How Property Management Inc. Is Turning Franchisees Into Partners Rather Than Competitors

Property Management Inc., a property management franchise with 300-plus locations across the U.S., has successfully built a sterling reputation and hundreds of profitable franchises but has also achieved something few other franchises have: synergy among neighboring franchisees. While the world of business, especially entrepreneurship, can encourage fellow franchisees to sometimes look at each other as competition, something special has taken place with PMI’s Indianapolis franchisees. 

Mark Jones, president of PMI Midwest; Kenith Britt, owner of PMI Meridian; and Joe Atha, president of PMI Indianapolis, three franchisees with the brand, found a way to work together to boost profits and efficiency for all three. PMI set these franchisees up in a way that invited collaboration and mutual support, but the level of interoperations seen in Indiana has exceeded the brand’s wildest expectations. 

How PMI’s Indianapolis Franchisees Work Together

PMI doesn’t just throw its franchisees to the wolves. Instead, it appoints experienced operators to act as guides for the franchisees in its territory, something which has empowered the strong bonds seen in Indianapolis. 

“I’m a regional mentor for PMI,” said Jones. “I mentor new franchisees in Indiana and Illinois, so I get introduced to them right when they get started. The three of us met to talk about property management and PMI as a franchise. It was really just a business relationship at first, but one where we got to know each other as we learned about the franchise. We grew that into a really good friendship that continues to this day.”

Atha, the second PMI franchisee to set up shop in Indianapolis, immediately took to Jones’ mentorship while offering some insights of his own. 

“For me, the big concern coming in was that I had no experience in real estate, and I needed someone to help guide me in starting up the business,” said Atha. “Mark Jones was my mentor as I started my office. Mark has been a property manager for 30 years, so he has a lot to teach. I can say my bottom line was extremely impacted by him taking me on as a managing broker and being someone I could go to with questions.” 

But the relationship between the franchisees was symbiotic, where both Atha and Jones were able to learn from each other. 

“I came in with some very different ideas about property management that weren’t as old school as what Mark knew,” said Atha. “He increased his bottom line by seeing some of the revenue streams I implemented and changing his thinking on how he’d run his franchise.”

When Britt opened PMI Meridian north of Indianapolis, he joined a team of franchisees who had already implemented tried-and-true best practices to build a phenomenal brand reputation in the market. 

Not Competition, But Support

While PMI has a fully equipped corporate support team to back up every franchisee, the brand has also fostered an environment where franchisees understand that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that if a PMI franchise across town is doing well, then the brand is doing well. 

“An example of the mutual support was when it came time to do an eviction, I needed an eviction lawyer, and Mark had already vetted different eviction lawyers in town,” said Atha.

But when the pandemic hit, the support within the franchise went from a nice-to-have bonus in profits to an essential for survival. 

“When the pandemic first hit, we were anticipating a loss of 25–50% of income,” said Jones. “We didn’t even hit 5% at max. We had a very, very successful leasing year. Some of that is due to Indianapolis having a very strong rental market, but a lot of it was getting ahead of COVID when it hit. We did that through the PMI network and as the PMI family. We had Zoom calls on a daily basis on how other franchisees were coping with the changes.”

Jones, Britt and Atha stuck together and managed to stay open throughout the pandemic. During a historically difficult time in property management, the trio shared ideas and insights to keep business rolling.

“Other management companies were having to close up shop completely, but through tech tools from PMI, we could keep marketing and showing our properties,” said Jones. “We really didn’t miss a beat in our business where other property management companies were struggling. Being able to communicate with Joe and with Ken and having that good support group was great.”

Not only did the trio have each other’s backs, but they also had each other’s businesses in mind. The result was a blockbuster year for the franchise. 

“Through COVID, it was the best leasing year we’ve ever had. In terms of renting out of vacant properties, it was our best year,” said Jones. 

“There is a monthly conference call where everyone gets together to share questions and concerns and ideas,” Lee Clouse, the VP of Britt’s PMI Meridian said. “For some of us, we’re technically direct competitors but it’s nice it’s not viewed that way. Joe Atha in particular allowed myself and McLure to observe his morning routines. It’s very open and honest and sharing, as well as a great benefit to our business.” 

For prospective franchisees, the message is clear: PMI franchisees around your desired territory are a benefit, not a threat. 

“The biggest thing we do that is different is work together like a franchise or corporation where we’re much more helpful to each other than competitors,” said Atha. “When you have independently owned businesses, people worry about people taking another franchisee’s leads and market saturation, but if there’s already someone in your market, don’t be afraid of that or think there’s any less opportunity. In fact, I think it opens up more opportunities to build a brand together and do some unique things that are different. Things you don’t see happen a lot in property management.” 

With the property management industry experiencing strong demand, and PMI’s easy-to-follow business model delivering proven results, the time to get settled into a market is now. 

“I don’t look at these guys as competition,” said Jones. “These guys are almost always supportive. As we build our brand, I want to get to the point where rather than a property owner interviewing different management companies, they just interview the different PMI franchisees because of our brand and our reputation we’ve built in Indianapolis. We know that there’s enough business out there, and we’re in good hands.”

From the perspective of Erik Chapman, PMI Meridian’s first hire, PMI’s domination of the Indianapolis market is just getting started. 

“I’ve enjoyed the ride we’ve been on, and it’s only been two and a half years for Meridian to be in business,” Chapman said. “To watch it grow from the beginning from a small office to having 15 employees, 6,000 doors under our management and HOAs too has been exciting. And we’re not yet content, we’ll continue to grow to another level with other PMIs. I’m very competitive in what I do, and in this case that means getting involved and hands on with the other PMIs. With leaders like Joe, Ken and Mark combined with PMI’s training and support, the best days are ahead. It’s exciting, there’s a lot of growth and opportunity.”