TMA - Front Nine: Rachel Cobb

 And oh, that's gotta go.

I think it's on the dam.

We wanted the water ball. We wanted the water ball. I think I even saw a splash. We'll see if that pops up on Ace.

Welcome to this episode of The Maintenance Academy's Front Nine, Conversations in Multifamily. We are out at River Falls Plantation in Duncan, South Carolina, and joining me for the third episode is Rachel Cobb with THS National. Rachel, are you excited to be here?

Oh, yeah. This is gonna be a great time.

It's a beautiful day.

Oh, I can't believe the weather.

It's such, such a, such a good day for golf. But speaking of golf, how is your golf game?

Oh, you know, so-so. So-so. So-so? I don't play, I don't play as much as I'd like to, but I do enjoy it.

Okay.

And I don't take it too serious, so I'm a lot of fun on the course.

Doesn't take it serious, a lot of fun on the course. Let's see what we get into. We'll see you out there. All right, Rachel, hole one.

Yep.

Uh, we're gonna try to keep score today, unlike the previous two episodes, but- Okay ... let's just have some fun, and don't worry about the golf. Gotcha. The power of the edit.

Oh, that's good. We'll just use his.

Oh, wow.

It took out their window.

Rachel, how long have we known each other?

Uh, nine years.

Nine of the best years.

Yeah, of course.

I, I mean, I feel like I remember the, I remember the day. Now, I don't remember the year-

Yeah ...

but I remember the day when you first stepped foot into the Upper State Apartment Association as a brand-new supplier partner-

Yep

with THS National. Shout out THS. Um, but I remember. I remember you coming to the, to the monthly meeting.

Yep.

New member. All new members get to stand up and introduce themselves to membership, tell us who you are, what you do, um, all of those great things. And, like, you came into the association just, just with a mission, right?

Yeah.

And, like, what, what was, what was that mission? What were you trying to accomplish when you came to Upper State? With-

Network and build, build relationships to be able to, you know, get my career going, you know, 'cause it was a new career.

Yeah.

Like, I, I'd switched careers. I'd switched industries.

What were you doing prior?

Uh, prior, I was in agriculture. Like, I, I got my master's in agriculture education from Clemson.

Okay.

Yeah.

We've been friends for nine years, I didn't know that.

Yeah. No. Yeah. I, I was doing, like, some, some landscape construction, you know, 'cause it had the ho- horticulture sp- spot in it, and then I had done, like, some retail, like with Tractor Supply and their management and stuff.

And-

Yeah ...

I didn't like it.

Yeah.

But I was also in my mid-20s where, like, I knew my worth. You know what I mean? Like- Sure ... I wasn't fresh out of college and just taking anything at that point. Like, I had experience and I had an education.

Nice.

And THS was like, "You have skills that you can't teach. We can teach you everything else."

Mm-hmm. "We want you."

Yeah.

And that's, that, that was history. Perfect. Was it.

Let's see if we, I got a tee right here in the ground. I'll let you go first.

Well,

when did horses come into- My whole life ... the picture? Because you, I mean, I want to expand on your- Mm-hmm ... your nonprofit. Yeah. Because, like, you started your own nonprofit. Yes, I did.

Mm-hmm.

And I really want to get into that. So was it because... You said, so horses were your whole life, but was it because of your love for horses that you got into agriculture?

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah. So my family for generations has been in agriculture.

Okay.

Um, my mother's side had been dairy farmers in New York for, like, four generations, and so they always had horses. And in my mother's generation, that's when they started, you know, like, showing them, like, for recreational type stuff.

Uh-huh.

And so as we were raised, like, I was riding horses before I could walk. Like, my mom has pictures of her, like, holding me on the horses with her as she was, like, riding and everything.

Yeah.

So it was just, it's always, it's always been there.

Tell us more about the, the horses, your nonprofit. Like, what is...

H- where did that passion start?

Um, so when I went to college, uh, Clemson, I, uh, joined the ranch horse team.

Okay.

And so I, I learned how to do, like, the rein cow horse, and reining, and, and stuff of that nature, and I really liked the rein cow horse part.

Okay.

Um, and my grandfather was still breeding American Quarter Horses, and so he crossed his stud on one of his mares to produce- Okay, uh, yeah, yeah

a, a horse that would be good.

Um, stud with, stud with mares. Mm-hmm. Stud is the male.

Mm-hmm.

Mare is the not male.

The fe- the female, yep. Okay.

You

know, focused on my career for, you know, about 10 years, and the passion was still there. I still had horses the whole time, I just wasn't showing. And so my husband was very encouraging and said, "Look, either get in or get out."

Right.

You know? "Either be committed to it, or let's just move on and not have anything." And so then he was like, "If you want to do this, I want you to buy a stud." And I was like, "I don't want a stud. I don't wanna, I don't want all the stuff." And next thing I know, I own a stud, and a mare, and then another mare.

And so, um- Yeah ... we got back into it, and I was showing him and doing good. Won a couple of buckles, some money, some plaques, trophies. And now, uh, that stud and one of the mares is out in Tennessee with the trainer, and then we have three more at the house that are broodmares now having babies. Um, but with getting back into it, there wasn't a good club on the East Coast.

Yeah.

We were having to travel 13 hours to go to shows. Like, closest show was in Louisiana or West Virginia.

Mm-hmm.

So, um, just with the need, people were like, "Rachel's really good at organizing stuff."

Yeah. "

And she has a passion, so-" Rachel, will you do this?

Oh, Mark, come on. You know, I can never remember that this grass is like this.

All right, you're gonna have to get us one closer than that.

Okay

So you created a nonprofit

We've been going for three and a half years now. Um

We're drawing people all the way from New York and Oklahoma.

Yeah?

We just had a show in Perry, Georgia two weeks ago.

How'd that go?

Great. We paid out over $52,000 in winnings to our competitors.

Yeah?

Mm-hmm

Yeah,

that's all. How many, like how many categories? How- what does that mean? What does 52,000 mean? What, like how many, how many people won money?

So probably 30 people won money out of the hundreds of people that, that participated.

Josh. What? That was a bogey. Hm. Yeah. After a good dri- after a great drive. I know you said, like THS National, they came after y- they- Yep

they were like, "No, we want you. You have a skill set."

Yep. Mm-hmm.

How, like when you first got into the multifamily part, we- we'll walk over. Mm-hmm. When you first got into the multifamily part, like were you- Were you, like, nervous or t- or, or... 'Cause again, that day that you walked in was like, "I'm Rachel Cobb.

I'm with GHS National," and-

Not about, like, interacting with people. Yeah Like, the construction side, a little bit, but my grandfather-

You

want me to start us off? Um, my grandfather had his own grading company. And so when I was in high school and in college, I'd work all summers long with his grading company.

Okay.

So I had general, like, construction knowledge from doing all that with him, where we'd be putting in septic tanks, putting in footers, foundations, you know, laying out different things, meeting with other contractors. So he already taught me some of that stuff.

Mm-hmm.

But, like, the framing part, like, I was having to learn.

Yeah

Whoo! Got the rights today

Oh. Enter apartment association, you're not worried, you're not scared, you're great at building relationships, you're great at talking to people.

Uh-huh.

Are those, are those that, would you say those are the things that made you successful? Or do you feel like

that? Uh, I think what made me successful is, um, me being genuine.

Okay.

Like, I'm not trying to be something I'm not.

Okay.

Like, if I don't know something, I will figure it out. You know, like, "Hold on. Let me figure it out for you. I'll come back with an answer," instead of just making something up or telling someone what they wanna hear.

Right.

Like, and I'm, I'm that as a friend as well, right?

Yeah. Like, if you tell me something, I'm like, "All right, you want the truth or you want me to feel, make you feel good about it?" 'Cause I'm not good at just making you feel good about it. There it is.

Right.

But that's just like, that in general, that's who I am, you know? And some people don't like that if you're too honest with them, you know?

Yeah.

So I think that's what helped me, was just being genuine who I am. Like, I'm not a car salesman.

Right.

You know? Right. You wanna do business with me, great. Like, I wanna do business with you, but if we don't g how, we don't g how.

So, uh, we're about 150 out. That was a, a monster 120-yard drive there. I, I think a lot of people might confuse being genuine with just being the nice person.

Is... What-

Maybe transparent's a better word.

Okay. Okay. I like transparent. I, but I love, love what you said about, you know, not telling people just what they wanna hear.

Mm-hmm

Oh, a downhill lie. That's just bad. It's okay. Whatever.

Mm.

All right, get this one up there.

We'll try.

You got this. I believe in you.

See? See? This is why I brought her along, Josh. So the, the, the genuine part, like I really, really-

Connect with that because there are a ton of people who aren't

Are you using a sand wedge?

I am, yes Okay I, I, um, something that we can get some loft on. Yeah. We've got plenty of green here to work with

Oh, yeah. Nice

I mean, that gave it a run. So what is being genuine to, to you? Like, why, why, why is that what you do? I think there's pe- I'm, I'm looking for a specific thing here, but I think there are people out there who, again, who confuse being genuine with just they're telling those people- Yeah ... what they wanna hear, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Yeah. But is, like, that just, is that part of your character? Mm.

Is

that who you are?

I, I think it's, it's who I am as, like, a, a person, but then, like, if I am genuinely me, I don't remember, I don't have to remember how to be around

certain people.

You know what I mean? '

Cause it's, it's, I'm true to my nature.

Right.

Where I think if you see me at a horse show, you see me at work, you see me on the golf course, it should be the same person, right?

Right.

Maybe I'm at a different level, but I'm, I'm rootly the same person. Mm-hmm. Right? My foundation is still the same. Obviously more relaxed out here than I would be in a boardroom.

Let's see if we can save a par here

Oh, that was nice Little fast ... little hard

Little, little

Little hard, but I like the line.

Yeah

Oh, speed was right, aim was off. Lookie there. A little too far out. That's okay. Josh. Another bogey.

Well, what do you think- That's it. That's what I keep saying What do you think, uh, helps, like, people successful in this industry in general? Not just me No matter if they're on site or off site

I think

Ignore the car crash in the background. Special effects.

Yeah. We, yeah, we go all out here. What do I think makes people successful? I think not to, not to be, like, cheap and I'll cop out here, but I think, I think what makes people successful, I'm gonna, I'm gonna play off of your word and say genuine

Mm-hmm.

'Cause if you're not you, you can only keep up that facade for so long. You know what I mean? Right. And that, I think, could lead to burnout as well. Yep. You know? Which is very real in our industry.

You know? It is. Um, I mean, we, we suffer... There is a pandemic. I hate to use that word. Um, but there's a, a, a pandemic of overworked individuals and, uh It's getting worse

It is

There's that driving range wing As somebody like myself, like you, who's been involved in local apartment associations for a long time, I see vendors come and go.

Oh, yes.

Come and go. There's always some new BC company. There's always some new company. Who cares what they do?

Yep.

Right? And it's always gung ho, gung ho.

They wanna show up and get your business.

For a month.

Yep.

And then

poof. Yep. Always. Gone. They're not actually involved. They come from another market even, maybe. Yeah. That's not even their home market. They're in and out.

Yeah And like when I see stuff like that, I, it, it, it frustrates me because it's like I'm sure there are companies out there who are great companies, but the reps who come into town just, just, they come in guns a-blazing

Nice

And go.

That can be our intro right there. Look at that.

They come in, guns a-blazing

Minimal work.

Yep.

And by minimal work, I mean they show up to a monthly meeting, they introduce themselves. Yep. "Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi. I'm the new, new, new." And it's like, "Hey, awesome. I'm so pumped that you're here."

Yep. "

Our members would love to have you." And they're like, "All right, so who do I gotta talk to? What do I gotta..."

It's like, "Oh." Exact- It's like, "Whoa" "Who,

who can you introduce me to?" "

Whoa. Did you do any research before joining the apartment association or did you just say, 'Cool, we can go get in there. There's apartments everywhere.'"

Yep. "

We'll just, we'll- "Oh, there's so

many units in this market" ...

we'll buy their loyalty."

Yep.

You know?

We're gonna take them out for drinks.

Right. So I, I wanna bring up another friend of ours.

Okay.

When she first came into the industry, we had just started the mentorship program at Upper State.

Yep.

And our dear sweet friend, Merit-

Yes ...

came into the association and with, with a, a plan. Yep. A goal.

And said, "I, I'm not worried about what I sell. I have a goal and that goal is by the next four months I want to learn everybody's name that shows up to this event."

Yeah.

That was her focus. It wasn't like, "Hey, I sell, I sell, I sell, I sell, I sell." It's like, "I want to learn people's names-

And she know, like she knows more-

Relationships

about you than just your name.

Relationships. So I feel like you did the same.

Mm-hmm.

Right? I mean, that's who, that's who you are. You're a people person. You're a, you're a friendly personality. Like, you're-

I try to be.

Yeah.

Ooh. Don't do that.

I'm debating on whether or not to putt or chip

Ooh, nice

I probably could have putted it closer, but-

Yeah ...

that was okay.

Well, and- That was okay ... you know, like as people start out in this industry, you're gonna make some mistakes.

Right.

And it might even hurt some relationships, right? Like, you might never be able to regain that with that person because of the mistake.

Uh-huh.

Just move on. I had to work with ex-customers when I was brand new 10 years ago. They will always see me as that newbie because I made some newbie mistakes.

Right.

Even though, like, I have moved up, I have learned and everything, they still just have that experience, like, in their mind.

Yeah.

And you and I have both gone through, like, a lot of leadership training, personal growth t- training, stuff we do on our own, and that's just one of those things.

It is what it is.

Yeah.

Don't dwell on it. Learn from it and move on.

Right. Right. So I don't know if you wanna answer this question or not, but- Sure ... when you say you made some mistakes- Okay, that ball does actually break to the left, so-

Okay ...

if you wanna putt that, I would aim, like, up here.

Okay.

Should dive right in.

Ooh.

Hey. So, all right, you mentioned making some mistakes. Would you be willing to share-

Sure ...

a couple mistakes that you-

Yeah ...

made, and some... How, like, what you learned from it? Because I'm hoping people watching this video, um, suppliers-

Yeah ...

who may be watching this and may be struggling with their association- Yeah

and may say, "What, what can I..." Like, "What can I do?" Maybe they're in the same boat as you-

Yeah ...

and could learn something.

No, I think, like, one of the, the major ones that I learned very early on was, like, a hot unit-

Mm-hmm ...

is life and death.

Okay.

You know what I mean? Like, not realizing, like, if someone tells you they have a hot unit or they have a hot date-

Yep

you have to get it done by that timeframe.

So for those who don't know, hot, what does that, what does that mean? Like,

when- They, they have already sold that unit. Someone has already agreed to buy it- Okay.

Okay ...

with the renovations that you're gonna do or whatever.

Yeah.

They've already taken their money for a deposit.

Yeah. Like, you need to deliver.

Yeah.

And, like, just doing that, like, the timelines for that are just so crucial.

Yeah.

And I mean, it's different than, like, a, a cab back schedule when you know you might have some material delays, or weather delays, or something like that. You don't have weather delays on an interior unit, right?

And it is immediately someone's home.

Mm-hmm.

So that is, it's, it's dire. Like, that is the most important is not missing a date for an interior unit, especially a hot one. You know? And just not realizing that and, like, the ramifications of not only, all right, well, now we gotta comp them something, or we gotta put 'em in a hotel- Sure

or whatever. Like, but the overall just experience, the customer experience was not, you know... It leaves them... If you can't get that, you can't, you can't handle, like, the bigger stuff, you know?

Right. And

being essentially punished for that. You know, like, just from not knowing And it's one of those things where, you know, like, experience is the best teacher.

And I don't mind people making mistakes on my team, you know, now that I'm a leader and have people that I'm training and report to me. Go. But it's did you learn from it? You know, like, don't make the same mistake five times. You know? We, we've gotta have some... You gotta learn.

Yeah. Yeah. '

Cause that's just being m- that's just being lazy.

You know, you're doing it five times, that, you're being lazy there.

Yeah. I, uh, I've, I've made a lot of mistakes. A lot of mistakes.

Um- That's why we're so good at what we do, is 'cause we've made so many mistakes.

That's just, that's just it. You know, like-

Yeah ...

do you, did you ever see the, the, the movie Meet the Robinsons?

The animated-

Oh yeah, a long time ago.

Meet the Robinsons.

Yeah, the dad was, like, a, an inventor or something.

Right.

Yeah.

And they invent the WABAC machine, or not, well, the WABAC is, uh, is a different movie. But, um-

We're not gonna find that one either ...

you, you are getting the most unfortunate- ... bounces.

I know. You're gonna have to hit us another one, Mark.

No, we're, we got one out there. We got one? It's a par five. It's a par five. We're good? We're good?

It's a par five. Okay.

It's a par five. We good, we good. So Meet the Robinsons.

Yeah.

Right? The, the kid, um, whose name I, I don't remember, um, but he's with this family of people and, and he's trying to make this, like, peanut butter and jelly gun, right?

Yeah.

That, that shoots peanut butter and jelly on the bread and, you know, whatever. Yeah. And so he makes it and he's all excited about it and everyone's, like, giving him-

Yeah

like, "Oh, this is the greatest thing," and the first couple of times he uses it, it works just fine.

Yeah, yeah.

And then it goes haywire and blows up- Yeah ... and shoots peanut butter and jelly or wh- whatever it was. I'm, I'm remembering peanut butter and jelly. Yeah. Could have been something else.

Yeah.

And it just blows up over everybody.

Oh, geez.

And he says, he starts panicking.

Yeah.

And he starts apologizing, like, "I am so sorry. I did... I am so sorry." Yes. "I am so... I don't, I don't, I..." You know? And everyone in the family that he was with started clapping for him.

Yeah, he made a mistake. Like, like- He's learning ...

you failed, you know? And they, I even think in the movie they did this whole, like, song and dance thing.

Yeah. You know? Yeah. Like, da, da, da, da. And then the robot at the end, his little flag comes out and starts waving and says, "You failed," you know? Yeah. And it's just like, well, celebrate those.

Yeah.

Right? I mean- '

Cause then you have the opposite. People are afraid to try.

Correct.

And then I'm like, just make a decision whether it's right or wrong.

Like, part of the process is to commit to a decision.

Yeah.

And I have a few people on my team right now that are in different stages of that. Like, some are working their way through it, and some are just starting, where they'll call me and they want that reassurance, and I'm like, "Well, what do you think you should do?"

Yeah.

And I might guide them, but I don't give them the answer.

Mm. Good for you.

Because I don't wanna micromanage, and I want them to be able to develop faster and learn.

Yeah.

They need confidence in themselves.

And... Oh, that's gotta go.

I think it's on the dam.

We wanted the water ball. We wanted the water ball.

I think I even saw a splash. We'll see if that pops up on A. We'll see. All right. So preventive maintenance, compartmentalize.

Yep, yep, yep.

Working on, on some things here that how preventive maintenance programs should be built around failures, not-

Yeah ...

not, like- Tasks, okay? Oh, well, we changed the air filters.

Okay, well that's awesome. Like, congratulations, but what did you prevent?

Yeah.

Okay? So I'm trying to, to get people to really think about how they do their pre- preventive maintenance programs so that hopefully they can build, start building stuff around failures so they can actually prevent something.

Yeah.

Oh. Bounce out

Go onto the cart path and just roll

We'll be all right. We'll be all right. Yeah. Listen, we're still sitting there in two. That's okay. Yeah. The whole point of the presentation is... Oh, I sh- well, I don't know if this episode's gonna come out before Apartmentalize. Okay. You have to come to Apartmentalize if you wanna hear the session.

Yeah.

But-

That's right ...

the purpose of the session is to talk about how... Listen, you've been in the industry long enough. Mm-hmm. You've been in enough apartments. You know-

Yeah ...

what work gets

client work done- Yes ... and

what work don't. Yes. Don'ts? Don't. Mm-hmm. I actually just said that on camera. Mm-hmm. Don't.

What? But preventive maintenance is no one's priority. No one's priority. It is an afterthought

Gotta go. See, that's the problem with the rough, sometimes you go too far under it.

Mm.

Which is what I just did.

Ooh, there's your splash. I actually heard it. Killed a frog.

The whole, again, the whole point of our presentation is to talk about how we're approaching preventive maintenance wrong.

Yep.

We're task-based instead of outcome-based.

Yeah. We're reactive instead of proactive.

Well, al- always.

Yep.

Always. If you wanna find the best industry in the world at reacting, come to multifamily

Oh,

roll, roll, roll

Not down the hill

But yes, you, you, you, you said it. We're, we're reactive instead of proactive. We are the, we are the best industry in the world at being reactive.

So the whole part here of this preventive maintenance is to try to look at things in a new way

I tell you, I'm glad we're friends.

Oh, yeah. We're way better at blackjack than we are golf

Get there

Release.

Ooh

Gosh. Okay, one, two, three, four, five

Oh, I did it.

Mm. We're gonna get it before the day's over.

So what did you, what did you learn about association work by getting involved on the board? How was it, how was it different, and would you recommend, or who would you recommend that sort of service to?

Um, well, first off, it was a lot more than I realized, like, went into it.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Yep. Like, there's real discussions, there's real things happening in the industry, real things, uh, with our members that we're having to weigh in on and make decisions on.

Yeah.

And the direction. Like, "Hey, how are we gonna be structured? What are we gonna offer? What are we gonna take away?"

You know, strategic planning. Like, I, I was fortunate to be part of the NAA Strategic Planning Gold Standard for twice.

Yep.

Because the way I was, um, spaced out on the board. And you know, that was, that was a lot, you know, to learn that and what goes into all of that.

Yeah.

I would definitely recommend, uh, anyone who really has a heart for it, 'cause i- it is service, right? Right. Like, you don't get paid for it. You know, you could get called during the weekend that, "Hey, something just happened. We need, we need an emergency board meeting or vote or stuff like that." Um

Roll. All right, so let's dive in a little bit more to your involvement

At Upper State, uh, or our, our local affiliate. Yes. Um, you did have some time where you served on the board of directors. What, what was it... A lot of questions here. Okay. What was it that made you want to serve at that capacity, and what did you learn more, or what did you learn about our association that you didn't know before?

'Cause I think there's a lot of people- Yeah ... who have a perception about what our board is- Yeah ... or what the board does. Yeah,

yeah.

But nobody really knows until you actually get in and do the work. Yeah. So what did you expect? What did you learn? Why did you wanna do it? Well,

um, you know, at that point when I, I was making that transition to the board, or wanted to, you know, 'cause you're not a shoo-in, right?

No. Yeah. Back then it, it was by, by vote. Um, I had been on a lot of committees. I had been on a lot of committees. I'd been very involved. I knew a lot of the people in the association who were active. Um, and I had a lot of encouragement that I was, I was, like, ready for the next step. Yeah. You know, like, ready to do more because of what I had been doing, and that I could be more involved, you know, doing this.

And, you know, the first time I ran for the board, I didn't get on. Yeah. I didn't get on. Um, the second time I, I did, you know? Like, and it, it was, you know, "Hey, don't be discouraged. Um, you know, people have to roll off, people roll on, you know, stuff like that. But, you know, you still have what it takes. You can, you can contribute more on the board than what you're doing, and it will benefit the members.

Like, your perspective, your perspective will be able to help members, not only membership, but also, you know, direct."

Yeah. But it's so much more than that.

Yeah. Roll that beautiful bean footage

Nice. Amazing what a little encouragement will do

Oh, gosh. Did you see how far that one went?

Roll, ball, roll.

Oh, oh, oh!

Hey, listen, that was a good ball.

That was a grass burner. Woo. That's

a par. That's a par. That's a par.

I hope he got that. Seemed like I was looking at the grass actually.

I recommend board involvement to those people who... You know the ones.

Yeah.

Who complain about everything-

Yeah ...

but then are, are the ones, the first people to disappear when you ask for help.

When the work, yeah. Or you ask

for a survey.

I mean-

You

know? ... board involvement's not just a party. It's far from it.

No.

And it's not a resume booster.

It's, it's, it's not. It's not. I mean, I think being on the board, or even if you don't feel like serving on the board, that... Okay, all good. Our Leadership Lyceum program-

Yeah

gets people, it gives

them a very detailed look at association function. Yeah. How

does an association run? I think some people have good intentions on, on- They, they try ... on board involvement or, or whatnot, but it's, it's the, for me, it's the people who want the next step. Like, if, if you're, if you wanna be a decision-maker-

Mm-hmm

and a policy changer, if you don't like the way things are run, or you don't like the way things are being done, get involved. Mm-hmm. That's the only way to change it.

Yep.

You can't, you can't sit back and watch other people run it, and then just say, "Oh, well, if I was there. Oh, I don't have the time. I don't have the-" Well,

then get there, you know?

You, you gotta, you gotta be there.

Yeah. I mean, like, we, most of them have changed where it's not popular vote anymore, it's a nominating committee. Yep. Yeah. You know, following NAA standard.

Yeah Just trying to take the popularity out of it- Yep ... and put the right people in the seats- Yep ... for the right reason.

Mm-hmm.

Poetry in motion. Ladies and gentlemen, we have just witnessed history in Duncan, South Carolina.

From an organization like THS- Mm-hmm ... or I guess really any What's the, what's the communication level like? What do you like versus what do you not like? I- Do you like teams that just sort of say, "Hey, just you fig- figure out," or do you want specifics?

Like, what, how do,

how- I definitely prefer the specifics. Right. Like, "Hey, I've been here for three years. This has been an ongoing issue. This is what we've done before." 'Cause it helps me narrow my scope, right? Mm-hmm. Instead of, like, a shotgun blast- Yeah ... I'm going in like a sniper.

Right.

Right? Uh, especially if what they're telling me is valid and they can, you know, they're not just shooting from the hip themselves.

Yeah.

You know? Like, that helps me a lot. Um, what I don't like is, "Oh, I don't know. It's been going on for forever. Nobody listens to me," kind of thing.

Yeah. '

Cause then I'm like, "You're not helping me, and I can't help you or help your residents-

Right ...

or your ownership group," you know?

Hmm. Okay

Well, you have been very gracious in providing some content for The Maintenance Academy.

Mm-hmm.

And one of your, one of your videos that you provided to The Maintenance Academy, you did a whole series on engaging with contractors.

Yes. Yes.

And your, like, your specific most viewed video on The Maintenance Academy is episode one or, or-

Yeah

video one on that engaging with contractors-

Yep

Yeah, like if that's, if that's- Woo! Hey. Like, people are so interested And how to engage with contractors-

Yeah ...

that that's one of the Maintenance Academy's most viewed, most liked, most watched videos. So now, knowing what I just told you, does that surprise you? With what you see on site, when you go on site to, to do work.

Yeah, uh, no, I guess not. And the reason that that video even came up was because of a genuine experience where I showed up to a property and they literally had no idea how to engage with me, like at all. Right. And I was, like, pulling teeth trying to figure out why I was there.

Yeah.

And it was, you know, I was told by their corporate to go there because of our corporate relationship, and I get on site, nobody knows.

They were clueless. And so I'm like, "Okay, well, I was told it was this or that," and, you know, dropping little breadcrumbs trying to figure it out

That just came out of a genuine like, "Oh my gosh, like people don't-

It, it, it's that, it's that whole conversation that we were kind of, kind of hitting on, um, a minute ago. I- I- instead of telling you and giving you very direct and specific instructions- Mm-hmm ... it's more of a, "Hey, we've got this issue." Yep. "We just need you to go and, and figure it out." And, and you're like, well, I, I mean-

Well, it's been done before.

Exactly. Like, how long has it been going on? Exactly. Exactly.

That's why the Maintenance Academy exists. That's why we put that together because, okay, great, you're not gonna give me specifics on what I need to do, so I just have to figure it out? Well, I don't know.

Mm-hmm.

I don't know how to fix that. I don't know how to do that.

That's why we created the Maintenance Academy. And thankfully, I mean, you've... like I said, you've been very gracious in giving us some great content for, for what we're trying to do, and I just thought it was really cool that your, your number one video is on engaging with contractors. That's awesome. But that's also in the top 10 most viewed videos on our website.

But that's how important it is.

It is. And look- I think there's also not enough, um-

Look at that. I'm sorry, Rachel, but that is beautiful.

Mm-hmm.

And it's so quiet until

right about

here.

Oh yeah, that's a golf shot

Okay

Nice.

There we go

You know, when you hit a different maturity level in your career, it's less about you and more about your people.

Correct. Correct. I... That could be on a T-shirt.

Yeah.

On a billboard, a slogan

Beautiful. There it is. Right there

Follow through

Not like that though

I, listen

I,

I, it was good

Oh yeah

I, I know we talked about why people fail or, or wha- you know, why they don't last in association. Yeah. But what, what, what sort of encouragement

To give them

So I think no matter like whether they're a direct-

side or their sup-, you know, their supplier associate, um, I think like throughout their career, no matter what it is that they do, they have to understand like their own growth. Like you're gonna go up, you're gonna go down, you're gonna go up again. You're probably gonna plateau for a little bit and feel stagnant and feel stuck.

Yeah. And then maybe you go down and then maybe you shoot up. Like it's, it's a growth pattern that happens no matter what, right? And you just have to, you have to work with it. You have to give stuff time. So many- Want to rush everything. They want instant gratification, instant promotions, instant this and that.

They don't wanna work for

it. Yeah. You

gotta work for it in this industry, you know?

You do. Uh, you, you do have to, you do have to work for it, and that word work, I, I, I wonder if, if people grasp... Do you feel like people know what the word work means? Because if we're this, this, this society of instant gratification, like I just, I don't want the, I don't want the long-term fix.

I- Mm-hmm ... we, we don't have to get into this from a con- Yeah ... from a contractor's perspective, b- b- like maybe what some customers might tell you. Like, "Hey, I just need this fixed so that we can pass this and..." You know, whatever. Oh, I get told that. Like we won't, yeah, we won't,

we won't- I get told that all the

time

we won't get into those kind of details. Yeah. But like, do, I mean, do you think from what you see on site, the people you talk to and interact with on a daily basis, I mean, what, what's the state, what's the state of our industry as far as that goes?

I think, uh, the generational gap is real.

Oh.

I 100% think that is real.

Um, and I think there is, you know, the old guard and the current guard that know how to work.

Mm-hmm.

And I think the, there are some very strong, um, potentials for new guard coming up that have the work ethic, but majority of them don't. Okay. And like, and I'm not just saying, "Hey, this whole generation is, is, is bad," or anything like that.

There's always gonna be the standouts, right? The standouts will always stand out.

Yeah.

No matter the generation, no matter the background, they'll stand out. But as a whole, I do think that our society is becoming less work-driven because there's so many easier jobs out there. So many people can just go Uber.

You know what I mean? Why am I gonna come here and work and put in a lot of effort when I can go make just as much Ubering? They literally sit in their car and drive people around.

Yeah.

You know, that, that's hard to compete with when you're trying to bring someone in at a starting salary and give them a career.

Like, you have to work towards it, right? Like, we both started at a certain level and worked our way up to where we are now.

Yeah. Yeah.

We couldn't just step into the roles that we have.

Yeah.

You know, we had to, we had to learn everything, the experiences and everything like that, and you can't just come out of college or come out of high school and go to the C-suite.

It's not the way it works.

It is not. And I, I, I see individuals struggling with that. As, as somebody, you know, I, I am fortunate. I am. I'm very fortunate to have had an excellent career-

Mm-hmm ...

um, in the multifamily industry, but, but that's what I've, I've made it. I've made it my career. I didn't make it a temporary stop.

It's like, "Hey, I can do some good here. Let's focus on it." So I'm very fortunate, and I g- I get to travel, and I get to meet- Mm-hmm ... a lot of people who are struggling with where they fit into this giant-

They are,

yep ... enigma that is multifamily. And I see the people... Now, I get it. Times, times, I don't wanna get into, like, outside of- Yeah

but times are tough, right? Like, you- Yep ... you gotta, you gotta earn a wage- Yep ... uh, in order to be able to, to pay your bills. But I, I think a lot of people, they just, they want that next, they want that next thing, that next step, but they're not prepared for it. They're not. And so, and they're not trained, and so when they get it, it doesn't fulfill them because it's always the next thing.

It's always... They're, they're chasing the, the dollar because they have to live. Yep. You know? It's like, "I, I need the extra dollar. I need the 50 cents. I need the two bu- I need the certifications to give me, give me- Mm-hmm ... give me," and they're missing out on the education and the career that they could actually be getting, 'cause they're too busy just chasing the dollar.

And-

And they don't understand the value of a good mentor.

No. You know?

No. We all came up with mentors.

Yeah.

You know? And, like, they're priceless, you know? Yeah. To, to be able to, to just talk to them personally and professionally about, like, where you are and, and where you're trying to go and just bounce stuff off of them for someone who cares and wants to see you succeed-

Yeah

even if they're not, like, directly s-

Like a

five iron? But also, you know, some of the, the younger generation, they're just, um- I, I'm not trying to offend anybody, but they're a little bit sheltered, a little bit coddled. Yeah. Not, not even from, like... Not, like, the work part so much as sometimes it's the, the interactions, right?

Like- Not- ... they can't handle a tough conversation. Oh. Oh. They fall apart, and I'm like, "I'm not personally attacking you."

Yeah. "

I'm giving you feedback to help you grow," but they just fall apart. They can't handle it.

Yeah. And

I was like, "You can't handle it, I can't help you grow." Like...

I referenced this in a, an episode on the turnover, but there is a, a lady, um, that is on the Multifamily Media Network.

Mm-hmm. Um, Gabrielle, and she was in a class talking to people about the customer experience.

Mm-hmm.

And one of the individuals spoke up in the class and was talking about how they...

Nice.

She was in a class, and she was talking about the resident experience. Yeah. And she was asking the students their opinions on when they received good experiences versus bad experiences.

Did they only say the good?

And the... Well, no, they only said the bad.

Oh, see?

Because people are more willing to comment on a bad experience than they are a good experience.

They are. They totally are. They wanna tell everyone just how terrible you are. Right. But when they find something good, it's a secret.

That's right.

They don't wanna tell anybody how great you are.

All right that's okay

Oh, yeah

That was great

I think you gotta hit it, Mark. You'd have liked it. You would've liked it.

Ugh.

Oh, you would've liked it

Oh yeah. Good thing we let those people get out of the way. You would've clobbered them.

Okay, now that, that was much better

Beautiful. Look at that

Oh, look, look. Go. So for those of you watching who love and have a passion for multifamily and wanna find a way to give back, The Maintenance Academy is a free resource. I make zero money, none whatsoever, on the content that we have on The Maintenance Academy's website. People are gracious enough, like Rachel, who give their skills, record short two, three-minute little how-to videos, how to talk to a contractor, how to fix this light fixture, how to replace this window lock.

We have people who donate their time, donate their skills to do that, and we give it back to the industry for free because good training shouldn't cost money, or we don't want good training to have a cost where people who are trying to get into this industry have to pay money to become good at what they do.

Mm-hmm.

That's why The Maintenance Academy exists. If you wanna give back, contact me. Let's get you on the academy

Nice

Okay. I'm, this is just bad. Yes. Nice.

Rachel, thank you-

Yes ...

very much for coming out, uh, and recording this third now episode-

Yes ...

of-

It's a lot of fun ...

The Maintenance Academy Front Nine: Conversations in Multifamily. Will you come back?

Yes. Definitely.

All right. See y'all next time.