#doorgrowshow - Property Management Growth

There’s a lot of stress that comes with moving. Push tenants toward the finish line by getting utilities turned on quickly. Today, I am talking to Wes Owens of Citizen Home Solutions, a free concierge service that facilitates utility services for new residents moving into a property. Property management companies experience pain points and challenges with tenants setting up utilities. They struggle with getting utilities quickly set up in a tenant’s name and placing necessary equipment. So, Citizen Home Solutions engages directly with tenants and takes the stress out of the process. You'll Learn... [03:48] Before and after results of using Wes’ company to save time and money. [04:52] Tenants’ appreciate the company’s facilitation help and process. [06:22] Growth Goals: Reach nationwide - outreach everybody. [06:49] Citizen works with major cable, satellite, Internet, phone, and security providers. [07:10] Property managers’ biggest questions and concerns about Citizen’s services. [08:15] Onboarding process fo

In this episode, I am talking to Todd Breen of Virtually Incredible about how to spend less time leasing to make more money and grow your business. Todd manages a property management company and opened an outsourcing solution called Virtually Incredible. It was designed to help property managers spend less time leasing and spend money on a good marketing campaign, business development manager (BDM), and call center to begin the customer journey on the right foot. You'll Learn... [02:27] Business owners devote too much time and resources to leasing properties. [02:47] Putting less effort into leasing and more into listing can free up energy to grow your company. [03:54] Analyze and monetize your leasing process. [04:33] What would a customer’s experience be with your company and what do you need to do to improve? [05:00] Using the traditional model, business owners tend to charge an owner a tenant placement fee and share some of that with a commissioned leasing agent. [05:51] The traditional model is inefficie

Do you know your credit score? What about your pet? Does it have a score? Today, I am talking to John Bradford, the “Pet Guy.” John came up with the idea for PetScreening.com by combining his skillsets of being a property manager and pet lover. There’s two “Ps” that cause property damage - people and pets. Property managers need to know how to handle pet diligence and the increasing population of “assistance” animals - sometimes involving pet owners who try to circumvent policies of property management firms. You'll Learn... [05:00] Service animals is a topic that sparks property managers’ interest. [07:00] Experience Share: Tell your experiences and don’t hold back any punches. It makes for authentic and real conversations. [07:16] John started PetScreening to develop a service that reduced the liability for property managers and clients. [08:12] John did not want the service to cost any money. [08:21] John loves money, so he wanted a product that generated substantial revenue around pets. [09:05] John worke

Are you stuck? The best way to get unstuck and grow your business is to talk to clients and customers. Today, I am talking to Chuck Hattemer, co-founder and CMO of Onerent, about systems and processes used to scale to 2,000 doors. While in college, Chuck had a horrible housing experience as a renter. An aspect that drew Chuck into real estate was that he could impact some of the most sensitive parts of people’s lives as renters. You'll Learn... [03:06] Chuck describes his company’s first platform, which was student housing with a few extra bells and whistles. [03:26] Onerent took that as a model to investors to raise seed capital. [04:14] Onerent pivoted to a full-service property management. Eventually, it scaled to managing 2,000 doors. [04:54] Having come from the renter’s perspective and a lack of experience, Chuck is still naive about some things. But that naivate lets him think out of the box for solutions. [05:20] Onerent identified problems people were facing, how to make the experience consistent, an

Do you need someone to help you build your dream? Someone who can handle your scheduling, email, and other tasks while you focus on the big stuff? Someone with the same native language and same culture? The only thing worse than not having an assistant is having the wrong assistant. Today, I am talking to Tim Francis, founder of the Great Assistant Program. During downtime as a touring drummer and after overcoming an illness, Tim had an interest in property management. He realized a brute-force method was not a sustainable long-term strategy. He needed help. He tried assistants from all over the world, only to have disastrous results. So, he created the Great Assistant Program. You'll Learn... [08:02] Tim had the common problems of letting go of control, not trusting others, not wanting to take time to train or manage, not knowing where to find assistants, and not knowing what to delegate. [08:35] After about four years, Tim was willing to offer higher pay to find an assistant in the United States or Canada a

If you outsource properly, you free up time, money, and resources that you can reinvest into growing your business. Today’s guest is Todd Breen, owner of Virtually Incredible, an outsourcing company. Since 1994 his quest has been to make property management both fun and profitable. Outsourcing achieves both of those goals. You'll Learn... [03:03] Create your own solution to meet the needs of your company. [04:08] A common mistake property managers make is thinking they are the one that does it all. But they realize they can’t do it all and need to hire others. [05:00] You don’t need to spend tons of money on new employees. But there’s a better option. [05:15] When thinking about outsourcing ask: What size is your company? Where are your weak spots? Where is your customer service lacking? [05:36] Todd’s company, Home Property Management, decided to outsource its maintenance to a company that specializes in it, is staffed adequately, and available 24/7. [06:21] To effectively outsource, find a business that has

Have you ever been sued because of a biased opinion on an inspection you did on a property? Did you have a personal, vested interest in the property? Do you think you are safe just because you have documentation and videos? Today, I am talking to James Alderson of OnSight PROS about inspections. Most property managers claim that they do inspections, but do they really? James was one of those who claimed to be doing inspections. But he just didn’t have time or want to do them. So, he hired people to do the inspections for him. As a result, it developed into a business for James. He saw the need for move-in/move-out, periodic, and initial inspections. You'll Learn... [03:51] How many doors are needed to grow into a new market - 800 to 1,000. James went through about 35 inspectors/technicians initially but did not enough business to sustain them. [04:57] If your area does not have OnSight PROS, see if you can create 800-1,000 doors for James to make some magic happen in your market. [05:12] Currently, OnSight PR

Imagine yourself drinking a beer, sitting by the pool, and watching the sun go down. Can a picture truly capture your enjoyment? Thanks to editing services offered by BoxBrownie.com, it is possible. Today, I am talking to Brad Filliponi and Peter Schravemade of BoxBrownie about their online marketing tool that helps others publish quality marketing photographs to get people to their properties. You'll Learn... [01:50] Background of BoxBrownie: Brad was previously a real estate photographer who had trouble finding people to edit his images. Peter is a real estate agent who believes quality marketing can be done for less money. So, they developed an online marketing tool for estate agents, photographers, and others to easily publish marketing materials. [03:45] The BoxBrownie website features quality output and samples of what can be done. The amazing photos help people envision what is possible. [06:35] Virtual Staging: BoxBrownie offers virtual staging of properties and rooms that are mapped out in 3D and whe

Dealing with natural disasters is a crucial part of property management. In this episode, we hear a first-hand account from those who dealt with the devastation to property that occurred when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. There are all kinds of disasters that could happen in the future. Property management knows this first hand, as well as the importance of an effective disaster preparedness plan. Steve Rozenberg and Pete Neubig from Empire Industries give their perspective on dealing with the devastation in Houston. They describe their emergency preparedness plans and the crucial steps they took to manage their properties during the devastation. They are able to give us a first-hand look at the things property managers need to consider in the event of natural disasters and how best to manage operations. You'll Learn... [05:09] Roles during a disaster: Steve took to Facebook to show people what happened, and Pete served as the backbone of the operation, coming up with a plan and delegating tasks. [05:37] Syst

A lot of people may want to upgrade their home or location, but money is tight and they are tied down. Mike Kalis of Marketplace Homes has a solution for this. Not only does he help people break ties with their existing homes and move into new ones, but he successfully built a business around this practice. Today we are talking about how to use options to grow your property management firm. Doing things like helping tenants and owners by leveraging rent-to-own options. The goal is to increase revenues and have enough money to provide a high level of service. You'll Learn... [04:02] Mike's company is close to 3000 doors in 28 states. [04:49] How we will talk about increasing revenues on transactions. [06:54] The biggest benefit is helping owners get out of their homes without having to sell right away with a rent-to-own plan. [08:01] This is also a second chance opportunity for the tenants. [09:09] Pros and cons a tenant could put money down and if they don't purchase they would lose that. The owner could lose

A solid team is needed for any property management business to grow and be sustainable. One of the largest challenges of having, building, and retaining a team is creating an environment that enables team members to thrive. Having a culture and vision is foundational for attracting and keeping the right people on that team. In this episode, I interview Tim Wehner from Dodson Property Management. Dodson is a large company with a large team, which is perfect for today’s topic of having a culture and vision within a property management business. Tim shares how they create a culture at Dodson and how a shared vision helps motivate team members. You'll Learn... [03:43] Writing out a mission statement, company values, and vision. Then taking small steps to accomplish those. [05:43] Dodson has about 1475 properties under 10 units and 4000 in the multifamily department. [07:43] How important it is to make sure everyone shares the same vision and values. [09:44] Dodson promotes long lasting relationships by dividing g

When starting and building a business growth is an important factor. Emulating successful people can also be a shortcut to success, but keep in mind that doing the same thing as someone else that is in a different growth stage doesn’t make sense. Different tactics need to be used in different growth stages. In this episode, I am talking with Steve Rozenberg from Empire Industries. Steve grew his business from zero to 700 doors in four years. Steve has a really interesting story that he is able to go out and share because he is supported by a really great team. We talk about Steve’s story, stages of growth, and more. You'll Learn... [03:24] Steve's background as an airline pilot and how 911 was a pivotal point in his career and life. [06:37] He was attracted to real estate because he liked the fact of leveraging time and money. [07:11] He was doing well with houses and apartments, then he bought 20 low-income properties and got in over his head. [08:32] While trying to solve his low-income housing problem he a

Being a property manager is a great career and a great way to earn an income. Getting in on a growing opportunity and building a solid business is fun and profitable. Yet, many property managers can get stuck on depending on only transactional income through adding clients. In this episode, we learn about a way to break this cycle. In this episode my guest is Jim Ingersoll from Big Money Investor. Jim shares creative ways to fund deals. He is a real estate investor with a lot of great ideas. My goal for this show is to make things very relevant for property managers. We discuss how property managers can break through the transactional cycle and purchase their own investment properties to manage and grow revenues for themselves along with their clients. You'll Learn... [02:05] How Jim helps people get into owning properties of their own and not just managing them for everyone else. [02:33] How property managers often get stuck in a transactional income stream. They would like to break out of this cycle but don

If you have ever thought that managing properties would be so much easier if there was just a mobile or iPhone app that connected to your property management software and linked to your website, your time has come. Today’s episode is all about a mobile app that does just that along with insights and more from the apps creator. In this episode, I am talking with Evan Savar from MyResisentLiNC a software app that helps manage all aspects of property management from communication tools for residents to custom setup for property managers. They are currently focused on multifamily properties and connecting entire portfolios, but they are also starting to address specific residential needs. Evan shares all of this with us and more on today’s show. You'll Learn... [02:11] About Evan and his background. He is from Las Vegas and has always been an entrepreneur. [02:48] He created Evinar a live streaming tool for Facebook. [03:23] He has always been interested in communities and community creation through technology. A

Sales are the backbone of any business, yet it is something that most people struggle with. One thing that can help all of us is understanding the psychology behind what makes influences a persons decision to buy.  Mike Michalowicz the best selling author of Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and Surge is back on the show. This week we are talking about behavior influences regarding sales. It’s all about what affects sales and what helps you sell your property management services. Mike shares his research and insights on this important topic. Be sure to listen to our popular, previous episode with Mike: DGS 25: Why Every Property Manager Should Implement Profit First You'll Learn... [03:00] How entrepreneurs struggle with momentum mode and overwhelm mode. [06:11] How we are wired to pay attention to things that are different. [11:18] How we feel compelled to share our knowledge and power of secrets. [14:45] Identifying what the customer truly needs and delivering it. [21:11] The Ph

Property managers want to get business and make money, but they often make the mistake of underpricing their services. In the long and short run, it would be much better to make more revenue with less clients. The challenge is finding a way to reach an audience that will pay for a quality service and allow you to actually make money. Today, I am speaking about price sensitivity to the franchisees at Keyrenters. I had done some past consulting work with them,and they invited me to speak to their regular audience. I talk about how marketing to different channels and having a solid reputation while being able to sell to the right audience can make all of the difference with pricing options. You'll Learn... [03:42] Shoring up branding and creating reputation profiles as a business. [04:53] Category expansion is building brands and creating market share by finding an audience. [10:33] Focusing on the blue water where everyone else isn't.[13:24] Reviews are one channel for warm leads, but you can multiple review ch

Today, I am hanging out with Jameson Brandon and talking about the subject of genius and speed learning. We talk about how to really tap in and connect with your genius and purpose, and how to remove stuff from your life that is preventing that from happening. This all affects growth and how your business is growing. We talk about energy management, time management, and building a team that is motivated and passionate. Every business, especially, property management businesses want to grow faster. Jameson and I talk about unlocking your inner genius to grow your business faster. Most business owners want to be moving faster, but they run into roadblocks. People commonly think the roadblocks are due to lack of tools or resources, but they are usually rooted in a much deeper belief. In this episode, we explore what it means to be a genius, and how to bring out the genius in all of us. You'll Learn... [04:00] What it takes to be a genius. We all have genius inside us. [07:11] How people need to find what drives

Today, I am speaking with John Ray, of Inspect & Cloud, a digital property inspection software product. If you haven’t heard of this software, I think you will love it. It is just really cool, and John is also a really cool guy. John began in real estate when he was 18 years old. He soon discovered that selling houses was harder than he thought, but he was good with technology. He started developing websites for realtors and working on marketing and lead generation. While working on the tech side of real estate, John was offered an opportunity to teach at Google. He ended up traveling with a group of brand ambassadors and teaching SEO, lead generation, and email marketing. John wanted to implement some of the things he was teaching and he was also fascinated by SaaS product. After talking to many realtors, he realized that there was a pain point when it came to managing paper property inspections. Here is John’s story of the creation of Inspect & Cloud. You'll Learn... [04:47] How managing paper prope

If you are frustrated by the support or lack of support from your property management software, you will be interested in this show. Today, I am talking with Nathan Miller, from Rentec Direct. The one thing I keep hearing about Rentec Direct is that they have fantastic customer service. This is really unique because we don’t often hear that property management software has amazing support. If you want to know what makes great support or are in the market for new property management software, you might want to give this episode a listen. You'll Learn... [02:35] Nathan formed Rentec, in 2007, because he wanted to make landlords lives simpler [03:19] Nathan has a background in software development and he was also a property manager [04:59] In 2009, the free version of Rentec turned into a real company with additional functionality [06:11] Why someone should choose Rentec Direct they know the software and the rental business [10:08] Why Rentec is profitable and how they treat clients and employees [11:23] Number

If you feel that you are an entrepreneur or think that maybe you are an entrepreneur, you should know about Mike Michalowicz and his books. If you are operating through standard accounting, GAAP accounting, or what Mike calls Frankenstein accounting, you are going to want to listen to this episode and how you can increase profitability. In this episode we are talking with Mike Michalowicz about his most popular book Profit First and how and why you should implement it in your business. I have implemented Profit First into my business and several listeners have reached out and said that Profit First is the secret to the growth of their property management companies. You'll Learn... [03:57] The pain that created Profit First [06:41] When Mike had to tell his family how he lost all his money being an angel investor [10:57] How Jason found out about Profit First [13:03] Why every business owner should apply the Profit First accounting method [14:15] How Mike is driven by the Profit First system to eradicate entre