July 25, 2024 • 43 mins
What happens when you bring a multifaceted leader like Kim Senn Cross onto our show? You get a treasure trove of insights from her inspiring journey that spans over three decades in the multifamily industry. Kim, who started her career at Lincoln Property Company in 1990, has navigated through significant roles at an internet startup, RealPage, and Prime Group before eventually founding her own boutique consulting firm, The KSC Group.
In this episode, Kim candidly shares the highs and lows of her entrepreneurial journey, shedding light on the diverse services offered by KSC Group, from business applications and managed services to specialized training for property management companies. Kim also opens up about the unique challenges she's faced as a woman entrepreneur and emphasizes the importance of trusted advisors and continuous learning in overcoming these hurdles.
Networking and maintaining relationships are critical in any industry, and Kim provides a masterclass in the art of building connections. We explore the value of events like the Women's Summit in fostering both professional networks and personal friendships. Kim reminisces about reunions with past colleagues and underscores the importance of never burning bridges. This chapter also delves into the excitement around new technologies like nectarflow™ AI and automation, emphasizing how industry advocates play a pivotal role in driving innovation. We also discuss team dynamics and how having a single point of contact for clients can enhance service delivery while ensuring team flexibility and skill development.
Embracing innovation is not without its discomforts, especially with the rapid advancements in AI and cybersecurity. Kim speaks passionately about the necessity for proper education to alleviate these fears and encourages leaders to embrace rather than shy away from these changes. She highlights the importance of industry advocates like KSC Group in helping companies navigate these shifts.
Connect with Multifamily Women®:
Carrie Antrim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieantrim/
Multifamily Women® Summit: https://multifamilywomen.com/
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Multifamily Women® Leadership Series: https://apps.multifamilywomen.com/join
Multifamily Innovation® Council: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/council/
Multifamily Innovation® Summit: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
Best Places to Work Multifamily®: https://bestplacestoworkmultifamily.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another episode of the Multifamily
Women's Podcast.
We are so happy to have KimSencross here today.
She's with the KSC Group andshe is a member of the
Multifamily Innovation Councilas well as an attendee of our
Women's Summit, and we are sohappy to have you here today,
Kim.
Lauren, thank you for having me.
So tell us a little bit abouthow you got into multifamily and
(00:23):
what your journey was.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
My journey started in 1990.
I was 25 years old and arecruiter sent me to Lincoln
Property Company.
They were going from manualsystems and putting computers
out on site.
So I was hired to help in thatinitiative and spent 10 years at
Lincoln learning and growingthrough all the different phases
(00:49):
.
And here I am.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Then you ended up at was it Entrata Next or?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
RealPay, no.
So my journey.
I was at Lincoln and then Iwent to work for an internet
startup company.
We were putting DSL andtelevision set-top boxes and
going around and for people topay rent online None of that
through their television set-topbox.
We were using the hotel model.
And after that I started beingan independent consultant and
(01:23):
doing projects, subcontractingunder friends, rolling out
various software platforms, gotit.
Then I went to RealPage and Iwas a consultant rolling out all
the products.
Went back on the propertymanagement side for Prime Group
out of Los Angeles.
Okay, spent five years withthem Another amazing family.
(01:44):
I've been blessed to work at somany amazing companies.
And then I went to be VP ofEntrada and then, march 1st of
2013, I launched the KSC Group.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
That's amazing, and so that's a really cool journey
to get so many different angles.
We fall into propertymanagement and all of us test
the waters in every little.
I've been on the supplier sidefor a minute.
I've been in the managementside, you know.
So I think that's a really cooljourney and it makes a lot of
sense that then you would setyourself up to be able to
consult.
(02:18):
And so what does the KSC groupdo for companies?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
We are a small boutique consulting firm the
team.
We have some amazing peoplethat have decades of experience
in all aspects conventional,affordable, student.
We've all been on theapplications side and so it's
(02:42):
almost like cloning yourself andwe've come together and we are
an outsource for businessapplications for various
companies.
And our companies range in sizefrom they might have one
property they might be takingmanagement in-house small,
smaller management companies whodon't have an IT team.
(03:03):
So we offer, as a core frame,consulting, best practices you
know policies and procedures,change management, product
implementation and because wehave a vast experience, it is
most of any of the softwareplatforms that are available as
a major PMC, plus any add-onservices.
(03:26):
Then there is our managedservices, which is support.
We can do frontline support orbackup your support team.
So we have a conversation anddetermine what they need.
Special projects can rangeanywhere from I need somebody to
change all my documentmanagement settings or I need
(03:48):
somebody to add this one item inmonthly schedule billing Data
conversions.
We call it's now called, Ithink property onboarding.
We're very quick, very agileand we can convert most
platforms that are available.
We get them done in three daysor less.
(04:09):
And then the last thing istraining which is actually
evolving into more coaching,because you're training and
you're training with me and Ihave found that success is
breaking it up into two to threehour.
You know, targeted questionsspecifically for that job over a
period of time, instead of thetwo day, three day.
(04:34):
You know in person or Zoom,virtual training, and so these
mini sessions seem to be sothat's what we do, and then our
customers come and stay with usand say can you do this, can you
do that?
And so we'll do one-offprojects just for certain people
.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I love that and I've seen a lot more people start to
work for themselves, startcompanies, realize this is a
niche I can fill or this issomething I can help people with
, and I think that's really theway of the future a lot of
people are thinking about.
So, as a woman because you area sponsor of the Women's Summit
as a woman, what have been somechallenges you've had in
(05:14):
starting your own business,becoming a founder?
What did that journey look likeand what are some of the
hurdles you're facing?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I did not come into the business knowing how to
necessarily run a business andthe first.
I always believe in trustedadvisors.
I called people in the industrythat I know, like and trust and
spoke to them and got greatadvice.
And then my older brotherironically told me to read and I
(05:46):
forget the author E-MythRevisited and it is about
exactly that journey of you havea skill and now you're turning
it into a form of income andthat's challenging.
The next hurdle was when aclient said I thought it was
going to be me myself and I.
And then I backendadministration of payroll,
(06:09):
various states, rules,regulations constantly changing,
(06:33):
yeah, um, and growing intotrying different things for
different revenue streams, andsome things worked, some things
didn't work.
And then different skill setsmentoring bringing people who
were 19 years old and neverworked in property management
(06:56):
and bringing them into thecompany and guiding them.
I started hiring people at thetwo-year mark and most of those
people are still with me Wow, soI feel like that's a blessing
that these people are with youthrough the highs and the lows,
yeah, while you're trying tofigure things out, and I always
(07:19):
have to go on a leadershipjourney so that I can be the
right person for them, orself-doubt.
You have to find people thatyou can trust to go talk to
about that, and groups of people.
That's why I love the Women'sSummit.
Yeah, because there's so many.
(07:41):
I say business, network thatyou get, but also you form
friendships and go to peoplethat you can say.
This is what I feel is going onin our industry Agree, disagree
, hash it out, whatever, ornetwork and send them business,
or you know, and it's like ahigh school reunion when you get
(08:02):
to see once a year those samefaces showing up, you know, or
you run into them at anotherconference.
Yeah, I always look forward tothe women's summit.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yeah, I mean, it's such a good time to connect with
, with like-minded people, andeveryone has a story right In
this industry.
You get in and you just don'tleave right In this industry.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
You get in and you just don't leave.
I tell everybody that I saydon't leave on bad terms because
the people that I worked withfoundationally at Lincoln that
left, they went to othermanagement companies and our
paths crossed and when I startedthe company I sent my email out
, got my little domain and I gotmy little email and then I
(08:46):
drafted my first email to mynetwork and all of the clients
that came to me were people Iknew from when I was 25, working
at Lincoln, and they knew mywork ethic and everything that I
brought.
And then they tell people.
Yes, so I always tell people,and people who leave I say well,
(09:11):
we'll see you again soon.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
They always come back , oh yeah, and even if it's not
to come back to that company,it's to come back in a different
way.
Maybe you joined the supplierside and now you want to have
conversations with the peoplethat you just worked with, and
it is so intertwined.
Every single one of us has thatstory.
Oh yeah, and it's like I'llmeet someone.
I'll be like wow, and then yourealize you know the same people
.
You've worked for the samecompany but at a different time,
(09:34):
or you know whatever that is.
So I think that's very soundadvice to never burn a bridge,
because no matter what went downor what unfolded in your choice
to leave, you're going to windup in the same room with those
people.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Again, you just will, you will.
And the very first time wespoke and met it was six degrees
of Kevin Bacon, because wealready knew three of the same
people in our journey, and yetthis was the first time we met
in person.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah and yeah, just the journeys that you unfold and
you start to share and youconnect with people and you just
it's such a great feeling tohave connections on people that
are such a different level thanjust you know online or you know
.
It's so different in person, soI'm really glad that we met Me
too, so okay, so back tobusiness here, though.
(10:22):
So how many people are on yourteam or how many associates do
you have?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
We have some, of course, more corporate folks.
You've got to have thecorporate accountant, sales,
those kind of positions, andthen I would say we probably
have 15 people dedicated to thecore functionality.
The other thing that'sdifferent about us is we give
(10:53):
our clients a single point ofcontact, but based on the
request.
Everybody does everything.
I do tickets, I do training,you know I may back somebody up,
yeah, and so it's basically whois the right fit or the right
(11:14):
talent that can help solve thisissue or resolve it?
But we also want to make surethe client has a main person and
they bring those projects,those tickets, whatever, to that
person and then they work tomake sure the right person has
(11:35):
it or understands.
Or, if it's a project where webring in, you know, they're not
19 anymore, right, they're 26,27, 28 years old and their
knowledge is vast, and so wemight put them on a project.
Or it's an opportunity, as asenior leader, to teach them a
new skill and level them up,right, I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
So what's your favorite project or what's your
favorite kind of solution thatyou've had for one of your
clients?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
That's kind of hard I've gotten.
When I first started, I workedfor I went through a software
selection and then theimplementation for a company
that was very established Okay.
But they were able to continueto in 2013,.
They were still able to run aDOS-based product and had it
(12:32):
down to a well-oiled machine.
But they couldn't gain newbusiness because they weren't on
the latest technology.
So they were forced to changebecause they were appeared to be
antiquated in our industry andso that was interesting.
(12:56):
And then sometimes it's achallenge that says I'm taking
over management and I have to belive in two weeks and I go okay
, challenge accepted, right.
What I love right now is what'sgoing on with Nectar Flow yeah,
because it's exciting, and Ialways love puzzles and problems
(13:21):
and processes, puzzles andproblems and processes and
thinking about how can I dosomething more efficient or give
it a new shiny, brightness toit that sets that company apart
Right.
And so what's going on withNectar Flow AI and automation is
(13:42):
very exciting to me, yeah, andto a couple of other folks on
the team.
So we're behind the scenes,we've built integrations and
workflows for clients and nowwe're able to go okay, if we
were to build a snail on theNectar Flow platform.
What does that look like, anddoes it give us also, then, the
(14:03):
opportunity to do more for thatcompany?
Absolutely, so that's what'sexciting to me right now.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I think it's really exciting.
And here's the thing is thatthere's going to need to be a
group of people in our industrywho really advocate for change
but also help companies of allsizes navigate through how that
change is going to beimplemented.
And so you know it's going tocome to a point where innovation
(14:29):
has to happen.
You know we're already seeingit.
We're at a point wheresomething's got to give right,
and so there are people like youwho are so seasoned in software
implementation, in tech, in howto bring new tech to our
industry.
You're the perfect person tobring something like this in
(14:50):
front of the right people.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
That's exactly what I have been.
So I guess Malcolm Gladwellwrote a book and it wasn't
Tipping Point, it was the one.
He wrote Outliers, and I lovedit because he said sometimes you
end up at the perfect spot,that you can ride the waves
(15:12):
through your career.
Yeah, because it happened.
It didn't happen right beforeyou, but it happened when I came
to Lincoln.
We were putting computers andthen I was a subject matter
expert to help enhance softwareproducts, and then we came to
(15:32):
the Windows world and then wewent to the Internet and then,
you know, so I've been able, andthat's always exciting when
something new comes Right.
And yet we still have oldchallenges.
Everybody wants some form of abusiness intelligence tool,
everybody wants their Mondaymorning report.
Everybody, you know they'relooking to dig into data.
(15:56):
Or how do I train in thisenvironment and how do I now
work in a hybrid world?
We've had a project where acompany came to us and said help
us, we want to implement afour-day work week for our
company.
Only have people work 32 hours.
(16:17):
How do we accomplish that?
And it wasn't, it was lookingat all the different aspects.
So I said we get these unique,fun projects like oh well, after
they did it, I implemented it.
We did a four-day work week orwe did flex time.
I love it and I have to tellyou the employees came back to
us and said that it's helped meso much with my stress level, my
(16:41):
anxiety.
I get those three days but yetthe work is still covered
because I have a buddy.
Yeah, they take off Monday, Itake off Friday.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yeah, so it's basically.
Sometimes the benefit isthrough efficiency and being an
I'm investigating AI.
Yeah, all of the differentamazing software that's out
there has a component of AI, buthow does this AI work with this
AI?
(17:12):
That works with this AI?
Yeah, and how do you?
And you're not replacing people, you're just making people more
efficient because they becomereviewers of data instead of key
punch people.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Absolutely.
You're just taking the thingsthat they don't want to do in
their jobs and you're automatingit.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I call it re-imagining or just
re-imagining, and that's thephase we're in and that's what I
love.
And some people are reallyopening to open to that idea and
some people go no, I want thatcompany to do it differently,
and then I'll see how it worksfor them and then I'll adopt it.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Great.
We'll show you how it's done.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
And I don't mind getting.
I'm putting that test in my owncompany.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, yeah, and you know.
Here's the thing.
What's interesting is, we diddo a poll, so we did a webinar
this morning with.
We helped Nectar Flow do awebinar this morning, and what
they ended up we polled theaudience and we asked are you
scared, are you excited about AI?
You know, most people wereexcited, so that could be a bias
that we have in and of itself,thinking that people are scared.
(18:18):
Of course, change comes withdiscomfort always, but I think
more people are realizing thatthat discomfort is where the
magic's at.
That's usually, instead ofpulling back and saying, hey,
I'm uncomfortable, it's time topull back, people are now saying
I think that means I'm ontosomething right.
That discomfort You're likelet's push forward, let's push
through that, because I thinkthat's when you're on the brink
of innovation.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
I was at an AA and I had the chance to run into Bob
Pinniger and I asked him what hefelt about AI in our industry
felt about AI in our industryand I did tell him that I felt
(18:56):
like educating our industryneeded to be at the forefront,
because I don't know that peoplereally knew which component of
AI and how it worked, and alsocybersecurity some of the things
that we haven't done beforethat we need to have in place,
and alleviating fear of it.
(19:17):
You know, oh, it's going to putme out of a job and things like
that, but that education wascore, because that's what people
ask how do I gain the knowledgeand what security measures,
what safety nets do I have tohave in place so that I don't
add another liability?
Yeah, and that's what we'reworking on at the KSC group is
(19:39):
because we are trusted advisorsand we want to help our industry
.
The whole basis of starting thecompany was there was so much
knowledge in my head and then inmy team that we want to be
available to give that knowledgeto companies that would like to
(19:59):
have that, absolutely.
And now we're in this new worldand we want them not to be
afraid, and so we followinfluencers right, or we test it
out in certain ways, and so youknow, I think that's a big
talking point.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
I think it's huge.
And here's what's interestingis that not making a choice is
still making a choice, and sothese companies that think they
can just stay out of that worlddon't introduce AI, don't even
talk about it.
Your people have tools thatthey're using, that are AI,
whether it's you're using chat,gpt or they're using these
(20:43):
things.
And so I worked for a companyand what they did?
They got us in a room.
They were like what tools?
We are mandated to ask you whattools you are using that
incorporate AI so that we cancontrol this.
And instead of the companybeing the one that's innovating
and saying, look, these toolsexist, let's leverage this.
Let's talk about.
Here's a workflow you do.
What parts of this can youautomate?
(21:04):
What parts of this can you addAI to, instead of the company
taking those reins, theyapproached it in a more of a
fearful aspect, and for me, it'slike you innovate right,
otherwise, no choice is still achoice.
Your people are going to do it,with or without you.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
I always I love to having tenure in the industry.
It's a wave, right.
Everybody was doing.
They were fearful because wehad PCs and we had servers and
the software was installedwithin our walls.
And now we're going to thecloud and everybody well, I
won't say everybody, right,people didn't want that.
But now that's the standard.
(21:51):
We introduce renter's insurance, mandatory renter's insurance,
and if they don't have it, thenwe start charging.
Oh no, we can't do mandatory.
And then all of a sudden, abuilding burns down and oh,
we're doing mandatory, right,and so you get a pushback.
So what we experienced pre-COVIDis what were the technologies?
(22:15):
Self-guided tours people wereshowing, being able to
communicate with your residents,text, all different forms,
right.
Even saw a demo where they hadprogrammed Alexa to pay your, to
pay your rent, and things likethat.
Or the smart home technology.
And then offices shut down andwe all work from home.
(22:39):
That's the other perk.
So we weren't impacted, but ourclients came to us like help.
We don't know how to workremotely.
We don't know how to teach ouroffices to work remotely.
We need to text our residentsand we said your software
already has it.
Here's how you can do remotework, here's you know, so we
guided them.
Or in the affordable world,they weren't ever allowed to do
(23:02):
electronic signatures and andnow they were, and so we created
gaps.
The software providers were inthe process of developing
prospect tools, different things, but we kind of helped fill
that gap.
So repayment agreements andthings like that.
We had online forms, differentways to help them navigate this
(23:28):
world and tell them.
You know, they already had someself-guided tours or tours.
A lot of people went ahead anddid you know, went ahead and
adopted.
So the whole point is AI, likeyou said, we call embracing,
make it a positive experience,and that we're going to put it
(23:48):
in a bubble and test it and vetit out and we're going to roll
it out in small increments andsee how it goes and then catch a
vision from there about, okay,how far can we take this and not
come at it fear-based.
But you will have people whoare afraid or want to wait and
(24:12):
see how the industry, you know,embraces it.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah, and that's their choice, right it's.
You know, it's totally up toeverybody how they want to
embrace this, but I think youknow, in my opinion, the more we
just accept that it's here,accept that our people are
already using it, and think ofit that way that now, how can I
rein this back in?
I need to be the first one tounderstand all of the
capabilities and now I can workwith my people to say which
(24:40):
parts of your job do we wantthis in?
So, as with anything else, Ithink it's up to the individual,
but our leaders need to beleaders right now, truly in
every initiative and everyinnovation.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
And part of it too, is a leader sometimes makes a
decision and is removed fromthen the implementation, the
adoption and all that, andthey're, I guess, what you call
kind of sponsors of it.
But they're removed and theyreally need to be involved and
(25:16):
understand that technologyBecause, at the end of the day,
whatever they're doing is goingto funnel into the data that
they're reviewing to makedecisions.
Yep, and so I think, by the oneof my first boss in the
industry when we started doingemail.
He didn't do computers, and soI basically printed out every
(25:38):
email and sat it in his chairuntil the big boss drove in and
we saw his car sitting out frontand told him she can't print
your emails for you anymore.
Yeah, and I was like sorry,yeah, you know you have to now
embrace email, Absolutely, youknow.
So it's just so funny.
Just, I've seen and two yearsfrom now we're going to be
(26:00):
talking about it in a differentway- oh yeah.
Nobody wanted to do onlinepayments and now there's
companies out there that we sendit to them and let them do our
payments.
Now I wish people would paytheir vendors not in a check
form.
That's my next goal is hey, youwant your rent check pretty
quick.
I kind of want to get paidpretty quick electronically.
Can we work on that?
(26:21):
Oh yeah, no, but some peopleare like we're never going to
get away from our check printing.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
I mean, I've seen it in action.
You know, on the managementside it's wild, it's literally.
Hey, did that payment getprocessed?
Well, it was mailed four daysago, I can tell, I can check
with and I'm like what Exactly?
Speaker 2 (26:44):
How are we so behind the times in the way that we're
processing payments?
It's so easy to do these days.
And I even talked to AvidExchange.
I saw them at NAA.
I said, hey, we'll just build aplatform for my AR and stuff
and kind of help me.
I know you're helping on someother ways on this side, but can
you help?
Can you help a brother out onmy side or sister out on my side
(27:07):
?
They're like, hey, that's agreat idea.
I was like, yeah, go do thatfor me.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Every supplier in this industry is like I hear you
, I'm here for this.
I get this.
Yeah, it's pretty wild and Iget that there's some
complications in moving propertyfunds and then the management
funds and who's actually payingwho, and there's some
complication there.
But it shouldn't be this.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Here's my favorite story.
It's like this is the.
My husband and I actually laughat this because I understand
that each property has its ownbank account and needs to pay
its own bills, right, and whenyou send a corporate invoice and
then they allocate it out.
And I went to the mailbox andhad a really thick envelope and
(27:52):
I thought, wow, I got a bunch ofchecks in and I opened it up
$2.08, $2.10, $4.50.
And I was like one thing was 43cents.
I was like the postage cost youmore the paper, right?
If you'd have paid thiselectronically.
(28:13):
What is that?
Like a 35 cent transaction fee.
And yet now all my excitementis gone and I have to hand sign
in the back and endorse each oneof these Because it's all
different properties.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Because it's all different portions.
A portion of yes, yes, you know, and.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
I understand that requirement, but there has to be
.
There has to be a better way,there has to be a better way.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
These are just the things that you're like how are
we still doing so?
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I felt like, instead of, I'm just going to wait until
you owe like a lot more moneybefore I send you an invoice,
because why do I want to rentthe bank for $2.08?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I'll bill you every six months, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
It's called a day.
You'll get one annual fee.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
That is just yes.
There are a lot of innovationsthat still and there have to be
other companies that have thatkind of bank.
I guarantee you I can't be alone.
Yeah, no, I guarantee you Ican't be alone.
Yeah, no, everybody's feelingit.
I mean, I've been on themanagement side, I've seen it.
I've been on the supplier side,I've seen it.
And there's currently.
There are things that you thinkabout innovation and we're like
, wow, but we are behind.
(29:14):
We're behind, and so we needpeople like you, we need groups
like you, we need groups likeNectarfield To help guide
leaders through these processesthat are very outdated.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Well, you know, be their trusted advisor, say you
know what?
We're going to walk throughthis and we're going to have
changes, and it's going to beuncomfortable, but everybody's
going to survive at the end ofthe day and we're all going to
make it through, no man leftbehind or a woman, or you know.
And then you're going to seethe power of the tool that
you've just been given and thenyou're going to reimagine all
(29:50):
the other things it can doAbsolutely.
And that's what I'm waiting for, is that's what's exciting for
me.
I think that's brilliant,because that means more fun
projects.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Well, and how I just I'm so excited about everything
in the future with you.
I think it's incredible.
We could probably just go backand forth for hours and hours
about all the possibilities ofthe future.
We've had so many amazingconversations.
One of the things I do want tosay the KSC group is sponsoring
the Women's Summit, which isvery exciting.
We're so excited to have youthere.
You've been an attendee now forhow many years, Beginning.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
I first attended the Innovation Summit in 2019.
I first attended the InnovationSummit in 2019.
The Women's Summit didn't existand I had a connection with
Carrie and Patrick and wehappened to have a phone call
(30:43):
and I said, when I came intothis industry, there weren't
many women that were on the ITside, there aren't a lot of
women consulting companies.
And I said, what about awomen's conference?
And you know, something that'sthat we can go to and learn from
?
And Carrie was like, actually,we've been thinking about that.
Yeah, so I have been a hugeadvocate of this and and I love
(31:04):
because the very first summithad a lot of male speakers
because it's not anti, you know,male, because I had a male.
I have had the best experiencewith mentorship and people
supporting me in my journey male, female, whatever.
(31:25):
They gave me their knowledge,they gave me their trust.
They said, Kim, we want you tobe the subject matter expert, to
build a market survey platformor go to this site and find out
how much paper they have andwhat's redundant.
And they trusted me to comeback with solutions, and so I
love now that you can walk intothe C-suite and see a diverse
(31:52):
group Absolutely All the way.
Yeah, you know, so it'sexciting.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, yeah, and we talk about like that a lot.
You know, we always say we'rebuilding buildings for everybody
, we're.
You know, that's who our renteris, that's who our client is at
the end of the day.
And so if we don't haverepresentation on the boards of
these different companies thatare that diverse, how are we
supposed to create products fordiverse groups of people?
(32:18):
It just makes sense to haveeverybody in the room, and so we
always talk about the Women'sSummit as just another group of
people that are all workingtogether to innovate, that have
a unique set, a uniquebackground, unique set of
circumstances, but all workingtogether for the same same exact
point of innovation, right?
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Well, and the other thing the KC group did and what
I love about the Women's Summitis I'm in my exit mode.
A lot of people are retiring.
Everybody that mentored me isretired, and so I love the
Women's Summit because I'mseeing the next generation, and
(32:59):
so we did a masterclass forinternal clients to teach people
how to be system admins.
It had nothing to do with whatPMC software you had.
It had to be what tools areavailable to help you, and we
had accountants, the owners, theIT team attend because we were
talking about all the varioustools.
(33:21):
And so when I go there, I havethe next generation coming to me
for mentorship and I love that.
And it's even more personalbecause I was a single mom
raising three kids and I wasblessed to be able to work out
of my house and, of course, Iwore yoga pants and a ponytail
(33:43):
like I do today, not on thepodcast and they didn't know
what I did.
They just thought I talked onthe phone all day and then I
made them be leasing agents andI loved it when my son came in I
have two daughters and a sonand when my son came in and said
I know what you do, I justproduce blue moon leases.
(34:03):
And when my son came in andsaid, I know what you do, I just
produce blue moon leases.
And I said, yeah, we can have aconversation.
And they grew up doing dataconversions, having to tick and
tie source data to other oldschool in order to earn gas
money.
Now they all work for thecompany.
So that is the next generationin various forms.
So it's not just who I meet andgreet at conferences, it's also
(34:27):
within my own family.
There's a path for them.
They're all different, theyhave different paths, but it's
the one thing that you can comeinto with a high school diploma
and the sky's the limit.
You want to be in accounting.
You want to work on site.
One of my daughter's friendsdidn't really like college.
I introduced her to some folksat Lincoln and she is one of
(34:52):
their top leasing agents,winning awards left and right
for a long time now.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Amazing Because.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
I knew her personality, I thought she'd be
a great fit.
Yeah, so it's.
I love the give back phase.
I'm in them.
That probably is.
I love the technology, I lovethe innovation, but I also love
people.
Yeah, so I love to be able toanswer questions.
Help you, I'm here for you.
What do you need?
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, and you do such a good job with connection.
I just every, every person.
When I mentioned your name,they just light up.
Oh, I appreciate that.
I do love people.
Yeah, and you're so good at it.
And so many, a lot of womenhave come to me since I've
started this role that are inyour phase of this where they're
starting.
You know they didn't reallyhave the social media to really
(35:37):
put out there what they're doing.
They had to work and they hadto roll up their sleeves and
make connections and call peopleand show up at their leasing
offices and you had to work hard.
And a lot of women have come tome and said I just feel like I
don't want to prepare forretirement without having told
my story, without giving back,without mentoring.
(35:59):
I'm not ready to just exit.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I'm right there with them.
My kids tease me like are youreally ever going to exit?
You know, I don't ever see menot doing something.
Yeah, because I don't have anyhobbies and I'm a terrible cook
so I like to work, right?
Yeah, it's what I love.
But I do want to tell a story.
There are stories to tell, butI do want to tell a story.
(36:25):
There are stories to tell.
There are, you know, the womenin my company that are doing
this.
They're like the youngergeneration we bought in.
They didn't have to go throughthe rough times.
I was a 24-7 person, right.
I remember walking in with aone-year-old getting the phone
call because the budget programdidn't work and it was Saturday
(36:48):
and he got up and punched thealarm Next thing.
I know the alarm's going off.
I didn't even know I had analarm that worked, right.
But I'm answering a budgetquestion and it's not like that
today you know, because peoplesaid we don't want that, we want
something else, and so I dowant to mentor people, but it's
also other female entrepreneurs.
I'm part of a member of othergroups where I teach and speak
(37:11):
and lead female entrepreneurs inin they.
You know where I started and,of course, it's usually about
the technology you need.
So it's like this is what Ineeded to start and this was the
middle, and here's where I amnow.
You know, and and things likethat.
But, like you said, it's moreabout walking along beside
(37:34):
somebody, and I have mentors.
There are people that I canpick up the phone today, even if
they're retired, I'll stillcall them, and people in this
industry love to help somebodyelse out.
Yes, they love to share theirexperience and they want you to
call them.
They won't.
They won't turn away from you.
(37:54):
You know, as long as the firstphone call isn't bye, I can
generate more leads and get youmore sales.
And you know, and that LinkedInspam you get.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
That's very right Because of how genuine and
embedded we are all of us, I dothink that and even suppliers
are doing so much better atunderstanding.
It's so much better just to bein the room with those people
having the same conversationsthan these co-call.
I don't really know you right,that's not where the magic is
going to happen at all.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
I love the in-person, yeah, I love.
You're at the conference and Ialways want to know where
everybody's hanging outafterwards, because that's where
you get to talk.
But you're also you.
You start off as a businessalliance, chatting about the
industry, and then all of asudden it's hey, how's your kids
, how's your, how's your dad,how?
All of a sudden it's hey, how'syour kids, how's your, how's
(38:45):
your dad, how's your mom?
You know how's your it's.
Then you become friends and andyou really care about and
people shift and move.
Like you said, they're on thesupplier side and now they're
not there anymore and they'reover at this company and they
call you and they say oh, I madethis change.
Well, you want to help them?
Yeah, or I know a few peoplethat have worked for other
(39:09):
software companies that have nowstepped out on their own and
I'll go tell me about yourproduct.
Yeah, there are some firms thatif you select this software,
they're going to get not onlythe consulting dollars but
they're going to get apercentage of the sale, yep.
(39:31):
And that's not our model.
Our model is if I like thatsoftware, then I'm going to
recommend it, yeah.
And so when somebody comes tome about an idea.
I was like well, show me, tellme about it, and then I'll give
them an honest answer and I'llsay, okay, now I might have a
couple of people this I could,you know, send your way.
(39:52):
Send me an email that describesyour service, with something
that's that I can forward andand that's what I do and I
always love.
So we have this whole divisionthat really just works with
suppliers, and sometimes they'renew to the industry and they
need to be taught all theacronyms and how.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Oh, the acronyms.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Oh, the acronyms, and they've never worked on site so
they're like this data looksweird.
And I said, oh yeah, theleasing agent like did this and
then they undid it, and thenthey did it again, and so you
have to normalize your data,right, because I know what the
front end looks like, so it, butit's, it's great.
And then you see thosecompanies grow and then you see
who they hire as leadership andyou know, oh, the baby's
(40:37):
launched.
You know it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
I think it's incredible and I think a lot of
people can resonate with that.
You know, I think it'sincredible and I think a lot of
people can resonate with that.
We're trying to educate, we'retrying to bring an industry up
to speed.
At the end of the day, we'reall working towards the same
goal and it's amazing, yeah, sohow can someone find the KSC
group and get in touch with you?
What's the best?
Speaker 2 (40:57):
way and automation right.
So if you go in and fill outthe form, it is going to send in
into our CRM and we're going toreach out to you.
We just want to know whatproblem can we solve.
And then we bring people to thetable, have a discussion and
(41:24):
then take it from there and seeif we're a good fit.
And if we're not a fit forsomebody, I guarantee you, I
know and can recommend you, andI will even recommend you to
people who think like, oh, thiscompany is your competitor.
They're really not, becausewe're so boutique in what we do
and I've said I'm not a good fitfor you, but I'm going to
recommend you to this othercompany.
And I know people being in thisindustry.
(41:46):
I've worked with them, I knowwhat they bring to the table, so
I know, when I pass them on,that they're going to be in
great hands Right, and I evenlove to see them at the
conferences and give them hugsand see how they're doing Right.
So, anyway, that's how you, howyou can start with us, and
nothing is too small.
We have one owner that owns 18units and we have top NMHC 50
(42:11):
clients, so everybody is treatedas important and valuable and
how can we help?
I love that.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
So now you know how to reach Kim and again, get your
tickets for the summit onmultifamilywomencom and we will
see Kim there and we hope to seeyou there too.
Welcome to another episode of the Multifamily
Women's Podcast.
We are so happy to have KimSencross here today.
She's with the KSC Group andshe is a member of the
Multifamily Innovation Councilas well as an attendee of our
Women's Summit, and we are sohappy to have you here today,
Kim.
Lauren, thank you for having me.
So tell us a little bit abouthow you got into multifamily and
(00:23):
what your journey was.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
My journey started in 1990.
I was 25 years old and arecruiter sent me to Lincoln
Property Company.
They were going from manualsystems and putting computers
out on site.
So I was hired to help in thatinitiative and spent 10 years at
Lincoln learning and growingthrough all the different phases
(00:49):
.
And here I am.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Then you ended up at was it Entrata Next or?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
RealPay, no.
So my journey.
I was at Lincoln and then Iwent to work for an internet
startup company.
We were putting DSL andtelevision set-top boxes and
going around and for people topay rent online None of that
through their television set-topbox.
We were using the hotel model.
And after that I started beingan independent consultant and
(01:23):
doing projects, subcontractingunder friends, rolling out
various software platforms, gotit.
Then I went to RealPage and Iwas a consultant rolling out all
the products.
Went back on the propertymanagement side for Prime Group
out of Los Angeles.
Okay, spent five years withthem Another amazing family.
(01:44):
I've been blessed to work at somany amazing companies.
And then I went to be VP ofEntrada and then, march 1st of
2013, I launched the KSC Group.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
That's amazing, and so that's a really cool journey
to get so many different angles.
We fall into propertymanagement and all of us test
the waters in every little.
I've been on the supplier sidefor a minute.
I've been in the managementside, you know.
So I think that's a really cooljourney and it makes a lot of
sense that then you would setyourself up to be able to
consult.
(02:18):
And so what does the KSC groupdo for companies?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
We are a small boutique consulting firm the
team.
We have some amazing peoplethat have decades of experience
in all aspects conventional,affordable, student.
We've all been on theapplications side and so it's
(02:42):
almost like cloning yourself andwe've come together and we are
an outsource for businessapplications for various
companies.
And our companies range in sizefrom they might have one
property they might be takingmanagement in-house small,
smaller management companies whodon't have an IT team.
(03:03):
So we offer, as a core frame,consulting, best practices you
know policies and procedures,change management, product
implementation and because wehave a vast experience, it is
most of any of the softwareplatforms that are available as
a major PMC, plus any add-onservices.
(03:26):
Then there is our managedservices, which is support.
We can do frontline support orbackup your support team.
So we have a conversation anddetermine what they need.
Special projects can rangeanywhere from I need somebody to
change all my documentmanagement settings or I need
(03:48):
somebody to add this one item inmonthly schedule billing Data
conversions.
We call it's now called, Ithink property onboarding.
We're very quick, very agileand we can convert most
platforms that are available.
We get them done in three daysor less.
(04:09):
And then the last thing istraining which is actually
evolving into more coaching,because you're training and
you're training with me and Ihave found that success is
breaking it up into two to threehour.
You know, targeted questionsspecifically for that job over a
period of time, instead of thetwo day, three day.
(04:34):
You know in person or Zoom,virtual training, and so these
mini sessions seem to be sothat's what we do, and then our
customers come and stay with usand say can you do this, can you
do that?
And so we'll do one-offprojects just for certain people
.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I love that and I've seen a lot more people start to
work for themselves, startcompanies, realize this is a
niche I can fill or this issomething I can help people with
, and I think that's really theway of the future a lot of
people are thinking about.
So, as a woman because you area sponsor of the Women's Summit
as a woman, what have been somechallenges you've had in
(05:14):
starting your own business,becoming a founder?
What did that journey look likeand what are some of the
hurdles you're facing?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I did not come into the business knowing how to
necessarily run a business andthe first.
I always believe in trustedadvisors.
I called people in the industrythat I know, like and trust and
spoke to them and got greatadvice.
And then my older brotherironically told me to read and I
(05:46):
forget the author E-MythRevisited and it is about
exactly that journey of you havea skill and now you're turning
it into a form of income andthat's challenging.
The next hurdle was when aclient said I thought it was
going to be me myself and I.
And then I backendadministration of payroll,
(06:09):
various states, rules,regulations constantly changing,
(06:33):
yeah, um, and growing intotrying different things for
different revenue streams, andsome things worked, some things
didn't work.
And then different skill setsmentoring bringing people who
were 19 years old and neverworked in property management
(06:56):
and bringing them into thecompany and guiding them.
I started hiring people at thetwo-year mark and most of those
people are still with me Wow, soI feel like that's a blessing
that these people are with youthrough the highs and the lows,
yeah, while you're trying tofigure things out, and I always
(07:19):
have to go on a leadershipjourney so that I can be the
right person for them, orself-doubt.
You have to find people thatyou can trust to go talk to
about that, and groups of people.
That's why I love the Women'sSummit.
Yeah, because there's so many.
(07:41):
I say business, network thatyou get, but also you form
friendships and go to peoplethat you can say.
This is what I feel is going onin our industry Agree, disagree
, hash it out, whatever, ornetwork and send them business,
or you know, and it's like ahigh school reunion when you get
(08:02):
to see once a year those samefaces showing up, you know, or
you run into them at anotherconference.
Yeah, I always look forward tothe women's summit.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Yeah, I mean, it's such a good time to connect with
, with like-minded people, andeveryone has a story right In
this industry.
You get in and you just don'tleave right In this industry.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
You get in and you just don't leave.
I tell everybody that I saydon't leave on bad terms because
the people that I worked withfoundationally at Lincoln that
left, they went to othermanagement companies and our
paths crossed and when I startedthe company I sent my email out
, got my little domain and I gotmy little email and then I
(08:46):
drafted my first email to mynetwork and all of the clients
that came to me were people Iknew from when I was 25, working
at Lincoln, and they knew mywork ethic and everything that I
brought.
And then they tell people.
Yes, so I always tell people,and people who leave I say well,
(09:11):
we'll see you again soon.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
They always come back , oh yeah, and even if it's not
to come back to that company,it's to come back in a different
way.
Maybe you joined the supplierside and now you want to have
conversations with the peoplethat you just worked with, and
it is so intertwined.
Every single one of us has thatstory.
Oh yeah, and it's like I'llmeet someone.
I'll be like wow, and then yourealize you know the same people
.
You've worked for the samecompany but at a different time,
(09:34):
or you know whatever that is.
So I think that's very soundadvice to never burn a bridge,
because no matter what went downor what unfolded in your choice
to leave, you're going to windup in the same room with those
people.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Again, you just will, you will.
And the very first time wespoke and met it was six degrees
of Kevin Bacon, because wealready knew three of the same
people in our journey, and yetthis was the first time we met
in person.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah and yeah, just the journeys that you unfold and
you start to share and youconnect with people and you just
it's such a great feeling tohave connections on people that
are such a different level thanjust you know online or you know
.
It's so different in person, soI'm really glad that we met Me
too, so okay, so back tobusiness here, though.
(10:22):
So how many people are on yourteam or how many associates do
you have?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
We have some, of course, more corporate folks.
You've got to have thecorporate accountant, sales,
those kind of positions, andthen I would say we probably
have 15 people dedicated to thecore functionality.
The other thing that'sdifferent about us is we give
(10:53):
our clients a single point ofcontact, but based on the
request.
Everybody does everything.
I do tickets, I do training,you know I may back somebody up,
yeah, and so it's basically whois the right fit or the right
(11:14):
talent that can help solve thisissue or resolve it?
But we also want to make surethe client has a main person and
they bring those projects,those tickets, whatever, to that
person and then they work tomake sure the right person has
(11:35):
it or understands.
Or, if it's a project where webring in, you know, they're not
19 anymore, right, they're 26,27, 28 years old and their
knowledge is vast, and so wemight put them on a project.
Or it's an opportunity, as asenior leader, to teach them a
new skill and level them up,right, I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
So what's your favorite project or what's your
favorite kind of solution thatyou've had for one of your
clients?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
That's kind of hard I've gotten.
When I first started, I workedfor I went through a software
selection and then theimplementation for a company
that was very established Okay.
But they were able to continueto in 2013,.
They were still able to run aDOS-based product and had it
(12:32):
down to a well-oiled machine.
But they couldn't gain newbusiness because they weren't on
the latest technology.
So they were forced to changebecause they were appeared to be
antiquated in our industry andso that was interesting.
(12:56):
And then sometimes it's achallenge that says I'm taking
over management and I have to belive in two weeks and I go okay
, challenge accepted, right.
What I love right now is what'sgoing on with Nectar Flow yeah,
because it's exciting, and Ialways love puzzles and problems
(13:21):
and processes, puzzles andproblems and processes and
thinking about how can I dosomething more efficient or give
it a new shiny, brightness toit that sets that company apart
Right.
And so what's going on withNectar Flow AI and automation is
(13:42):
very exciting to me, yeah, andto a couple of other folks on
the team.
So we're behind the scenes,we've built integrations and
workflows for clients and nowwe're able to go okay, if we
were to build a snail on theNectar Flow platform.
What does that look like, anddoes it give us also, then, the
(14:03):
opportunity to do more for thatcompany?
Absolutely, so that's what'sexciting to me right now.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
I think it's really exciting.
And here's the thing is thatthere's going to need to be a
group of people in our industrywho really advocate for change
but also help companies of allsizes navigate through how that
change is going to beimplemented.
And so you know it's going tocome to a point where innovation
(14:29):
has to happen.
You know we're already seeingit.
We're at a point wheresomething's got to give right,
and so there are people like youwho are so seasoned in software
implementation, in tech, in howto bring new tech to our
industry.
You're the perfect person tobring something like this in
(14:50):
front of the right people.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
That's exactly what I have been.
So I guess Malcolm Gladwellwrote a book and it wasn't
Tipping Point, it was the one.
He wrote Outliers, and I lovedit because he said sometimes you
end up at the perfect spot,that you can ride the waves
(15:12):
through your career.
Yeah, because it happened.
It didn't happen right beforeyou, but it happened when I came
to Lincoln.
We were putting computers andthen I was a subject matter
expert to help enhance softwareproducts, and then we came to
(15:32):
the Windows world and then wewent to the Internet and then,
you know, so I've been able, andthat's always exciting when
something new comes Right.
And yet we still have oldchallenges.
Everybody wants some form of abusiness intelligence tool,
everybody wants their Mondaymorning report.
Everybody, you know they'relooking to dig into data.
(15:56):
Or how do I train in thisenvironment and how do I now
work in a hybrid world?
We've had a project where acompany came to us and said help
us, we want to implement afour-day work week for our
company.
Only have people work 32 hours.
(16:17):
How do we accomplish that?
And it wasn't, it was lookingat all the different aspects.
So I said we get these unique,fun projects like oh well, after
they did it, I implemented it.
We did a four-day work week orwe did flex time.
I love it and I have to tellyou the employees came back to
us and said that it's helped meso much with my stress level, my
(16:41):
anxiety.
I get those three days but yetthe work is still covered
because I have a buddy.
Yeah, they take off Monday, Itake off Friday.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yeah, so it's basically.
Sometimes the benefit isthrough efficiency and being an
I'm investigating AI.
Yeah, all of the differentamazing software that's out
there has a component of AI, buthow does this AI work with this
AI?
(17:12):
That works with this AI?
Yeah, and how do you?
And you're not replacing people, you're just making people more
efficient because they becomereviewers of data instead of key
punch people.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Absolutely.
You're just taking the thingsthat they don't want to do in
their jobs and you're automatingit.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I call it re-imagining or just
re-imagining, and that's thephase we're in and that's what I
love.
And some people are reallyopening to open to that idea and
some people go no, I want thatcompany to do it differently,
and then I'll see how it worksfor them and then I'll adopt it.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Great.
We'll show you how it's done.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
And I don't mind getting.
I'm putting that test in my owncompany.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, yeah, and you know.
Here's the thing.
What's interesting is, we diddo a poll, so we did a webinar
this morning with.
We helped Nectar Flow do awebinar this morning, and what
they ended up we polled theaudience and we asked are you
scared, are you excited about AI?
You know, most people wereexcited, so that could be a bias
that we have in and of itself,thinking that people are scared.
(18:18):
Of course, change comes withdiscomfort always, but I think
more people are realizing thatthat discomfort is where the
magic's at.
That's usually, instead ofpulling back and saying, hey,
I'm uncomfortable, it's time topull back, people are now saying
I think that means I'm ontosomething right.
That discomfort You're likelet's push forward, let's push
through that, because I thinkthat's when you're on the brink
of innovation.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
I was at an AA and I had the chance to run into Bob
Pinniger and I asked him what hefelt about AI in our industry
felt about AI in our industryand I did tell him that I felt
(18:56):
like educating our industryneeded to be at the forefront,
because I don't know that peoplereally knew which component of
AI and how it worked, and alsocybersecurity some of the things
that we haven't done beforethat we need to have in place,
and alleviating fear of it.
(19:17):
You know, oh, it's going to putme out of a job and things like
that, but that education wascore, because that's what people
ask how do I gain the knowledgeand what security measures,
what safety nets do I have tohave in place so that I don't
add another liability?
Yeah, and that's what we'reworking on at the KSC group is
(19:39):
because we are trusted advisorsand we want to help our industry
.
The whole basis of starting thecompany was there was so much
knowledge in my head and then inmy team that we want to be
available to give that knowledgeto companies that would like to
(19:59):
have that, absolutely.
And now we're in this new worldand we want them not to be
afraid, and so we followinfluencers right, or we test it
out in certain ways, and so youknow, I think that's a big
talking point.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
I think it's huge.
And here's what's interestingis that not making a choice is
still making a choice, and sothese companies that think they
can just stay out of that worlddon't introduce AI, don't even
talk about it.
Your people have tools thatthey're using, that are AI,
whether it's you're using chat,gpt or they're using these
(20:43):
things.
And so I worked for a companyand what they did?
They got us in a room.
They were like what tools?
We are mandated to ask you whattools you are using that
incorporate AI so that we cancontrol this.
And instead of the companybeing the one that's innovating
and saying, look, these toolsexist, let's leverage this.
Let's talk about.
Here's a workflow you do.
What parts of this can youautomate?
(21:04):
What parts of this can you addAI to, instead of the company
taking those reins, theyapproached it in a more of a
fearful aspect, and for me, it'slike you innovate right,
otherwise, no choice is still achoice.
Your people are going to do it,with or without you.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
I always I love to having tenure in the industry.
It's a wave, right.
Everybody was doing.
They were fearful because wehad PCs and we had servers and
the software was installedwithin our walls.
And now we're going to thecloud and everybody well, I
won't say everybody, right,people didn't want that.
But now that's the standard.
(21:51):
We introduce renter's insurance, mandatory renter's insurance,
and if they don't have it, thenwe start charging.
Oh no, we can't do mandatory.
And then all of a sudden, abuilding burns down and oh,
we're doing mandatory, right,and so you get a pushback.
So what we experienced pre-COVIDis what were the technologies?
(22:15):
Self-guided tours people wereshowing, being able to
communicate with your residents,text, all different forms,
right.
Even saw a demo where they hadprogrammed Alexa to pay your, to
pay your rent, and things likethat.
Or the smart home technology.
And then offices shut down andwe all work from home.
(22:39):
That's the other perk.
So we weren't impacted, but ourclients came to us like help.
We don't know how to workremotely.
We don't know how to teach ouroffices to work remotely.
We need to text our residentsand we said your software
already has it.
Here's how you can do remotework, here's you know, so we
guided them.
Or in the affordable world,they weren't ever allowed to do
(23:02):
electronic signatures and andnow they were, and so we created
gaps.
The software providers were inthe process of developing
prospect tools, different things, but we kind of helped fill
that gap.
So repayment agreements andthings like that.
We had online forms, differentways to help them navigate this
(23:28):
world and tell them.
You know, they already had someself-guided tours or tours.
A lot of people went ahead anddid you know, went ahead and
adopted.
So the whole point is AI, likeyou said, we call embracing,
make it a positive experience,and that we're going to put it
(23:48):
in a bubble and test it and vetit out and we're going to roll
it out in small increments andsee how it goes and then catch a
vision from there about, okay,how far can we take this and not
come at it fear-based.
But you will have people whoare afraid or want to wait and
(24:12):
see how the industry, you know,embraces it.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah, and that's their choice, right it's.
You know, it's totally up toeverybody how they want to
embrace this, but I think youknow, in my opinion, the more we
just accept that it's here,accept that our people are
already using it, and think ofit that way that now, how can I
rein this back in?
I need to be the first one tounderstand all of the
capabilities and now I can workwith my people to say which
(24:40):
parts of your job do we wantthis in?
So, as with anything else, Ithink it's up to the individual,
but our leaders need to beleaders right now, truly in
every initiative and everyinnovation.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
And part of it too, is a leader sometimes makes a
decision and is removed fromthen the implementation, the
adoption and all that, andthey're, I guess, what you call
kind of sponsors of it.
But they're removed and theyreally need to be involved and
(25:16):
understand that technologyBecause, at the end of the day,
whatever they're doing is goingto funnel into the data that
they're reviewing to makedecisions.
Yep, and so I think, by the oneof my first boss in the
industry when we started doingemail.
He didn't do computers, and soI basically printed out every
(25:38):
email and sat it in his chairuntil the big boss drove in and
we saw his car sitting out frontand told him she can't print
your emails for you anymore.
Yeah, and I was like sorry,yeah, you know you have to now
embrace email, Absolutely, youknow.
So it's just so funny.
Just, I've seen and two yearsfrom now we're going to be
(26:00):
talking about it in a differentway- oh yeah.
Nobody wanted to do onlinepayments and now there's
companies out there that we sendit to them and let them do our
payments.
Now I wish people would paytheir vendors not in a check
form.
That's my next goal is hey, youwant your rent check pretty
quick.
I kind of want to get paidpretty quick electronically.
Can we work on that?
(26:21):
Oh yeah, no, but some peopleare like we're never going to
get away from our check printing.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
I mean, I've seen it in action.
You know, on the managementside it's wild, it's literally.
Hey, did that payment getprocessed?
Well, it was mailed four daysago, I can tell, I can check
with and I'm like what Exactly?
Speaker 2 (26:44):
How are we so behind the times in the way that we're
processing payments?
It's so easy to do these days.
And I even talked to AvidExchange.
I saw them at NAA.
I said, hey, we'll just build aplatform for my AR and stuff
and kind of help me.
I know you're helping on someother ways on this side, but can
you help?
Can you help a brother out onmy side or sister out on my side
(27:07):
?
They're like, hey, that's agreat idea.
I was like, yeah, go do thatfor me.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Every supplier in this industry is like I hear you
, I'm here for this.
I get this.
Yeah, it's pretty wild and Iget that there's some
complications in moving propertyfunds and then the management
funds and who's actually payingwho, and there's some
complication there.
But it shouldn't be this.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Here's my favorite story.
It's like this is the.
My husband and I actually laughat this because I understand
that each property has its ownbank account and needs to pay
its own bills, right, and whenyou send a corporate invoice and
then they allocate it out.
And I went to the mailbox andhad a really thick envelope and
(27:52):
I thought, wow, I got a bunch ofchecks in and I opened it up
$2.08, $2.10, $4.50.
And I was like one thing was 43cents.
I was like the postage cost youmore the paper, right?
If you'd have paid thiselectronically.
(28:13):
What is that?
Like a 35 cent transaction fee.
And yet now all my excitementis gone and I have to hand sign
in the back and endorse each oneof these Because it's all
different properties.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Because it's all different portions.
A portion of yes, yes, you know, and.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
I understand that requirement, but there has to be
.
There has to be a better way,there has to be a better way.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
These are just the things that you're like how are
we still doing so?
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I felt like, instead of, I'm just going to wait until
you owe like a lot more moneybefore I send you an invoice,
because why do I want to rentthe bank for $2.08?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
I'll bill you every six months, yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
It's called a day.
You'll get one annual fee.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
That is just yes.
There are a lot of innovationsthat still and there have to be
other companies that have thatkind of bank.
I guarantee you I can't be alone.
Yeah, no, I guarantee you Ican't be alone.
Yeah, no, everybody's feelingit.
I mean, I've been on themanagement side, I've seen it.
I've been on the supplier side,I've seen it.
And there's currently.
There are things that you thinkabout innovation and we're like
, wow, but we are behind.
(29:14):
We're behind, and so we needpeople like you, we need groups
like you, we need groups likeNectarfield To help guide
leaders through these processesthat are very outdated.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Well, you know, be their trusted advisor, say you
know what?
We're going to walk throughthis and we're going to have
changes, and it's going to beuncomfortable, but everybody's
going to survive at the end ofthe day and we're all going to
make it through, no man leftbehind or a woman, or you know.
And then you're going to seethe power of the tool that
you've just been given and thenyou're going to reimagine all
(29:50):
the other things it can doAbsolutely.
And that's what I'm waiting for, is that's what's exciting for
me.
I think that's brilliant,because that means more fun
projects.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Well, and how I just I'm so excited about everything
in the future with you.
I think it's incredible.
We could probably just go backand forth for hours and hours
about all the possibilities ofthe future.
We've had so many amazingconversations.
One of the things I do want tosay the KSC group is sponsoring
the Women's Summit, which isvery exciting.
We're so excited to have youthere.
You've been an attendee now forhow many years, Beginning.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
I first attended the Innovation Summit in 2019.
I first attended the InnovationSummit in 2019.
The Women's Summit didn't existand I had a connection with
Carrie and Patrick and wehappened to have a phone call
(30:43):
and I said, when I came intothis industry, there weren't
many women that were on the ITside, there aren't a lot of
women consulting companies.
And I said, what about awomen's conference?
And you know, something that'sthat we can go to and learn from
?
And Carrie was like, actually,we've been thinking about that.
Yeah, so I have been a hugeadvocate of this and and I love
(31:04):
because the very first summithad a lot of male speakers
because it's not anti, you know,male, because I had a male.
I have had the best experiencewith mentorship and people
supporting me in my journey male, female, whatever.
(31:25):
They gave me their knowledge,they gave me their trust.
They said, Kim, we want you tobe the subject matter expert, to
build a market survey platformor go to this site and find out
how much paper they have andwhat's redundant.
And they trusted me to comeback with solutions, and so I
love now that you can walk intothe C-suite and see a diverse
(31:52):
group Absolutely All the way.
Yeah, you know, so it'sexciting.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, yeah, and we talk about like that a lot.
You know, we always say we'rebuilding buildings for everybody
, we're.
You know, that's who our renteris, that's who our client is at
the end of the day.
And so if we don't haverepresentation on the boards of
these different companies thatare that diverse, how are we
supposed to create products fordiverse groups of people?
(32:18):
It just makes sense to haveeverybody in the room, and so we
always talk about the Women'sSummit as just another group of
people that are all workingtogether to innovate, that have
a unique set, a uniquebackground, unique set of
circumstances, but all workingtogether for the same same exact
point of innovation, right?
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Well, and the other thing the KC group did and what
I love about the Women's Summitis I'm in my exit mode.
A lot of people are retiring.
Everybody that mentored me isretired, and so I love the
Women's Summit because I'mseeing the next generation, and
(32:59):
so we did a masterclass forinternal clients to teach people
how to be system admins.
It had nothing to do with whatPMC software you had.
It had to be what tools areavailable to help you, and we
had accountants, the owners, theIT team attend because we were
talking about all the varioustools.
(33:21):
And so when I go there, I havethe next generation coming to me
for mentorship and I love that.
And it's even more personalbecause I was a single mom
raising three kids and I wasblessed to be able to work out
of my house and, of course, Iwore yoga pants and a ponytail
(33:43):
like I do today, not on thepodcast and they didn't know
what I did.
They just thought I talked onthe phone all day and then I
made them be leasing agents andI loved it when my son came in I
have two daughters and a sonand when my son came in and said
I know what you do, I justproduce blue moon leases.
(34:03):
And when my son came in andsaid, I know what you do, I just
produce blue moon leases.
And I said, yeah, we can have aconversation.
And they grew up doing dataconversions, having to tick and
tie source data to other oldschool in order to earn gas
money.
Now they all work for thecompany.
So that is the next generationin various forms.
So it's not just who I meet andgreet at conferences, it's also
(34:27):
within my own family.
There's a path for them.
They're all different, theyhave different paths, but it's
the one thing that you can comeinto with a high school diploma
and the sky's the limit.
You want to be in accounting.
You want to work on site.
One of my daughter's friendsdidn't really like college.
I introduced her to some folksat Lincoln and she is one of
(34:52):
their top leasing agents,winning awards left and right
for a long time now.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Amazing Because.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
I knew her personality, I thought she'd be
a great fit.
Yeah, so it's.
I love the give back phase.
I'm in them.
That probably is.
I love the technology, I lovethe innovation, but I also love
people.
Yeah, so I love to be able toanswer questions.
Help you, I'm here for you.
What do you need?
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, and you do such a good job with connection.
I just every, every person.
When I mentioned your name,they just light up.
Oh, I appreciate that.
I do love people.
Yeah, and you're so good at it.
And so many, a lot of womenhave come to me since I've
started this role that are inyour phase of this where they're
starting.
You know they didn't reallyhave the social media to really
(35:37):
put out there what they're doing.
They had to work and they hadto roll up their sleeves and
make connections and call peopleand show up at their leasing
offices and you had to work hard.
And a lot of women have come tome and said I just feel like I
don't want to prepare forretirement without having told
my story, without giving back,without mentoring.
(35:59):
I'm not ready to just exit.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I'm right there with them.
My kids tease me like are youreally ever going to exit?
You know, I don't ever see menot doing something.
Yeah, because I don't have anyhobbies and I'm a terrible cook
so I like to work, right?
Yeah, it's what I love.
But I do want to tell a story.
There are stories to tell, butI do want to tell a story.
(36:25):
There are stories to tell.
There are, you know, the womenin my company that are doing
this.
They're like the youngergeneration we bought in.
They didn't have to go throughthe rough times.
I was a 24-7 person, right.
I remember walking in with aone-year-old getting the phone
call because the budget programdidn't work and it was Saturday
(36:48):
and he got up and punched thealarm Next thing.
I know the alarm's going off.
I didn't even know I had analarm that worked, right.
But I'm answering a budgetquestion and it's not like that
today you know, because peoplesaid we don't want that, we want
something else, and so I dowant to mentor people, but it's
also other female entrepreneurs.
I'm part of a member of othergroups where I teach and speak
(37:11):
and lead female entrepreneurs inin they.
You know where I started and,of course, it's usually about
the technology you need.
So it's like this is what Ineeded to start and this was the
middle, and here's where I amnow.
You know, and and things likethat.
But, like you said, it's moreabout walking along beside
(37:34):
somebody, and I have mentors.
There are people that I canpick up the phone today, even if
they're retired, I'll stillcall them, and people in this
industry love to help somebodyelse out.
Yes, they love to share theirexperience and they want you to
call them.
They won't.
They won't turn away from you.
(37:54):
You know, as long as the firstphone call isn't bye, I can
generate more leads and get youmore sales.
And you know, and that LinkedInspam you get.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
That's very right Because of how genuine and
embedded we are all of us, I dothink that and even suppliers
are doing so much better atunderstanding.
It's so much better just to bein the room with those people
having the same conversationsthan these co-call.
I don't really know you right,that's not where the magic is
going to happen at all.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
I love the in-person, yeah, I love.
You're at the conference and Ialways want to know where
everybody's hanging outafterwards, because that's where
you get to talk.
But you're also you.
You start off as a businessalliance, chatting about the
industry, and then all of asudden it's hey, how's your kids
, how's your, how's your dad,how?
All of a sudden it's hey, how'syour kids, how's your, how's
(38:45):
your dad, how's your mom?
You know how's your it's.
Then you become friends and andyou really care about and
people shift and move.
Like you said, they're on thesupplier side and now they're
not there anymore and they'reover at this company and they
call you and they say oh, I madethis change.
Well, you want to help them?
Yeah, or I know a few peoplethat have worked for other
(39:09):
software companies that have nowstepped out on their own and
I'll go tell me about yourproduct.
Yeah, there are some firms thatif you select this software,
they're going to get not onlythe consulting dollars but
they're going to get apercentage of the sale, yep.
(39:31):
And that's not our model.
Our model is if I like thatsoftware, then I'm going to
recommend it, yeah.
And so when somebody comes tome about an idea.
I was like well, show me, tellme about it, and then I'll give
them an honest answer and I'llsay, okay, now I might have a
couple of people this I could,you know, send your way.
(39:52):
Send me an email that describesyour service, with something
that's that I can forward andand that's what I do and I
always love.
So we have this whole divisionthat really just works with
suppliers, and sometimes they'renew to the industry and they
need to be taught all theacronyms and how.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Oh, the acronyms.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Oh, the acronyms, and they've never worked on site so
they're like this data looksweird.
And I said, oh yeah, theleasing agent like did this and
then they undid it, and thenthey did it again, and so you
have to normalize your data,right, because I know what the
front end looks like, so it, butit's, it's great.
And then you see thosecompanies grow and then you see
who they hire as leadership andyou know, oh, the baby's
(40:37):
launched.
You know it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
I think it's incredible and I think a lot of
people can resonate with that.
You know, I think it'sincredible and I think a lot of
people can resonate with that.
We're trying to educate, we'retrying to bring an industry up
to speed.
At the end of the day, we'reall working towards the same
goal and it's amazing, yeah, sohow can someone find the KSC
group and get in touch with you?
What's the best?
Speaker 2 (40:57):
way and automation right.
So if you go in and fill outthe form, it is going to send in
into our CRM and we're going toreach out to you.
We just want to know whatproblem can we solve.
And then we bring people to thetable, have a discussion and
(41:24):
then take it from there and seeif we're a good fit.
And if we're not a fit forsomebody, I guarantee you, I
know and can recommend you, andI will even recommend you to
people who think like, oh, thiscompany is your competitor.
They're really not, becausewe're so boutique in what we do
and I've said I'm not a good fitfor you, but I'm going to
recommend you to this othercompany.
And I know people being in thisindustry.
(41:46):
I've worked with them, I knowwhat they bring to the table, so
I know, when I pass them on,that they're going to be in
great hands Right, and I evenlove to see them at the
conferences and give them hugsand see how they're doing Right.
So, anyway, that's how you, howyou can start with us, and
nothing is too small.
We have one owner that owns 18units and we have top NMHC 50
(42:11):
clients, so everybody is treatedas important and valuable and
how can we help?
I love that.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
So now you know how to reach Kim and again, get your
tickets for the summit onmultifamilywomencom and we will
see Kim there and we hope to seeyou there too.
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