In conversation with Sarah Hayford, Founder of The Land Collective and Managing Director of Sqft Digital

Please note that this article was published prior to the new brand name of PREACH Inclusion® on 25 April 2024, so you will notice references to BAME in Property.

Inspirational, determined and empowering. These are the three words I would use to describe Sarah Hayford, a young entrepreneur, with two, growing businesses in the real estate sector. In this feature BAME in Property founder, Priya Shah, digs deep into what has shaped Sarah’s upbringing, her education and how she has ended up where she is today. There’s a saying that ‘you rise by lifting others’, and Sarah has clearly shown that helping others is just one of many keys to her success. With a couple of awards under her belt already, this rising star isn’t going anywhere, she’s here to stay and transform the real state industry for the better.

1. Let's start from the beginning, tell us about you, your upbringing, and your education. How did you end up in real estate?

I was born and raised in Harrow to Ghanaian parents, who very naturally wanted me to go into the big money-making and ‘secure’ industries like medicine, finance or law - the only problem was I didn’t like hospitals (and science), absoutely despised maths and numbers, and wasn’t quite cut out for law!

'I was actually never really great at school or academia all together, I always just about scraped by. Rather, I was more practical and learnt by doing.'

I only realised this when I didn’t get the grades I needed to do A-levels at college, I had to re-take a few GCSE’s and re-apply the following year. I managed to get better grades but my college thought I’d struggle with A-levels, so I was re-directed. I remember being absolutely devastated, especially when throughout school and life you’re told that your grades were pretty much the only thing that mattered. At the time, I was very interested in politics and knew that I wanted to study it at university and the only course at my college that was somewhat related to that was a BTEC in Uniformed Public Services, which prepared you for a career in the emergency services or civil service; it was half classroom based and half outdoor/practical and was a fantastic experience, very much suites for my learning style.

I ended up going to the University of Nottingham to study International Relations, which I found super interesting but at a lot of times, didn’t quite enjoy. I craved to do something a bit more practical or at least something with a blend of theory and practical activities. So I took the plunge in my second year and started an interior design diploma alongside my degree. Studying interior design wasn’t completely new to me as it’s something that my dad studied and did for a while as a hobby. It was fun and exciting to do something new and I undertook work placements with some brilliant interior designers in the process, which actually was my route into the real estate industry.

2. Growing up, what was your exposure to real estate? Did you find it easy securing work experience and internships?

'I think I still have all of my rejection emails from firms asking for work experience throughout university'

I didn’t know anyone in real estate at all and I found it extremely difficult initially to get work experience and internships. If it wasn’t for The Land Collective, I think it would have been even more difficult! My only interaction with the sector before learning about it was with Haart Esate Agents and the surveyor that was walking around my house when we were looking to move.

I think I still have all of my rejection emails from firms asking for work experience throughout university, I didn’t get anything until my final year when I came back from my year abroad and only one of my placements was paid. So I had to save up during the year to cover my expenses for these work placements, they paid off in the end but it was quite difficult and it’s something not everyone can do understandably.

3. What inspired you to start The Land Collective?

When I started getting very interested in the sector, I felt as though I had nobody to share my thoughts or discoveries with. I also wanted a place to vent about issues occurring in my local area. At the time, I was also struggling with getting my foot in the door of the industry due to my academic background, so showing something tangible to employers was a big priority. I already had experience in blogging and creating websites etc, so I decided to take that route and see how it went. It slowly began to generate traction when I shared what I was doing with my department head and later, university careers department.

People had great ideas about the ways in which the built environment impacts our lives in different ways, which is why the platform is designed the way it is - it can include and be relevant to absolutely anybody, which is what I find the most exciting to share!

4. You recently quit your full-time job to launch a new business (congrats!), tell us more Yes, quitting a job during a pandemic where people are losing jobs can sound quite insane, but having worked on The Land Collective for over three years and seeing the traction that its developed, it just felt like the right time!

'I launched Sqft Digital out of frustration with the property industry’s visibility amongst students'

My new business is Sqft Digital, a student marketing agency aiming to transform early careers programmes and firms’ engagement with students throughout the academic year. I launched Sqft Digital out of frustration with the property industry’s visibility amongst students and the slow progress of diversity in the sector. Through The Land Collective, we have managed to build a strong and diverse community of students and young professionals who we communicate with in relation to new opportunities across the sector, discussions and research.

We’ll be offering services such as social media management, research design, digital campaigns, student ambassador campaign management and strategy.

5. How important is diversity to you?

'As a Black woman, I’m already hyper-visible in a lot of spaces and especially in the property industry'

It’s a non-negotiable! I believe that at this point in time, nobody has an excuse not to acknowledge the importance of diversity. I’ve seen people and organisations try and cover their backs with the ‘’diversity of thought’’ jacket in order to hide the fact that they don’t have a coherent and actionable diversity and inclusion framework and its just not good enough. It’s very important to me, as a Black woman, I’m already hyper-visible in a lot of spaces and especially in the property industry. So as a business owner and Founder, it’s important that I practice what I preach.

The Land Collective’s team is very diverse, with our team being mostly women, from various different ethnic, educational and cultural backgrounds.

6. What have been the major achievements for you? e.g. awards, recognition etc.

I think definitely winning the BPF Futures Award for ‘Promoting the Industry’ in 2019, the ceremony was at the Houses of Parliament which was amazing and it felt great to be amongst so mant talented professionals across the industry and be recognised for something I’ve worked so hard on!

It has also been an amazing honour to be recognised and shortlisted as a Superhero by EG in their 2020 award series. The pandemic made many things extremely difficult and bleak, but by launching the virtual internship programme for current students interested in the commercial real estate and construction sectors, I hoped to restore a bit of optimism in the industry. It was quite a lengthy and difficult programme to curate but it was definitely worth it!

7. What's next for you and your businesses?

For now, it’s introducing Sqft Digital to the industry! And helping more students make their journey into the built environment sector. Whilst this year has been very difficult, it has also created lots of opportunities to pivot and for change - so I’m very excited about what’s to come.

Thank you Sarah for sharing your inspiring story. Good luck with your businesses, we can’t wait to see them grow further and bring you back for round 2 on the hotseat!