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Land of Opportunity or BUST! Do You See the Land of Opportunity?

Jan 6th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
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Have you ever noticed the people who complain about the lack of opportunities are also the ones that are the first to say they are too busy to join, have too much work to do, can’t take on another project, and are the ones turning away perfectly good opportunities? Complain, complain, complain, blah, blah, blah. If I were ole “Opportunity,” I would knock on another door too.

(Picture provided by Dominic’s Pics on Flickr through Creative Commons license.)

How can you position yourself to invite more opportunity?

1. Stop Complaining. Not only is this a negative, unproductive opportunity, you can’t hear when opportunity DOES knock.

2. Choose one of the following statements for the day:

A. I make things happen!

B. Things happen to me.

Hopefully, you chose option A. You’re one step closer to inviting more opportunity! If you have chosen B, there’s no one who can help you. Go back to bed. Wake up tomorrow and choose A.

3. HELP yourself. If there is a lack of opportunity in your life, stop and figure out WHY. Take some responsibility on WHY you are in this situation – and take a step to move yourself OUT of the situation. If it’s because you don’t have a degree, sign up for 1 class. Small step, but BOY, you’d be 1 class closer to a degree than you were yesterday. If you’re looking for a job, and the only place you are looking is on monster.com – you’re missing out on the majority of the job market. Most jobs never hit the classifieds! (CNNMoney.com reports over 80% of jobs are never advertised.) Figure out what you’re missing and find a way to GET IT! Stop finding excuses, start finding solutions. Make it YOUR business to be IN business. ENGAGE yourself fully!

4. Forgive yourself for any mistakes, and know that YOU are WORTHY of success beyond your wildest dreams. Most people sabotage themselves – the reason most people don’t succeed isn’t for lack of trying, its lack of belief in themselves. My favorite quote, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re usually right.” (Henry Ford) Why not be right about your success?

How does this apply to our apartment industry?

With this economy, so many people are singing the blues. I GET IT. It’s a tough market. So what? We’re all in this market together. If both you & I are operating in the same market, all’s fair. Go through steps 1-4 not only for yourself, but for your apartment community, for your team, for your career, for your staff. Stop complaining about the market and making excuses. Start finding solutions. Engage in your community’s success. Participate and engage in your community. Forgive yourself, your staff for not being able to run it like it WAS, and run your apartment community the way you CAN, and not the way you CAN’T.

Winston Churchill said, ”

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Do you see difficulties or opportunities in your future? Do you see the Land of Opportunity?

Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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Success in the Apartment Industry: Where do you Participate, Participate, Participate?

Jan 3rd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

So you read my PARTICIPATE in your SUCCESS article, and your new year’s resolution is to participate in your industry, your career, and your success. Where to start?

No better place than with a recommendation from your peers!

Please leave a comment on where in the industry you are participating, and any comment you feel relevent. AND, if there’s a link, GREAT!

I’ll start:

MN MHA -non-profit local apartment association: http://www.mmha.com – they have focus groups that are always looking for more volunteers. I have met some industry GREATS in these groups, and we have made a difference for our industry!

Aeon – Homes for Generations: http://aeonmn.org – this is a non-profit affordable housing provider in Minnesota. They have many volunteer oppotunities, AND, they are always looking for people who are interested in serving on the Board of Directors to apply.

I also attend several networking events put on my a local neighborhood association called the Uptown Minneapolis Association. I’ve met some AWESOME people here and now also write for the Uptown Neighborhood News through connections I made at the networking events!

What’s your New Year’s resolution to PARTICIPATE?

 Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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How To Be Successful In The Apartment Industry: Participate, Participate, Participate!

Dec 30th, 2009
by daisynguyen.
8 comments

I’ve had a LOT of conversations recently, and one topic has been a recurring theme: Success. Two recurring questions: 1.) How do we make our apartment communities more successful? 2.) How do we make OURSELVES more successful?

As a consultant and a writer of a popular industry blog, I meet with A LOT of people. I meet with EVERY kind of person in the industry from site personnel to vendors at every level, from to Regional Managers to directors to VP’s to CEO’s/COO’s/CFO’s, to developers, partners, investors & owners of apartment communities.

My answer is ALWAYS the same: PARTICIPATE, PARTICIPATE, PARTICIPATE!

1.) PARTICIPATE: Participate in something bigger and greater than your own apartment community. I KNOW you have a million things to do and there isn’t another minute you can commit to someone new, but YOUR PARTICIPATION in something greater will return ten-fold to your success at your apartment community, as well as return ten-fold in your own personal successes. I’ll go out on a limb here and say – I PROMISE that any participation you give will be returned to you ten fold. If not, give me a call, and I’ll take you to lunch and eat my words.

2.) PARTICIPATE: Don’t just JOIN your local apartment association, JOIN, PARTICIPATE, ENGAGE! There is no better way to work/network with other industry professionals in your market than at your local apartment association. Chances are, they ARE looking for volunteers to participate in committees, tasks forces, surveys, focus groups, etc. Do you think that your opinion doesn’t count? In an industry that serves this many people, YOUR opinion DOES count. For every 1 person who DOES participate, there are dozens if not hundreds of people who do NOT participate. YOUR opinion COUNTS simply because you have made a commitment and gotten involved. Is your local association too small? Help them grow and expand by getting more people involved. Hey – it’s YOUR local apartment association – make it truly YOURS.

3.) PARTICIPATE: Participate in a local non-profit in your market. This could be a local non-profit housing provider OR this could be a local non-profit community group. As with your local association, they ARE looking for volunteers for their boards, focus groups, tasks forces, surveys, fund-raisers, etc! Especially in this market and economy, they need your expertise. Find something that MOVES you and PARTICIPATE with THEM. You will be in for one of the most rewarding commitments you can make. I know it is MY most rewarding commitment – who knew that working for free has its rewards?

How does this help you with the success at your apartment community? In participating, you’ll hear from other industry professionals, like yourself (and some NOT so like you!). You’ll hear different ideas, different perspectives, different personalities. You’ll learn, you’ll grow, you’ll make new friends that can last a lifetime. You’ll meet tons of new vendors that are PARTICIPATING. – I love vendors who participate – it tells me they are committed to the industry’s success  and not just their own. You will be exposed to ideas, people, information and opportunities that you did NOT have access to prior to your participation. You’ll be the first to know about networking events hosted by your local association, notified of training opportunities produced by the local association, be in the “know” new trends and products and through your expanding network, get to know the world OUTSIDE of your box. You can take these new ideas, exposures and bring them back to your apartment and apply them to make your apartment community more successful and making you more successful. Talk about a WIN-WIN! That’s a SCORE!

In case you are wondering, I participate in my local apartment association, MN Multi-Housing Association (MHA) – one of the best and nationally recognized associations in the U.S. (http://mmha.com/ ) or check them out on facebook!

Participation with your local non-profit brings challenges and HUGE rewards. I participate in a local non-profit affordable housing provider called AEON. (Or you can check them out on facebook. I also mention them in a past blog article.) The challenges are the time commitment involved and understanding that non-profits work a little differently. The rewards are much the same as in the local apartment association – I have chosen to surround myself with other successful people who are COMMITTED to the same CAUSE that I am committed to. The people in that group are as wide as our industry – and every one of them smart, driven and a FORCE to be reckoned with. The contributions I have made by participating have been returned to me ten-fold in the form of new ideas, new connections, new perspectives and new friends.

In a world and time where it is so easy to get caught up in OUR OWN little dramas, a more global PARTICIPATION can help us bring additional focus to our apartment communities and to our own careers. It’s YOUR community, it’s YOUR career! PARTICIPATE and make it truly YOURS!

With New Year’s coming – make it a New Year’s resolution to PARTICIPATE!

 Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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“Professionally Managed by…” What does THAT mean?

Dec 28th, 2009
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

Recently, a close friend of mine asked me, “what does professionalism mean to you & how does it pertain to our apartment industry? I want our company to be more ‘professional’ and I want to better understand what that means.” THIS – from one of the smartest most professional people I know? I took the question seriously.

My first attempt: Duh! Professional is… you know, someone who conducts business in a professional manner – you know – a professional!! It’s one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot, but what does it REALLY mean?

I pondered some more and I realized it was a VERY relevant question to our apartment/property management/real estate development industry. There are numerous property management companies out there:  from the biggest of big – the HUGE REITS, to the smallest of small – the “mom & pop” duplexes managed by (you guessed it,) ”mom & pop.” How do we define “professional” and “professionalism” in an industry that is so wide? And, maybe more importantly, you are wondering – why would we want to? And who cares?

YOU SHOULD care. It matters to your customer. It matters to your clients. It matters to your existing and prospective employees. It is your reputation. It matters to the industry as a whole, as it is those few “unprofessional” landlords that make the rest of us look like ogres. If you claim to be “Professionally managed by ABC Management Company,“ what exactly does THAT mean?

The first image that popped into my mind when the word “professional” is mentioned is men and women in suits. But just wearing a suit doesn’t mean you are professional. There are plenty of unprofessional things done in suits these days! 

Then I thought about professional athletes – these guys do NOT wear suits at all! YET, they are definitely professional athletes nonetheless. So maybe, being “professional” means your talent is worth a lot. Then my thoughts wandered to McDonald’s – they serve burgers. The burgers are cheap. It doesn’t take talent to make cheap burgers. BUT, McDonald’s is definitely a professional organization – and a very successful one too! Not only do they sell cheap burgers where no talent is required to make the burgers, they don’t wear suits. Suits. NFL. McDonald’s.

 What did these have in common that could help me to define professionalism and how does it pertain to the apartment industry?

 It finally dawned on me, what all these had in common, and why it should matter to you:

 1.) Professionalism is all about expectations and standards. As an organization, one of the best things you can do for yourself, your clients, your employees, AND your reputation, is to set a standard. The NFL has standards for their athletes – and each team has its own standards. Everyone is expected to play at or above those standards. For McDonald’s, the standard is a very small narrow window of what the customer can expect from the restaurant, the food, and the service. Customers expect their experience to be the same or very similar at every McDonald’s whether it is a McDonald’s in downtown LA or in suburbia: It’s a McDonald’s burger. Having standards can contribute positively to your customer experience. If customers know what to expect, and they receive it (whatever THAT standard is that you’ve set) this results in a positive experience. McDonald’s has a standard, and their customers know what to expect from them. A person wanting a gourmet steak burger is not going to wander into McDonald’s and then become disappointed at the burger experience.

 What is the standard at your property or management company? Do you customers, vendors, and employees know what to expect? You have the ability to set those expectations – and more importantly increase the likelihood that the customer experience is positive – by setting realistic expectations that you have specifically trained your employees to attain.

 2.) So then, what’s up with the suits? I realized that it wasn’t about the SUITS as much as what the suits represent – it represents an image. In the NFL, each team has a uniform – which they all wear proudly. At McDonald’s – there is a uniform that serves a dual purpose – to project a consistent image of McDonald’s as well as to provide clothing that can be abused in a restaurant setting and still fit into the McDonald’s image. Does your image project “Professionally managed by ABC Apartments?” or does it say, “the uniform stinks, I hate this job, and I don’t care enough about my job to care how I look?” What image are you portraying, and does it fit into the standards that you set in #1 above?

 3.) Lastly, for an organization or a site to be “professional,” the standards of conduct and the “professional” image need to apply to everyone. – Whether it is consistency in behavior, or consistency in image, or consistency in the treatment of staff, or consistency of how residents are treated, – professional in an organization is as much about consistency as it is about standards and image. I’m not advocating that you require your maintenance staff to wear suits. What I AM advocating is there is consistency in the messages that you send. Everyone on your team needs to have the same consistent (hopefully high) level of customer service that your residents can come to expect out of their “professionally managed” apartment building.

 Is your apartment community “Professionally managed by … ” What does this mean to you?

 Don’t get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

Image provided by Jesse Draper on Flickr through creative commons license.

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TWEET TWEET: Twitter for Business Users and Apartment Marketers

Dec 23rd, 2009
by daisynguyen.
11 comments

I’ve been following the whole TWITTER phenomenon very closely. At first, I was VERY confused. Who would use twitter and why? More importantly, why would I use twitter, and what would I tweet? After months of following tweeters, tweeting, searching tweets, reading tweets, re-tweeting, something dawned on me: Not all twitter users are created equal! In order to best understand and utilize twitter, I had to decide what kind of twitter user I was or wanted to be.

Most twitter users fell in the following 4 categories:

Tweeters – These guys have something to say, and they are out there sharing IT with the world, or at least, the twitterverse. In the real world, these would be your authors, writers, politicians, radio personalities, teachers, educators, speakers, advocates, socialites, personalities, class clowns, etc. Instead of a book, magazine, stage, forum, class, radio, soapbox, etc. – they use twitter to get their message out.

Followers – are exactly that. They follow the tweeters. They are the audience. In the real world, these would be readers, subscribers, students, supporters, etc. In the twitterverse, there is more opportunity to INTERACT with their tweeters than in the real world. AND, almost more importantly, that INTERACTION is shared with all fellow followers AND the twitterverse.

These are the TOP 2 types of twitter users. In the business world, and in our multi-family apartment industry, the following 2 lesser known types are KEY to marketing and sales:

Listeners – these are not just followers – these twitter users are out there listening for very specific topics or trends. In the apartment industry, we must learn to listen on twitter. Find out what our customers, clients, competitors are saying – especially what they are saying about our apartment communities, our markets, and our competitors! That’s a LOT of listening! Listening is one of the KEY components to effective communication, and as an interactive communication tool, it PAYS to listen on twitter. Listening is akin to being in a busy restaurant and overhearing someone at the next table talking about your apartment community! Except on twitter, the next table is the entire twitterverse. Listeners who are active and respond to the needs of their customers can help in strengthening an apartment community’s brand, image or message and extending the customer service arm. You listen, you respond = YOU CARE. Now THAT’s something to tweet about!

Miners – these are the most diligent and proactive business users. These guys, not only listen for specific topics or trends, they are mining the twitterverse to FIND prospects and leads! In the real world, this would be similar to standing in a busy restaurant and hoping to hear someone mention they are looking for an apartment – being the diligent manager/leasing agent you are, you quip in and let them know that you work for an apartment community down the road and give them your card and contact info. On twitter, you don’t have to be anywhere and wait for the stars to aline to catch this conversation. You can use twitter search engines to mine for prospects and leads by searching for key words such as “apartment hunting new york,” – and then sending those prospects a direct message with a link to your property’s website.

I should mention: I don’t think mining for prospects should be an apartment community’s only marketing plan – however, there probably aren’t that many prospects out there who just happen to mention your key words “apartment hunting new youk,” but if your traffic is slow or nonexistent, being proactive and mining instead of waiting for propsects to walk in the door, might not be a bad option.

I’m still learning more and more about twitter every day, and have learned to LOVE it. Love how fast it moves, LOVE all the random and not so random things I have learned following others, listening for trends, and when it DOES happen, finding those leads.

The most active twitter users participate in all 4 categories. Everyone is focused on tweeting and following. For apartment marketers & leasors (or any business’ marketing/sales personnel for that matter!) the biggest opportunities are in listening & mining.

How have you used twitter for marketing your business, apartment community or services? What type of twitter user are you?

tweet tweet? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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The SKY is FALLING! How to Deal With Dramatic/Difficult People

Dec 21st, 2009
by daisynguyen.
1 comment

If you are in the multi-family industry,work at an apartment community, its a given: You WILL have to deal with difficult people.  I’m not just talking about the person who might be unhappy about the color of the sky, I’m talking about the person who is IRRATE and thinks it’s YOUR fault ”the sky is falling!” How you can deal with THAT person and NOT have it ruin the rest of your day? Whether it is an disgruntled employee, an irrate apartment resident or even your BOSS (or any other miriad of difficult/dramatic people you may have to deal with), here are my top 3 TIPS:

3.) You KNOW you’re going to have to deal with difficult people, be prepared:

  • Create a place where you can meet with difficult people – whether it is your office or a conference room.
  • The room should be clean, neat, free of clutter, and decorated in soft, muted, calm tones like light blues or greens to help create a calming effect.
  • Have a desk or conference table where both parties can sit to discuss the issue. The bigger the table or desk, the better. This keeps difficult people on the OTHER side of a large desk/table and away from you.
  • Do not keep any heavy or sharp objects on or around the desk/table.
  • Invest in a long horizontal mirror. You can create a BIG psychological advantage through this technique. Have the mirror mounted on the wall behind you, so that when you are talking to the difficult person, they can see THEMSELVES in the mirror. People forget how ugly they can physically be when they are angry. Most people don’t like to see themselves that way – and if they are faced with themselves, they will likely tone down their “ugliness.”

2.) If it all possible, discuss their issue with them on your turf. You’ve just positioned your office or conference room to create a sense or tranquility, you’ve removed all dangerous objects, and you have a mirror to show them how ugly they can be. Have them come to your office.

2.) Remember, it’s not YOU, it’s THEM. When a person is THIS difficult/dramatic – it’s either their way of life or something else has escalated their emotional state. Either this drama is normal for them OR, they are taking out their emotional frustrations on you. Don’t take it personally. - if you do, you are buying into their drama or helping to escalate their emotional frustrations even further. Instead, just listen. Don’t judge, try not to blame them for anything, and don’t defend any point of view. Someone who is going to be this difficult is not going to listen or let you reason with them – at least not yet. It could be that they are having a bad day and taking it out on you. It could be that they have gone through a recent loss (lover? job? stocks?), and they are not in the right frame of mind. Whatever the case, don’t take it personally. Instead:

  • Thank them for coming and sharing their point of view with you, 
  • Ask them to give you a couple of days to think it over. This gives them some time to cool off, and gives you some time to decide how to handle the situation in the most beneficial way. (And that may entail calling your HR department, or attorney.)
  • When they leave, shake it off, knowing that YOU are not the problem. You have a business to run and office to lead. Don’t take on their emotional baggage.

For those that TRULY believe the sky is falling, you’ll need some professional help (and they might too!). Give yourself the time to call in help – your company’s HR department, your attorney, another person in your office – whatever the proper process is at your company or apartment community.

For the most part, difficulties do pass, and diffucult people will move on. Creating that calming environment, and allowing them to communicate what their issues will allow you & your the emotionally elevated person the opportunity to discuss at a less stressful time.

How do you feel? How have you dealt with difficult people? How do you shake of their negative energy? Leave a comment and let’s discuss how to deal with it.

Don’t Get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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How do you FEEL? Success – It's all in the details.

Dec 18th, 2009
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

Consider these 2 statements:

1.) Things happen to me. 2.) I make things happen.

A small change in a statement can make a STATEMENT! A very subtle change to the sentence, but the way you FEEL when you say sentence #1 vs sentence #2 makes a WORLD of difference.

We are all so concentrated on the BIG picture and global problems of our businesses that many times, the little details can become forgotten or lost. Everyone is worried about their vacancy rate and their cash flow. You might have 20 apartments to lease, you’re thinking about how to stretch your budget, put together a resident party and conduct employee reviews. Who would have time for the little details – especially RIGHT NOW?

But, consider this: It IS the little details that can get you from good to GREAT, it is the little details that can make you FEEL good or feel NOT so good. If a small change in a sentence can make you FEEL so different, what kind of small changes can you make in your business that can make you, your customers, your vendors, and your staff FEEL as empowered as statement#2: I MAKE THINGS HAPPEN ?

The most basic detail we are overlooking is how we feel. Take a fresh look at everything that effects your business, and ask the question, “How do I feel when I look at this?” Because if you ask that question and can find a truthful answer, how you feel may very well be how others feel when they look at you, your product, your office, your apartment community, your business.

Let’s take for example your office/leasing space. Clear your mind and stop thinking about the million of things you have to do, need to get to, or wish you could do. Instead, clear your mind and walk into the front door of your leasing office and ask yourself, “how does it make me feel?” Does it feel warm and inviting? Does it feel cluttered? Does it feel peaceful? Is it noisey?

Take a look at these three pictures of leasing offices and see how you feel about the office and desk:

PIC#1:

 If this looks like your desk, we need to talk. The good news is, some small changes can make a HUGE difference. When I look at this picture, I feel ANXIOUS, CLUTTERED, claustrophobic, disorganized, overwhelmed. What do you feel? If your office looks even remotely like this, just think how difficult it is to lease apartments when your prospect feels anxious and disorganized when sitting in your office? Additionally, they could be thinking, “If I turn in my rent check, is she going to loose it? If I have a maintenance request, will it get completed on time?”

PIC#2:

This office looks better, but only when you compare it to office #1. There is good lighting (which makes a HUGE difference on how a space FEELS), there is seating available for prospects, BUT, the seat is covered with “stuff.” When look at this picture, I feel UNWELCOMED, BUSY, confused. This person clearly knows what they are doing, as it is somewhat organized, but it makes me feel like an intruder, as I’m not sure how I fit into this setting. (Where do I sit? If I DO get to sit in the green chair, I feel like I could be disrupting this person’s “organized chaos.” If I am a resident here, I would still feel unwelcome in this office. This is not how a prospect OR resident should feel when sitting in your office.

Pic#3:

This office is the best one of the bunch. Any clutter is neatly organized in drawers or behind screened cubes. The color pallet is soothing. The lighting is good. When I look at this picture, I FEEL calm, organized, welcome. This would be a great office to ask for that sale, sign leases, meet with residents. You can’t tell from this picture, as this office is so small that we had to get into the closet to take this picture – there IS a desk that fits and feel as calming and soothing as this office wall. There are a few small details I would recommend on this office to create an even greater sense of calm and welcome – 1.) Paint the wall space between the credenza and upper cabinets the same calming blue/teal color that is in the upper cabinets. This will create a focal point away from the printer/scanner, and away from the overhead files. 2.) Hide the wireless router. It’s wireless, it should still work in a drawer or even under the credneza. 3.) Hang the art horizontally along that wall – centered between the upper cabinets and the credenza. Again, to create a calm, soothing focal point that leads the eye away from anything that can be percieved as not calm – i.e. the printer & scanner & hole punch. Just think how many apartments can get leased in this office vs #1 or #2?

Do this exercise with your models, your print ads, your curb appeal. How do these things make you FEEL when you are looking at it? However YOU feel, you can expect your prospects, residents, visitors, and vendors to feel the same way when they walk in. It’s hard to do business, conduct business, sign leases, if people feel anxious, confused or unwelcome. Make the changes necessary for your business to be successful.

If you are having a hard time clearing your mind and doing this exercise, take pictures of the space in question, and show it to your friends, co-workers, business network, and ask them how THEY feel. From there, work on making some small adjustments to get your spaces feeling calm, inviting and soothing. If all else fails, call in an expert like an interior decorator or feng shui expert. It is amazing how some inexpensive adjustments like rearranging furniture, creating focal points, creating mood with paint, hiding/organizing clutter in drawers/behind screens, etc can make you feel. This doesn’t need to be an expensive exercise by any means.

If you still don’t believe me, repeat these statements again:

1.) Things happen to me.

2.) I make things happen.

How do you feel? What will you choose? Make something happen TODAY!

Don’t Get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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Mid-life crisises don't just happen at MID-LIFE anymore…bring back Mary POPPINS!

Dec 8th, 2009
by daisynguyen.
No comments yet

Do you feel the need to get more done? Do you have long to-do lists? Are you doing “stuff” but still can’t get “anything” done?

If you answered “yes,” you could be headed to a mid-life crisis. These things start small, and then they snowball….take for example:

I had a conversation with a woman yesterday that BLEW my mind. She’s young, beautiful, smart (she’s my “go-to” person when I need info), socially connected, socially conscious, and someone who gets STUFF done. I’m talking A LOT of stuff. She juggles a demanding job, participates in the local apartment association, fun/loving family woman, successful - one word AMAZING. (Let’s call her Mary Poppins going forward.)

Mary Poppins said to me, “I need to find a way to get more done. I want to take a class on prioritizing and how to get more done.” WHAT? I was so surprised. Get MORE done? MARY freeking POPPINS? WOW.

I recently took a class on MOLD. The one thing I learned in this class,  was this: Address the problem, not the symptom. So, in the mold case, the problem was moisture, and the symptom was mold. Treat the moisture problem and the mold will disappear.

For Mary, her sypmtoms included keeping long lists and feeling dissatisfied with all that she had done. As we talked more, I was able to uncover the real problem – lack of motivation.

We’re not talking about the momentary lack of motivation where a simple PEP talk would cure you. We’re talking about a full-blown lack of motivation. The kind that if left unaddressed, leads to a MID-LIFE CRISIS. The kind of crisis where you wonder who you are, why you’re here, and why you gave up on your dreams. All the sudden, you buy a fast car, join a band and dye your hair pink – try to live the dream all in one fell swoop. This doesn’t cure it either. Mid-Life Crisises don’t just happen at mid-life. They can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. They take time to build up.

How do we address a lack of motivation before it becomes a full blown mid-life crisis? Before you quit your job and dye your hair pink?

In talking to Mary further, I found that in her attempt to get more done, she had cut out many of the things she  enjoyed – singing happy songs, painting as a creative outlet (she had always wanted to be an artists!), and yoga. In the time that she used to read books, paint and practice yoga, she replaced those with career oriented activities – meeting with MORE clients, analyzing traffic patterns, and learning about the widget building process (and how to turn widgets into socially conscious “green” widgets), the list goes on and on. FUN? NOT.

I encouraged Mary to treat herself - allow herself the outlets that she so desperately needed. Take a class on painting! Join a choir or singing club! Find a yoga group – not only practice yoga – but talk yoga! I promised her that is she did so, even 1 hour a week, she would find that she would be so much MORE motivated at work. (Let’s bring the POPPINS back to Mary!)

I also encouraged her to find a way to bring those parts of her outlet to her career, if possible. Was there some way to intertwine yoga & the multi-family industry? Was there some way to intertwine her love of painting and her career? Could she start a singing club on site? How much happier would Mary be if she could?

Why do I mention this on a blog for the Multi-Family industry? Because Mary is not just one person, she is almost everyone person I meet in this industry. In the Apartment (multi-family) industry, it’s serious business. So serious that many of us have sucked all the fun out of it and replaced it with 100% serious business 24/7. We’ve all gone from Mary POPPINS to plain Mary!

I think the opposite. The Multi-Family indsutry is one of the most exciting, most diverse, most fun industry I have ever and will ever participate in. There are TONS of avenues that we travel where we can bring the fun. WE are our own worst enemies- we have chosen to cut the fun out in order to make room for more work. Let’s choose to bring the FUN back in.

When I was on-site, I once taught a cooking class, hosted off-the-hook FUN events (complete with aerialists, acrobats, and fire-slingers – email me if you don’t believe me and I will send you a link to pictures!), hosted “neighborhood socials,” had the oppotunity to pick out FABULOUS art for my community, hosted “jewelry” parties and fashion shows all in the name of WORK! Did my boss tell me to do these things? NO. Did I get in trouble for this? NO – in fact, my property won 5 MADACS awards for all the fun we had. My goal was to make the property successful. To do that, I brought the FUN to work. Here’s a picture of us on our 5th award at MADACS gala. Looks like fun, huh?

In the Multi-family industry, I believe we have so much more opportunity to bring the FUN into our lives than most other industries. Whether you like to cook, network, party, admire art, wear jewelry, read books, juggle fire, play music, whatever tickles your fancy – YOU have a greater opportunity than many in other industries to bring THAT to work. Whether you are a site manager, leasing agent, maintenance man, bookkeeper, caretaker, vendor, service provider, you NAME it, YOU have the opportunity to bring IT to work. – then see how much you can get done! In the words of Disney’s Mary Poppins, “A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down!”

What kind of FUN have your brought? Leave a comment and see how much fun we could all be having!

Don’t Get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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Leasing: 10 Steps From SAD to RAD!

Dec 6th, 2009
by daisynguyen.
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Here in Minnesota, we blame the leasing slow-down to the weather – we tell ourselves that no one wants to move when there is snow on the ground. (And who would really?)

It’s not the snow. It’s SAD. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) And it happens EVERY year, EVERY where. So let’s not get our undies in a bunch! If you can plan it right, you’ll forget about being SAD and become RAD (Rocking All Day!)

Below is RENT SODA’s 10 step program from SAD to RAD:

  1. ACCEPT that SAD does happen. Your prospects get SAD, and they don’t want to move. Your office is afflicted by SAD, and it’s hard to keep a positive attitude. First step is to ACCEPT that SAD happens!
  2. The second and MOST important of the 10 activities, is to GET OVER IT. SAD happens to good people! Let’s stop whining about how bad it is, how bad it might be, how bad it’s going to be, how bad the economy is, stop worrying, stop attracting that negativity! It’s one thing to accept it, but let’s not wallow in SAD-ness! GET OVER IT.
  3. Every time you accomplish one of these steps, cross it off your list! Now that you’re over IT, breathe in, breathe out, and print out this list to be used as your CHECKLIST.
  4. Update, refresh, renew your ILS listings: This is a great time to look at all of your ILS’s. Who are you using? What new features have they implemented that you may not have taken advantage of? Many times, our ILS vendors are responding to our feedback and requests. They are constantly changing their programs, adding features to meet our needs. TAKE ADVANTAGE of their new features. Don’t just glaze over something. Look over it, review it, assign it to someone on your team, and take advantage of all the new features your ILS has to offer!
  5. Evaluate if your current ILS’s are doing what you need. If not, change it up. Add new ones. There are new listing services coming on-line all the time. Many are extremely affordable. Some are free!
  6. Take a look at your Craig’s List adds. NO, STOP, take a REAL GOOD look at them. Some of those craig’s list ads are embarrassing. These look nothing like your brand, your image, or your other internet listings. Now is a good time to design, tweak, and change those ads to match your image and brand. Tired of posting craigslist ads? There are a TON of services that will post them for you ALL at an EXTREMELY affordable price. (Usually under $40.00/property/month!) If you need a list of providers, email me.
  7. Join a networking group in the industry. You local apartment association is a great place to start. Getting involved in a committee or group is an awesome opportunity to be around other people in the industry. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own thing and forget there’s a WHOLE world of ideas out there! Get out there and collaborate, share, and learn through your participation in a group other than your own employer. If there isn’t a local apartment association in your area, join a networking group that interests you. There are tons of marketing groups, young professionals groups, political groups, etc. You name it, there’s a group out there that you can join, share, learn from and grow with! Ask around for recommendations, and if all else fails, try http://www.meetup.com/
  8. Refocus on resident retention. During the spring/summer months, your leasing agents spend a lot of time doing call-backs to follow-up on ALL those prospects. Now that the prospect list has dwindled to a few a week, use that time to have your leasing agents call on current residents. Call them to follow-up on maintenance items, call them to say thank you, call your residents to wish them a happy new year. Whatever the reason, your residents probably don’t hear from you very often – except during an emergency or if rent is overdue. Use this opportunity to create a positive, no pressure interaction.
  9. Work on boosting your apartmentratings.com ratings. If you have had any positive interactions with any of your residents during this time, follow-up with a personal phone call (don’t just send them an email) and invite them to write a review on apartmentratings.com.
  10. Shake it up and shake SAD out. Smile, shake hands, hug someone, wave, say “Happy New Year!” dance, laugh, giggle. Shake it up and shake SAD out.

Use this SAD time wisely, and in doing so, you can turn leasing from SAD into RAD! (Rocking ALL DAY!)

Do you want to add steps to Leasing: From SAD to RAD? Post a comment or email me and add to the 10 step program.

Don’t Get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

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Dear Apartment ILS: KISS! (Keep It Simple Silly!)

Dec 1st, 2009
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

We all have a love/hate relationship with our apartment ILS’s. We love them for everything they do, and we hate them for everything they do. Yes, I’m talking about Rent.com, ForRent.com, Apartments.com, Move.com, ApartmentFinder.com – those are my big ones, but I’m sure I’m not mentioning dozens of other ones. I’m talking about ALL of them! Don’t get me wrong, I love all my providers! They bring me traffic. Traffic is king these days. The provider’s sales agents are great – friendly, helpful, a HUGE resource to apartment communities. But, the actual services all lack something EXTREMELY important - make it easy for the prospect! KISS! (Keep-It-Simple-Silly!*) (*I hate calling anyone stupid, so have replaced stupid with silly)

A recent blog post I did and two recent discussions on Multi-Family Insiders got me to thinking:

Give the prospect what they want. In the end, they are our customer.

To read the recent RENT SODA blogpost and discussions on MFI that got me to thinking, click below:

There’s a MARKET for THAT! (my RENT SODA marketing blogpost)

Advertising on Yours (and Others’) Good Names : an MFI discussion started by Mike Whaling

The ILS Conundrum – an MFI blogpost by Mark Juleen

Why can’t the ILS model be more simple, and cater to the prospect? Make it easier?

If they get THEY want, you get more traffic, and you drive more traffix to US, and we get WE want…everyone’s happy!

I’ve been a renter before, and as a renter, or anyone looking for a service for that matter, I love it when:

  1. …someone else has aggregated all the information for me into 1 BIG list. i love LISTS! I’m lazy, I have limited amount of time, and I need to find the RIGHT apartment without spending all my free time looking for an apartment. Come on, I have a life that I want to live. Being a professional apartment shopper is not my gig!
  2. …once I’m on your site, make it simple for me to find my dream home. (i.e. if I’m looking for Minneapolis, don’t give me all the listings out in the suburbs! REALLY? Do you think that providing me with listings all the way out to Timbuktu serves me in anyway?) The more time I spend frustrated on your site, the unhappier I become.
  3. Provide me with reviews. REALLY. Amazon does it, ebay does it, Best Buy does it – everyone and their dog allows for comments and reviews. I want to hear what other people like me who have done this before think.
  4. Link me to the property. Come on, I know you want me to stay on your website so you can provide a report to those that pay you on how long the average user stays on the website. But REALLY? Once I have narrowed down the list of who I want to visit, I want to VISIT them. Make it easy for me!

What do YOUR prospects and renters want from an ILS? As a renter, what do they want to make the experience easy and enjoyable? Please leave a comment with your thoughts. In the end, we should give the customer what they want, and they’ll continue to come back for me. Let’s see if we can get the attention of the ILS’s!

Dear Apartment ILS: KISS!

Don’t Get it? RENT SODA. GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

CEO

RENTSODA-small

Business & Marketing Consulting to the Apartment Industry

Web: RentSoda.com   Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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