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The country’s top property manager has revealed the secret to her business success comes from compiling an in-depth and rigorous business plan.
Director and property manager at @home Property Management Services Michelle Williams told Residential Property Manager that for most offices, the long-term business plan is not part of everyday life.
“There is no point in having a business plan if it sits in a drawer for five years. You need your milestones along the way,” the Australia Real Estate Awards Property Manager of the Year said.
After creating a five-year business plan five years ago, Ms Williams said it has become ingrained in the company’s day-to-day activities.
“We had a five-year budget and growth plan and we worked our KPIs around that. We were very focused on our activities in order to achieve those goals and milestones," she said.
“We have a ‘control board’ in the office where we monitor our daily, monthly and quarterly results and review them at the end of the quarter to see how we’re moving towards our goal.
“The reason we are so successful is because we’re constantly making sure we’re maintaining those results.”
But the secret to a good business plan may take some business owners by surprise.
“We’ve found that while you have set out your goals for the next five years, you still need to be flexible," Ms Williams said.
“For instance, in our initial five-year business plan we were aiming to expand to another area of Tasmania, either Hobart, Davenport or Burnie.
“However, we changed that and we decided to focus our growth in Launceston because we’ve just acquired a new premises here and we need to be able to cover those costs.”
Having a business plan that is not set in stone allows the company to grow and develop with a shifting market, Ms Williams said.
“It does need to evolve and it needs to be reviewed regularly. Fortunately ours was very accurate. We were fortunate to reflect on our five years and say ‘Wow! we exceeded our own expectations'.”
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