I inherited the family business with 6 weeks of cash left and millions in hidden debt. I was 30, with no management experience. I saved it by being the best salesperson and learning leadership along the way.
I'm the principal of Nitschke Real Estate in the Adelaide Hills. Eight years ago I took over the business at 30 with no management experience, no succession plan, and more hidden debt than I knew about. I rebuilt it from the ground up.
Today the business is profitable and I lead a team of 14. I'm also a keynote speaker, the author of Leading Out of Loss, and a mentor to business owners working through the same problems. The challenge I'm working on now is the same one that trips up every operator who's ever built something real: getting the business to run without needing me in the middle of everything.
"I want to build something that outlasts me, and actually be present for the life I'm building while I'm still in it."
This site is where I document that process. Real decisions. Real numbers. What I know, what I'm learning, and what it actually looks like to build a business you're not the centre of.
The Weekly, the issues, the numbers, the hires, the 1:1s, the org chart. One place. I built it to run my own agency, then opened it up to other principals. $99 per user a month.
Real decisions. Real numbers. No ghost writers. Updated when something worth saying happens.
Leadership
At Nitschke, every quarter we go off-site for the day to review the past 90 days and plan the next 90. We’ve been doing these quarterly off-sites for years, and it’s one of the most powerful team-building activities we invest in. If you want to catch up on what went down in Q1 and Q2, […]
Read →Leadership
Most agency principals I coach come to the conversation with a revenue or people problem. Sometimes that's a genuine part of the picture. But more than often, they’re symptoms of deeper issues. Take a director I spoke to recently who is running a small agency in a competitive regional market. Revenue has plateaued, the property […]
Read →Leadership
I had the pleasure of speaking at the Laing + Simmons Leadership Forum last month. I shared some candid lessons around how recent leadership exits exposed over-reliance on myself in the business, why I’m embracing a shared leadership model, and the power of aligning growth with personal values. Asking “what’s my next move?” got me […]
Read →30 things I wish I knew when I became CEO at 30. Short, tactical, and honest. Just what actually worked, and what didn't.
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I documented my entire leadership journey, turning the failing agency into a thriving profitable business. This is the 'playbook' I never had. Part memoir, part business book. It's the most honest leadership book out there.
I'm not a coach or speaker relying on slide decks. I'm a business owner working through issues and opportunities in real-time. Just a couple of steps ahead. Here's how we can work together.
One email a week. What I'm working through, what's not working. What I'm learning and leaving. Subscriber-only frameworks, systems, strategies, and insights.
For business owners who are stuck, overwhelmed or know something needs to change. We tackle and solve your actual problems in real-time. Think 'second CEO' support.
I speak at conferences, leadership events, and team training days. Sharing real stories and strategies from inside a real business.