Achieving Growth with Old-Fashioned Service: A Female Entrepreneurs Guide to Navigating the Property Management Industry

This week on The Property Management Show podcast, we’re treated to an amazing entrepreneur who has been doing property management for 36 years. We’re talking to Melissa Prandi, the owner of Prandi Property Management, and we’re picking her brain for some wisdom on running a property management business successfully.    Founding Story: Prandi Property Management in Marin County  Melissa started as a receptionist in the company she now owns when she was 19 years old. She got her real estate license and began doing property management. The company she worked for managed about 100 properties as a side business. The original owner was a CPA, and could see from his clients’ cash flow reports that better rental management was needed. Melissa bought the company at the age of 25, and it’s now the go-to property management company in Marin County. Prandi Property Management has over 600 doors.   Getting Started: Approaching the First Couple of Years in Business  Most 25-year-olds know hard work, and that’s about it. Melissa didn’t waste time getting the word out, and that’s the best way to get your new company growing.  Let everyone know what you’re doing. Reach out to family and friends who have rentals. In the beginning stages, you need to let everyone know that you’re available to manage rental properties.   While you’re talking about what you do, get educated. Take classes. Learn from people who have been doing this for a long time.   Melissa took a two-day residential property management class from the one person who was teaching residential property management 30 years ago. She took that class seven times.   Seven times.  Why? Because she found she was learning from other students in the room just as much as she was learning from the teacher.   NARPM is an excellent resource for classes. Get educated, and make it as much of a hustle as gathering new clients. If you want to start strong and grow your business, you have to be obsessed with educating yourself.    Integration into the Business Community: You Have to Participate   Join associations. Network with other business professionals. Volunteer your time.   You can put in hours and hours of volunteer work on something as simple as a town parade, for example. People will inevitably ask you what you do. When you say you manage properties, they will perhaps have a rental property, or they’ll know someone who owns rental property. When you participate in your local community, you get to know people and their needs. These are all potential clients.   Everyone will be sending you referrals.    Start in your local market. Teach a college class. Conduct an investor panel. Learn about leadership. All of these things will bring you new business.   Many people don’t realize that one of the advantages of public speaking at NARPM and elsewhere is that you get a lot of exposure in person and even online. It’s called “link juice.” So you may think that you aren’t actually gaining new business when you’re busy conducting presentations to your colleagues.   But, you are.   You’re promoting yourself, and Google will notice. When you’re listed in authoritative sites like NARPM, your local chamber, and business journals, your own website will begin to propagate in search results. Google gives a lot of value to these websites that include your name, bio and website.   This is an under-appreciated value.   Networking and presenting also establishes you as an expert in your own field. That’s going to generate referrals.   Some of the resources for education and networking that you may be missing through NARPM and other associations include:  Designation courses through NARPM.  Property Management 101 through NARPM.  Speaking and leadership courses through the National Speakers Association. Local colleges,