Ready to Scale: Building the Systems, Team, and Leadership for Growth

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zielinski and Suzanne Andresen build on their conversation with RCN Capital CEO Jeff Tesh to examine what real estate investors should have in place before scaling a business. Key Points From This Episode [00:01:08] Growing to meet an established need instead of spending in anticipation of growth [00:02:45] Managing staff capacity and bottlenecks before adding more employees [00:03:09] Building systems and documenting repeatable processes before expanding the team [00:04:19] Using standard operating procedures and automation to make responsibilities easier to teach and delegate [00:05:14] Identifying key early hires, including virtual assistants, administrative coordinators, transaction coordinators, and acquisition managers [00:06:00] Using fractional executives and other fractional roles to bridge staffing needs during growth [00:06:39] Hiring for attitude, collaboration, and alignment with the company’s mission [00:07:57] Measuring the financial and long-term return on new team members before continuing to hire [00:10:28] Choosing affordable lead sources that work for the business before expanding marketing spend [00:11:05] Tracking marketing performance to understand where to reinvest [00:11:38] Establishing KPIs and scorecards for leads, appointments, contracts, conversion rates, deal size, and marketing ROI [00:13:29] Setting job expectations clearly at the beginning of the employer-employee relationship [00:14:11] Using measurable goals to create accountability during the early stages of scaling [00:14:47] Creating incentives that reward employees for exceeding performance expectations [00:15:13] Identifying and focusing on the KPIs that have the greatest impact on the business [00:15:48] Learning to delegate, transition from operator to leader, and avoid micromanagement [00:16:49] Recognizing when remaining a solo investor may be a better fit than building a larger company [00:17:36] Setting realistic benchmarks when transferring responsibilities to new team members [00:18:11] Using manageable performance goals to help new hires develop over time [00:19:10] Assessing opportunities and maintaining consistency when expanding into new geographic markets [00:20:38] Diversifying markets and asset types while considering local staffing and property-management needs [00:21:30] Scaling through leadership by developing trusted people who can help grow the organization [00:22:11] Demonstrating a proven business model before seeking outside capital [00:22:39] Building accountability, ownership, communication, and shared vision as the company grows [00:24:01] Including different parts of the organization when developing company core values [00:24:18] Hiring people who bring stronger skills, new ideas, and different perspectives into the business [00:25:25] Making the shift from a competitive individual investor mindset to leading a team of talented people [00:26:06] Nate and Suzanne recap the factors investors should consider before deciding they are ready to scale Quotables  “You want to make sure that the people that you’re bringing in, they fit with your whole (I’ll say) family….” - Suzanne Andresen [00:06:52] “You need to have multiple sources and you need to have them delivering consistently.” Nate Zielinski [00:10:06] “Yeah, and I think, specifically in this industry for investors looking to scale, one of the traits that they should be looking for is accountability.” - Nate Zielinski [00:14:10]  “And Jeff talked also when you’re doing your core values - you want people from every walk of life in a company…” - Suzanne Andresen [00:24:00] Links Questions about the episode: [email protected] REI INK: https://rei-ink.com/ REI INK Magazine on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rei-ink-magazine RCN Capital: https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast https://www.instagram.com/rcn_capital/ [email protected]