2017 CHU Strata Community Awards – Strata Community Management Business: Small

Meet Luke Bowen, Sky Living Strata – 2017 Strata Community Management Business: Small

Luke Bowen, Principal, Sky Living Strata

After ten years in strata, Luke Bowen missed his one big night with a client insisting on holding a meeting at the same time as the 2017 CHU Strata Community Awards were announced. The irony lies in Luke breaking his one rule of rarely doing meetings on a Friday night.

This year’s winner of the Strata Community Management Business – Small, Luke was thrilled with the accolade in any case.

“I would have really liked to have been at the gala dinner but I also want to make sure my clients are happy and so the meeting came first,” Luke said.

“Winning the award is very exciting especially as Sky Living Strata is a relatively new business having only been operating since December 2015. To have won this award after less than two years operating is definitely a highlight.”

What has made Luke successful is his mix of focus, attention to detail and a good dose of ethics plus that ten years in strata, learning the ropes.

“I’d always wanted to run my own company but realised that I also needed to gain experience and plan what it was I need to do. I spent time working in the industry, learning as much as I could and filling notebooks with ideas and details for when I wanted to start out on my own.”

An amazing attention to detail meant that Luke was able to transition from working with his last company to starting his own in a very honest and transparent manner. He was careful to keep the two separate and when he finally launched made sure that clients were encouraged to stay with his previous company.

“I’ve been successful precisely because I act ethically and don’t poach clients. My approach to this business is to be sensible and not greedy. I make sure that my clients expectations meet my company’s capabilities and so I’m realistic about what I can and can’t take on,” Luke explained.

His aim is to operate in the boutique building space and will happily work anywhere geographically on two to 300 lots. Sky Living Strata already has a staff of four and will grow steadily over the next 12 months. A pretty amazing feat for a business that started at zero buildings.

“I was offered strata management businesses to buy but I really had some concerns and didn’t want to buy someone else’s problems. It was the right decision for me and I have since grown to around 1,000 lots today. We had been adding one to two buildings a week for a while and I’m really comfortable with where we’re at now.”

Prior to becoming a strata manager, Luke worked as a property manager so he already had a customer service focus.

“Strata is a customer service industry and once you understand that the rest is pretty simple. One of the secrets to best customer service is adapting communications to suit the specific people you’re dealing with.”

The award is a great mark of success so far for Luke and certainly adds to his positive reputation. You can bet that Sky Living Strata is a company that will continue to grow and do amazing things in the industry.