Transcription
If you have to be at your storage facility to make money, you built the wrong business. Because the goal isn't just to own storage, the goal is freedom. Financial freedom, time freedom. And the only way that you're going to get there is by having the right person on the ground handling what you shouldn't be doing because your time is more valuable.
So, in this video, I'm going to show you the exact process of how you can find, hire, and manage a key part of your team, and that is the local boots on the ground team member, so that the business runs without you, no matter where in the world you are located. Let's dive right in.
Welcome to the delegate and dominate AMP training session. And this is essentially your boots on the ground blueprint. It's how to find, hire, and train your on-site partner for freedom. Cuz that's really what they are. They're not an actual business partner. In fact, they are an independent contractor, but you need to treat them like your partner because they are going to be your eyes and ears. And this is a key essential team member that allows us to run, operate, and manage these self- storage facilities remotely.
So, this is going to be a super super important lesson for you because I don't care if you go third party management or if you're going to hire, find, and train your boots on the ground. Either way, you're going to require this particular team member, a local on-site boots on the ground person. Okay?
So, if you're watching this, you've you've already done a lot of heavy lifting. You've learned how to find deals using our deal discovery. You've learned how to fund them, right, with the fearless funding approach and how to close them and ultimately how to win the deal. But look, the truth is is that you cannot scale freedom if you're chained to the facility. Your time is too valuable. I want you out there building meaningful relationships, connecting with storage owners and brokers and wholesalers, raising capital, deal structuring, like that's where your time is spent. I don't want you're not going to be the boots on the ground team member. We typically buy these storage facilities from mom and pop owners who are the boots on the ground. They're the ones doing the heavy lifting. That's likely not what you're going to be doing. That's what your boots on the ground team member when where they come in. Again, they are your eyes, your ears, and your hands on site. And they're going to give you leverage. They're going to give you peace of mind, the freedom to be able to operate like a true savvy self- storage owner, operator, and and business owner.
And in this training, I'm going to walk you through the full boots on the ground blueprint. How to find, hire, train, manage a rockstar local team member who takes pride in the property as if it were their own. And that's that's one of the key ingredients that you need to find in this local boots on the ground team member is somebody who has a pride of ownership, okay? And they have a strong work ethic. And by the way, somewhere on here, you'll be able to download two super valuable resources. It's my day one onboarding checklist for your boots on the ground team member and also the weekly and monthly task checklist. Even going to include as a bonus as an unadvertised bonus, I should say. I'm going to include a job ad that you can go out and put on Indeed or or there's several places online and and we'll talk about where you can find them.
So, by the end of this video, you're going to know exactly what to do literally step by step. Quick heads up, YouTube gives you the education, but inside the Cash Flow Maps membership, you get the implementation, every single module unlocked, all the spreadsheets, underwriting calculators, templates, scripts, everything neatly organized in one place so that you can actually execute. If you want the full system instead of having to piece together the videos here on YouTube, click the link in the description, create your free account, and get access right now.
Now, let's keep going. So, let's let's tackle this in sections. And I think it's super important that I I need to get your buy in here. And I think it's it's super critical that you understand why this role is so important. All right? Your boots on the ground team member isn't don't think of them as a virtual assistant, a task person. They're think of them as an actual partner, an extension of you. They're going to help you operate this facility remotely. They're going to handle the small things before they become big things. They're going to be able to protect your investment on a week in weekout basis. And this is how you start to transition from operator to owner. It it's how you're going to build freedom without sacrificing quality control. Because when you empower the right local contact, your facility is going to run smoother. Your customers are going to be happier. You can focus on what matters. Finding your next deal, funding your next deal, relationships, etc.
The second part of this I think is super important that you wrap your head around is understanding what makes a great boots on the ground team member. And I kind of touched on one of them earlier, but you want somebody who is going to be reliable and responsive. You want somebody, you don't need a a wizard computer engineer, computer science type person who's going to code obviously, but you do need somebody who at the bare minimum understands the basics. They can communicate by text. they can take pictures on their on their mobile phone. They know how to upload it to Dropbox or Google Drive, anything like that. They're comfortable around that. Okay? If if that person is 70 years old and they just got a mobile phone and they're trying to figure out how to turn it on, that's not your person. You want somebody who's detail- oriented. We talked about pride of ownership. The somebody who is not just there to collect the paycheck and just do the job, but they want to own the outcome. Uh, and if it's a cherry on top, it's bonus points if they're also a handyman or a handywoman. If they understand how to do some some pretty basic things, if they're comfortable doing using a lock cutter or if they know how to just do basic handyman type stuff, that's super super helpful.
Now, in terms of where you can find them, I'm going to share with you some of my favorite. I always when I'm when I've built a relationship with a seller and I'm further along in the process of due diligence, I will always ask them, it's a two-part question. Are there any existing customers who have been at the facility for years and they they really know the facility. They're very friendly. They pay on time that you know them that could make a good boots on the ground team member who might be looking for a little bit of extra side work and side income. I'll start by asking there. Depending on the answer, I might broaden it and say, "Hey, do you know anybody local in the area that this cuz I'm I'm looking for a part-time local boots on the ground person. You know, do you have any tenants or local or customers or local contacts who've been with you for years that that would take pride in this property?" You'd be surprised. Some some of the best boots on the ground team members can come from sellers or people in the community that already know somebody there. So, I would absolutely start there.
I also love to go to first responders, particularly firefighters. Why? Firefighters are known to have side gigs and side hustles and they're always looking to generate more income because they have a lot of free time. They might work 24 hours and have 48 hours off and then every so often they get, I think, 5 days off. I think it's called the Kelly week or something like that. Well, when I bought my Florida facility, we literally have a fire department right across the street. That is the first place we went. And our first boots on the ground team member who was with us for about a year and a half was a local firefighter. And he literally when he was on shift, he would just walk across the street over to our facility. He'd spend an hour or two on site doing what he had to do. If he got a call, you know, he he went to take care of that. But it was just very convenient. Okay. And so firefighters can make amazing boots on the ground team members. And many firefighters are handy.
Speaking of handy handymen and contractors, if you're doing your on-site due diligence and you've lined up appointments with any handymen or any contractors, have a conversation with them. Let them know, plant the seed that you're going to be looking for a part-time local boots on the ground team member. And here's the truth is that this is very, very part-time work. I mean, our boots on the ground team member goes to our facility once, sometimes twice a week. They might be on site for an hour to three hours at a time. So, let's say they're working 5 hours a week. Maybe it's 20 to 30 hours a month, and that's probably a lot. And we'll talk about pay and all that. So, this is super super part-time work. We're talking five, let's call it six hours a week that they might be working. So, handyman or contractors are a great place. Local Facebook groups, just word of mouth, planting seeds with people in the community. When I build relationships with local businesses in the area, I'll also let them know about the position available. Um, you can be posting in local community or neighborhood groups and just let them know like you can put like, hey, I'm looking for a reliable part-time position helping me manage a local storage facility, light maintenance, weekly site checks, reporting, things of that nature.
And I I think this is this is critical. Hire for attitude and you can always train for skill. If somebody just has the wrong mindset, the wrong attitude, like next, like you don't you don't need that. You can always train the person. I don't need anybody with storage experience. That's easy to train. But I can't train for attitude and for mindset. I need somebody who's going to take pride in their work, who's going to is a strong communicator, who's got a basic understanding around a mobile phone, email, things of that nature. and that's going to be the bulk of what you need because you can train the rest.
In terms of compensation and pay and all that type of stuff. It's it really depends on on the market that you're in. Look, I have a coaching client who bought one of our storage winners bought a small facility in a small town. I I think there's 5,000 people or so and uh he pays I think it's $250 a month. I have another Storagewinds coaching client that also bought in a small town, not as small as that. I think she pays $200 a month. So now those are smaller facilities. I have paid anywhere between $500 and $600 a month for our facilities. So it's relatively inexpensive for a very very important team member. And I would say on average, this is pretty common pay. It's not like we're lowballing people. Keep in mind this is super super part-time work. All right? Like I mentioned, they're going to be on site one to two times per week. They might be working at most. I mean, 30 hours a month is probably a lot to be honest with you.
Now, if you bought a facility that is a heavy lift from a value ad perspective, there's a lot going on. There's a lot of vacancies, you're doing capex projects, that person may or may not be working more. It really depends. But I would say as low as $200 a month all the way up to $600 a month is pretty common. I would avoid paying hourly rates unless it's for additional task that's outside the scope of work emergencies which don't really happen that often to be honest. You know, if if you see them going above and beyond and you want to bonus them, I think that's always a cool thing to do. But understand that these are independent contractors. They are not employees. So before they even start working, before you pay them, have them sign an independent contractor agreement. Check with your local attorney. Check with your CPA, like consult with the pros. This is not legal or financial advice. I'm just sharing with you what I what I've done. So, you want to collect the W9 for tax purposes. Review the scope of work with them. Review their job description pay. That's going to protect you and just set expectations from day one. I think disappointment occurs when expectations aren't being met. And I think it's really, really important that you set the proper expectations.
And then when it comes to onboarding, and keep in mind again, you're going to have three resources that you can download on here that relate to this video, the day one onboarding checklist, the weekly and monthly task, and then even a job ad that you can place out there. But when it comes to onboarding, this is where you really want to build the foundation for long-term success with your boots on the ground team members. So, I encourage you to use that day one onboarding checklist cuz it's pretty comprehensive. But that's going to walk them through like you're going to want to do a full facility tour. So when you close on the property, ideally you would have already hired your boots on the ground team member and then you can work with them for 24 to 72 hours depending on how long you're on site and make sure that they understand where all the units are, the different sizes, if you have any climate controlled units, if there's any problem areas, any doors that need to be fixed or springs or hasp things of that nature. show them how to do unit cleanouts and and make sure that they understand it needs to be broom swept crystal uh it's got to be super super clean. I was going to say crystal clear, but that wouldn't make sense in this context. Show them how to do overlocks, right? when a customer is not paying and like what the system looks like between getting the report from your software system when somebody is late and making sure that that can get over to them digitally so that when they go on site they can do their overlocks, they can do their their their lock audits, unit cleanouts, all that type of thing. Review the cleaning standards and just safety basics. Make sure that they understand if there's rat packs or any type of pest control that they understand where that's located. again, if there's any problem areas with the facility, what the reporting looks like in terms of if there's a unit that is giving, let's say it's giving him or her a hard time opening. Okay, we got to take a picture. What unit is it? Communicate that to us. We then got to find somebody who's going to go out there and fix the issue or get some quotes. Just set expectations. All right.
Make sure that I would say the first month to two months that you're working with the boots on the ground that you're having I would say the first month probably want to be daily touch points. Now that person is probably not going to be on site daily but I want you to have more communication especially early on in the process and then the communication rhythm and cadence can go to weekly during that first walk through. Here's a pro tip. Take photos together like introduce them to any vendors, any neighbors. reinforce that they represent you and your brand and that's super super important. That's why back to somebody having pride of ownership is extremely important.
Now, for the first 30 days, I always like to have them send a daily text or even if you have a 10 to 15 minute touch point call after each site visit. And after the first month, that can move to a weekly or a bi-weekly check-in. Uh again, I want you to to shorten the the communication gap. meaning I want you I want more frequent contacts and touch points with your boots on the ground team member. It's that important until you understand how that person works and you work out all the kinks and then maybe 90 days down the road you can loosen that up a little bit. Uh but make sure that they understand that the facilities always got to be clean if there's any trash on site. Even a gum wrapper that's got to be picked up. We want to overlock delinquent units. We want to prepare vacant units to to get them online and ready to rent. Why? Because a vacant unit is the most expensive thing in storage because it's not generating any revenue. Make sure that they understand how pictures need to be taken. And then to upload that to whether it's Locker Fox or storage auctions and there's some others out there. If there's an issue with the gate, like sometimes it's a quick fix and they should be handy enough to work their way around it or if they need to contact the local vendor because it's become a bigger issue. uh if you guys have if you have a Dropbox on site or anything like that that they understand how that process works if if there's any keys that that person needs to have on site that that person has that they have access to the Da Vinci locks etc. So I think all that kind of sets the frame for what that person's going to be doing in the resources that I'm providing for you here. It's going to go into more detail there.
So yeah, that's I think big picture that that covers it in terms of boots on the ground, their responsibility. Here's something that I recommend to everybody. Storage wins coaching clients like people I've worked with is once a week I always like to do or have somebody on my team like I have my assistant do it. Do a quality control check. Visit my website. Go through the process as a customer. Click the rent now button. Call the phone number. Make sure everything is working because that one or two minutes that's spent can save you a lot of time, headaches, and energy in the future. Okay?
So, understand that your boots on the ground is not just an extra set of hands. They're your eyes and ears. They're your local partner in success here, okay? Like all the top storage operators I know have a really, really good boots underground team member. You want to set clear expectations from day one. You want to empower them to own their outcomes, not just be like somebody who's going to complete tasks. You want to reward reliability, communication, like acknowledge them. And sometimes it's just a verbal acknowledgement like, "Hey, I I really appreciate for you going above and beyond because of X." And just acknowledging and appreciating people can be extremely powerful, especially when it's genuine. And I only recommend you acknowledge and appreciate them if it's genuine. provide feedback quickly and openly, um, positive and like you want to give that person feedback. So, don't treat them with kid gloves. Be a be a straight shooter. If something goes wrong, like use it as a teaching opportunity. Make sure that there's buyin from them. Like I mentioned, you want to show appreciation. Just it can even be a small thank you note or it can be an extra $50 on top of what you pay them. That could go a really, really long way. You want to think long term with this person. when you find a really really good boots on the ground team member like it's going to save you a lot of time and and future headaches. Now you're you're starting to build a foundation that you can really build on and scale on. And that's this is the exact process that I follow across my different facilities. If you start buying facilities in the same town where you have another one now that one boots underground can cover multiple sites. Okay.
So, let me share with you a few common mistakes that I think people make. Number one is skipping the independent contractor agreement or W9. Like, get that upfront. Don't get that like 3 or 6 months later. Don't abdicate the responsibility and just train them once and assume that they know what to do. So, use check a checklist. Inspect what you expect. I always like to pay either with zel or something electronically like I'm not paying with cash. I'm not sending a check. Uh maintain tight communication with them. And look, you're going to you're going to get what you tolerate. So if you tolerate mediocre work, sloppy shot shoddy work, that's what you're going to get early on. Set the right boundaries and expectations. They need to take pride in their work.
So to wrap this one up, your boots on the ground, think of them as the bridge between freedom and frustration because trying to operate a storage facility remotely if you're not in the area without a really good reliable boots in the ground can lead to a lot of frustration. It can lead to you working more in the business rather than owning a system and a business that runs without you. All right. So, call to action, just download the resources, use those to hire, train, and empower your first local boots on the ground. Now, you're probably not going to start looking for this person until you go under contract on your first or your next facility. So, you know, I think this will be really, really helpful. This might be something that you bookmark and you reference once you're under contract on your first facility. And it's an important part of this overall process.
So with that being said, you now have what you need to go out there, delegate, to dominate. Here's the reality. Your boots on the ground team member is a difference between building a business or building a job. If you get this right, you're going to create leverage. You're going to create freedom and something that you can actually scale. The flip side is if you get it wrong, you're going to be stuck solving problems, putting out fires, and just constantly being tied to the storage facility. So, don't rush this process. Use the checklist that I covered in the video. Follow the process and find the right person who can take ownership.
And if you want access to the full cash flow map system, the templates, the tools, the resources, the onboarding checklist, and everything that you need to find, fund, and operate storage deals, click the link in the description below and create your free cash flow maps account. Everything in there is waiting for you. Now, let's go build this thing the right way.