Strong Foundations

23 March 2023

By Tina Liptai

Growing up, Adrian Tsavalas never contemplated a career in the real estate industry. But, after just one day of work experience at a family friend’s agency, he was hooked. Here he reveals how building strong foundations from the start, never cutting corners and always putting his clients first has helped him to build a thriving career and business.

When Adrian Tsavalas finished high school and took on casual work at a real estate agency, he never imagined it would be the start of a thriving career in the industry or the first step on the pathway to launching his own successful real estate business.

“At school, my favourite subjects were hospitality and computer programing,” he remembered. “That’s where my passion lay and I was sure that I would work in hospitality or the tech industry. I’d never considered real estate as a career at all.”

But the opportunity to do work experience, referred by a family member who was in the real estate industry, was too good to pass up. After just one day, Adrian happily found himself on a new and unexpected career path.

“It was a casual Saturday leasing position, and I really enjoyed it,” Adrian said. “I loved the opportunity to make genuine connections with people and it was a great feeling to be helping landlords and tenants to achieve their goals.

“On that first day, I leased two properties that had been on the market for a while, and it gave me such a buzz. The agent I was working with must have seen potential in me and I was offered a full-time job that first day. Even though I hadn’t considered working in real estate long term, I realised that it was a great opportunity, so I accepted the offer and jumped into the role.”

And with that decision, Adrian’s successful career spanning more than 17 years in Sydney’s Inner West began.

Adrian is proud to say that he’s learnt a lot working from the ground up in the industry. He started out in leasing, before moving to property management and sales and then launching his own business. Today, Adrian is keen to invest in up-and-coming agents, giving them the same opportunity that he was offered early in his career and supporting them as they find their feet in the industry.

“Being an ‘overnight success’ isn’t the norm in any industry, but it’s especially not the case in the real estate industry. It takes time to build a good reputation and develop relationships within the industry and with clients – and this is what ultimately leads to success.”

No shortcuts

Since his first day on the job in 2005, Adrian has deliberately worked to build a strong reputation for excellence, honesty and approachability.

“Being an ‘overnight success’ isn’t the norm in any industry, but it’s especially not the case in the real estate industry,” Adrian said. “It takes time to build a good reputation and develop relationships within the industry and with clients – and this is what ultimately leads to success.

“When you start out, it’s important to spend time making sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s, so attention to detail becomes second nature to you. I would also say it’s important to build up your knowledge of the industry and your market, so you can easily share this with clients as a key part of how you work.”

Adrian also credits his success to prioritising learning and development, as well as having a client-focused approach in every aspect of his work.

“Making time for progression is very important and regular training and educational sessions, as well as attending events and conferences is a big part of this,” he said. “Clients want to deal with someone who is respectful, knowledgeable and makes them feel confident that they are in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing.

“I don’t like taking shortcuts and this has been a great asset to me over the years. I pride myself on giving unbiased advice to clients and never putting my own interests or agenda ahead of what’s best for my clients. The reputation I’ve earnt, my profile in the industry and strong referral network are all a by-product of doing the right thing by my clients.”

Relentlessly chasing the best possible outcome for clients has resulted in many successful long-term business relationships for Adrian today.

“Some of my clients today are people I first met early in my career – like a tenant I worked with15 years ago or a landlord I helped while working as a property manager 12 years ago,” he said. “I also receive many recommendations via word of mouth. It’s incredibly satisfying when you get a call from a friend of a client who has referred them. If clients are willing to promote you and your work to others, you’re doing something right.”

While a strong work ethic plays a big part in success, Adrian says his best piece of advice – and the saying that he lives by – is that ‘spoken words can’t be unsaid’.

“It’s pretty self-explanatory, but it reminds me to think about what I’m going to say and consider the impact my words might have before I say anything,” he explained. “People will always remember how you made them feel, so be mindful of that.”

From the ground up

Like many agents, Adrian’s start in the industry was working in leasing and property management.

After becoming a leasing consultant in 2006, he held that role for three years at a small family-owned real estate agency. Adrian said it gave him a strong foundation to build his career.

“I learnt a lot,” he explained. “I was 19 years old and I was able to soak up so much knowledge about the industry in those early stages. It was very hands-on and I was able to gain experience across leasing, commercial and residential sales.”

While he briefly had his sights set on moving into residential sales in those early days, other opportunities came his way and Adrian decided instead to focus on property management and took on a senior role in 2008.

“Property management is a very rewarding career path in real estate,” Adrian said. “You have the opportunity to build long-term relationships with clients. For me, it felt great to be seen as a trusted advisor and to use my knowledge and skills to help clients.”

Adrian moved to a larger real estate office in 2012 and took on a fast-paced role in property management business development, before later transitioning to residential sales.

Rapid growth

Ready to embark on the next phase of his career, Adrian joined forces with business partners, William Pereira and Joseph Ferreira, to launch Inner West agency Adrian William in mid-2020. Initially, they focused only on residential sales, but with Adrian’s background and knowledge of property management, he has been able to hire talented agents and build a rent roll to expand the business.

Adrian’s exceptional work has been recognised with industry accolades including being named as a finalist in the Property Marketer category at the 2018 REINSW Awards for Excellence, nominated for the Rate My Agent and McGrath Rising Star Awards, and also ranked 20 in the top 50 agents aged 35 and under in Sydney by The Daily Telegraph in 2022.

“It’s great to receive that recognition from the industry and your peers,” Adrian said. “That positive reinforcement is the pat on the back that you need to keep going. It pushes you to do even better.”

Leading a young team, Adrian said he’s most proud of the energy and enthusiasm everyone brings to the office.

“We’re prepared to invest in our agents,” he emphasised. “A lot of our team are in their 20s and I really enjoy being able to share my knowledge and experience with them and make a positive impact on their career.

“It’s satisfying to see how many younger agents choose our business as the place where they want to start their career. They see the opportunity to work with great agents, work in a positive environment, and learn and develop great skills. I really enjoy being in a position to act as a mentor and help them to make good decisions about how to create the career they want.”

Since 2020, the Adrian William team has grown from six to 27, selling in excess of 500 properties – and there are plans to keep expanding as the business goes from strength to strength.

“There’s a great energy in our office,” he said. “We’re all pushing to achieve the best results for our clients and you can feel the enthusiasm from everyone when they come into work to do great things together.”

The next big move for the Adrian William team is to settle into their ‘forever home’ on King Street in Newtown in the old Commonwealth Bank building. Adrian said he’s looking forward to bringing the building back to life and creating a great space for the team and business to thrive.

Though he’s sold properties across Sydney, Adrian has spent the majority of his career working in the Inner West and said he loves everything about the area.

“I love the demographic of people you find in the Inner West,” he said. “There’s a real community-minded feel, with lots of young families and family-run businesses. It’s not pretentious and I’ve always felt like I am surrounded by good people in the Inner West.