How to Build Systems to Scale to 16 Short Term Rentals

0:00Well, I think some of the things that we did well was just getting started and taking that first step. I honestly feel like that's probably the thing that we're most proud about and there's there's always things that I'm learning along the way. I mean, 5 years in the business and we're constantly trying to tweak and add new things, new systems, get getting things more dialed and automated. So, I mean, even before our call, I'm like trying to talk to Kirby about what's the latest and the greatest because I just I always want to make sure that the business is, you know, running on autopilot, has you know, has all the greatest and latest systems and procedures and I think one of the things that we did well too

0:48Was well, it's kind of a piggyback. I first learned how to do the business solely on my own. So, I was in the trenches for the first year. I built all of the systems, all the procedures, I built the business from the ground up. And I think that was really good for me to do because then I was able to hire a VA. Now I have a virtual assistant for the last 4 years that has worked for me and he is able to run the business the majority of the time. So, we're constantly in communication with each other, but he is doing all of like the day-to-day items and taking care of the guests, doing the guests customer service, the guest communications, dealing with the handyman and the and the cleaners, making sure units are being turned properly.

1:35And then I get on a Zoom call with him once a week and I'm in constantly communication via text messaging with him as well if any questions arise, but I feel like that has been a game-changer for our business because I was like in the trenches working the business and you know, of course, everybody knows an Airbnb business is an active business, but by me like leveraging and outsourcing, I was able to make it a more passive business because now I'm not running that business 24/7.

2:10I have someone doing it for me. And so that's been a game changer. But through that, obviously, lots of learning curves in how to how to, you know, manage the VA and making sure that we're just implementing the correct, you know, tools into the business. — Yeah. That's a It's It's awesome that you were able to do that. I think one of the top comments I get when I talk about our, you know, we use virtual team members as well. And people say, "Well, isn't the quality going to drop off?" Like, you know, if I let this go and somebody else takes over.

2:45Like, were you nervous about that? And And how has that worked out for you over time? — No, I actually think it worked out better because he is so nice. Like, he he communicates better than I do to our guests. So, sometimes I'm like a very business person, and so sometimes, you know, I don't have a patience for a lot of things, and he has patience for everything. So, no, it was actually probably much better that I outsourced it to a team member because I definitely think that that impacts our ratings and our reviews.

3:23And he is there, you know, to help with somebody not being able to get into a door, or you know, something happens in the unit, or something's not working, you know, he can troubleshoot it and get a team member to the property immediately, which definitely, you know, is the customer service that we want to provide for our our guests. So. — Yeah. Yeah, I found the same thing, too. Like, I My team members are way better than me at their individual aspects. If you find the right one who like that's what they do, like they're they're phenomenal at it.

3:57So — Yeah. — Yeah, I wouldn't do it any other way. Like I love and I just call my property manager. So, I love my property manager. He's on my team and yeah, he's a huge asset. So, highly recommend. — Yeah. Yeah, and there's all those little things that can take up a lot of time that you know, it's just and it's not hard things like you know, it's court like somebody gets locked out and you got to coordinate with you know, boots on the ground team member, but there's like maybe back and forth text messages or calls and stuff. So, you know, all that time that you would have spent on that thing which is it's easy to do, but you know, you probably shouldn't be the one doing it because you're you could use that time to do something, you know, that is a little more valuable for your time.

4:41So, it makes it makes a ton of sense and when you get there, it's like how did I ever survive — I know that that first year I was like, oh, but it was so good for me to do it. I I would highly recommend that everybody, you know, you you be in the trenches, you know, however long you feel like that is, but definitely learning all the ins and outs of the business and then like passing it on to a team member is definitely I feel like the way to go. So. — Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So, when you So, transitioning then I guess to some of the the lessons that that you've learned over the years and some of maybe some of the mistakes that you've made.

5:22Like where do you feel like are some things that you looking back you're like, man, I I wish I had done something maybe a little bit different there? — Oh gosh, that's a good question. There's just so many little things. I feel like just in regards to like dealing with the team members, like you know, how to pay them, when to pay them, with the cleaners and the turnovers. I know that that was something that I was like trying to figure out what's the best system.

5:54What do you use now for that? — Well, now I'm using Turno, which I highly recommend. But at the very beginning, you know, I feel like you know, you're just starting and you want to just keep it simple, which I highly recommend. So, I was just Venmoing or Zelling or whatever. But then, when you start to scale, you're now like Venmoing and Zelling like a lot of turns and a lot of people and I'm like, this is like this just doesn't make sense anymore. And so then, you need to start looking for like programs or companies that can help you, you know, for the scaling.

6:31So, I would say that was probably a lot of and I don't know if it was necessarily They were definitely mistakes that made, but I think it's just like that stretching and that growing period that, you know, you see the mistakes that are happening and now you're trying to figure them out in real time because you're you're growing and you're scaling. So, that was definitely one of them and finding Turno and adding Turno, obviously it it added a little bit of extra expense, but in the long run, I'm like, it was much easier because now Turno's a great app to use.

7:02You can run all of your handyman and your cleaners with their turns and you can put in inventory needs and you can put in maintenance needs and you can pay all your people out of Turno. So, that was that was like, you know, a challenge that we found a solution to and are you using Turno? — Yeah. Yeah, I was going to say the tools have come a long way. I I've had the founder of Turno on this podcast twice. Yeah, and he the first time he came on was was quite a while ago, like right when the podcast was starting and Turno left a lot to be desired at the time and I think he kind of knew that, you know.

7:38And then the the next time he came on, it had improved dramatically and his users, the number of users he had just skyrocketed because it it worked so well now for all the things you just described. So, I wasn't a huge fan of it in the beginning like when you were getting started that we didn't use it either. In the beginning I made all the payments manually but as it's evolved and gotten a lot better, it's I highly recommend it now. — Yeah, I feel like that has been a game changer because that has allowed me to take that portion off my plate and now my V my virtual assistant, my VA can monitor it, can pay the pay the vendors and it's just again something else that's been taken off my plate.

8:21So, I think if I would summarize a lot of the mistakes and challenges that have happened over 5 years is just is I think a lot to like the growing pains like I mentioned and then finding a platform or a program that can help, you know, outsource and leverage that that pain has been probably our biggest challenge and so I I feel like everything that we use now in our business is is really good and really up to date but again I'm always trying to find what are the latest and the greatest tools that can, you know, obviously improve our business, make it better, more streamlined, more efficient, you know, so.

9:07— Yeah. Yeah. And that's a balance too cuz you could drive yourself tool crazy every single day cuz they they change. So, it's like it's a balance between knowing that yes, you're never going to have like a tool that solves every problem but also you don't want to get lackadaisical and just say, well, it's the system's okay. I'm not going to look into how to keep making it more efficient. So, it's it's quite a balance. And I I I'd love to kind of transition into your actual investments at this point.

9:39Like what what markets did you choose and and how did you choose those markets? — Yeah, so our very first short-term rental that we bought through Kirby's program was in Columbus, Georgia and there was no rhyme or reason for that market. It was that I had an agent connection as me being a real estate agent, I have agent connections across the country and so I had an agent connection there and she sent me a property, ran it through the deal analyzer through Kirby's program and you know, and the numbers worked.

10:14I we still today have not been to Columbus have not been to Georgia. We're literally trying to get there this summer. We're we're really it's on our goal. I'm like, "Babe, we have to check out our property." We have two properties there now that we have never seen, never set foot in and so we might be doing an East Coast tour and doing Columbus, Georgia, Savannah, Myrtle Beach — Nice. — doing a Carolina and Georgia tour cuz we haven't hit those states and we, you know, 5 years later I think it's time to see our first short-term rental property that we have ever bought.

10:49— That's amazing. That's I mean, that's such a amazing thing to to hear for a lot of people cuz one of the top questions I get is, "Oh, how how could you ever manage these remotely? Like how often do I need to go there?" And I I give you as an example in a lot of cases and other people too in the program who have never been to their their property ever, which is just like it's wild for a lot of people to wrap their head around. But I think you were before your time or ahead of your time for Columbus because back then all the rage was like nobody talked about the secondary markets.

11:25It was just the vacation high-end vacation markets. Now Columbus is actually I think it was on the list of one of the top markets by AirDNA this year. — Oh, that's amazing. — Yeah, to invest in. Yeah, and because these secondary and more affordable markets that really produce higher cash flow have become more popular. So, I know there's quite a few people in the program who are, you know, they're focused on Columbus now. — Oh, that's funny. Oh, yeah. Well, we've been happy with Columbus. We want to actually buy a little bit more. We're actually in We have We're also in your backyard in Michigan City.

12:01That's our second. So, our three markets are Columbus, Georgia, Michigan City, Indiana, and then Loomis, California. And Loomis is just by default because that's where we live. But, really, we've only bought out-of-state properties for our short-term rental portfolio. — Yeah. Nice. So, how do you And you have visited Michigan City since we talked last, right? — I've been there twice. So. — Nice. Nice. Okay. — But, my son just he just bought his first property, and it's in Michigan City.

12:36We have not yet visited his property, but that one's about to be launched this week. So. — Wow. That's amazing. So, what what did he Well, share how old he is first cuz people are going to be amazed with that. And then, how did he decide on his first property? — So, I have an 18-year-old son, and after he he graduated last year, and we he decided he did not want to go to college, and we were fine with that. We were completely on board with it, but we're like, "Okay, well, we need to create a game plan cuz you're just not going to sit around and do nothing." And so, he is working for my husband's government construction business full-time, and he wants to build an Airbnb portfolio.

13:18So, he's been watching us. So, all you parents out there, your kids do watch you. So, he's been watching us, and he was like, "That's what I want to do. And so he makes really good money with my husband's company cuz it's government so he gets paid prevailing wages. So as a little 18-year-old he's making six figures a year and he is required to save like 99% of his money. So in six months he saved enough money for the down payment, closing costs, everything for his first Airbnb.

13:52And we he closed on that the day after Easter that Monday and it officially just got staged and it's going to be getting launched this week on platforms. So we're very proud of him, very excited for him. But he just when we were talking to him, my husband and I were like why reinvent the wheel? Why don't you just, you know, look into the markets that we're already in. We already have all the team on the ground. So he he I've already put him in in connection.

14:24He's going to run his own create his own little business and run it. But I was like well instead of like recreating the whole team, why don't you just piggyback off off of my team? And so he's going to have weekly meetings with my VA and use my team on the ground and he's in text message with them. But I told them all like this is his property. He you need to go to him. He needs to be the point person. He then can come to me with any questions and you know, consulting and stuff.

14:56But I don't want them to think like that this is my Airbnb. I'm like this is not my Airbnb. Like you know, it's not part of my portfolio, it's his. So yeah, so we're very excited. So that's so he just started looking on his own. He got on, you know, realtor and he was looking and he had me and my husband and I in a little group chat and he was sending us properties and then you know, we found we found one that we liked and so then you know, we have a realtor out there and so then she got in a text with Lucas and we had Lucas do all of it from the very beginning.

15:33So, we were all in a group chat. So, you know, it was nice cuz he felt comfortable and confident because not only did we have our buyer's agents on the ground, but I'm also a realtor of 20 years. So, he he felt confident. So, yes, he obviously his situation is going to be a lot different than other 18-year-olds who might not have a father that is a contractor and a mom that is a realtor of 20 years and you know, and also we own our own Airbnb portfolio and so he felt obviously very comfortable and confident with our support to for him to make this decision.

16:11So, but yeah, so we ran the numbers with him and it's a cute little three-bedroom, one bath, nice little first Airbnb house that, you know, we'll probably net around $1,000 a month for him. So. — Wow. That he's going to be in such a a great position. I mean, doing this at 18 and saving that much to — already saving for his next one. His goal is to buy his next one by the end of this year, like December. He wants to — Oh my gosh. Yeah, he's going to he's going to be very very wealthy as I mean, just I mean, by the time he's 30, he'll be in an incredible position.

16:48— we keep running the numbers for him and we're like, "Dude, we never had this opportunity. If we had this opportunity as an 18-year-old, like our life would be dramatically different than it is — Yeah. — — Well, I think I'm sorry. — No, — Yeah. Yeah, no, I I well, I was going to say, I think there's some nuance to the way you've described this too that people should pay attention to cuz it sounds like to me you guys along the whole process kind of just walked side by side with him to help him with the things that that he needed help with or questions he had or needed the support, but yet you allowed him to kind of dictate his own path.

17:27You didn't say, "Okay, you're going to college, you know, even though it's not a good fit for you. That's just what people do. So, you're doing college." And then, you know, you you were open to the idea of him wanting to invest and letting him go out and find the deal and, you know, you you could help him with that, but I think that's such a smart way of doing it and setting him up to to be able to make decisions and you're not kind of like the parents hovering over him telling him, "Do this and do that." And wondering why he's rebelling, you know. — Yeah. Yeah, he's very excited. I mean, he's had to do already a lot of adult things.

17:59He, you know, he had to set up his own LLC that my husband like, you know, sat with him and helped him do that and then open up his own bank account. He did that on his own. We I sat with him and walked him through how to open up his own QuickBooks account cuz now he works 4 10s. So, that also works really well with his schedule. So, Fridays is going to be his day where he's going to have his weekly Zoom call with the VA. He's going to do his QuickBooks. And so, I'll be able to, you know, kind of guide him and help him answer any questions he has.

18:30Obviously, help train him on QuickBooks, but yeah, he's going to be managing his own books. He's going to be managing his own property, meeting with the VA on a weekly basis, troubleshooting any, you know, obstacles that come along the way, which, you know, nothing is easy in life, obviously. It's it's a it's a business and it's an asset. So, that's huge and I'm excited for him that he's starting out already at 18. But, yeah, he's already he's like he's already had to do a little bit of adulting. So, it's good. — Yeah.