How to Hire the Best Team to Grow Your Property Management Business

Hiring someone to help you with your property management business isn’t as simple as it sounds. If you’re a business owner and you know you need to hire someone because you cannot continue to wear 16 different hats while trying to run and grow your business, the biggest challenges are immediate: You don’t have the time to hire someone, and you may not be able to afford to hire someone. But the need is there. How do you get out of that spiral? Kathleen Richards knows how to help. She has joined the podcast before, and she’s full of exceptional advice and experience. She ran a property management company for a long time, and she’s spent the last few years building a coaching business for property managers who feel stuck. She’s discussing how to balance your team without putting your business or your budget at risk. Process Before People: Preparing to Accept Help If you’re wondering who to hire, where to hire, and how to pay them, you’re not alone. It’s normal for entrepreneurs to start out doing everything themselves and then realize they need help. Before bringing those helpers on board, look at your processes. You need to have systems in place. Because if your systems aren’t working, perhaps you just need better systems, and not additional people. Hiring the right person is crucial, so you need to know your processes and your strengths and weaknesses. Where are you the most pressed for time? You may need a business development manager (BDM) to take over sales or an assistant to help with administrative tasks. Maybe you are overwhelmed by maintenance tasks and you really need someone to handle that part of your business. It may seem like you have sixteen jobs to fill at once, and in the moment it may be tempting to abbreviate the hiring process for quick relief. But, you need to be intentional about which part of the work you’re going to hand off. Think about what you’re good at. If you are a stellar sales person, don’t hire a BDM. Instead, get rid of the things you struggle to handle. If it’s maintenance, hire an assistant or someone to deal with maintenance calls, work orders, scheduling, tenant contacts and billing. Think about where you need help. Instead of screaming fire in a panic, identify which room has the biggest blaze, and hire someone to put that fire out.   Paying for People: How to Hire Affordably When you’re still growing your property management business, you might worry that you can’t afford to hire anyone. There are a number of ways to address this challenge. Some people hire interns or students. This might work, but remember you get what you pay for. So, it might be better for you to pay a skilled person who can really make a difference in your workload. You need someone who can step in and take things off your plate on Day One. If you are busy, you probably don’t have time to train. An entry level person or an intern will need a lot of attention and supervision. Think about this before you choose this option. Hiring a virtual assistant is another option. Kathleen hired a virtual assistant to take over her leasing process. You can also try a virtual assistant to manage maintenance scheduling and follow up. This is a huge cost savings. You don’t have to pay taxes because you’re not hiring an employee. So much of what you do in your business is in the cloud. You don’t always need a physical person in your office. Hiring part time workers can also benefit you and save you money. If you do want someone physically present in your office or conducting showings, start with a part time person. You can advertise the job as part time to full time. Don’t hire someone who can’t grow into the position.