6 steps to structure your business for success

If you are a property management principal, it can be challenging to manage your day. With so many tasks to oversee, team members to supervise, clients to communicate with, and not to mention finding the time to market your business, it can sometimes feel like you’re running on empty. But the good news is, there is a way to structure your business, so your operations run like clockwork and you can seamlessly manage every day. All it takes are the following six steps.

1. Systems that start with the future in mind

It’s important to start with the future in mind. Meaning, you must implement systems that can be easily scaled as your business grows. Many principals do not prepare workflow programs when they start their business, let alone programs that will still be effective when their business experiences growth. But, if you want to structure your business so you can seamlessly manage your day, both today and into the future, implement scalable systems for every task now. This ensures that your operations remain efficient, no matter the size of your business.

2. Manage your growth

Structuring your business so you can seamlessly manage your day requires you to deliberately scale growth. To deliberately scale your number of doors managed and team according to your business growth and growth strategy, you must implement what’s called a ‘growth matrix’. A growth matrix allows you to monitor your number of doors managed and know when to recruit more team members, who to recruit, and which roles the new recruits will be employed for. Investing in a growth matrix ensures your day-to-day operations run smoothly as you grow.

3. Take control of your team, tasks, and clients

To ensure every day runs seamlessly, put yourself in control of your team, tasks, and clients. Start and end each day with a team huddle so you can delegate tasks to maintain workflow and keep track of progress. It’s also a good idea to switch clients from one portfolio to another when appropriate. Assigning clients to the portfolio that suits your growth matrix and current business position helps you better manage your earning potential and profitability. Taking control of your business in this way empowers you to keep control of your day.

4. Consistent service standards

Structuring your business for seamless day-to-day operations requires you to set your service standards from day one. Your team must know what level of service needs to be delivered, and your clients must know what they should receive. The only change in service standards should be when better than expected results are delivered due to the way you manage your business. Remember, the client’s relationship is with your business, not with an individual team member. Consistent service standards must be maintained regardless of which team members your clients deal with. This gives you peace of mind knowing that your business is delivering on its promises, even when you or other team members may not be present.

5. Lead your business

If you want your business to operate seamlessly, you must lead it. This means, taking the reins and ensuring an efficient workflow is achieved, teams are clear on their roles and responsibilities, and clients understand their roles and responsibilities too, so everything works in perfect harmony. It takes a conductor to make this work, and that role must be filled by you. This is how you can ensure that whether you are in or out of the office, tasks are always completed, and service standards are always maintained.

6. Spend to earn

If you control your spending, you can control your business. A good rule of thumb is to only spend if it allows you to earn. This means that spending should generate savings by achieving increased earning power on doors managed and reducing expenditure to manage clients and property. Doing this helps you generate higher profit margins through higher revenue returns, which gives you the funds to hire more team members when necessary, so you can multiply yourself. This strategic spending empowers you to maintain control of your business, so you can maintain control of your day, every day.