Business by Design or Business by Default?

By Jo-Anne Oliveri, ireviloution intelligence, Brisbane, Australia

Business by design. This is a term I conceived several years ago when I realized that the agencies I was consulting for seemed to run their business operations by default. There seemed to be no real planning and they were mostly reliant on things just happening. The vast majority operated through reactive management rather than proactive management in their business approach. A recipe for disaster!

As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”

Business by default has caused a systemic problem negatively impacting the service and reputation of agencies offering leasing and management services. Think about it, if you already have a property management department did you design the business of your choice or did it just happen? Did you decide that you would offer leasing and management services and set about hiring an “experienced” property manager? In hiring an “experienced” property manager did you assume they would know enough to build the business up and create “systems” as they go? Did you decide that you would operate on minimal resources until there was enough money in the kitty to invest in further resources?

Due to the fact that many agencies are focused on sales first and then property management as an afterthought or a service that “should” be offered because it adds to the selling pool, there has, in most instances, been little or no planning. Hiring “experienced” property managers has led to a vicious cycle of trusting that you have the “right” property manager now and the last so called “experienced” property manager was just a “dud”. And so every time another property manager is lost or replaced a Pandora’s box of unresolved issues, disputes, and liability seems to be discovered. Somehow, the business owners console themselves that this time they found the right property manager and they will never have the problem that the last property manager caused.

And, how many business owners are guilty of hanging onto the property manager because they fear losing them will mean loss of business? It’s like a loaded gun constantly being held to your temple.

Oh and this one totally perplexes me. How many times when a new property manager has been employed have the agency systems and software been changed? I have even seen businesses going to the expense of changing their property management software on the advice of the property manager. Please understand that property managers advise that the software they are recommending is the best, because 99% of the time, it’s the only software or system they know. They feel lost and inadequate when they are working for an agency with unfamiliar software. This whole concept of changing software is quite ludicrous. Can you imagine retailers, banks, stockbrokers, travel or insurance agents, or in fact any business changing their software when the new employee recommends something else? Can you imagine what would happen if McDonalds’ franchise owners changed their software and systems on the advice and recommendation of a cashier level team member? They simply don’t do it, but for some reason the property management industry does.

Please remember to be aware and cautious of taking recommendations from the property manager about systems and software changes. A thorough due diligence is always recommended. I will go into this in more detail in later blogs.

Yes it’s a vicious circle and one that I’m sure many readers will relate to and I hope acknowledge.

So to understand the phrase ‘Business by Design’ or ‘Business by Default’ the first step to change is to plan your business of choice. By knowing this you are then in a position to develop the business that suits your market and offers a level of service to attract your local demographic.

It’s time to make your business happen and don’t just let it happen. Start planning and designing your business of choice.