Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #99

How To Work On Your Business, Part 3

Looking for the first two parts? I published all 3 parts together on my blog.

Powerful Planning

Every Sunday evening or Monday morning, I sit somewhere quiet and plan my week. I try to think broadly about what’s wanted and needed in all areas of my business (and life). This is simple but exceptionally powerful. It’s been helpful for me to break it out into categories. So on a blank piece of paper I’ll write:

• RL Property Management

• Project X, Y, Z, etc.

• Personal

• Household

Then under each category, I think about my quarterly and annual goals for that part of my life, and what needs to happen this week to move toward those goals.

I leave the planning sheet visible on my desk all week, and constantly refer back to it when I find myself wondering what I should be working on.

If you don’t do this, you’ll just end up spinning your wheels all week and feeling like you’ve accomplished nothing come Friday.

Your Environment Is Make-or-Break

Your environment has an enormous effect on your brain. The neighborhood, streets, parking lots, lighting, sounds, smells, air quality, temperature, office design/age, your coworkers, literally everything around you, is causing you to think and behave in certain ways. I’ve noticed that if I drive through a bad neighborhood on the way to work in the morning, it affects my whole mindset around what’s possible to accomplish that day.

Take time to design your environment (take drastic measures) to align with your goals. If you are surrounded by environmental cues telling you that you are a small-business owner with no more than 4 employees, guess where you’re likely to remain?

It can be hard to completely uproot your business or your home, so start small. During the work week, I prefer the nicest locations possible for meetings or meals, rather than something quick and cheap. A small thing like that can really alter your thinking for hours or days.

In Closing — Brief Thoughts about Email & Communication

• Email is not “work”, in fact, it’s usually happening at the expense of real work. Take time to reduce and streamline the amount of time you spend emailing. Business still got done when we all communicated using memos and letters. In fact, I would argue it was completed more efficiently.

• Control the channels through which people are permitted to contact you. (Phone/voicemail/email/social/text message, etc). Don’t provide a large surface area for people to contact you. That’s just more places to check and keep up with, and more dopamine hits to distract you.

• Set reasonable boundaries on the time of day and the day of the week that you check & reply to emails (people will respect you for it).

• There is absolutely no reason, and I mean NO reason, you need to be checking email more than 3 to 4 times a day. People will call or text if it is urgent (and really, none of us are ER doctors. Come on, people. It’s not urgent.)

THIS ISSUE IS PRESENTED BY GUSTO

Not many people know this, but payroll mistakes can leave you personally liable as the business owner (yes, personally).

I use Gusto to run our property management company’s payroll, manage benefits & time off, and pay our global talent (Remote Team Members). We’ve been happy customers for over a decade now.

Not only that, I’ve been recommending them to my business owner friends for years, and haven’t had any complaints yet.

If you’re still messing around with shoddy payroll software (and hating life every time you have to run payroll), I highly recommend switching. It’s exceptionally easy to use.

Live Workshop: Best Practices for To-Do Lists & Tasks in 2024

I’m co-hosting a workshop with Wolfgang Croskey on July 11th. We’ll be sharing our latest tips & tricks for getting more done in less time, by mastering to-do lists and tasks. Aimed at property managers but relevant to anyone who works at a desk.

Register here!

Reader Poll: Utility Transfers at Move-In

I’m curious about something… if you’re a property manager, please click on your answer below:

New Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

• Here is a property management company for sale in Orange County, CA (asking 1.2M)

• Here is a property management company for sale in Polk County, FL (90 homes, asking 2.2M)

• Here is a property management company for sale in Florida (140 units, asking 1.1M).

Industry News and Events

• Private equity group KKR paid $400,000+ per unit to purchase 5,200 apartment units (total purchase price $2.1B).

• No newsletter next week — Happy Independence Day to my American readers!

Closing Thought

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Stats from last week’s issue:

Valid Recipients: 9,933

Open Rate: 62.7%. I got 99 issues and open rates ain’t 1.

Clickthrough Rate: 9.6%

Most Popular Link (231 clicks): Watch me Build A New Property Process in Realtime

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

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this newsletter. Additionally, some of the links included in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.