his past clients have accelerated their property purchases for own stay and investments to high end residential and commercial properties. His referrals are keen to explore the opportunities that Leslie can share with them on capital growth, rental yield and business ideas.
Leslie unique proposition to clients is that he has a wealth of entrepreneurship experience, an eye for business development and a wide network. With these 3 combined capabilities, he is able to advise his Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) clients, who are Singaporeans and foreigners, on the possible opportunities that will be the right fit for them. His UHNW clients engage his service, as over and above his beliefs and capabilities, Leslie is able to advise them on which properties to purchase that offer a good business angle.
Sales Awards & Achievements
Leslie’s application of his sales strategies has been recognised through the numerous PropNex and PNG awards received over the years. In 2021, he received the Platinum Achiever (Commission more than $100k) award in April and the Titanium Achiever (Commission more than $500k) award in December.
The icing on the cake for Leslie was attaining the much coveted PropNex Millionaire Achiever award for 2021. It is certainly a significant milestone for Leslie to achieve this award, which reinstates his advice and strategies for his clients.
Media Features
In the 2022 issue of the PropNex Millionaires magazine, Leslie has been featured for his achievement of more than $1 million commission in 2021. This is an important milestone for Leslie, which reiterates his grit, hard work and perseverance has been well rewarded.
The coverage in the magazine recognises Leslie’s achievements as among the best in PropNex and in the real estate industry. Leslie is determined to continue providing his best for his clients and team members in the dynamic real estate market.
Leading By Example
The Leslie Chan Division consists of team members that are always ready to guide and help one another. This culture was created by Leslie from the onset, as he knows the importance of guidance and support for new and experienced agents. The familial culture in the team is always ready to welcome new members who can expect a strong support network.
One team member that has aspired many in the team is Lex Lim, who was working in the clothing retail line and was not well versed in English. Despite having the language disadvantage Lex persevered with the support of the team and passed the gruelling CEA examination to earn his real estate license. From a rookie, he is now a millionaire realtor and is looking forward to many more successful years.
Besides managing his own team, Leslie is the co-founder of the famed Powerful Negotiators Group’s (PNG) Bootcamp, where he built the curriculum and managed it for 2 years. Leslie’s motivation is to help bring colleagues together and build the right mindset. He believes aspiring realtors must have the correct attitude.
Besides the Bootcamp, Leslie started and taught his colleagues on Acceleration, which is a module in the PropNex PNG training series. Through the Acceleration module, realtors are equipped to help their clients build their property portfolio and wealth through a myriad of strategies.
Leadership Awards & Achievements
In addition to his sales awards and achievements, Leslie has been consistently recognised for his leadership abilities. Recently, he was among the Top Associate Group Division Directors in PropNex, receiving the prestigious award at the PropNex Annual Convention.
The awards that he has received are proof of his empowering of his team members with the right knowledge and skills. Many of his team members have achieved their success through his dedicated leadership and mentorship.
Empowering Others to Succeed
In line with his willingness to help and share with others, Leslie approached his friend, Lex Lim to join the real estate industry,where Leslie will guide and mentor him. However, as Lex was comfortable working in the retail industry, it was a difficult decision to leave a fixed salary job to join a fully commission self-employed role.
After Leslie shared with Lex on how he will empower Lex with the right knowledge and skills sets to succeed, Lex decided to place his trust in Leslie and join the real estate industry.
The decision paid off handsomely for Lex has he has been outperforming as a realtor. In 2018, Lex received the PropNex Millionaire Achiever award. Another significant achievement was receiving $400k in commission in a single transaction with Leslie’s assistance.
Leslie provided a one on one mentorship with Lex, where he trained Lex on how to negotiate, pricing strategies and soft skills development. By being a Powerful Negotiator, Lex is enabled to negotiate with multiple parties, including buyers, sellers and co-broke agent to achieve the best for his clients.
Accelerating Through Real Estate
Given his entrepreneurial background, Leslie is always on the lookout for good investment opportunities, be it investing in a business or real estate. His real estate journey started with a 3 room HDB flat in Marine Parade, which he managed to buy at $120k and sold after a few years at $400k.
From the proceeds of the 3 room HDB sale, Leslie bought a 3-room condominium unit at Savannah for $700k, which he sold in 1 year for $900k. With a realised profit of close to half a million, Leslie decided to purchase an apartment at Telok Kurau for $890k, that would give him good rental yields for 10 years. Thereafter, he sold the apartment at $1.2 million, generating a profit of $310k. Currently, Leslie owns a condominium unit at Costa Del Sol.
The Acceleration strategy that he used for his real estate investments is similar to how he has helped many of his clients build their property portfolio and wealth over the years.
The Fishing Enthusiast
Spending quality time with his family is a priority for Leslie, despite his packed schedule. The father to 3 children ensures that he is there with his children to bond and have activities together. Caring for his family has been one of his main goals from the start of his career.
Besides being with family, Leslie has been a fishing enthusiast for about 20 years. He makes it a point to travel overseas with friends for fishing trips at least once a year. Some of the countries that they have travelled to are Australia, Malaysia and the Maldives. Leslie uses these trips as a way to relax and spend time with his close friends.
