‘The harder I work, the luckier I am’
Hard work and luck are intertwined for yacht broker Mark Elliott. Here’s how his busy days always start with a cup of coffee. Words: Conor Feasey
‘The harder I work, the luckier I am’
Hard work and luck are intertwined for yacht broker Mark Elliott. Here’s how his busy days always start with a cup of coffee. Words: Conor Feasey
“LUCK IS WHEN preparation meets opportunity.” It’s a simple business philosophy but one that has paid off for Mark Elliott, yacht sales and charter consultant with the firm IYC. For proof, there is his ever-growing list of deals and his 12 wins of the IYC broker of the year award. But it all starts with coffee.
“I always start with coffee and raisin bran, then the workday can begin.” His first job is to scan the emails that arrived overnight. “I get on to the European phone calls from about 10am and the rest of the day trickles down from there,” Elliott tells Corporate Jet Investor. Working with an international yacht brokerage and charter business, based in Florida, his day is ordered in time zones.
In yachting, each day presents its own challenges, he says. “No day and no problem is the same; Every deal, every charter, every yacht has its nuances. That's the fun thing, it's never the same.”
Lunchtime is the perfect opportunity to meet clients who happen to be visiting Florida or based in The Sunshine State. Equipped with a helicopter licence (alongside a fixed wing and yacht captain’s licence), Elliott often flies from his house to meetings or to drop clients off at their yachts. “It’s like my magic carpet, it takes me wherever I need to go.”
In the afternoons, Elliott tends to focus on urgent topics arising from brokerage and charter clients. Time permitting, it can also be an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Florida countryside. “A bike ride in the afternoon always relaxes me.”
Warm evenings are often spent relaxing with a glass of good red wine. But it is a time too for watching news or historical documentaries on YouTube – particularly those with a flying theme. “I am an aviation nut,” he says. “I really enjoy watching aviation videos or something on megalithic structures and ancient Egypt.”
But Elliott’s passion for aviation extends well beyond YouTube videos. He enjoys buying, renovating and selling aircraft. He owns three: an amphibian Cessna 206, a Cessna 401 and a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. Elliott also built an amphibian seaplane – which won a speed record.
His early memories are filled with days spent playing in derelict planes at Miami airport after discovering a hole in the fence aged six. At 13, Elliott’s quest to fly began while washing aircraft at Opa-Locka Airport. He enjoyed the mile-long taxi back to their hangar.
“At 15, I bought my first J3 Cub and built it in the back yard. I put the wings on and then fired up the engine,” says Elliott. (His parents were less than pleased).
“It's like my magic carpet, it takes me wherever I need to go.”
Meanwhile, Elliott still has the occasional phone call with his old friend and former employer Jordan Belfort AKA The Wolf of Wall Street. Elliott captained the stockbroker’s yacht, Nadine, through the infamous ‘Mistral in the Med' storm, which later featured in the movie about Belfort. This was when Elliott says he was forced to pitch a $500,000 helicopter off its helipad to make way for a search-and-rescue helicopter to touch down. (“It must have been the adrenaline, because it was as light as a feather”).
Whether at work or leisure, Elliott firmly believes in always pursuing his passions with single-minded focus. “The harder I work, the luckier I am,” he says. “And the luckier I am, the happier I am.”
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