Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #94

How To Work On Your Business, Part 1

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

“Work on your business, not in it.”

It’s not easy.

These are thoughts, ideas and concepts that have actually worked for me as I extricated myself from day-to-day operations at my company, RL Property Management. These techniques have worked so well for me that I’m able to take the month of June off every year, completely disconnected from my company.

Two Book Recommendations

First I can’t go any further without recommending you read one of two excellent books on this topic (or both):

• If your business does under 1 million in revenue per year, and you haven’t read The E-Myth by Michael Gerber, drop everything and order it now.

• If your business does over 1 million in revenue, order Traction by Gino Wickman and read it as soon as possible.

OK without those preliminaries out of the way, let’s jump to a few of my own thoughts on this difficult topic.

The Ivy Lee Method

At the end of each day, grab a post-it note and write down the 2 or 3 most important things you need to accomplish the following day. These shouldn’t be day-to-day things like returning an email or finishing some bookkeeping. Instead, the items you pick must be related to broader goals or have the potential to move your business forward in a significant way.

When you get into the office the following morning, immediately go to work on these items — before you open your email! This technique is known as the Ivy Lee Method.

Gaining Leverage

If you want to work on your business instead of being stuck in operations, you need to achieve leverage. In this context, leverage means the ability to get a lot done with little effort. Tools can provide leverage — picture using a hammer instead of your fist to pound a nail in. Software is a type of sophisticated tool, and can provide unbelievable leverage. You should look for places to deploy software in your business to gain leverage.

Labor is another form of leverage. To put it bluntly, hire people to do the work instead of doing it yourself. A lot of small business owners have trouble with this. They get hung up on the idea that certain parts of the business operations can only be done by them (sales, bookkeeping, core tasks, whatever it is).

What held me back from letting go of certain operational tasks, and maybe you too, is a toxic combination of ego and fear. Ego says “nobody can do this as well as me.” And fear says “if I hire someone and they mess up, the business will fail.”

Ignore these twin demons and press forward with radical delegation.

Stay tuned for part 2 next week!

THIS ISSUE IS PRESENTED BY:

Ever considered selling your property management business?

Bungalow is acquiring property management businesses and they are doing it differently.

They believe that the secret sauce of your business is your team and brand. Their program focuses on keeping the team and brand intact, and helping take your business to the next level with efficient centralized resources and capital.

Whether you’re gearing up to retire or you want to use the capital to focus on other business opportunities, you’re in good hands with the Bungalow team. They’re looking for businesses that:

• Operate in any US market

• Manage 200-2,000 doors

• Have a strong team

If you’re interested in understanding your company’s valuation, learning about the process, or kicking off the acquisition process, please schedule a call with their team or reach out to them at [email protected]. The Bungalow team is dedicated to creating win-wins.

Shared Inbox Best Practices for Property Managers

I co-hosted a workshop with Wolfgang Croskey last week, where we each revealed our shared inbox best practices for property managers.

We shared our strategies around things like:

• What a shared inbox is, and how many you should have

• How we reduce incoming emails in the first place

• Our policies around managing incoming communications

• How we cut out silos and shorten our response time to clients

Catch the replay here:

Be sure to register for our next workshop, an update on AI in property management.

New Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

• Here is a property management company for sale in South Carolina (asking $375k)

• Here is a vacation rental management company for sale in Colorado (asking $500k)

• Here is an association management company for sale in Miami, Florida (60 clients, 4100 doors, asking $1M)

• Here is an association management company for sale in Palm Beach, Florida (asking $250k)

• Here is a property management company for sale in Bakersfield, California (125 doors, asking 500k)

Industry News and Events

• Mynd is merging with Roofstock. Read more here.

• Tenant Turner is facing a complaint from a several fair housing groups, related to how they handle “no section 8” listings in Memphis and Philadelphia.

• Good news for property managers: The demand for tradespeople and contractors is softening, making it easier to hire and schedule with them. Ray Hespen, CEO of Property Meld, has all the details.

• Deb Newell (great PM consultant) and Kristen Lopez (industry leader) are co-hosting a mastermind on May 30th to explore LeadSimple processes, focusing on sales and onboarding strategies.

• I just opened up sponsorship slots for the upcoming 20-episode season of my podcast. Please reach out to me for more information.

Closing Thought

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Stats from last week’s issue:

Valid Recipients: 8,908

Open Rate: 60.5%

Clickthrough Rate: 8.1%

Most Popular Link (102 clicks): Utility Profit Demo

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That’s all for this week! Have a great weekend. -Peter