Alternative Business: John Connolley
John Connolley is a real-estate agent. He is the original founder and director of Connolly’s Estate Agents Ltd. The company has been trading for fifteen years, employing a dedicated team of up to five staff, and has successfully delivered many thousands of homes to many thousands of individuals, couples and families.
John took a great risk in 1994 – the year he established the business. He resigned from a permanent post, invested his life-savings and opened his first store. He knew the industry, but he also understood the energy and commitment it would take to make the project a success. He also had his doubters – “The property market isn’t good” people would say. “What about the Internet?” others commented. But John believed in himself, and he believed in his wife Maureen Connolley.
What makes Connolley’s Estate Agents an Alternative Business?
I remember some years after the company established (around 2001) when John invited me and a team of fellow IT undergraduates from the University of Central Lancashire to work on a review of their web presence. We all met John at his Head Office in Longton, but John soon became agitated. He wanted our group to feel relaxed and to free our creative potential. With this in mind, he decided to move the meeting to the local pub – ‘The Golden Ball’ (if I remember correctly). John broke the ice immediately. He made the group laugh. Not just a chuckle, but belly-ache laughter. We all fell for the magic that was John Connolley and we wanted to do the best we could for him and his business.
Looking at John’s website today not much has changed since that project back in 2001. This is what makes John an alternative business and a true radical. In a world that says you can’t do business without looking at a laptop screen, that you can’t do business without dedicating a life 24 hours to the network, John simply walked the other way. John could sell houses because he knew people. He understood their dreams and aspirations. He held peoples’ trust. John was the original and best social network. He built his business from conversation, laughter and friendship. Anyone who spends a second in John’s company will feel better for having done so. He is one of those rare individuals who makes you feel good about yourself, good to be alive just by being around him. He is at the centre of the network and there isn’t a cable in sight. His customers love him for it. His colleagues love him. His wife loves him. He is a huge success in business. He is a central figure in the community in which he lives and works. Most of all John is a success at life.
John Connolley passed away earlier this week.
John was a great friend. He was especially important to my family – my parents and my sister. I won’t ever forget him and I won’t ever forget his influence on my life.
Thank you John – for being you. You were a unique gift to this world and you can not be replaced.
Goodbye, only for now …
… and while you are up there – “Mine’s a Beck’s!”
