How outsourcing reduces property management stress

Hollie from PM Collaborative shares her tale of transition from real estate to nursing, and her victorious return to her roots in real estate is sure to inspire. Get privy to Hollie's fervor for new business, her firm convictions on building robust relationships, and how her ambitious attitude propelled her into the realm of outsourcing. 

Discover how outsourcing can be a game-changer in boosting productivity and reducing stress in the real estate industry. Navigate the current job market's challenges, the indispensable role of technology, and the art of creating a 'family team' within a business. 

She is a mum to 6 kids and is our state team leader in QLD for Coffee & Conversations. Visit our FB page to find out where these meetups are in your area!

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Transcript

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Exploring Outsourcing in Property Management

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to the PM Collective , a dynamic hub designed to empower business owners , property managers and BDMs to excel in their careers Through access to intimate conversations , cutting edge of video training , mental health support and unparalleled motivation . Our community is the ultimate destination for individuals seeking to elevate their professional lives to new heights . So sit back , relax and enjoy our next conversation on our weekly podcast , the Art of Property Management . Welcome to today's podcast . I am really excited to have a new beat Join me today and that is Holly from PM Collaborative Over in Brisbane . Holly , thank you so much . Thanks for having me . I'm excited . I'm really happy to see you . I'm happy for those that are listening . I have Holly as one of my PM Collective team leaders over in Brisbane and Holly kindly helps host our coffee and conversations in that area . So if you are in the Brisbane location and want to join , they are super , super casual and you can find the details of those events on our Facebook page . So , holly , I really appreciate you helping me with those . So thank you . How ?

Speaker 2 1:10

have they been going . Yeah , they've been going well . Started off a little bit slow , but I still take the opportunity to , you know , take my laptop and do some work , enjoy the coffee , enjoy the view and take it as it comes .

Speaker 1 1:24

And I always stress for everyone , like they genuinely are so casual . They are such a nice thing to be able just to catch up with people in the industry . The random topics that , like we've talked about before , like generally , you know , talk about life or balancing things , but also sometimes we talk about reviews and how to get more Google reviews , or we talk about you know just any problems we're having and it's just they're just really , really helpful . So I do encourage everyone to , wherever you are located in Australia , to get to one of the coffee and conversation Catch up . So let's get into our podcast today . Now I want to find out a little bit more about you , because you are not currently working as a property manager , but as an outsourcing company . Is that right ?

Speaker 2 2:13

That's correct , yeah .

Speaker 1 2:14

Excellent . So give everyone for those that don't know you a little bit of a rundown about you personally , what you've been doing and where you are now .

Speaker 2 2:22

Okay , gosh , I'll try to do this really quick . I could go on Long story , yeah it is , but kind of story , a long story short . So yeah , I've been in the real estate industry for quite some time . Leasing a new business was my thing , absolutely loved it . I think it was about 2009 .

Speaker 2 2:43

We had , you know , with big children we had , and I had my property manager come through doing our inspection of our rental here in Brisbane and I said really think I'd like to do that and she said no , you wouldn't . And I said no , I really would . We already had that relationship established . You know , she was really cool , really kind , straight to the point . But yeah , I loved that , you know , that bond and that relationship we had , even with the team at the office . And so , yeah , there I went , I did my certificate and started out in you know , as an assistant and then moved my way up to property manager and I found my niche in new business and leasing , loved it , went to , had a change , went on and did my nursing degree , loved that , you know where people , people , people , and yeah , it really wore me out .

Speaker 2 3:29

And my kid said to me Mum , we prefer you as a real estate lady . And yeah , and I always had that fire in my belly , you know , whenever I spoke about it and looked at my old stats or my old you know results posts on Facebook , it just really , really made my heart sing . So I thought you know what I'm going to jump in and do what you know , finish what I started back then . So I originally had this idea 2014 , 2015 . I just had no idea how to get it off the ground .

Speaker 1 3:58

So here I am and you decided to go do nursing . Was it because you were just maybe getting bored in the role or because you had burnout ? Like what was the reason for going and doing that ?

Speaker 2 4:11

I wasn't bored . I loved , loved my job . I loved it In saying that I was working nonstop . I didn't have to work nonstop , but that was just me . I couldn't leave anything unanswered . I'm pretty bad at that . I didn't like to mislead . If someone could view a property on Sunday and they couldn't through the week , then I'd show them . If they wanted to view it at night , I'd show them the tenants , but their potential clients as well , and potential relationships that you can hold on to . I guess that's what it's all about , isn't that ? Building those relationships and just establishing that connection with the community , because it does . It all comes back . You know it comes back around . But no , completely different . I'm completely just lost with where I was going with that .

Speaker 2 4:58

But I just decided I did have an interest in health care and I wanted a challenge . So I did it . Yeah , full-time degree . I was an assistant nurse at one of the major ED hospitals on the Gold Coast and , yeah , baby number six was 12 weeks old . So I still don't know how we did it , but all I can remember is every assignment that I passed , just I was like I loved it . I loved that feeling of completing a goal . I'm very goal-driven .

Speaker 1 5:26

Yeah , amazing . And so when you went back into then the real estate , did you go straight into your new business or did you just get back into property management and then started it later ?

Speaker 2 5:40

No , I got straight back straight into my business . I put some money inside . I thought you know what ? I'm not getting any younger . I have a great network here of amazing friends and you know clients and previous you know past colleagues and I thought I'm going to do this . And I remember I have one of my very first managers . She's on my Facebook and I messaged her and said this is my idea , you know what do you think ? And she said I think you'll be absolutely amazing , go for it . And yeah , I think so highly of you , know this person and you know , have so much respect for her and I'm like you know what , if she believes in me , then I'm going to do it . And so I did . Yeah , it was a huge risk . You know I was earning a good income in the role a nursing role that I had landed , but this is something I had to do , yeah .

Speaker 1 6:29

So PGM Collaborative is about collaborating with your property managers without sourcing , and so you doing the in , goings out , goings route , inspections , anything else , anything less , yeah that's right .

Speaker 2 6:44

I also help . I do have some buys agents contact me from interstate , you know , some pre-settlement inspections , things like that . I'm still working it out . I'm just basically here to help yeah , to help any industry colleagues you know that need a hand really and I guess we'll figure it out as we go .

Speaker 1 7:04

Yeah , no , totally so . In Outsourcing it has been around for a while so we do a lot , so in-perth property assist is a favorite and they help with those routines in goings out , goings etc . So I think W weighs probably a little bit more ahead Maybe then over East when it comes to outsourcing , because my understanding is that you guys don't do as many routine inspections Is what we do and things like that . So are you finding that , like the Brisbane , the Queensland , that this was a relatively new concept ?

Speaker 2 7:38

Yeah , I feel like it's only just starting to to surface and , you know , become okay with Agents in Brisbane and Queensland , I guess , and I feel like you know I kind of regret not moving forward all those years ago , but I guess I , you know , things happen for a reason and you know I developed a lot of different skills along the way , so that that was good . So definitely , yeah , it's definitely becoming more normal . I guess in Queensland now people are asking more questions . You know people are realizing that they can't do it all . It's crazy out there , yeah , so it's just a matter of finding , finding that fit . So I like to consider Pium collaborative , as you know , as that boat heat , you know , collaboration , keeping it as personable as I can . You know , as mentioned it , I am relatively new and kind of kicked off around March this year . So , yeah , just go with the flow and see how that takes me . Yeah .

Speaker 1 8:37

Yeah , and it's just about it's at the end of the day , it's just about how can I support property managers and then Customize you and you do to do that , and you might find , as time goes on , that People are needing more support with the routines , or maybe it's more support with the in goings or more support with those Pre-purchase and then , yeah , and being fluid in business , I think is really important for us or to To keep in mind that it's okay to explore opportunities before we actually fine-tune our specifics . So , quite often , we get .

Speaker 1 9:13

My business with blinkers on and just not step outside . But sometimes stepping outside gives us other opportunities as well . So it's um , it's good to . Mindset . Well , so far , since , since you've started , are you finding that property managers seem to want more help with the routines or the In goings like ? Are you noticing any trends of what they , what you're getting more in fiery for ?

Speaker 2 9:59

Definitely the routine inspections .

Speaker 1 10:01

Yeah yeah , that's just constant yeah so we did a survey about Eight months ago and what was quite interesting and that this was a survey with property managers about 534 , I think , property managers around Australia and it was interesting that the majority of them came back and said that they would Be able to handle more properties or be happy to handle more properties if they had more support with their routine inspections . And so when I've actually run the figures , that if property managers and business owners that are listening to this can understand that Outsourcing is actually an investment , it's not a an expense , if that makes sense . So if your property managers can take on , let's say , another 50 properties in their portfolio but you outsource their routine inspections , you are going to be quite a substantial amount better off , even after paying for the outsourced inspection fee . I can't remember the exact figure , but I'm just going to use the number 30,000 . It was something like 30,000 a year that pop-up portfolio is making on top , yeah , of outsourcing . So it's definitely benefit to look at the figures .

Speaker 1 11:12

And as we go into an industry where staffing is quite difficult , we need to start looking at what can we do within our office . If we're going to struggle with staffing , how can we still create capacity , and that will come down to efficiencies with technology , but also efficiencies with outsourcing as well , and that over time , that yet the more people see that you know we're keeping happier property managers in the role and in their seat longer Just by simply giving them a bit of support like what you're offering over there . It's actually a really smart business decision for a business owner these days .

Speaker 2 11:53

Yeah , 100% , and you know a lot of people .

Outsourcing Benefits for Business Owners

Speaker 2 11:57

It is a nervous thing , isn't it , trusting somebody to go out and do that task for you , but every new client I have , we're always touching base . I'm always asking for feedback Each client's different . They have their reports tailored to what suits them , to their fit . So I make that work and it's working well and we're all happy .

Speaker 1 12:22

And being an extension to someone's business . But as a business owner myself , I would see it as you're an extension to my business . Yeah , I don't have to deal with your headache , your soup Exactly . You know what I mean . All the business is fine , which is good .

Speaker 1 12:39

I know that I do promote outsourcing for giving people a little break . So I have got a new staff member that's just started and I have outsourced her first month's worth of inspections just to give her that break to learn new technology and things like that . So I also try to encourage people not to feel that if you're looking at outsourcing , don't necessarily feel that you have to commit to it for the rest of your life , but you can just put that support for new team members coming on board . Maybe it's Christmas time and you need to give the staff a little break . Maybe it's a catch up with routine inspections that are overdue . There's definitely ways that business owners can use it to their advantage and not feel the need to commit to 12 months as well . Exactly , and what you'll find is when people get comfortable with that , then they go . Oh , actually , I really like this . Let's make this a big change ?

Speaker 2 13:38

Yeah , definitely . And I do have a few clients . Yeah , I mean , I feel like a part of each team , each client I have , but you know it's just and that's the vibe we all have , which is great . And you know , they keep me coming back , which is really good . And you know , finding our fit , me finding my fit and them finding their fit , yeah , at the end of the day it's yeah , we're all happy and the stress is gone , really , isn't it ? I was so caught in that , yeah , I was gonna say , you know , a lot of agencies here have quite a large geographical area , you know . So their properties are quite spread out , so sometimes they're out of the office the entire day , you know , and that's taking a huge chunk of their workload away . So , yeah , really help ?

Speaker 1 14:22

No , no , 100% . Well , I mean we need to start thinking as an industry moving forward and , yeah , increasing this capacity which I have on about so much , but increasing this capacity , keeping people happy in their roles and , yeah , being confident enough to give outsourcing , new technology and you know , et cetera , as time goes on , just to keep the industry improving at all times . So it's good . And with having you know people like you as well , supporting property managers just by helping with those coffee and conversations as well , is so important .

Speaker 1 15:01

And when I was speaking to Guy in Adelaide the other day the podcast will is before your one she was saying how she similar sort of to you in that she was in real estate when she was younger , but then she left and then came back to it and she had said to me , if I had that support when she was younger , or had those you know , those people to help like , like yourself , and that support , she said , I wouldn't have actually got out of it . But hopefully , even now you've also seen , hopefully , an improvement with opportunity now , then maybe prior , which is why you come back and then hopefully you'll stay in it forever .

Speaker 1 15:45

Yeah definitely my last question for you and I do you have a team or are you on your own at the moment with the business ?

Speaker 2 15:53

It's myself and one team member , my daughter . I've actually just recently trained her up one of them . Yeah , so I was quite firm that you know I wanted a family to keep away from my business . But yeah , I mean , they set tag along to my open , they get all my keys ready . You know , they tell me my schedule and you know they had to get it spot on because I couldn't go to the wrong address , so I had to have so much trust with them back then . And yeah , so I've got two that have just completed their certificate recently and once had few months experience working elsewhere , and she's moved up closer to home now . So she's like mum , can I ? And I said you know what ? Why not ? And she's been really great at getting feedback from my clients and she's doing well .

Speaker 2 16:42

I'm so excited yeah .

Speaker 1 16:43

Because that was exactly what I was going to say . Like surely , with Sickness Kids , you're going to be able to create your own family team . You know what I mean .

Speaker 2 16:51

Yeah , definitely , and it's just that you know you want someone , you want your team members to have that same value as you do , and I find it it's just so hard . The industry is so dry at the moment with , you know , with people wanting work and I guess you know , retaining staff and everybody meeting on that same level , and it's very scary , very risky , and I've just had a roller coaster of emotions the last few months . I'm hopeful that , yeah , moving forward , we've got to all work down all you know as much as we need to .

Speaker 1 17:24

No , it's amazing . I think that I have turned my kids off real estate . I hope that because you know the same thing they come , they've always come with me to appointments and balancing with them and sometimes , like on the weekends when I'm seeing clients , I would say to my eldest , he's 14 and I'd say hey , I'll pay you to come with me just to like do some video , but just feel me . Yeah , she uses that word crunchy . She could say so , crunchy Mum . I'm not doing it . I always say you wait . I said you wait to you at 18 . And I said and all your friends are at Hungry Jacks and $15 an hour . I said you're going to come back , I'm going to pay more because I'll pay you money to video me . I'll pay you money to help you do inspections on the weekend , exactly , and you'll be earning a lot more . I said I'll have your friends lining up for a job , so your turn around .

Speaker 2 18:15

I'm positively going to pay . I know , I think so , I think so .

Speaker 1 18:21

So we will see that . I'm really happy to hear that you've got the kids with an interest in it , because I actually think that that's really really cool and that's really special as well to be able to create this business as a family run business as well , and I think that's really really great , so good on them ?

Speaker 2 18:40

Yeah , definitely , I think . Yeah , it is and it is . It's all about those values and they realise you know it's important to me , it's important to them , and you know our elders , for they've all had jobs from the age of 13 . So they've got those customer service skills and you know , they know how to deal with people . They've got people skills . So it's the perfect recipe for PN Collaborative .

Speaker 1 19:02

Well , it's something that I guess with younger people that I do get a little bit concerned about how they're going , like they work , ethic and behaviour . Like I said to you before getting on to you know , pressing record on this podcast , like my kids this morning trying to negotiate school and it's like , guys , we don't negotiate with school , you go to goddamn school and that's right .

Speaker 1 19:28

I'm not going to be breeding adults that are going to not want to work Monday to Friday . You know it's um . Yeah , I'm trying to teach them now and be hard with them now . I hope that they go through when they get older , like , I mean , your kids are older now , so did you ever have that I'll see you in 6 years old .

Speaker 2 19:48

No , because I kind of used myself as an example . I was a pretty horrible kid , I was a horrible teenager . I had no goals yeah , I mean , I didn't have . I guess parents that you know , were goals driven or career driven . And I just seen people around me and I was like , well , I you know , with all due respect and I want to be like this or like that . I've , you know , I'm here for a reason . I so I've always been goal driven .

Speaker 2 20:11

And so once the kids turn 13 , it all started . I was doing a real estate run , grabbed a coffee from Joe Nutt King , you know , one of the local shopping centers , and just started chatting . I said , hey , what I do , guys , except resumes ? And they said , well , 13 , because a lot of places of 14 , 9 months . And I said , oh great , I said I'm gonna go to a couple of kids and I send them in . You know , see how they go . And so basically it all started from there . So they all started at Joe Nutt King and then they just they moved forward .

Speaker 2 20:38

For my nursing we had to move to the art back for a contractor secured out there , and that kind of boosted a lot of opportunities for them . They became , you know , they had secured management positions , things like that . So when we came back to Brisbane , yeah , everything just changed , all of our careers , and everything changed . And I think it was meant to be . Yeah , definitely yeah , it really was . Yeah , and they have the same interests . You know they're not out wanting to do dumb stuff . They were working the hang around with like money people . You know same goals and so I've been pretty lucky . You know , usually the kids are telling us to arm down a bit where we're a bit immature .

Speaker 1 21:17

So I was a very vanilla kid . So the problem my kids have got is that I was an easy child , never did anything . You know that was a problem as such , and so they've got me with my good behavior as a kid as a comparison . So that's the other day I'm Millie's putting her resume in a few places and I'm trying to get her to do one of hoites . And she goes what sort

Discussing Communication Skills and Job Opportunities

Speaker 1 21:47

of jobs would I do a hoites ? And I said well , you know , you probably have to just like Sort . You know , when the movie finishes , check the seats are clean , and all of that . She goes don't they have a cleaner for that ? And I was like you are your .

Speaker 2 22:08

That's awesome . No , definitely . I think the best skill anyone can learn and it needs to start young is communication , people skills . I think once you've got that , you're ready to go , you're ready to tackle life .

Speaker 1 22:19

Absolutely . It has been an absolute pleasure to talk to you today , holly . Thank you so much for jumping on and for those that are in that Brisbane area that are interested in getting a bit more assistance within your office here and collaborative , reach out to Holly for that and Absolutely check our Facebook events page for the coffee conversations that are in that area as well . We've started already doing our planning in advance , so hopefully there's some good options for people , and Holly and myself look forward to seeing you all then . Thanks , holly .

Speaker 2 22:57

Thank you so much . Thank you for having me you .