At Hoffman Realty, we spend a lot of time staying current in the property management field, and one of the ways we do that is by following podcasts that pertain to the work we do.
One of the podcasts we listen to is The Property Management Show, a podcast that brings in subject matter experts who give insights into what it takes to have a successful property management business. Just recently, we were invited as guests to talk about what it’s like as a married couple to run a business and manage a growing team together.
We invite you to check out the full podcast, and we want to tell you a little bit about what we discussed with Brittany Stephens and Marie Liamzon of Fourandhalf.
Growing Hoffman Realty Together: Our Story
If you’re currently a client of ours, you may know our story already. MaryAnn Hoffman started Hoffman Realty immediately after she graduated from the University of South Florida. She was working with a lot of investors who needed her to manage their rental properties, and her business began to grow pretty steadily just from word of mouth.
She met and married Andrew Dougill, an engineer who worked for a large corporate firm. He had a nice corner office in downtown Tampa and a plum parking spot.
But soon, the dot-com bubble burst, and Andrew was laid off from that corporate job. While looking for a new engineering position, he agreed to help out at Hoffman Realty with some website development and other technical work.
MaryAnn and Andrew found that it worked well. This no longer remained a temporary situation. Instead, they took the plunge and went into business together.
How to Succeed Personally and Professionally
As we told The Property Management Show podcast, there are several ways to ensure you are successful as a married couple and a family business. The things we highlighted include:
- Setting clear professional boundaries. Identify each other’s strengths and don’t let yourself try to micromanage the other person
- Develop an organizational chart, even if it’s just the two of you. Put one person’s name inside each box and make sure you’re never in the same box together.
- Fill in any gaps in what you need by hiring smart people who work well together
- Establish an identity outside of work and your relationship. You don’t want to be together 24/7. Do something that you love on your own or with other people.
- Prepare yourself financially. When you’re working together in the same company and in the same industry, you don’t have any diversity of income. That can be risky, especially if the industry takes a turn for the worse or something happens outside of your control. Remember Hurricane Irma? If it had hit Tampa like originally expected, a lot of property managers would be out of business. You and your spouse need to be ready for that when you’re both property managers.
Having Fun Together
One of the reasons that Hoffman Realty is so successful is that we have fun together. We enjoy working with one another and we’ve found that it has strengthened our company and our marriage. We know that owners like working with a local family-run company. We care about our reputation in the community and we support each other in providing the best possible service to our owners, tenants, and properties.
If you want to learn more about us, please check out the podcast that featured us. Or, contact us directly at Hoffman Realty. We look forward to talking with you.