How One Houston, TX Company Failed Into an Award-Winning Business - Empire Industries Story

Find the post in full here: http://fourandhalf.com/one-houston-tx-property-management-company-failed-award-winning-business-empire-industries-story/ This talk was an interesting one as we were able to corral a long-term customer in Steve Rozenberg to join us for this interview. He’s a commercial pilot for United Airlines, and he also runs one of the fastest growing property management businesses in Empire Industries located in Houston, TX. He shares his story in how we grew Empire Industries into the power that it is today. Below is a transcription of the interview: Q: Steve, welcome to the show. Can you give us a quick introduction of who you are and what you do? A: Thanks for having me. I live in Houston, Texas and I was sort of backwards in getting into what I’m doing now. I never wanted to be involved in real estate or thought about becoming an entrepreneur. I was thrust into the world because of a day that a lot of us remember, which was September 11th. I’m what people call a 9/11 entrepreneur, which means for me that day dramatically affected my life and my livelihood as an airline pilot. That safe, secure job that I thought I had as a pilot really ceased to exist on September 12th. Being an airline pilot is really specialized, and I didn’t want to find myself out of a job and on the street. I was luckily able to keep my career – I’m still an airline pilot. But hundreds of thousands of planes were grounded for the week after 9/11, and that was my “why” moment. I decided I wanted to start learning about real estate. I began buying single family homes and then apartment complexes. Q: So you got that jolt to your life and your career, and you thought that real estate would be a good way to have your money in something physical; an asset that’s not likely to disappear. Did you use a property manager when you began buying properties? A: No. Q: Why not? A: I didn’t know a lot of the things then that I know now. It’s one of those things that you think you’re smart enough to figure out on your own. Real estate is a safe and secure investment, but as an investor, making the wrong acquisitions without the right business model can take away that security quickly. I bought some properties without the right property management structure in place, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can be a financial disaster. Q: So the question is, how do property managers convince people – a starting investor – to think along the lines of getting help right away to avoid losses and failures? A: It’s a matter of educating them. You don’t want to tell people how good you are at property management. They don’t care. What’s important is finding out what their goals are, what they want, and how you can help them realize what they don’t know while they’re achieving those goals. So many things can happen with tenant rights, fair housing, and discrimination. Landlords are often sued because they don’t treat their property like a business. I always tell investors: you are playing with people’s lives, and that makes you liable and responsible. The IRS and the Texas Property Code and the Fair Housing Act says you’re a business. Once they start seeing it that way, they know a property manager is a necessary part of the team. It’s my job to explain how we will get them to their goals. Q: Knowing what I know now, I will never get into an investment property without first consulting and working with a property manager on the acquisition, management, and eventual sale. You are right when you say education is what’s needed. Listeners, if you go to the Empire Industries website – empireindustriesllc.com, you’ll be amazed at how many videos and books are available. If you are looking for resources and answers, this website is it. This is why Steve wins all the business. It’s education. So let’s step back a bit, how did you end up as a property management company?