To have what it takes to be a small business owner is grit. That has certainly been my experience as a Property Manager. Although I have never started, owned or operated a small business I certainly have engaged with hundreds of them. The “Landlord-Tenant” relationship traditionally gets a bad rap. However, over the past few years there has been a monumental shift in the industry on both sides. The term partnership is now being used to describe the relationship. Landlords are invested in the longevity of their Tenants and Tenants are more willing to engage with Landlords to help improve their center whether through marketing, promotional events, or just bringing outside-the-box ideas. The old “Bottom-line management” has shifted to “top-line management” and this is a good thing for Tenants and Landlords alike.
I can say that since I started working at The Villages Commercial Property Management, we were ahead of the curve. The core values of The Villages – Hospitality, Stewardship, Hard Work, and Creativity and Innovation – are channeled not only to Villages Residents but to Tenants as well. Heck – we don’t even describe them as Tenants but as Hometown Business Partners rather. Does this mean that we always agree with each other or that there aren’t emotional conversations here and there? Of course not. We are human beings after all and being a Small Business Owner takes passion to be successful. I’ve been in heated conversations over the years and those are the Hometown Business Partners that I’ve developed the strongest relationships with.
I guess what I’m saying is that though we here at The Villages Commercial Property Management may not be small business owners, we do partner with hundreds of small businesses and through that partnership we learn and understand the grit it takes to be a successful Small Business. We have the unique opportunity to be advocate for both the Tenant and the Landlord with the ultimate goal of achieving what both parties want or need to be successful. We aren’t perfect but we challenge ourselves to be better and better every day. As Operations Manager for The Villages Commercial Property Management, I challenge our Property Managers to be more open to ideas from Hometown Business Partners and to think outside the box when their business has challenges that they are facing.
The bottom line is – it takes both parties to work together as partners for both to be successful. If you haven’t heard from your Property Manager recently, give them a call. You may be glad you did.
Matt Hoopfer, CSM – Operations Manager, The Villages Commercial Property Management
Originally Published on Business Insider
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