All Roads Lead To Listed

Karangasem Bali

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." – Steve Jobs

In the late '90s, I walked through the gates of the Scottish Prison Service as a basic grade prison officer. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was real. Over time, I rose through the ranks, leading diverse teams and handling some of the most difficult situations you could imagine, from hostage incidents to high-stakes negotiations. I became a Control and Restraint Instructor, a Siege Area Co-ordinator, a Silver Commander. I learned that the smallest decision made under pressure could change everything. Those years taught me how to lead, not from behind a desk, but at the sharp end.

Order in Chaos

Working in the prison service taught me more about leadership, human nature, and resilience than any formal qualification ever could. Later, I was placed in charge of Prison Industries, where I got my first taste of business—negotiating contracts with outside companies, managing operations, and running something that needed to perform, not just exist.

The Leap & the Long Walk

By 2012 I was a Director and even though I was doing well in the prison service, I knew it was time for a change. Behind the scenes, I’d built an online travel company through a franchise model. Then I took voluntary redundancy. Folk thought I’d lost the plot. I’d done the impossible, risen through the ranks, and here I was throwing it away to sell holidays on the internet.

Soon after, I opened a travel shop on Prestwick High Street. When it’s your name above the door, you learn fast. I learned about customer service, the reality of running a business, and the fact that hard work is the only way forward. But the business—and a personal relationship—came to an end. I drifted back to what I knew best, the prison service, this time in Warwickshire. But I wasn’t the same man.

In 2015, I hiked the Camino de Santiago with my dad. Over 600 miles across the French Pyrenees and northern Spain. I was approaching 40. He turned 80 midway through. Away from the rat race each step forced me to reflect. Watching him slow down reminded me that I needed to find a different pace, a different purpose. A few miles out from Santiago de Compostela, I made the call: I was leaving the service again, for good.

Camino - Navarra Spain

Nomadic Rebirth

On that walk, I met a Dutch lady, a teacher. She lived in Zhuhai, China, and asked me: “Why don’t you come with me?” So I did. I spent over a year and a half in China, teaching English in Zhuhai and Chongqing, learning to survive in a system with strict rules and few safety nets. From there, I became a Scuba Instructor in Koh Tao, Thailand—turning a passion into a career. Later, I moved to Cyprus, teaching English and freelancing online, building logos and websites. I travelled the four corners of the globe. I’d discovered a different way to live and work—the so-called cheat code. I could earn a living anywhere in the world with just my laptop and a Wi-Fi connection. Then came 2020.

The world changed. I flipped a coin—heads, the Philippines; tails, Bali. It landed on Bali. I arrived just as the borders shut. With the digital nomad crowd gone, I found myself in the north, in Lipah, Amed. A villa on a cliff, a motorbike, coral reefs, volcanoes. I taught by night and rode by day. It was quiet, it was raw, and it gave me the space to think. But it wasn’t forever.

Past Lessons To Present Purpose

As the pandemic began to ease, I received the call no one wants to take: my mum had passed away. Navigating restrictions and flights, I made it home. My dad, once strong enough to hike across Spain in his eighties, was broken. I spent nearly two years caring for him, taking shifts in a factory to keep my head straight. It wasn’t truly me, but it allowed me to be there for him until the end. Still, I felt stuck, employed, just “working for the man.” One day, staring into the mirror, I told myself: Martin, you need to have a word with yourself.

So I set off again, this time on my Royal Enfield Himalayan. Another step away from the daily grind, and a chance to reset. I rode through 17 countries: stopping at Dunkirk, crossing Arnhem — a bridge too far, perhaps a hint of what was to come. I passed Bavarian castles, slept in a field outside Auschwitz, explored Budapest, followed the Croatian coast, circled the Italian lakes, and crossed the Swiss mountain passes. The days were steady and clear at 70mph; the nights, quieter, spent by the campfire thinking: what’s next?

The Himalayan has a strapline: “Built for all roads, built for no roads.” That about sums it up. I started on the straight roads of the prison service, took the side roads of business and travel, and eventually no roads at all—teaching online, freelancing, living wherever I landed. In the end, I realised I didn’t need to follow roads at all. I could build my own.

The Black Forest Germany

Back in Scotland, I started weighing up my options—cleaning businesses, corner shops, all sorts of ideas. But none of them felt right. Then it struck me: property. An industry crying out for a shake-up. Over the years, I’d bought and sold several homes, usually with poor service from agents. I also owned rental properties with their fair share of issues, so I wasn’t a complete novice—and I knew I could do better. I researched. I spoke to franchise brands. I came close to signing on the dotted line. But I couldn’t do it. I’d been down the franchise route before, and it never truly felt like mine. So I walked away.

Two days before Christmas 2023, I walked into Keller Williams in Glasgow and signed up. I knew it wasn’t going to be the finished product—it wasn’t my name above the door—but it was a start. I got set up, paid my fees, and hit the streets: flyers, door-knocking, old-fashioned graft. Then one day, the phone rang—my first lead. My first listing.

A couple of months later, a voicemail came from another agent—experienced, with a similar vision. We met, we talked, and the spark was lit. From that meeting, Listed was born.

A modern agency. Not the usual high street model. Local. Personal. One-to-one service. Built on values, not gimmicks. Ours.

One partner dropped out—and looking back, it was for the best. By June, we launched. By July, we had the keys. By September, our doors were open.

A year on, Listed Estate Agents is thriving. Rooted in community. Built on lived experience.

So, what makes a good estate agent—or an entrepreneur? Experience starting businesses? Building websites? Knowing that every client conversation is a teaching opportunity? All of that, yes—but it’s just the beginning.

You need to lead under pressure. You need negotiation skills forged in tough environments. You need to work with people others call “difficult.” You need to take leaps of faith. And above all, you need belief in the future, even when it defies logic.

If I’d signed that franchise contract, the dots would never have joined. I wouldn’t have met my business partner, Siobhan—a woman who can connect the dots as easily as I can.

Together, we built this.

Looking forward, you can’t see the dots. But looking back? They draw the perfect map.

Let’s see where the next one lands.

Martin Tommie

Director - Listed Estate Agents