Unfiltered by PropertyManagement.com
00:26:51 · Dylan Scroggins, Thomas Perfect
[00:26:51] S1: That's just such a interesting insight and almost borderline funny that the generation that's been texting their whole life and some of them never even having to call a landline is now wanting to get on the phone with people ASAP. It's almost like this whiplash of being so technology, I guess, induced the last, you know, fifteen years. They're finally like, actually, like, I wanna talk to [00:27:12] S0: some Yeah. Well... And, I mean, I'm guilty of it where I don't have a... You know? If I call a company, can get put straight to a phone tree. You already hate that company. Right? And I freaking... I have a I have a phone tree. Right? I mean, I have a receptionist that's hired a a remote team member that's supposed to answer the phone, but then it's a a phone tree, and it... You know, there's solutions that are out there that can just make that experience so much better for people, and it's just a matter of finding the one that fits for you. [00:27:37] S1: Love that. Well, this has been awesome. We're starting to lay in the plane here, but this is one of our favorite questions, and I think you have a unique perspective on this over the last ten years. Entering, not really knowing probably what you want to do long term, and now you know, become a leader in this space, but off... Also obviously a leader at Uplift. How has being in property management changed you as a person these last ten plus years?
00:28:00 · Thomas Perfect
[00:28:00] S0: I mean, yeah, this is, like, really the only career I've really known. I mean, I don't think being a soccer referee, counts as a real career path, but going through and learning an industry and especially how much communication happens in our industry, communication among staff members, between clients, between tenants, between legislative issues that pop up, being able to really build a brand trust and expertise has been really enlightening and inspiring to me. So I've been really grateful to be able to take that idea of, you know, who we are, you know, for us at Uplift in our... We're uplifting people, properties, and communities. That's our mission statement. It's not just, you know, words on the wall on the sign behind me here. You know? We really take that to heart, and it makes us, you know... I love being able to select people that are gonna be part of my community, and I love being able to provide homes for people who are gonna be great contributors to our community. And I don't mean to say, you know, fair housing violations or anything, but, like, as property managers, we get to choose who are community And essentially when they're being bad community members, bad tenants, we can choose when they leave. So I I take that responsibility really, really, you know, to heart and I care deeply about that.
00:29:15 · Dylan Scroggins
[00:29:15] S1: I love that. I'm speaking actually at an NARPM event in Seattle in a few weeks, and you really shook a chord of what's gonna be my... One of my main topics coming from recruitment and hiring is that I feel like, and this is no way a dig, it's just an observation, that PM owners just do not give themselves enough credit on the narrative surrounding the industry. It's a very positive narrative in regards to what's being provided, like you said, with the housing and a roof on people's head, but also obviously the investment management and what you're doing for the owners as well. But I think your story personally about building a career and life and wealth and all these things, that's a story that I think needs to get shared a lot more is that, hey, we're a property management business, yes. We're actually just a great business that like develop leaders and provides, you know, careers for Donna, who's, I think I pronounced her name right, Don, who's been there ten years, right? It's like, we need to pull in people to PropertyManagement who might be in adjacent industry, home services, construction, etcetera. We need to share with them, like, there's a lot of great opportunities for your career in PropertyManagement, and I feel like that story does just not get shared enough.
00:30:27 · Thomas Perfect, Dylan Scroggins
[00:30:27] S0: Yeah. Well, and people always put it off into the future. Now I'm I'm 33, and I've been doing this eleven years. Right? This has really been the entirety of my career path. Right? And I plan on doing it for another twenty plus years. Right? This is this is where where I am. You don't have to be, you know, 50 years old and retired to finally, you know, own an investment property or own a a great company or grow a great company, you can you can do it today. [00:30:53] S1: That's really interesting. Even that PM trends report, you wonder, like, the industry as a whole. So not the owners, but the actual, like, PM industry. It'll be cool to see that trend change over time with more Gen Z, Millennials seeing it as a career path for them on the property management side. Has been awesome, man. Feel like just once again, really inspired by your story. I think it's really cool what you've been able to build, but also the career that's been built as well. So, let's do a couple lightning round. So right now, what's the favorite tool or app for your business? It doesn't have to be a specific PM tool, but fine if it is. [00:31:26] S0: AppFolio. AppFolio is still the backbone. [00:31:29] S1: Love it. What about a book or podcast every PM leader should check out? And for those listening on Spotify, you got the coolest bookcase I've ever seen in my life behind you. [00:31:39] S0: Good to Great by Jim Collins is probably my favorite business book. Classic.
00:31:39 · Thomas Perfect, Dylan Scroggins
[00:31:39] S0: Good to Great by Jim Collins is probably my favorite business book. Classic. [00:31:43] S1: Man, I remember reading that as, like, a 23 year old. I can honestly say that that book was one of three. That was like an impetus of me even moving into business. It's so good. [00:31:53] S0: Yeah. I mean, that one, five dysfunctions of a of a team and, buy back Your Time by Dan Martell. You got got... Those are probably the ones that have changed my life more than any other books outside [00:32:04] S1: of doing the audiobook of Dan Martell right now. When did you when did you start listening to Dan Martell? [00:32:10] S0: I listened to that book probably four or five years ago. [00:32:12] S1: Gotcha. Yeah. It's awesome. And then on The Good to Great, has he... Has Collins... He hasn't really released a lot of books. I mean, when's the last time he wrote something? [00:32:20] S0: I don't know. Maybe I gotta try to get in for a broker owner next year as a keynote maybe. [00:32:24] S1: That'd be amazing. [00:32:25] S0: That would be amazing. [00:32:27] S1: I bet 30% of high performing PM owners have read good to great. Maybe 50. [00:32:33] S0: Yeah. Well, we'll see what a speaking fee is. Figure it out. [00:32:35] S1: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Seriously. It's probably more than great. Alright. Last question. What's one word to describe the future of property management? [00:32:43] S0: Trust. Gotta build trust.
00:32:43 · Thomas Perfect, Dylan Scroggins
[00:32:43] S0: Trust. Gotta build trust. [00:32:44] S1: Alright. Tell me more there just while we're wrapping up. Are you talking about trust with owners, trust with your team, trust with everybody? Tell me more. [00:32:50] S0: Yeah. I mean, you gotta you gotta be the expert and really communicate that you are the expert in several different distribution channels, whether that's in newsletters and blog articles and website posts that you're doing just to to communicate trust to AI and to Google, but then also actually delivering on that trust that you're saying you do to your clients to minimize churn rate. You know, as you grow, that churn can just be an endless cycle where you're just on this hamster wheel trying to get forward and you never can because, you know, at a thousand units, you know, at a 10% churn rate, I'm losing a 100 doors a year, which means I have to add two doors a week just to stay the same size. Right? And when you put it into numbers that way, it's like, shoot. How many doors did I add this week? We only added one. Well, we just... Our business just lost. Right? We lost the week. So build trust so that you don't lose the week. [00:33:44] S1: Well, I don't trust you any less since you said you're a soccer referee, even though historically I've not liked said individuals. But maybe the most important question I'm gonna ask you, World Cup coming up this summer. I don't know how closely you follow the men's national team, but how do you think we're gonna do? Are we getting out of the round?