Peter Lohmann's Mailing List - Issue #46

My Takeaways — 2023 NARPM Broker/Owner Conference

The energy level was high, the weather was perfect, and the conversations flowed like wine.

Say what you will about NARPM’s relevancy in the age of social media (guilty), but they can throw a conference. And get a LOT of great people to show up! The opening keynote by Rob Hahn was standing room only.

I was able to connect with dozens of friends, colleagues, and vendor partners, and the conversations flowed late into the night.

Here are a few takeaways:

• There remains a huge thirst among operators for practical, tactical ideas about how to improve their business. I sensed a focus on operations improvement over growth, relative to previous years.

• Every broker/owner has one or two little “hacks” they’ve figured out about how to grow, how to operate, how to hire, etc. Something they fell into, absorbed from another industry, or learned the hard way. This knowledge remains incredibly, frustratingly fragmented.

• Related to the above, our industry lacks a culture of writing. If you look at, say, the venture-backed startup industry, they have a culture of documenting & sharing (in writing) what they learn through blogs, on Medium, Twitter etc. Our industry loves to share this stuff informally at conferences and on Facebook, but those formats are transient at best. It’s hard to extend the surface area of knowledge without written content to reference.

• People are reading this newsletter! Thank you to all who came up and said something kind. It was very meaningful for me.

• Fewer and fewer attendees are watching the “official” talks and breakouts… favoring informal hallway conversations instead. My suggestion to NARPM would be to have fewer, but higher-quality talks. Which might require, you know, paying speakers. Wild. Speaking of informal hallway conversations, you know that’s why I love Twitter, right? It’s 24/7 hallway conversations with some of the smartest people around.

• Rise of the Masterminds. If you’re not part of a mastermind in this industry, go join one or start one! And use conferences as a way to connect with your people “in real life”. It’s very rewarding. Many groups flew in a day early for exactly this purpose.

• Our industry is severely lacking professional “Business Intelligence” (BI) analytics and dashboard type tools. Shoutout to ProfitCoach who is working hard on this. As the industry continues to coalesce around ever more powerful software platforms (and data portability expands), I see huge opportunities in this area for both vendors and operators.

Coaching Giveaway Winner

A month ago I shared that I was giving away 3 months of coaching to 1 lucky winner.

I got a bunch of great applications, and it was HARD to pick. But today I’m thrilled to announce the winner: Brandon Ngati, owner of Four Season Property Management in Hagerstown, Maryland. Congratulations Brandon!

Brandon started his company recently and has 11 units under management so far. He’s a 2020 grad of West Virginia University and did some government contracting work before deciding to focus full-time on property management. Part of his management portfolio is a triplex that he “house hacked” with an FHA loan (great path). Brandon is taking NARPM classes and wants to focus on operations in order to sell new clients with confidence.

I’ll be working with Brandon weekly to help him achieve his business, income, and lifestyle goals. Thank you to all who applied!

Announcement: Peter & The Wolf Webinar Series

Wolfgang Croskey and I got so much great feedback on our recent process webinars, that we’ve decided to turn them into a free monthly series!

Go register here for access, and you’ll get monthly reminders. This month’s topic is how to actually get your team onboard with new technology and ideas for your business.

Live Event - Triple Win Leadership Xchange

Second Nature is hosting a special Triple Win Leadership Xchange (TWLX) specifically for brokers & owners on May 16. I’ll be on the main stage alongside Jennifer Ruelens, Travis Bohling, and Matthew Whitaker. The topic is “The Future of Property Management.” They always do a great job with these panels.

The whole event will be well-worth attending. It’s May 16 from 1:00-4:30 PM ET. Check all 13 featured speakers & register here.

Closing Thought

This week’s issue is sponsored by Second Nature.

Second Nature’s Famous RBP

Second Nature has established itself as property management’s resident experience company with the industry’s first fully-managed resident benefits package (RBP).

With its easy implementation and list of value-creating services including . . .

• On-time filter delivery

• Credit building

• Identity protection

• Rental rewards

• Renters insurance

• Utility concierge

. . . RBP is the simplest way we’ve found to provide residents and investors with a better experience, while adding a profit center to your management company.

We use Second Nature at RL Property Management, and I love their renter’s insurance master policy. We’ve used a few different providers, and Second Nature’s is the easiest to administer by a country mile. And pricing is extremely competitive as well!

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Property Management Coaching: No availability until at least July. Do you need just an hour or two? Book here instantly.

Looking for a longer-term partnership, private community, my full Notion package and more? You may be a good candidate for our Property Management Business-in-a-Box program. Apply here.

Newsletter Sponsorship Opportunities: Q2 fully booked, Q3 slots available. Reply for pricing & availability.

Podcast Sponsorship Opportunities: Season 3 of my podcast Owner Occupied will start up again in July. Details forthcoming.

That’s all for this week! -Peter