Around two years ago we found ourselves sourcing property for an investment fund who were committing to buy a lot of property yet they were small in structure and support and ultimately they fell apart through poor management and lack of infrastructure. We moved on and marked this down to experience. Then in early 2020 another specialist investment fund we deal with started to recruit heavily to expand their operation but stumbled quickly and it became apparent to us that they would fail unless changes were made. In utter frustration I offered to come in as a consultant operations director for a two month period and sort them out as this kind of challenge is something I’ve done a few times before in my corporate days. They declined, they have since let a number of staff go and pulled back to a far smaller manageable team and slowed their buying down.
I don’t claim to be an expert but I’m still an experienced businessman and one who also business manages/mentors other unrelated businesses. Keep your business lean, with talented key staff and monitor costs keenly. Additional staff may not be needed when working smarter can often solve many of the usual growth issues. Property can be a fical and insular world so keep it slick and lean and if you genuinely need additional support try self employed contractors with an eye on future employment, or out sourcing. Increased costs in troubled times can be a killer.
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