It’s a new year, a new world, and to keep your property management business thriving, you need to know the latest insights, trends and resources in the industry. Luckily, you have the opportunity to access all of that in one place: PM Grow Summit 2021.

This year’s virtual PM Grow will feature 12 experts speaking on leadership, hiring, positioning, growth, acquisition, and more. You can hear more about our virtual platform and what to expect from the conference this year in our podcast episode about PM Grow. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at our headlining professionals.

Keynote Speakers at PM Grow Summit 2021

We are very excited to announce our three Keynote Speakers at PM Grow this year:

  • Executive coach and leadership expert Libby Gill
  • Best-selling business author and wold-renowned business advisor Chuck Blakeman
  • Entrepreneur and financial expert Greg Crabtree

Learn more about their presentation and their bios in the descriptions below, or by visiting pmgrowsummit.com.

“How to Lead People Through Change, Challenge, and Chaos” with Libby Gill

Libby GillThis year has had no shortage of change, challenge, and chaos… and we’re still not quite out of the woods yet.

As we begin the new year, executive coach and leadership expert, Libby Gill, will help leaders like you to inspire purpose and drive performance within your teams in the face of uncertainty and fear. She will also talk about how to make 2021 a good year, despite what life decides to throw at us.

Libby is a former Senior Vice President for Universal Studios, and a former Vice President at Sony Pictures and Turner Broadcasting.

The author of five books, Libby’s latest book is “The Hope-Driven Leader: Harness the Power of Positivity.”

More about Libby Gill:

Libby Gill knows change. She grew up on two continents and went to eight different schools before putting herself through college waiting tables. Starting her career as an assistant at Embassy Communications, a television company founded by the legendary Norman Lear, Libby survived three mergers to emerge as head of publicity, advertising, and promotion for Sony’s worldwide television group in just five years.

After a decade at Sony, Libby went on to lead public relations and corporate communications at media giants Universal and Turner Broadcasting. She exited the corporate world after nearly twenty years in leadership roles to become a first-time entrepreneur. In her mid-forties (when many people are slowing down), Libby founded Libby Gill & Company, an executive coaching and leadership consulting firm based in Los Angeles. For more than 15 years, Libby has guided clients to lead their teams through change.

The author of five books, Libby’s latest book is “The Hope-Driven Leader: Harness the Power of Positivity.”

How to Get Off the Treadmill – Make More Money with Less Time” with Chuck Blakeman

Chuck BlakemanDoes it feel like you’re working too hard, yet you still haven’t achieved what you were hoping for?

Chuck knows exactly how you feel because he has been there. But after building twelve businesses in eight industries across four continents, he has learned a thing or two about getting off that dreaded treadmill and reigniting that passion that got you into business to begin with. His talk will help you regain focus on what matters most, and equip you with practical advice so you can win the Business Owner’s Game.

Deep Dive: 12 Tools to Manage Your Business And Gain Your Freedom

This session is a follow-up to Chuck’s talk “How to Get Off the Treadmill – Make More Money with Less Time.” Now that you’ve learned how to refocus on what matters most as a business owner, he’ll go into a deep dive about how you can ensure that your business gives you personal freedom. Because at the end of the day, isn’t freedom the reason why you decided to be an entrepreneur?

More about Chuck Blakeman:

Chuck Blakeman is a serial entrepreneur, international speaker, best-selling business author and world-renowned business advisor who built ten businesses in seven industries on four continents, and now uses his experience to advise others. 

His company, Crankset Group, provides outcome-based mentoring and peer advisory for business leaders worldwide. Chuck sold one of his businesses to the largest consumer fulfillment company in America and led three other $10-$100 million companies. He presently leads the Crankset Group and a for-profit business based in Africa, focused on developing local economies to solve poverty. Chuck is a results leader with decades of experience leading companies in marketing, import/export, fulfillment, call centers, website development, printing and direct mail processing. 

Chuck is the author of “Making Money is Killing Your Business,” which was rated as #1 Business Book of the Year by NFIB, the largest business owner association in America.

At PM Grow Summit, attendees will receive Chuck’s newest book for 2020, “Humanizing the Workplace.”

“Simple Numbers 2.0 Rules for Smart Scaling” with Greg Crabtree

Greg CrabtreeWhat are the key success factors of a property management company? What are the pitfalls in terms of finances, and how can you avoid them?

Greg Crabtree is a speaker, author, entrepreneur, and financial expert. You may also know him from the contributions he’s made with the NARPM Accounting Standards.

In his talk, Greg will share with us his Three Simple Rules for Business Success, the Five Forces of Cash Flow, and explains how to turn a profit in the simplest way. These tools and concepts will help you identify how well your business is doing so far, and how you can ensure profitable growth in 2021.

More About Greg Crabtree:

Greg Crabtree is a speaker, author, entrepreneur and financial expert. Crabtree has used his entrepreneurial skills to develop Crabtree, Rowe & Berger, PC, a CPA firm focused solely on the needs of entrepreneurs, helping them build the economic engine of their businesses. Working with entrepreneurs all over the country in a broad range of industries, Crabtree has simplified financial reporting and empowered all entrepreneurs to take ownership of their finances. He has pioneered a revolutionary metric for driving business profitability: measuring labor efficiency and developing simple benchmarks for company, team and individual performance.

In 2011, Crabtree published his first book “Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits,” in which he shares his core principles of how to turn your business into a wealth building engine. He is currently working on his second book, “Simple Numbers 2.0.”

PM Grow Summit 2021

Industry Speakers at PM Grow Summit 2021

Besides our three keynote speakers, we have 9 additional experts who will present invaluable resources at PM Grow. Learn more about their presentation and their bios in the descriptions below, or by visiting pmgrowsummit.com.

“Visionary vs. Integrator: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” with Lisa Wise and Grace Langham

Lisa WiseThe concept behind each role is straightforward, but how does it feel to be in those shoes? Visionaries always get the spotlight due to the nature of their role, but the Integrator is the one turning ideas into reality. What does that relationship look like, and how can you make it harmonious and successful?

Join us as for our Fireside Chat with Lisa and Grace, collaborators of Flock(n.), Nest, Roost, and Starling.

More about Lisa Wise:

Lisa is the founder and owner of Nest DC. The success of Nest was something she wanted to share fully with her team.  To that end, Roost DC, LLC was established to offer employees the opportunity to own part of a company while meeting a need in the management field.  Roost is modeled after Nest, and pairs well with the mission while creating exceptional opportunities for all involved.

In her role as Chief Rooster, Lisa oversees the strategic direction of the company. She establishes partnerships with vendors and suppliers, works to ensure Roost adheres to best practices and maintains a standard of excellence in all interactions. She directly oversees the field department, finance and governance staff to ensure all three work in harmony to deliver excellent building management.

Grace LanghamMore about Grace Langham:

With an early education background, orienting tenants and owners to the world of boutique property management and juggling dozens of tasks at a time is a talent Lisa believes was developed while leading a classroom of first graders for years.

Since joining Nest DC almost 10 years ago, Grace now leads the effort to keep their leasing team running smoothly with a focus on client services, and baseline finesse of all the moving parts that go into managing successfully. Lisa is also a member of the senior management team and works to direct the strategic direction of both Nest and Roost.

“The Grinder Hiring Process” with Matthew Whitaker

Matthew WhitakerCould your hiring process be your company’s Achilles’ heel? Matthew shares his proven hiring methodology built for scaling a property management company. It’s called “The Grinder” because there is rigor to this structured process.

Hire to help scale. This methodology is called “The Grinder” because there is rigor to the structured process. You can learn every trick in the book – from the latest sales techniques, to the newest property management systems and processes – But, if you don’t have the right people to run them, then it will all be for naught.  Matthew walks through how GK has gone from 15 people 3 years ago to 75 today using his system for hiring.  He’ll take you through it step-by-step and include what to look for and what to avoid when meeting with candidates.

More about Matthew Whitaker

Matthew is a student of the book Good To Great and is passionate about building gkhouses to become the best property management company on the planet; and maybe even the universe if Elon Musk will hurry up. To do that, he spent the first seven years of gkhouses in the trenches but now focuses most of his time facilitating growth in other markets. 

“Reactive vs. Proactive Growth” with Kathleen Richards

Kathleen RichardsWhen you think about growing your business, how clear does that end goal look? A common pitfall for business owners is growing for the sake of growth.

Kathleen will talk about how to be intentional with your growth rather than being reactive, and she’ll teach us how to set a growth plan in place.

More about Kathleen Richards

Kathleen has a MS degree in Business/Organizational Development and a BA in International Studies and Economics. She is a nationally recognized speaker, instructor, author, and thought leader for the last 30 years focusing on business, organizational/leadership development, culture and specifically the field of property management. She has worked with corporate, government and academia (US and International). As a former Broker/Owner of a two time award winning property management company she knows first hand the highs and lows of being a business owner. 

Workshop: “Resident Benefits Packages” with Todd Ortscheid

Todd OrtscheidNot maximizing revenue opportunities could be holding your business back. Todd has developed these packages as a great way to improve tenant satisfaction while boosting your company revenue and profits. This workshop will teach you how to put your package together, what benefits to include, and how to implement it at your company.

Resident Benefits Packages are a great way to improve tenant satisfaction while boosting your company revenue and profits. This workshop will teach you how to put your package together, what benefits to include, and how to implement it at your company. You will leave the course with a Resident Benefits Package ready to go when you return to the office!

More about Todd Ortscheid

Todd has held a real estate sales license in Georgia since 2008. Born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1982, he has also lived in Florida and Ohio. He majored in professional aviation at Embry Riddle University. Prior to joining GTL Property Management & Sales, he worked as an airline pilot for a major airline based in Atlanta, and also served as an Executive Vice President of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l.

“After the Acquisition” with Mike Catalano

Michael CatalanoEveryone wants more doors, and you won’t find a shortage of property managers who believe acquiring companies is the best way to grow.

But a lot of issues still come up after acquiring a company or a new book of business, especially if you are not ready to handle the load. The journey does stop at just acquiring. In order to break even, Property Managers lose 5% to 15% of the portfolio due to a number of issues. When acquiring a company, you need a way to add the same number of doors you lose… sometimes in excess of what you lose. You don’t get to keep all the doors you acquire, either. You also have to figure out if you want to manage all the doors you acquire. What should you do if 500 of those doors are bad properties? This talk will uncover all these things, and propose ways to navigate all the uncertainties.

More about Mike Catalano

Mike has over 20 years of leadership experience in developing real estate firms. He is currently the CEO of Real Estate Connections and CEO of NextGen Property Ventures, real estate investment and property management firms based in Los Gatos (REC), Santa Cruz (Portola PM), & Roseville (Sunburst Properties), California. He is a Board member for Fourandhalf, an internet marketing company specializing in property managers. He also sits on the board of HappyCo, a mobile platform for inspections and operations. He is a recognized thought leader and regular industry speaker on the topics of property management firm acquisitions, real estate investments, and real estate marketing best practices. He is a member of NAR (National Association of Realtors) and CAR (California Association of Realtors). Mike holds a Real Estate Broker’s license in California.

“Dealing with Local Government” with Keith T. Becker.

Keith T. BeckerIt’s not a surprise that the local government can have an impact on any small business — but more so for an industry such as property management. If you aren’t involved with local government, then tenants control where legislation is going. Keith explains how being involved with the community gives property management a voice in a tenant centric world. Examples of issues to get involved with: New Rent Control Laws, Fair Housing Requirements, Community Outreach, and Eviction Moratoriums.

More about Keith T. Becker

With over a quarter century of unparalleled experience as a real estate professional concentrating on all aspects of property management, Keith’s mission – both individually and with his team at DeDe’s Rentals – is to solve challenges. Whether calculating comparative property valuation, creative marketing, tenant acquisition, contract negotiations, administrating large-scale rehab projects, or navigating the minefields of the landlord/tenant relationship, DeDe’s has provided the most effective solution for any challenge. Keith applies knowledge, skills, and customer service developed over many decades, along with being able to rely on a dedicated team, reputable vendors, knowledgeable legal experts, and a continuing commitment to education in order to remain the recognized leader in professional property management throughout Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.

“The ABC’s of Property Selection” with Steve Crossland.

Steve CrosslandNot all doors are created equal, and understanding how to select the right properties/units is key to growing a successful and profitable property management business.

Steve will lay out a framework for how to define the three “buckets” that each unit falls into: A, B, or C. He’ll talk about how these buckets impact your bottom line, and how to be more productive and less stressed by transforming into an Authorized Fiduciary rather than a Subordinate Functionary.

More about Steve Crossland

Steve is a Graduate of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Management Information Systems. He is an active member and longtime volunteer in the Austin Realtor and Property Management communities, and is a regular national speaker and instructor on real estate, property management and business related topics.

A former computer programmer and business analyst, Steve brings analytical skills and attention to detail paired with a laid back common sense approach that makes him easy to work with.

“Positioned to Win: How Positioning Can Help or Hurt a Property Management Company” with John Bykowski.

John BykowskiSometimes, you don’t appear to be getting leads – or the right kinds of leads – no matter how much you spend on marketing. And, the leads you do get result in clients who aren’t happy, no matter what you do for them. The problem can be in a less familiar area of marketing: Positioning.

This talk will define positioning, explain the positioning process, and show examples of good and bad positioning with a specific focus on PM companies.

More about John Bykowski

John Bykowski is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fourandhalf, Inc., a Marketing Agency that works exclusively with the Property Management industry. John has spent the last 9 years helping Property Management companies utilize the latest technology to thrive. He is an experienced speaker and an author of the Property Management strategy blog.

You can learn more about our PM Grow speakers and events at PMGrowSummit.com.

In addition to gathering the latest ideas from these industry experts, you’ll also have the opportunity to engage in workshops where you can ask questions, network, and brainstorm with like-minded property managers and industry professionals.

Plus, attendees at PM Grow will get access to exclusive conference-only discounts on ALL Fourandhalf marketing products.

So don’t wait! PM Grow Summit is less than two weeks away. If you have any questions about PM Grow or Fourandhalf, contact us!

Register now at PMGrowSummit.com.


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