Buildium Property Management Blog

It’s that time of the year for goals and resolutions … and this blog post is no different. Both professionally and personally, most of us start the new year off with the best of intentions—but this doesn’t mean it’s not all too easy to get waylaid by the day-to-day grind, often before January has even run its course.

So this year, we encourage you to be accountable. Take an hour out of your week to put some serious thought into what you hope to achieve professionally in this first year of a new decade. Then make yourself accountable. Post your goals somewhere you will see them every day for the next year. Create reminders in your calendar at least once a quarter to “check in” and see where you stand. Are you taking realistic measures to achieve your goals—not just in January, but throughout the entire course of the year? Are you taking time to recognize your achievements and celebrate professional victories large and small? These may sound like trite suggestions … but they work.

Depending upon your personality and the current state of your business, creating a list of goals may be a quick, straightforward exercise or a daunting task. Whether you’re having difficulty narrowing your many goals down to a few or coming up with a single one, we encourage you to approach your list of goals with the following tactic in mind: S.M.A.R.T. strategy. Make sure that your goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

Keeping these qualities in mind will not only help you select goals that benefit your business, but will also build in a framework that ensures you can actually measure your progress throughout the course of the upcoming year.

We also encourage you to make your goals with the following simple but effective philosophy in mind. There’s a lot of truth to the adage “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” But this year, make a vow to yourself that if it is broken, you should fix it. This applies to all areas of your property management business: the units you manage, your advertising and marketing tactics, day-to-day business routines, and how you communicate with tenants and business contacts.

Particularly in these tight economic times, it can be scary to spend money on things that you could put off to a later date. But, in the long run, this doesn’t pay off. If you feel that you’re missing out on property management opportunities or could up your game when it comes to reaching potential tenants, make an investment in yourself and your business and take the steps necessary to make some headway. If you’re missing out on online marketing opportunities, invest in a web site. If you’re not out there pitching potential clients for property management work, invest the time in promoting yourself and your business. While everyone else is holding off on taking the steps necessary to grow their business until the economy takes off, you have the perfect opportunity to make some real inroads and get ahead of the pack. Don’t miss out!

2009 may have been a trying time for many landlords and property managers—but there is no reason that 2010 has to follow suit. Take the time necessary to envision what you would like to achieve this year and, more importantly, take the steps necessary to make it happen.

From all of us here at Buildium, Happy New Year! We can’t wait to hear about all of your achievements in 2010.

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