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.
[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, and how value translates to the investor.
[07:33] The current trend is putting money into other things instead of buying a property. So, people, especially millennials, are renting.
[07:50] Chuck expects a big move eventually by first-time investors that is fueled by technology.
[08:25] Onerent hired staff new to the industry and with a different perspective to drive the company’s culture and mission regarding how to interact with renters and owners.
[09:48] At Onerent, it is ok to fail and apply what you learned in the next initiative. It’s a sign that you are making progress toward being successful.
[10:49] Create a culture where staff feels safe and comfortable to express problems. Support your team, and they will support you as an entrepreneur.
[12:33] At Onerent, each part of the rental process is managed by its own team. This helps handle tasks and keeps tenants informed. This collaboration drives motivation, happiness, competition,and success.
[14:59] Onerent follows a workflow business model where staff members specialize in one area.
[15:55] Make changes. Onerent would not be where it is today and able to scale its business without having pivoted from software to full-service property management.
[17:00] Onerent figured out how to grow its business - talk to customers and clients to identify its next move.
[17:48] Companies often try to sell what they can sell instead of what their customers actually need.
[18:15] Don’t change everything at the same time. Make iterative changes over time.
[19:27] To grow your business, determine the scale. What’s the purpose of your property management business? What is your key output metric? What is the closest tie to revenue and customer satisfaction?
[21:20] What are the inputs that go into that output? Consider the customer lifecycle. Determine where you will have the greatest impact to improve efficiency and operations.
[22:40] Unlock growth by having a sales team and defined sales process. Develop credibility by aligning and partnering with large real estate brokerages.
[24:15] Onerent’s key performance indicator is its time to lease. Chuck has to deal with various constraints, including listing exposure; qualified applications; and signed leases.
[25:24] Utilize on-demand scheduling for showings. Onerent then dispatches a mobile manager who shows a property.
[25:45] People usually have to pay application and documentation fees. However, Onerent offers a free application process.
[27:10] How do you start a property at the right price? Educate property owners that if they list the property too high initially, their listing stays on the market too long.
[28:35] In property management, how can you look at things with fresh eyes? Get out of your office and talk to customers. Make sure to have an open mind about all problems.
[29:30] Think about your own problems as a property owner. The best way to start a new business is to solve your own problems.
[30:30] Entrepreneurs love to solve problems. If you could solve a problem, what would it look like? Unpack a problem into small components. Don’t try to solve it all at once.
If you could solve a problem, what would it look like? Be open to feedback.
Companies sell what they can instead of what their customers actually need.
Create a culture where the staff feels safe to express when they are stuck.
Chuck Hattemer on LinkedIn
Chuck Hattemer on Quora
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.
[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 and make a long-term commitment to them.
[09:02] Tim learned that paying the lowest dollar amount and making the smallest commitment to someone, always resulted in them being here today and gone tomorrow.
[09:47] Tim started using various tools, such as the Kolbe Index, that focus on different personalities and management styles.
[09:56] Tim has had negative experiences using Upwork, a Website for freelancers to connect with business owners and entrepreneurs about jobs.
[11:15] Tim discovered which marketing and operations tasks he could delegate to his assistant.
[11:29] By having the right assistant, you can go from working 80 hours a week to getting so much done quickly in half the time.
[11:48] Tim started helping others get an assistant, and over time he realized that there was a business need to help clients and friends find great assistants.
[12:05] Tim created a management team and hired a corporate trainer to train assistants to make sure they are ready.
[12:30] The Great Assistant Program has an 85 percent stick rate. For the remaining 15 percent of assistants that don’t fit, there is a 90-day rematch guarantee.
[14:10] What’s the dollar-per-hour cost in real terms? You can pay someone in the Philippines $4 or someone in the United States or Canada for $16-20. The Philippines is less expensive, but it takes hours to explain things repeatedly and fix mistakes later. How much have your really spent?
[16:21] If you have an assistant from North America that is high-caliber, they will produce at least 2-3X the work and results. You can feel safe that they understand you and trust that they will treat your customers well.
[18:28] Finding a great assistant can be an issue for entrepreneurs starting out to multi-millionaires. It doesn’t matter how big or small you are.
[19:14] Time is your scarcest and most valuable resource. Give people money to get more time.
[19:48] The Great Assistant Program takes care of what you need to find the right assistant. It takes everything off your plate - from posting jobs, figuring out what you need, to finding matches.
[21:15] You are probably willing to pay thousands of dollars to undo what previous assistants had done. You don’t want to play Russian Roulette anymore.
[22:40] Go to DoorGrow.com/greatassistant and fill out the form that determines if you need a great assistant. Plus you get a video gift!
[24:01] What is your #1 frustration or challenge in getting a great assistant? The #1 response was control and trust.
[24:33] Anytime in business, including property management, if you feel like you are taking a blind risk, that is a horrible feeling. Use the process provided by the Great Assistant Program to reduce the risk. It involves expanding your pool of talent, using the Kolbe Index, and trying work and cognitive tests.
[26:23] How do you determine what you will have an assistant do? In property management, there is a lot of work to do. Have your assistant work on preparatory documents, lease renewals, pulling records, scheduling interviews, research, setting up events, posting rental ads, contract signing, scheduling move-in appointments, and tenant screening.
[29:15] Just like with surgery, the surgeon does not prepare the patient and tools. The surgeon only does what is appropriate. This is not a form of superiority, it is about appropriateness, and everything done regarding the surgery is vital.
[31:09] Critical decisions when it comes to anything that is strategy and high-level skill or high-level access is yours to handle and keep as the property manager.
[33:28] Unpacking is the secret to delegating work. Categorize your email inbox for your assistant to tackle specific areas, then you do not need to worry about them accessing sensitive information.
[34:53] As a business owner, you need to shift your focus away from tactical work and shift it toward strategic work that moves your business forward.
[35:05] Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) to teach your assistant how to do specific tasks and perform processes. If you can do it once, someone else can do it forever.
[40:12] For example, if your assistant handles tasks related to an event, it gives you time to connect with people rather than running around performing tactical tasks.
[41:41] Some fear having a virtual assistant rather than an in-office assistant. However, having a virtual assistant can be a competitive advantage. You are not bombarded with constant interruptions through questions and offerings to help, plus you cut your staffing costs.
[44:05] For example, you are in a fender-bender and what to fix your car. You face a myriad of factors and a decision to make. If you want to fix your car good and fast, it’s not going to be cheap. If you want it to be fast and cheap, it’s not going to be very good. If you want it to be cheap and good, your going to have to call your uncle to work on it. So, it is not going to be done fast. Good, fast, cheap - usually, you can only pick two of the three. You can’t have it all!
[45:08] In property management, the three pieces involved with hiring an assistant are talent, compensation, and working conditions. For a 9-to-5 traditional position that meets all three, you have to pay a ton. If you are more flexible on the work conditions, you can get someone at your preferred pay rate who is exceptionally talented.
[46:45] What is more important than salary to these qualified applicants is being able to see their family more often and be a part of precious, once-in-a-lifetime moments.
[47:41] What percentage of Americans want to work from home? About 67-68 Americans wish they could work full-time from home.
[48:39] Various technology and tools, including videos and online project management software, allow more people to work from home.
[51:08] You don’t need to feel like you are exploiting someone by paying them $16-20 per hour. The reality is that if you let someone work from home, they truly appreciate and value the time it gives them with their family, the ability to work in the comfort of their own home, and the money they save on not having to commute or on child care. Working conditions are part of the compensation.
[53:40] When your relationship with an assistant does not work out, figure out why. Did you get an assistant too early? Don’t know what the high- and low-level tasks are yet?
[57:00] If you are an entrepreneur who sees your team as some sort of servitude or slave to you, then you are not a good fit for the Great Assistant Program. You can’t treat someone terribly because you are the problem. Instead, how can you support your team?
[59:00] As an entrepreneur, see the possibilities that come with getting the right person to support you and embracing the role of being a coach.
[01:01:00] What is the order of what you are delegating? As an entrepreneur, rather than going off and doing something else once you hire an assistant, instead show them how to take over stuff that you are already doing. Also, pick the right tasks in the right order.
[01:02:39] Record yourself performing a non-critical task that is easy to learn and teach, let your assistant watch it, then watch them perform the task. The training cycle is complete, and you are getting a pay off just a few days later.
[01:03:48] Trough of Sorrow: The thought that once you hire an assistant, everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows. The reality is the opposite because you need to train, onboard, and manage them. The negative investment becomes less and turns into a positive ROI.
[01:04:45] Investor Mindset: The assistant keeps getting better as you invest in them over time.
[01:06:25] View every team member as an investment. The longer you have them, the better they get. Look for a relationship that will make a massive difference to your company.
[01:07:45] Energy Management vs. Time Management: The biggest wins to when you onboard an assistant is to figure out what’s taking you time and what’s taking you time that you hate doing? The things you hate, are the things your assistant loves to do.
There is compound interest in the people you hire.
Your very first hire should be an assistant.
It’s a problem and a challenge knowing how to get an assistant.
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.
[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 systems and processes geared toward a specific task that you need done.
[06:57] Dial into collective genius. Learn from other people, collect best practices, and improve what you offer.
[07:52] What can be outsourced? Maintenance, leasing, bookkeeping, and other areas.
[08:07] Todd decided to outsource leasing because he discovered that 99 percent of the time, money, and effort spent on answering the phone and responding to emails was time lost and wasted.
[09:12] About 60 percent of your calls are on your leasing and generate no revenue. It wastes times and does not yield profit.
[09:48] Outsource leasing calls to avoid lack of response and voicemails - not good customer service.
[10:33] Maintenance is another customer service sore spot for companies. What is your average turnaround on work orders? You may not know, but your tenants do! Lack of response and action generates poor reviews, lower renewal rates...it’s a trickle-down disaster.
[11:40] If companies outsource leasing and maintenance, that is the bulk of where they think their time should be spent. But taking those off their plate lets them use that time to focus on building their business - strategic rather than technical work.
[12:42] As an entrepreneur, you need to be willing to give up a certain level of control, even though that may feel uncomfortable.
[13:37] At one point, Todd decided he wanted to scale and remove himself. He did so by becoming a reformed control freak.
[13:55] The average property management company owner thinks they can’t afford the latest Website. Outsource to the lowest cost solution and invest the savings to grow your business.
[16:25] If an entrepreneur has a clear direction to head in and believe in it, you can’t stop them. They are going to do it. Property managers need to believe outsourcing is a viable option for them.
[16:38] One fear about outsourcing is related to quality. Property managers fear that those they pass off the work to don’t care as much as they do or the output won’t be as good.
[16:58] Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real. For Todd, he felt that as soon as he didn’t do he work, the quality would go down. But, the quality of his life was not so good because he was working so much.
[17:16] Todd’s customers had quality, but he didn’t. He got to a point where he was done with that and things happened.
[17:24] Todd teaches a course called, Run Your Rent Roll From Under a Palm Tree.
[17:54] If you are a workaholic or overworked, Todd figures out what he can do to help them through various processes, systems, quality assurance, and training.
[19:16] Those with the fear factor may be surprised when they let go, they open up to a better way of doing things at their business.
[19:31] Should you hire your own virtual assistant (VA) or a reseller? Do you have the time to hire, train, and work with others? Are you good at hiring, training, and working with your staff? It’s up to you to decide which is better for you.
[21:20] Advantages of a team being virtual is that you can pull the best talent from anywhere and overhead is low. But there are challenges.
[22:13] You can outsource to virtual team members as well as to specialized companies to handle various tasks, such as podcast production.
[23:45] Entrepreneurs do not usually make good managers. Specialized agencies use their expertise to take that management piece over naturally for team members to thrive.
[24:55] With outsourcing, don’t necessarily go with the cheapest option to save money. Time should be higher on your priority list than money.
[25:27] There’s a hustle-and-grind myth that if entrepreneurs work harder and are more aggressive, burn themselves out, they will make more money and get more done. In reality, you become unproductive and make bad decisions.
[26:25] If you don’t feel naturally passionate about something, take it off your plate through outsourcing.
[27:00] The mistake entrepreneurs make when building a team is they build teams around them that make their lives more tactically difficult, instead of more strategically available.
[27:33] Todd knew managing people was not one of his strengths. But his wife is an awesome people manager. So, she manages the people, and Todd has time for the visionary and innovation side of his business.
[28:54] When outsourcing, you will experience hits and misses. But when you get a hit, you are able to shine! It is worthwhile to spend money on agencies that have the tools and processes that can match you with the right person.
[30:37] The beauty of outsourcing is that you get to focus on your core strengths.
[31:00] People want to enjoy property management, but they don’t know how. The trick is to realize it can be fun and profitable if we pursue it to be that way.
[31:38] Pursue better clients and take care of growing and scaling your business at an affordable rate.
[31:48] Learn from other property managers and their collective experience. Then, implement what you learned - that is the greatest skill set that differentiates truly successful property managers from average ones.
[33:11] Entrepreneurs enjoy coming up with ideas and creating things, but they aren’t the ones to usually see things through. That’s why they need a team to support them.
[33:30] There are four personality types: spontaneous (don’t make good business owners); competitive (make good business owners to a point); humanitarian (love everyone, but may not be the best property managers); and methodical (engineers who have to get everything done). Who makes the best business over the long haul? Methodical.
[35:10] When outsourcing, hire those who have methodically figured out the best processes for doing something. However, they will probably not be good at sales and marketing.
[37:47] Join the DoorGrow Club on Facebook.
There’s a better option than spending tons of money.
Take the collective genius of companies to outsource.
Outsourcing - biggest bang for your buck.
Home Property Management; Run Your Rent Roll From Under a Palm Tree
National Association of Residential Property Managers
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.
[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 PROS is located in Harrisburg, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Atlanta, Ga.; Tampa/Jacksonville/Orlando/Panama City/Lakeland, Fla.; San Antonio/Austin/Houston/Fort Worth/Dallas, Texas; Boulder, Colo.; and Phoenix, Ariz.
[06:59] OnSight PROS is committed to hiring the right people and paying them well.
[07:13] In most markets, OnSight PROS pricing is $99 for a periodic inspection and $119 for a move-in/move-out inspection.
[07:57] James has not met a property manager yet who does not want to give back the security deposit. However, 99 percent of the time, an inspection indicates that a property is not rent-ready, so the full deposit cannot be returned.
[08:26] One of the things OnSight PROS values is that you receive the same product, no matter where the OnSight PROS you use is located.
[08:41] OnSight PROS has a quality control system in place to make sure its inspectors do the right thing, every time.
[08:52] Why is it better to hire a company like OnSight Pros rather than having internal inspectors for a company? The main reason - the cost of money. It costs less to have someone else do it.
[09:49] Examples why property managers need such services provided by OnSight PROS.
[12:11] Tenants are becoming more knowledgeable about their rights and how to bypass various factors.
[12:36] Is there a warranty, insurance, or protection in place for inspections? OnSight PROS offers a summary of issues in cases of disputes. This documentation typically prevents cases going to court and a company being sued.
[13:42] There is a power and leverage that comes with a property manager hiring a third-party provider to handle inspections.
[14:17] OnSight PROS convinces property managers to hire them instead of doing their own inspections by addressing the importance of performing certain types of inspections that are not being done currently.
[14:30] OnSight PROS determines if a property is one they want to take on, is it up to code, and if it fits their portfolio of services.
[15:27] OnSight PROS sets up inspections with the tenant, who has to be home. Otherwise, OnSight PROS will not enter the property.
[15:57] Don’t be surprised if tenants to to stonewall you. Inspectors are not usually their friends. They may have a grow house that property managers do not know about!
[16:50] OnSight PROS is willing to go in and be the “bad guy” when it comes to inspections. The property manager is removed from that role.
[17:36 ] Example of a property manager who joined OnSight PROS to do inspections. He discovered how tenants treat property managers differently than inspectors. It’s a different perception from the tenants.
[19:02] With property managers, tenants point out problems that need to be fixed. With inspectors, tenants don’t want them to find problems they created or caused.
[19:41] One of James’ goals in starting OnSight PROS was to manage as many doors as possible, but live wherever he wanted. He has become a manager rather than dealing with day-to-day matters.
[20:41] Cycle of Suck: Screen the types of properties you take on. If you take on bad owners, you are going to have bad properties. You are going to have bad tenants, who leave bad reviews. You will attract more bad clients. So, you need an effective screening process.
[21:59] Property management entrepreneurs are the “weird birds” who want freedom, more than safety and certainty.
[23:35] Owners expect OnSight PROS to pay inspections for them. Otherwise, they try to get reimbursed for them.
[24:40] An admin fee is for all the administrative work, including inspections, done to get a tenant into a house. It usually ranges from $25-200. However, make sure to label it as an admin fee, rather than an inspection fee.
[26:02] A periodic inspection involves checking smoke alarms to make sure owners are not at risk. A property manager’s job is to mitigate risk.
[27:05] Inspections are not cheap, but they are worth the money - and property managers do not have to pay for them.
[27:30] James has onboarding sessions with property managers to help them understand how to turn inspections into a zero-cost situation.
[27:55] Contact OnSight PROS at onsightpros.com or jamesalderson@me.com.
[29:25] James is ready for OnSight PROS to experience rapid expansion. It does take time and money, so be patient with them. They want to make the property management industry better!
Property managers need someone else to do inspections.
It’s a challenge in some markets to find the right person to do inspections.
Inspections are not high on the list for property managers.
National Association of Realtors
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.
[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 where furniture is placed. You can select from the following styles: modern contemporary, urban industrial, Scandinavian, farmhouse, or customized.
[07:18] View samples of virtual staging.
[07:31] Virtual Renovations: BoxBrownie takes an unfinished room and adds furniture, appliances, and fixtures for renovations. Then, clients are given something they can use to instantly market the property for sale or rent.
[09:05] BoxBrownie offers image enhancement editing for just $1.60. In a 24-hour turnaround, any photo from an amateur or professional photographer is taken and made to look 1,000x better for MLS listings. BoxBrownie has preset edits that polish your photos.
[10:00] Many property managers use the image enhancement edit product because they do not have the budget to hire a photographer or they don’t have the time to fix photos.
[10:33] Twilight Conversion: BoxBrownie takes an existing property that has been photographed in daylight and is converted to twilight. Day-to-dusk conversions are clicked on more often than daytime shots. It costs $4 and has a 24-hour turnaround.
[12:35] Item Removal: Remove clutter and clean up the photo. BoxBrownie can remove cars, statues, paintings, etc. Some items can turn people off, so eliminate bad vibes - and items.
[15:02] Drone Editing: This service is if you want to highlight a lot or pinpoint the location of a property, such as to identify schools and landmarks. The cost starts at $2.40.
[16:43] Turnaround time from BoxBrownie is 24-48 hours, depending on the type of editing or enhancement service selected.
[17:23] BoxBrownie is currently creating an API and in discussions with property management software companies to provide its services.
[17:50] If marketing a property, make sure to have a floorplan. People tend to not look at your property if you don’t have one. The price frame is $24-36.
[20:23] Custom Jobs: Customers upload images or floorplans and provide a description of what they would like added, changed, or removed.
[21:05] 3D Rendering: Photorealistic or 3D image of a property that does not exist. BoxBrownie creates an image of what the property will look like. It costs $280.
[22:23] Email product suggestions and feedback to BoxBrownie.
[22:45] Copywriting: BoxBrownie can write content to go with your pictures of properties to market them.
[23:15] BoxBrownie contact info - go to BoxBrownie.com to sign up for some freebies and $40 credit. Just use the coupon code: SHOWMETHEMONEY.
Put it up on the market and showcase possibility.
You’ve got something to instantly market the property.
Day-to-dusk conversions are clicked on more often.