Hosts: Ronn Ruiz and Martin Canchola, Co-Founders of ApartmentSEO.com 

Special Guest: Vanessa Siebern, COO of FPI 

Martin: Welcome to The Multifamily Podcast with Ronn and Martin. We are thrilled to have our very special guest today, Vanessa Siebern, the chief operating officer at FPI management, one of the top property management companies in the U S currently ranked number six by NMHC and their affordable division number two. What a huge accomplishment. Welcome to the multifamily podcast, Vanessa. We’re excited to have you on the show.  

Vanessa: Thank you, Martin and Ronn. I’m so happy to be here today. Thank you for thinking of me.  

Ronn: Of course. Well, as I mentioned in our pre call, you were obviously on our short list. I’m so excited to have you, Vanessa. Personally, this means a lot to me as you and I have both followed each other’s careers and have seen our individual growth and growth together in the industry. So, it brings nothing but great joy for me to see and celebrate you today on our podcast. Can’t wait for everybody to hear a little bit more about your new role and of course, about all things going on at FPI. You guys have, again, through the years that we’ve worked together, I just have seen so much greatness and growth and I cannot wait. So, before we dive in, I just want to say that your journey is truly inspiring and I really am excited for our listeners to hear all about it. So, let’s get started. 

Martin: All right, Vanessa. Let’s start by getting to know your journey. Can you take us through your path to becoming the COO at FPI? And what were some of the key moments or milestones that shaped your career? 

Vanessa: Oh, of course. Well, first off, I have to say, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would become a CEO of FPI management. When I started with FPI almost 20 years ago, I started as a part time leasing consultant. And it was a cool job for me to have at the time because I was working with my best friend, who is my best friend today, still all these years later. She was working for FPI at a building that her grandfather had developed and built and you know, she got into FPI to learn the business and she would tell me these amazing stories. I was like, gosh, that sounds really fun. I think I kind of want to do that. So, I was hired on and I quickly moved through many positions with an FPI. I went from leasing agent part time to full time to a community director, to a multisite manager to a regional manager.  I remember being out on a maternity leave with my first daughter and coming back and becoming a director, had even no idea what that was, but quickly learned that role about 10 years ago. And you know, I think looking back on my career with FPI, I was just given so much opportunity and why did I get this opportunity? I will never know. I’m just so thankful and appreciative that Dennis and my many leaders believed in me to give me this opportunity to lead and be a part of the success at FPI. 

Ronn: Amen, sister. I know why. Just because of your dynamic personality.  

Vanessa: I think honestly, it’s a lot of hard work and dedication. You know, looking back over the years, I’m not one to say no. You know, if there’s a challenge or if there’s an opportunity, my first instinct is to say yes. And then I stand back and say, oh my gosh, I better figure this out and you know, just hard work and dedication and just rising to the challenge, it really does open doors for you.  

Ronn: And that’s amazing. And that’s exactly why you were on our shortlist because your story, as like many, and you know, most of us are often say we didn’t realize we’d build a career in multifamily. So, your story is one of those inspiring ones where it’s like, yeah, check this out. You know, my friend brought me in kind of thing. And you know, to see where you’ve taken your career and the many people that you’ve inspired along the way, you know, and just the growth overall. 

Vanessa: Yeah, one of the most inspiring pieces through to the story is that my best friend who got me the job at FPI so many years ago is now my client and I get to manage her buildings. 

Ronn: Yeah.

Vanessa: So, our journey together has been inspiring as well, uh, that we can continue to work together all these years later in a different way.

Ronn: No pressure, right? 

Vanessa: No pressure, I know.  

Ronn: Staying besties.  

Vanessa: Well, I think that’s kind of the approach at FPI and kind of our culture where we treat our relationships and our clients and our buildings as if they’re our own. So, we really, you know, put everything we have into managing these buildings and when they succeed, we all succeed and when they fail, we all fail. We feel it all together as a team.  

Ronn: Yeah, no, we definitely feel the love on the supplier side. So, thank you for that, for extending your love. So, my friend, you are the COO of one of the third largest property management companies, according to NMHC in the country. So that’s pretty unique, right? Can you give us a glimpse into what your typical day looks, I’m laughing because I don’t know that it is. What is a typical day look like for you?  

Vanessa: Oh, goodness gracious. I don’t have typical days anymore. Every day is different. And I think in my role and what I’m learning more about my role, because I am relatively new to it is really, I am a support role. I am here to help all of the leaders within our company achieve our objectives. You know, being the chief operating officer doesn’t mean that I have all the solutions or have all the answers, but I am here to help all of the amazing smart people that work at FPI solve some pretty hard problems. So really every day is spent talking with the team, talking with clients, talking with vendor partners and coming up with the best solution and vision for FPI. You know, FPI being a third-party fee manager is unique. It’s different from the other operators in this space because we don’t own anything. We cannot make, you know, carte Blanc decisions. We have to Go through several, you know, several steps to get a decision made or to solve a problem. So, I don’t really have a typical day and I think that’s kind of what keeps me going every day. I love my job. I love to show up to work every day and see what the day holds for me, honestly. I think that, you know, eventually I hope to get to a point where I tell the team all the time that we are fire watchers. You know, everybody kind of jokes in this industry that we’re, you know, we’re firefighting every single day, but I want my team and myself to get to a point where we’re smoke watchers because where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And so, you know, my job and everybody else’s job within my leadership team. Is to really look for the smoke and see, you know, where that smoke is, so that we can come up with solutions and prevent forest fires.

Martin: Amen. 

Ronn: Especially coming from California, right? 

Vanessa: Yeah, I’ve dealt with forest fires myself. 

Martin: Yeah, I mean, that’s a great perspective and a great way to look at it, right? Because I feel like every company is always dealing with fires, but if we can get more preventative and just prepared and know how to. Basically, you know, be more proactive, then it makes the world a difference. And like you said, you’re in the people business, whether it’s your employees or the residents and investors that you serve. 

Vanessa: Exactly.

Martin: How cool every, so we know every leadership role comes with its own sets of challenges. What are some of the biggest challenges that you face as COO and how do you approach this on the day to day? 

Vanessa: I think my biggest challenge is that I can’t be everywhere anymore. You know, Ronn, you know how much I travel. I’m always on the road. I’m always, I want to be at every meeting. I want to see every property. I want to touch the real estate. I want to review all the financials. And I can’t do that anymore in my current role. I try really hard but it’s really prioritizing and encouraging the team to also prioritize and looking to see where I’m the most effective, in order to support this huge machine that we’re running here at FPI. So, you know, my biggest challenge is not being able to be everywhere and to be the solution for everyone. I would love to spend every day on the phone with, you know, everybody, from clients to vendors to our employees, but I have to definitely prioritize and figure out how I can be the most effective and the biggest support for the team.  

Ronn: Well, and at that, your company has grown like across the country. So, while you guys were very much, you know, West coast based for many years. I can only imagine that that is more difficult. 

Vanessa: Yes, I’m flying to the East Coast more than I ever have and I love it. It’s kind of exciting to see our growth pattern on the East Coast. And, you know, we’re talking to clients and vendors and relationships in new States every day. And the thing about FPI is we are organically grown. So, and we’re really proud of that, that we don’t have a business development team. We’re not out hustling business. I mean, Dennis is so supportive, and he, you know, he tells us, I don’t want you to grow one more unit of business. Just do a good job. Do a good job. And that’s, you know, that’s what we wake up every morning and try and accomplish. And sometimes we do stumble, but we own mistakes. And we, you know, we are empowered to provide solutions and to learn from those mistakes and move on.  

Ronn: Absolutely. That’s a great perspective. 

Vanessa: And I think that’s how we’ve grown, honestly, is that organic growth is and moving into new states and new regions. It’s because of the loyalty from our clients, which is inspiring.

Ronn: Yeah, that’s what I was gonna say, too, is that I’m sure that, you know, you guys have also had clients for decades, so I’m sure they see your growth, and as they grow, they’re just, it’s a natural fit to, you know, I mean, I think that’s how the Florida transformation happened, right?

Vanessa: Yes, exactly. 

Ronn: So, that in itself got you to a whole new dot on the map, if you will. You’re growing from there. That’s amazing. So, speaking of evolution, obviously multifamily through the years has been evolving. I want to hear from your perspective, what do you see as significant trends? Obviously now that you’re traveling more, you know, across the country, but you know, you’ve also done a lot of our national shows and speaking on panels and stuff. What trends do you see happening and how do you think these trends will shape our future in the industry?  

Vanessa: Yeah. You know, I think obviously centralization is the buzz in the industry. Everybody’s talking about how they can centralize, you know, staffing or automation. I think anything AI is really inspiring. When looking at the multifamily industry, we’re very slow to adapt, we’re very innovation and technology hesitant. I think COVID kind of snapped a lot of us out of that because we were forced to make big decisions in order to continue to operate, right? We had to collect rents. We had to figure out how to, to our residents without being on property. So, I think, there’s a big buzz around how can we centralize? How can we reformulate what staffing looks like? I mean, we are in the people business. That’s what we do as property managers, is we manage people. Not only our employees, but also our residents. So how can we do that better? So, any innovation and technology surrounding that is going to be the significant trend going into the future. And there’s some exciting stuff out there. There’s some great products that we’re keeping an eye on and FPI is never going to be the first adopter. As you know, we take a long time to make decisions and we choose industry partners and products, not because we love the people that are working for the companies, but because they are the best of breed and they’re going to service us the best. So, yeah, I think going into the future, it’s going to be interesting to see the dynamics of how properties are managed with that centralization in mind and the technology that’s available.  

Ronn: Yeah.

Martin: The ticket right there is the key word.  All right, so staff development and retention are critical, especially in such a competitive market. What strategies do you use at FPI to keep your team motivated and committed for the long term?  

Vanessa: Well, you know, FPI, we are a family and we’re a family run and owned company. I think that we are a privately owned company, which is amazing. So, we have the ability to retain staff and keep them for a very long time. We’ve all built relationships over, you know, 10, 20, 30, 40 years. So, we pride ourselves in promoting from within. I think it’s really important to focus on work life balance. FPI really prides themselves in that, you know, if you’re happy at home, you’re going to be happy at work. So, we encourage that balance. A lot of us are type A personalities and we work around the clock. But that’s because we want to, it’s not because we have to. So, a lot of the conversations that I have with people are, you know, when they’re stressed or they’re overwhelmed, it’s like, hey, who’s telling you to do that? Who’s telling you to answer that email at 11? Did I tell you to do that? I don’t think so. You need to create this balance and you’re empowered to do so. Many of us have gone through some major life, what’s the word that major life events, you know, milestones together. I mean, I’ve had two babies and you know, I’ve had the opportunity to take time and be there for them. You know, we have the ability to be present in our family’s lives and that’s encouraged. And I think that there’s a lot of long-term employees who see the value in that. We aren’t the highest paying management company out there. I think what we can provide in culture and support is definitely more important to a lot of people. So, we’re able to retain employees in good talent long-term.

Ronn: Work on that balance.

Vanessa: Yes.

Ronn: That’s the key for all of us. 

Vanessa: Work hard, play hard, right?  

Ronn: Yeah, exactly. So, shifting gears a little bit. I mean, I know we talked about employee satisfaction, but I wanted to ask about resident satisfaction, obviously being the key to success for any company, let alone any property management company. So how does FPI maintain your high level of satisfaction and any innovative approaches you can share with us? 

Vanessa: Yeah, you know, I think that residents are our customers, right? So, if our residents aren’t happy, then obviously we aren’t doing our job. So, we really need to lead with kindness when we interact with our residents and we need to make the process, our processes as seamless for them. So, there’s some pretty innovative products out there that we’re using to kind of streamline the process. We’re focusing in on our application workflow from what, you know, website tour all the way through applying, all the way through signing a lease document and paying rent to make that easy for them. There’s a lot of focus also on reputation and social, which we use some vendor partners as well to help us to encourage that resident satisfaction in our high score. So, really, honestly, there are, residents are our report card. If we’re not doing a good job, then they’re going to definitely let us know. And ultimately, you know, we wouldn’t be with jobs.  

Martin: Yeah. I love residents are our report card. 

Vannesa: Yeah.

Martin: That’s gonna be a short right there. I already know it. So, thinking about the FPI brand and every community, when somebody goes to an FPI community, you know, building that sense of community among residents is vital for any property to thrive in this current environment. Could you share some examples of how FPI is fostering a sense of community with its residents and also building a brand around it. 

Vanessa: Yeah, we have a committee working on some amazing events centered around, you know, building vital communities and thriving communities for our residents. We have a corporate responsibility campaign going on where we partner with national companies that, you know, give back to the community. We also have FPI gives back, a good example would be, we are partnered with move for hunger, which we partner with nationally and they collect food for those that are less fortunate and FPI has been a pioneer and a great partner with move for hunger, and it’s a great way to get residents involved to give back as well. So that’s one example of what we do to keep our residents involved. We also just got done with a national night out. We did a nationwide campaign, getting our residents involved in their communities, with local law enforcement and celebrating such an amazing event. We, you know, we also partner with different organizations throughout the year to foster those relationships. 

Ronn: That’s huge and I can only imagine that that is, it’s harder again because, you know, your reach across the nation. 

Vanessa: It is, and we encourage our local teams to get involved in, you know, local organizations as well. I mean, we have people that have partnered with Habitat for humanity. We have our local teams that are partnering with local apartment associations who are always working on campaigns to give back. So, it’s a multifaceted approach that’s for sure. But what we can do on a corporate level is, is push our corporate responsibility campaigns. 

Ronn: I love that. Yeah, it definitely takes a village, right? 

Vanessa: It is. 

Ronn: And a good, I mean, the fact that you have that committee, obviously you’re committing to it and making sure that it’s part of your brand and consistent for your residents.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Ronn: That is huge. So, I know that you’re, I know personally you’re a mentor to many, and we all know that the mentorship can be a game changer in one’s career, but I’m really interested, I’ve never asked you this as a person, has there been any mentor who significantly impacted your journey? And if you can, are there any valuable lessons that you did learn from them?  

Vanessa: Oh, goodness. I’ve had so many mentors throughout my journey but the biggest mentor would obviously be Dennis Treadway. He is such an amazing leader and amazing man. And you look at the company that he’s built over so many years. One of the quotes that always come to mind when I think of Dennis, one of the biggest things that I’ve ever learned from him was humility comes before success and pride comes before a fall. So, every day that I’m working with anybody, I think of that. we have to stay humble. We have to be kind and do the right thing. So, I would say Dennis definitely had a huge impact on me. I think any, everybody in our leadership team has touched me personally in so many different ways from Dave and Christina and you know, over the years, so many that came before them. I think, and also the team that I work with, it’s not. I didn’t get here by myself. I was lifted up by an amazing team of individuals that are on our executive team today that without them, I would never be sitting in the chair I’m sitting in today. And they continue to help me navigate day to day, so I’m so appreciative of each and every one of them. And I think they know who they are. 

Ronn: That level of support is priceless, right? 

Vanessa: Oh, it’s incredible, you know, I’d be lost without them. Sometimes they joke like I’m V’s right arm and I’m V’s left arm. It’s true. And you’re my left foot and you’re my right leg. Like I need all of you to survive and function every day. 

Ronn: That’s awesome. That’s so true. I love those quotes from Dennis and yeah, he’s an amazing gentleman and business owner. 

Vanessa: Yes. I mean, anytime we have a huge win or a loss, I always remember that statement that he makes and it’s from Solomon, the Bible. 

Ronn: Yeah.

Martin: Beautiful. For those aspiring to leadership positions in property management, what advice would you offer to help them navigate their way up the corporate ladder in their journey? 

Vanessa: Oh goodness, I would say lead with kindness, stay humble, hard work and dedication pay off.  Know that it takes a team, it takes a village. Never stab anybody in the back or step on somebody to get ahead. Always do the right thing. I think that, you know, those are all great pieces of advice that have resonated with me over the years and really just show up every day and try. And you may make a mistake and you may stumble from time to time, but always learn from that mistake and never make it twice. 

Ronn: Yeah, I learn from the first time. That’s awesome. 

Martin: That was, yeah, we got to end it on that note, because that was just so beautifully spoken. And I think that’s where we need to definitely wrap it up. So, before we wrap it up, Vanessa, do you have any final thoughts for our audience?  

Vanessa: I just want to say thank you to apartment SEO for your support. You guys have been an amazing partner for us and amazing friends. And I just always love hearing all the new products that you have to offer. We were an early adopter and we continue to grow our business with you guys and appreciate your partnership. 

Martin: Thank you. 

Ronn: Absolutely. Yeah. I remember going to a little sidebar, but going to FPI in year 2014, we started 2013. So, a year into it, you guys were gracious enough to give me a global corporate meeting in Folsom, California at a Hotel and I remember prior meetings were in the corporate office. So that just goes to show how much you guys were growing where you didn’t fit in your corporate office anymore. 

Vanessa: Yes.

Ronn: So, going to that hotel and meeting and just pitching like, okay, here’s the global presentation of Apartment SEO. And again, you guys were so gracious. So, thank you for that. 

Vanessa: Thank you. 

Ronn: The same sentiment. 

Martin: Yeah. Again, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and insights with us in our audience today, truly an inspiring conversation. For our listeners, make sure to follow FPI on social media, visit FPIMgt.com and check out their website. Stay tuned for more episodes at MultifamilyPodcast.com powered by ApartmentSEO.com. Until next time, keep thriving in the multifamily industry. Goodbye, y’all. 

Ronn: Cheers.