From Chicken to Pig: Why I'm Done Consulting and Starting a New Strata Management Company

When it comes to bacon and eggs, the chicken is involved but the pig is committed.

For the past few years in strata, I've been the chicken. I've been involved in strata management as a consultant but have not been committed financially. No money where my mouth is. No skin in the game.

That changed this week. The itch had to be scratched. The temptation was too great. I'm no longer the chicken. I'm the pig. I've closed my consultancy. I'm starting a new strata management company, and I'm in it to change how it's done.

Why would anyone jump into a sinking ship?

I've written for the last 86 weeks about strata in the doldrums. A race to the bottom on fees. Media exposés on conflicts and unfair charging practices. Major law reform in NSW. Stricter regulatory enforcement. Navel-gazing about insurance commissions. SCA's backflips, divisions, and disciplinary inaction.

The Macquarie Bank 2026 Strata Industry Benchmarking Report confirms what I've been saying. The current strata management model is broken. Margins are falling, despite more pay staff are leaving, and the clients are cranky.

Salaries now absorb 52% of revenue, up from 49% just three years ago. Staff turnover has improved since its 2022 peak of 33%. However, it still sits at 24% for strata managers, well above the national average of 15%. For the largest firms managing over 10,000 lots, 70% say staff wage costs are the top challenge, and 63% are struggling with client retention.

Is the product broken, or is it the business model?

For all the noise about strata in recent times, I think we've missed the point. It's not the market, or the media, or the government that's at fault. It's simply that the current strata management product isn't good enough. We are stuck in conflicted and outdated charging practices. Our work methods, sales and marketing, software, technology, and recruiting have become stale.

The Macquarie data backs this up. Revenue per lot has jumped 17% since 2022, now at $528. This is the sharpest increase on record. It is driven largely by inflation-linked contracts and rising insurance commissions rather than genuine value creation. Base management fees now account for just 55% of revenue, down from 59% in 2018. Disbursements and 'other' charges that have risen over 40% fill the gap. Businesses are charging more for less clarity. That's not a sustainable value proposition.

It's the business model, not the people at the coalface, that is the problem. Strata managers are working harder than ever for their clients. Yet the relationship between management firms and owners is more toxic than ever. Over 54% of businesses now cite challenging lot owner behaviour as a top concern. Staff turnover and decreasing profitability make the case that employed managers haven't been supported adequately. There is more to it than pay.

Read: One in Four Strata Firms Now Charge a Transparent Insurance Fee. What About Yours?

Read: Strata Management Revenue Model Faces Dual Threat

Can I build a better model this time?

This is not my first attempt at transforming strata management. Some may recall I've owned 11 strata management businesses before. I listed them on the stock exchange just 6 weeks before the GFC started. It didn't end well. Nor did my next venture in law.

I once blamed these failed ventures on bad luck. I've learnt the hard way that's not true. They failed because I made poor decisions, professionally and personally. Mistakes I don't intend to make again.

I like Friedrich Nietzsche's core theme: confronting disorder and uncertainty leads to genuine understanding. I've done that personally. Now I'm going to do it professionally.

Let's see if this time I can bring home the bacon.

Read: Nothing Great is Easy

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