I just got back from an amazing 2-day retreat with Robin Sharma, the author of my all-time favorite book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. If you have never heard of him, I suggest you get on it!. The weekend provided me with many amazing breakthroughs.
One of the most powerful insights I had was the idea that most Property Managers out there are hypnotized to accept mediocrity.
Sounds pretty intense right? Almost insulting?
Let’s look at the industry from the 30,000-foot level. There are many Property Management companies all over the world. We have thousands and thousands of Property Managers that work in the industry. If we compare Property Management to being a Realtor, there is a MAJOR gap in the level of outside education and training between the two.
If you were to Google Real Estate Training/Coaching/Consulting and do the same for Property Management, you will see the difference. The Property Management industry as a whole does not have a tremendous amount of training available for the average Property Manager. By not having a lot of training and coaching available to us, MOST are left to their own devices to learn and grow as Property Managers.
The REALITY is that MOST will NEVER do anything to advance their skills in the game of Property Management. Continuous learning is one of the most important aspects of anyone’s life and career yet we just don’t see a lot of it in our own industry.
BTW, I’m not saying there is nothing out there, just saying there is very little and very little of good quality.
This has put us in a bad spot. It’s no wonder why the industry is still perceived to be ‘old school’. Our technology is definitely behind the times and so are many of our ways of doing things. There are very few industry best practices that are openly shared and implemented.
WHY is this?
WHY are we so behind the times?
I think part of this has to to with our programming.
The outside world has conditioned us so that all we see and hear about is negativity. Stories about landlords doing something wrong, stories about tenants trashing a place, stories about properties not being looked after, stories about Property Managers being persecuted because they did something wrong …. the list goes on and on. I’ve been in the business my entire life and I can probably count on one hand the number of positive stories I’ve either read about or saw on the news for our industry.
Is there any wonder why people think the way they do about landlords and Property Managers? All of these outside influences have created an image that most people believe, even other Property Managers!
In order for any of this to change, it must start within each one of us. We must want to grow, to help the industry, to share good positive stories, to hold each other accountable, to want to make the industry better!
The skills required to be a great Property Manager are numerous, it’s not an easy job! I’ve spent the better part of the last 5 years working on myself, mastering myself as well as mastering my craft of being a Property Manager. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about myself and I’ve learned a lot about the business and industry as a whole.
I believe that the Property Management is one of the best businesses in the world, I believe that with every part of my being.
I’ve reconditioned myself to what the media or outside world thinks about Property Management and have my own view of what it actually is. I share this love and appreciation for what I do with everyone around me. They think I’m crazy however slowly but surely, people are seeing a different side of being a landlord and it’s changing people’s perspective on the industry as a whole.
It’s beautiful to see!
Be a beacon of positivity. Be a professional. Learn every day and keep sharpening that knife.
The industry needs this and it all starts with each one of us.