Norman grew up in nearby Swaledale and his local family connections stretch back for hundreds of years. He set the business up in Richmond in 1967 wanting to be his own boss, and the firm originally traded from premises in Rosemary Lane prior to having their bespoke premises built on Queens Road in the 1980's from which they trade from to this day. He gained the status of a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1974 and has enjoyed a varied and busy career in the local property market until retiring from the day to day activities within the business in 2020. He now performs a consultancy role within the firm.