Defining Your Management Company

What does your portfolio say about you? Learn how defining your management company can empower your business. 

Defining Your Management Company

Business Goals & Priorities1

What are your reasons and goals for being in the community management business?

Defining Your Management Company

“

”

Your company goals should include:

Operate a healthy and profitable business

Provide a valuable service to the community

Offer a desirable workplace for employees

Set Your Goals

Defining Your Management Company

Self Analyze & Contrast with your Goals

• Compare and contrast your goals and priorities with the present state of your organization

•Write it down

• Remember business plans are fluid

• Constantly review and revise

Create a Self Analysis using the SWOT model

• Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors – completely in your control

• Opportunities and threats are external factors.

• Strengths and Opportunities are helpful, and should be nurtured.

•Weaknesses and threats are harmful, and should be eliminated

StrengthsWeakness

es

Opportunities

Threats

Self Analysis (Internal Factors)

•What do you really do?

•What need do you fulfill?

• How large is your market?

•What are your strengths? Weaknesses? (Be honest!)

Self Analysis (External Factors)

•What distinguishes you from others?

•Who is your target client base?

•What are your revenue streams?

•What are your costs, margins & profits?

• You are a professional, ACT LIKE ONE (and charge like one)!

• Get rid of the Voice of Treason.

•Decide want kind of company you want to be.

• Evaluate constantly to see if you are reaching your goals.

•Never be afraid to fire an association.

•Don’t spend 80% of your time on 20% of your clients.

Defining Your Management Company

Your Business Model2

Defining Your Management Company

Which of these Community Types Fits Your Business Model?

Single Family HOA’s

Garden Style CondoMid-Rise/Hi-Rise Condo

Townhouse HOA’s

Defining Your Management Company

The Community Types In Your Portfolio Affect Your Business

HOA’s

Single Family or Townhouse

communities are easiest to

manage since you’re only

responsible for common area.

Single Family HOA’s

Townhouse HOA’s

Defining Your Management Company

The Community Types In Your Portfolio Affect Your Business

Garden Condos

Garden Condos involve more

maintenance and require 24

hour on-call staff. Garden Style Condo

Defining Your Management Company

The Community Types In Your Portfolio Affect Your Business

Mid-Rise & Hi-Rise Condos

Mid/High Rise Condos are the

most difficult to manage. The

higher the units are stacked, the

more problems you may expect.

Elevators and garbage chutes are

constant problems. Must have

adequate and well-trained staff to

handle these properties. May

require on-site staff.

Mid-Rise/Hi-Rise Condo

Defining Your Management Company

Portfolio Management3

Defining Your Management Company

What is Portfolio Management?

It means developing “Smart Growth” practices to grow your management company.

It means taking on new customers that fit a pre-determined target business strategy so you not only cover your costs, but make a profit.

Defining Your Management Company

Who Needs Portfolio Management

• Established management companies

• Start-ups must take any community they can get! (Only established companies with good reputations can afford to be picky)

• It takes time to transition your portfolio to “Smart Growth”

• Consider proposing “Financial Only” management to smaller communities

Defining Your Management Company

Smart Growth Strategies

• Elements of “Smart Growth”:

• Know your fixed costs for each community you manage• Time Studies

• Estimate Time Spent

• Set a monthly minimum management fee that covers your fixed costs

• Determine the minimum community size that meets your criteria

Defining Your Management Company

Toxic Community Types in Your Portfolio

Small Communities

Loss-Leader Communities

Troubled Communities

Long-Distance Communities

Defining Your Management Company

•You cannot afford

to manage small

or “loss leader”

communities

• Small communities take as much staff time as larger communities

• They use up limited resources that are best applied to higher paying communities

Defining Your Management Company

Troubled Communities take too much staff time.

Distance can be costly.

• Troubled communities take too much staff time

• High risk of losing the contract

• Bad attitudes of officers and residents

• Distance from your office can be a costly barrier

Troubled or Distant Communities

Swap toxic

communities for

easier, more

profitable

communities

“

”

Portfolio Management is one of the

essential building blocks of a profitable

management company.  If you follow

"smart growth" principles, it will bring

positive results and increase your

profitability.

Defining Your Management Company

“

”

For more information on increasing the

profitability of your Condo/HOA management

company, we recommend the CAM

Profitability Conference, a series of half-

day seminars, coming in 2015 to a city near

you! Look for the schedule and register at

http://camprofitconference.com

Craig Huntington

Jeff Hardy

This presentation was given at the 2014

TOPS CAMfire Conference. Learn more about

CAMfire at www.camfireconference.com

For more helpful articles for community

association management professionals, visit the

TOPS CAM Blog at:

http://camblog.topssoft.com

Images used were in under the creative commons license, as found on flickr.