Jeff Clawson Founder of AustinVestors Shares Insight On What It Takes To Build a Trusted Property Management Company

In the year 2006, Jeff Clawson took the leap and started his very own company, AustinVestors. At the time he was employed as a sales agent at a brokerage and had gathered experience working with real estate investors. 

Seizing The Opportunity:

During his time working with investors, he saw that the people were in need of a property manager which provided him an opportunity. At this time, property management had managed to get itself a bad reputation in his area. 

Jeff made up his mind to fix that reputation. He created AustinVestors whose purpose is to help its clients manage their portfolios and has since become known as the most trusted Austin Property Management Company.

Time Management:

When he started out, time management proved difficult as he was working both his sales job and his company. It was a lot to handle and it took its toll on him. 

Jeff had to increase the hours that he worked in a bid to effectively manage both roles. There was an evident need for an assistant but it was not until he had grown his management portfolio that he was able to hire an assistant to help in handling maintenance.

Having an assistant gave him access to more time. Which allowed him to grow the company further.

Building a Team:

At AustinVestors, employment is carefully done so a solid team is built. Applicants are required to take a personality test as part of the interview process. This procedure helps the company employ the right set of people for the job. Jeff Clawson admits that this does not guarantee a great hire at all times but it does ensure that once there is such a case, it is immediately curbed.

One major thing they look out for when employing at the company is longevity. AustinVestors will choose a person who has had only one or two jobs in the past ten years over one who has had ten jobs in the past ten years. In the property management sector, staff turnover is one of the problems being dealt with. But with this strategy, they deal with it a lot less.

Creating a Schedule:

AustinVestors maintains a strict work schedule that gives everyone enough time for leisure and family. Most property managers often feel the need to work around the clock, leaving little to no room for anything else. 

To create a dedicated schedule, Jeff set a 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday working hour principle. This schedule has been incorporated into their work policies and the clients are required to agree to it before management commences.

Working With The Right Clients:

As clients started coming in, excitement grew – along with the need to say yes to every client that would come around. It was difficult to turn a client down, it just did not seem like the wise thing to do. Time went and the company came to the realization that not all clients were meant for them. Some clients did not fit and they knew they could not keep saying yes to these clients so Jeff and his team learned to say no. Now they have a number of factors considered before accepting clients.

The company growth over the last years has been amazing and almost unbelievable. There is a massive improvement every passing month, this together with their firmly rooted policies makes it safe to say that this is merely the starting point for AustinVestors.