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May 28, 2025 15 mins

Mark Novak didn't plan on launching his own real estate agency—necessity forced his hand after being fired over a property dispute with his boss. Within just two weeks, a 23-year-old Mark had gathered partners and established what would become Novak Properties. That was 2002, and now, 23 years later, the Northern Beaches agency stands as proof that sometimes the most unexpected beginnings yield the most remarkable journeys.

What makes Novak Properties distinctive? For starters, their decision to remain independent when franchises dominated the landscape gave them the freedom to develop their own systems and unorthodox marketing approaches. Mark recounts how they once created a provocative window display welcoming "hookers to the strip" when LJ Hooker moved to their street—marketing that would never fly under franchise constraints. More significantly, they pioneered a team-selling approach where every agent can sell every listing, splitting commissions between listing and selling agents to prioritize client outcomes over territorial battles.

Mark attributes much of his success to "biting off more than you can chew" through honest, substantial commitments early in life. These pressures created a focus that propelled both personal and business growth. Even after three decades in real estate, he still considers himself to be "practicing," embodying the philosophy that "gradual improvement is better than delayed perfection." Rather than expanding to multiple offices, Mark remains committed to incremental improvements and developing his team at their single location. His story demonstrates that sometimes our greatest setbacks—like being unexpectedly fired—can launch us toward success we never imagined possible. What unexpected challenge might become your greatest opportunity?

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Good morning guys.
Episode 1428, the beginning ofNovak Properties here this
morning with Josh and Mark.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Let's go, I'm the ringleader, so I'm gonna.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, we thought we'd start with something a little
bit different than what weusually do for a Wednesday.
I thought, coming back from youguys, coming back from Arik,
and you know watching how muchyou work and move I thought it'd
be interesting for our viewersto get an understanding of the
beginning of Novak, your story,how it all happened, biggest ups

(01:01):
, biggest downs.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Do you want to start us off 2002 we?

Speaker 1 (01:09):
started.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Yeah, yeah, 2002.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
It was out of necessity, I guess Never thought
of starting a real estateagency.
And we did.
And it's what's that now?

Speaker 1 (01:25):
20, that's 23 years old goes quick when you're
having fun, hey absolutelyabsolutely and what and what
pushed you into going solo oropening up your own mark?
What was that?
That push there?
That sort of said to yourselfI'm gonna make that leap I got

(01:47):
fired, really yeah and what andwhat and how long was that sort
of process from being fired togoing?
Hey, I'm gonna go and start myown two weeks, wow, so it didn't
take long.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, I said I had to .
So I got fired because it was aproperty dispute actually.
So I was buying something offmy boss at the time because he
had, I was going to buy a shopfor the property management side
of the business, and um, andthen we had a disagreement on

(02:31):
price, so he threw everythingoff the table and marched me out
the door no way way.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
What a crazy way to begin.
And what did you go and startby yourself?
Did you have someone with youor what was the team?

Speaker 2 (02:47):
So, yeah, very fortunate, because at that time
I'd been starting to buy smallpercentages of the rent roll
business.
So pretty much the principlethat I'm the entire business was
selling down, had sold down theproperty management side of the
business, looking to exit outof the business, and then he was

(03:10):
negotiating with me and anothersalesperson in the business to
take half-half of the salesbusiness.
But at the ripe age of 21, 22,.
The other guy wanted 51% and me49% and I was like, yeah, nah,

(03:32):
that's not going to happen, it'sgot to be 50-50.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
Yeah, wow.
And what were some of thebiggest hurdles or issues you
had starting in those firstcouple of months?

Speaker 2 (03:48):
well, the first, the first couple of weeks, they like
, because we had we brought oversome of the rental or the
rental business of what we don't.
So the partners I'd had I sorry, didn't answer that question
the partners I had was astockbroker, an accountant,

(04:08):
three minority real estateagents in the business and my
shareholding.
So there was about six of us,seven of us that owned that rent
roll side of the business andthen I started that sales side
of the business and snapped iton the side and then we moved to
DY.
So yeah, they were the partners.

Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yeah, wow.
And why?
Novak?
Obviously your last name, butwhat made you want to go?
Novak's it?
Novak's what I'm going to runwith.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Yeah, because at the time there was no other agency.
There was McGrath was taken,bell was taken.
No, bell was nothing or notmuch.
There was Di Jones, whichwasn't much, but all the other
major franchises.
So there were 16 franchises inDY at the time.

(05:00):
So we sort of didn't reallyhave any opportunity there.
So it was like, well, we sortof have to do independent.
Um, and then we did.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
It was originally called the novak agency wow, and
something that I'd probablyfind quite interesting asking
you this In obviously being anindependent, you don't see too
many that sort of grow to thescale Novak has.
What were your biggestchallenges being independent?
And then what were your sellingpoints to clients being an

(05:33):
independent agency?

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Look, we were sort of , I think we grew instinctively
with our systems.
So we weren't, we didn't justsnap on systems because that's
what the franchise gave us,because we didn't have a
franchise.
So I think we sort of grewinstinctively with us with with
our own homegrown systems.
That that worked for us.
Um, and then also, what wasphenomenal was we didn't have to

(06:00):
conform to anything a franchisewould have to do.
So you know, as you know, someof the stuff that we come up
with with our marketing.
I can't remember we wrote onour windows LJ Hooker DY, which
was a big agency at the time.
They were on the beach front ofDY and they moved to Pitwater
Road, which is the main road ofour suburb, and we wrote on the

(06:24):
front of our window we wouldlike to welcome hookers to the
strip and we had a big Las Vegassign on the front underneath it
, you know.
So it looked like the Vegasstrip.
You know that sort of stuff wewould never ever be able to get
away with under a franchise.
So it's pretty good because wecould have ever be able to get
away with under a franchise.

(06:44):
So it's pretty good becausewithout being a franchise, we
could be unapologetic.
And it's interesting nownon-franchises I think I saw a
stat the other day 61% are NewSouth Wales and I think in
Queensland they're 11%.
I was having the conversationon the weekend with a Queensland
agent.
So it's been good.
It's been good.
But you know, franchise wasdefinitely a thing when we

(07:05):
started back in 2002.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, wow.
And what about?
I think something that alsoreally separates Novak apart
from its competition is the waythat your sales team sells.
Where was the concept came from?
Where, essentially, you hadevery agent selling, every
listing and and and how did youcome to that?

Speaker 2 (07:27):
we've always operated like that.
It's probably an old-fashionedway of operating um where, and
just just to just to um doubledown on what you said, so with
our sales team, when, when aclient chooses us to sell um
their property, we um basically,you say to say it's a two

(07:52):
percent selling fee.
What we do internally is webring, we bring the catch in and
then we anyone who has a buyerwithin the office, any agent has
a buyer in the office, has theability to sell and get half of
that commission, 50% of thatcommission, as an example.
So we always thought that wasin the interest of, of of the

(08:15):
client, because it didn't makesense that a buyer walked
through the front door of ouroffice, met with Josh and then
they liked four properties, butall four properties were with
four different agents.
Josh couldn't put that clientin the car and show the client
four properties.
Most of the real estate officesyou can't.
They don't have that harmony orthat agreement on split.

(08:39):
So we found it was the best wayto get prices because you know
we're always competing on priceswith different buyers on
different properties and that'sin the interest of the seller
yeah, well, yeah, I definitelythought that um being coming
into novak and and that being anew thing, um that that was
really interesting to me and itdefinitely, it definitely works.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
um, obviously, having the experience here since I've
started, that sense ofcompetitiveness and bringing
multiple buyers and databasestogether to one campaign
definitely gets those results.
So I definitely wanted toanswer that question.
What would you say?
Your biggest successes or yourfirst point after starting Novak

(09:21):
and you sat back and you, youknow, you smiled and you go, you
know, well done, well done, mrNovak.
Did you have a moment withinthe business or a point that you
got to where?
You know?
You just thought I'm very happyat where I am right now.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
First sale.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
First sale, and how long did that take you?

Speaker 2 (09:43):
About four weeks, weeks, five weeks, wow and
there's a guy called, uh, jeffoh, what was jeff's surname?
And he had a two-bedroom unitin maramba avenue, um, and I
sold it to some people whoactually knew um at the time and
first sale was like wow, thisis cool feels real, yep, wow,

(10:08):
fantastic.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
And was there anything else that, through your
experience that people don'tquite see, you know under the,
under the cover, so to speak, ofyou know, of your experience in
starting this journey that youwant to share?

Speaker 2 (10:33):
think the best thing was just biting off more than
you can chew, um, and I thinkthat those bites that we've,
that I've taken, have been um,honest ones.
So you know, for instance, Ithink, if you, if you're going
in, if you're taking your biteokay, let's just use a family
home, for example if you'regoing in, mortgaging yourself
hard and you're honest withyourself and you're buying the

(10:53):
family home at the age of 25 or30, um, I think you're fighting
for something pretty, prettyhonest and I think you're
fighting for something prettyfiercely.
And you know, you, you canafford to bite off more than you
could chew, and and then thenyou follow through.
So I think that the greatestthing was, you know, taking

(11:14):
those big bites early inbusiness and in life and in
marriage and in kids and stufflike that, I think was a really
nice set up.
So, yeah, I think you knowthat's if I could help people.
That's the number one thing I'dsay.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, and then I think Lisa's just tuned in 23
years of age.
How does someone when I was 23,it was all about the weekend
and friends how did you zone inand be able to operate such a
beast at such a young age?

Speaker 2 (11:53):
exactly what I just said I had, because I committed
to stuff early, I and it washonest stuff.
I couldn't afford to turn leftor right or deviate um, it was
like make that commit and it was, you know.
It wasn't like, oh, I'm gonna,you know, buy this, you know,

(12:14):
race car, racehorse and win thisrace, or I'm gonna buy this
stock and it's gonna do realreal well.
It was honest.
It was honest, healthy debt, um, that I was taking on, or an
honest, healthy commitment thatI was taking on.
So I think at 23 it was really.
It was a really dumb move, umto doing, you know, doing

(12:35):
something without having thatknowledge, but I think in terms
of the size, like the size of itand the lack of knowledge, but
it was a really clever movebecause it was.

Speaker 1 (12:45):
It was honest debt, you know, and it was it was for
good, you know, supporting goodthings yeah, wow, and yeah, of
course, elise is saying againthere that I think it's
definitely stands for novakdoing things differently and
always innovating.
I mean, um, even simple tasksyou're constantly reminding us
of do better plus one.

(13:06):
So I definitely think thatstands for novak and the brand
and everyone else behind it.
So thanks, elise, for sharingthat.
And, mark, was there anythingelse you wanted to add in in
regards to the Novak story?
What's your future?
Is there anything else comingyour way that you know bright
and wonderful, that no one'sdone before?

(13:28):
Any special plans, please share?

Speaker 2 (13:31):
I think, look, people always encourage us to go for a
second office and I don't thinkthat's, you know that's going
to happen.
It's always one office.
I think, just grow and justregular and small increments.
It's something we, just youknow, I've always felt
passionately about.
I've always said somethingabout the CEO of Toyota was, you

(13:53):
know, gradual improvement isbetter than delayed perfection.
So I think, just you know, justdoubling down on that,
servicing people better, lookingafter our Northern Beaches
community better, just you know,just you know I often laugh
when I have people on the phoneor friend.
People laugh like what are youdoing?
And I say I'm practicing.
You have people on the phone orfriend people laugh, they go,

(14:13):
what are you doing?
And I say I'm practicing, youknow.
So they go, what do you mean?
And I'm like you're stillpracticing after 32 years, like
yep.
So you know, I just think thatfuture is just to continue
practicing and I really get ahell of a lot of joy with
building and helping peoplearound me, of joy with building

(14:36):
um and helping people around me,not just in terms of clients
but in terms of um, our crew, um, and seeing and developing um,
that there's the skill set ofpeople around me with what I
know, and and I and and I findthat's two-way, because you know
these guys are also helphelping me, um, so, yeah, it's
just that, yeah, helping eachother sort of thing yeah, wow,
well, yeah, mark, well, thankyou for sharing your story.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
I've got to say your um, your work ethic is something
to behold.
Not just saying that becauseyou're my boss, but it is
impressive.
You'd never run out of fuel,that's for sure.
So thank you for sharing your,uh, your story this morning,
mark.
It's um eye-opening and it'sinteresting to see under the
covers of what Novak is, how itbegan and what's to come.

(15:16):
So, thank you.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
Thanks, have a great day, see you.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
See you guys, have a great day.
Have a great day.
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