Being an Owner-Operator

I think service industry is really big to finding great service oriented people for your business, because this is a sales fork. So, I think it’s very good to have people that know how to look you in the eye that can have a clean voice, that can speak and sell themselves. You’re not going to get a 10 sales, you’re not going to find a Grant Cardone any everybody for sure. But if you have people that a caring heart, have a serving heart, they’re going to go out there, remember, we’re in a we take care of people business. That property that is 126 units. If we throw in all the kids and all the family members, multiple that by 2.5 to 3. That’s a lot of folks, 400, 500 folks that are living there, and she takes care of all of them. It’s just one person in that office. So, you got to find people that have that kind of background. We’re really big on service industries, in retail, restaurant. Those have been our big winners for us.

When it comes to looking for apartments, people do all their research during the week. So how do you rise above the noise? Well, you got to make sure of your reviews, because nobody goes to BestBuy and think, “oh, I want this one.” They ask a sales guy, “Hey, which one’s everybody buying?” That’s just how we are. We’re wired that like as humans. We don’t want to make a decision. So, if you read a positive review, “wow!” and you read another one, and you read another one and you’re like, “wow! This must be a nice place to live. I’m going to give it a try.” Then you go and you check out their website and you see their videos. What it’s like living at their communities. The videos are what the amenities look like. You see a dog park. You see a barbecue pavilion area. You see areas where there’s engagement, a community feel. You’re more than likely to be there versus just the website. That’s how we started out. We started with just websites. They’re just basically platforms for the investors would log in and try to pay their rent, right? No, it’s a book. It’s number two to storytelling. So, you need to story tell and throw your brand, because if you’re not promoting yourself, you’re demoting yourself. How are you going to know how great it is to live with us if we don’t tell you? Now, I know your mom and your dad, they tell growing up that, “don’t talk about yourself. Stay in line, color within the lines”, that’s not how it works, as children, we color outside the lines.

Listen to full episode: https://lifebridgecapital.com/2019/10/ws345-being-an-owner-operator-with-robert-martinez/

That’s how we wired, we like to talk, we’re in talking, we’re so loud and then somewhere along the line we get conditioned. That’s what’s happened to everybody. We’ve gone in tradition. We don’t tell you who we are. Quick story. My little boy, I got approached one time at a parent night by the parents of another little boy in his class, “oh, you’re Ryan’s dad.” I’m, “yeah. Very nice to meet you.” They’re like, “no. No. No. You don’t understand. We hear your son’s name all the time.” I go, “really?” “Yeah, Ryan’s the fastest in the school. Ryan is the strongest in the school. Ryan is the smartest in the school.” Well, who do you think told that little boy that? Ryan did. So, the myth became fact, right? I don’t know if he’s the smartest guy. I don’t know he’s the fastest guy, or Ryan believes he is. So, he told those people, and now that’s the reputation. So, you either you want to be considered well or you don’t. It’s your job to tell your story. So, as the owner of the business, it’s my job to tell our stories. It’s my job to tell you that we won those 17 awards. It’s my job to tell you how important reputation is. Because we’re promoting our self, and you got to learn how to do it, because then you will rise above the noise.

When it comes to social media, picture would tell a thousand words, video says a million words. It’s amazing, right – Or podcast. Any way to communicate. Everybody listens to podcasts now. They’re in the car, they’re at the gym. This morning, I was listening to a podcast in the gym. In the car, I’m listening to something. I listen to Grant Cardone. I listen to Gary Vaynerchuk. I listen to some other podcast and things that get me going. You got to communicate your message, it’s just simple as that. But I can tell you, the more I think about something, the more reality it becomes. People say you can manifest your reality. There’s no secret. The book, The Secret? The whole secret is work. If you’re say it enough times, it’s going to work. If you believe in like, “well, our goal is to get 10,000 units, we are at 3,699 units. That’s our goal.” I say it over and over and over again. It’s amazing, since I came over that goal, how much we’ve pushed in that direction, buying bigger deals, buying better assets. Three years ago, I didn’t have anybody on marketing, and now I’ve got a seven-person marketing. It’s just the commitment. Is it important to you? Is it a priority to you? Yeah. So, I’ll take it a little less because I want – I’ll put a budget into that group, because I want to stand above the noise. I want to create commercials. Nobody is watching on ABC, CBS and ABC. They’re watching here, right here on the phone. You got to learn Facebook. You got to learn Instagram. Because pretty much if you don’t learn this today, you deserve to go out of business, because it’s all right here. This is the gateway. This is the platform to communicating with the masses, and you got to tell your story.

Listen to full episode: https://lifebridgecapital.com/2019/10/ws345-being-an-owner-operator-with-robert-martinez/