Business time: How to grow and take risks

It’s no secret that successful businesses don’t happen overnight, but according to property gurus Alice and Caleb Pearson, seeds for expansion can be sown from day one. With a careful mix of hard work and patience, the former Block NZ stars have steered their property businesses from side-hustles to thriving operations.

“You've got to work incredibly hard in order to see growth. But then, you also have to have patience, because growth takes time,” says Caleb.

The former project manager and Alice, a former pastor, juggled their full-time jobs for several years before taking their first business, Pearson and Projects, full-time. While they knew it was what they needed to do for the future of their business, giving up the security of regular pay cheques was a huge step.

“We were working weekends and after-hours for a long time until we actually got to a level where we were confident to go all-in and make this a full-time gig,” says Caleb.

“It can be scary giving up the security of a full-time job, so you’ve got to be confident that you can make it work.”

While Caleb had always dreamed of owning his own property development company alongside his and Alice’s renovation business, it wasn’t until 2020 that he felt ready - both mentally and financially - to go for it. Years of working for others, learning, and building up Pearson + Projects meant he was confident it was the right decision.

“It was about gaining the skills, the knowledge, and the experience to give me the confidence to actually step out and do it myself,” he says.

For Alice and Caleb, knowledge is power. They urge people to arm themselves with as much information as possible when making big business decisions.

“The more knowledge you have, the less riskier it becomes,” explains Alice. “With property, we've taken small risks over a gradual time. We've learnt, we've developed, we've grown. And therefore what was once risky actually isn't risky anymore.”

Risk can also depend on where we are in life, adds Alice. “When we were young and starting property and businesses, we had a lot less to lose. Now we have a family, we have a mortgage, so there's a lot more that we consider when we look at potential risk.”

Identifying what success looks like for you is important, too. For Alice and Caleb, it’s not only financial success that determines their outlook. They are strongly driven by the desire to help others.

“For us, defining success has eliminated that need to strive towards our own self importance or significance and instead, work towards a future for others as well as ourselves,” says Caleb. “I love working in property. I love doing renovations. So work doesn't feel like work. It's actually what I love doing.”

Alice adds, “we are hugely passionate about providing healthy and great homes for people. And we get to see that take place in the work that we are doing.”