Steve Abbott of Jellis Craig switched a pizza shop for real estate

PHOTO: My father said to the agent, Paul Prior: “My son is a bit lost; he’s working in a pizza shop in Lygon Street. Please talk to him.”

Upon discovering he and property were made for each other, Steven Abbott, now a managing director, left the pizza trade and made quick work of building on his social networks. He’s now firmly entrenched in the eastern suburbs, professionally and personally, and he and his wife are raising their three sons in Hawthorn East, where he got his first taste for real estate.

How did you get into property?

Jellis Craig sold my grandmother’s house in Hawthorn East in 1993. My father said to the agent, Paul Prior: “My son is a bit lost; he’s working in a pizza shop in Lygon Street. Please talk to him.” Real estate and I, we found each other a bit. It gave me a team environment, companionship and focus. I could see the connection between work, success and reward. When Paul turned up at my grandmother’s house, he had a big diary and a big block phone; I thought “ooh, yeah”. Paul encouraged me from day one.