Multifamily Success with Rachel Kish

Thanks for joining the Multifamily Innovation Podcast Today. I have an amazing guest for you Rachel Kish. She is the Vice President of Operations at Asset Living. She is a Multifamily Innovation Council member, as well as an attendee and speaker for our Women's Summit in September, and we are so excited to hear from her today about her career journey, how she got to become a VP of Operations, and we are so happy to have you here today, Rachel.

Thank you for having me, Lauren.

I'm excited for our conversation as am I, and so let's start with your journey kind of where you began in multifamily and kind of where your career took off from there.

Oh, thank you for asking that question. It's a fun one. It begins, actually, with my husband. He was living in Arizona. I was finishing school in Indiana. He was living in an apartment community and he didn't know anybody. So he became that resident who was just always in the office. If you've been in multifamily for five minutes, you know that resident. Well, that was him.

In the course of his office appearances he observed what they did day to day and he commented to the property manager I think my fiance would be really, really good at this job. And she said well, once you're married and she moves out, we've got a lease up down the road. Have her apply. Well, I was finishing my degree in political science and English, so a leasing career wasn't top of mind for me. I didn't even know what that was. But we got married, I moved out and I just needed a little job. So he said, hey, you should go meet my friend, the property manager and you can just do this part-time while I finish school. So off to the races.

I got the leasing job. I was making $10 an hour. I was super excited. It was my first really grown-up job and about three weeks into the lease-up I could see the magic that was multifamily. And while I had intentions to go to law school, I decided that there was something to this apartment gig and I wanted to hang around it a little bit longer. So I called my parents and I said I'm not going to go to law school. They were super supportive but also very curious why I was making such a rash life decision. But I could see everything that it could be. Even though I couldn't have articulated it at the time, I was very excited about the adventure. So here I am, almost 21 years later. I love multifamily, I love the people, I love what we do, I love who we serve, I love the politics. I love the legal. It's just very dynamic. So that's how I got my start.

What a great story. And, like, all of us have that story right. We just there's something so magical about multifamily. I have people who were going to become doctors. I've heard stories where I'm like, and they just stopped because they were like nope, there's something here. Oh, absolutely, it's pretty interesting. So, and now you're a VP of ops, which is pretty amazing. So I think our listeners are going to want to hear how were you mentored? How did you grow into that type of role?

Well, it probably began. I'm a firstborn, so naturally bossy. I have three younger sisters, so they would they would argue I was born for the role and and they're probably happy that I'm not bossing them around. But I love people, I love vision, I love strategy. I just had a call this morning with a client and I indicated to him that my greatest passion is just finding the right people and putting them in the right roles, and I think that drive has served me really well as I moved throughout my career. I could always find alignment with people and teams. Most of the time there's those one-off situations, but I could find alignment with people and teams and help others accelerate their growth, and in the process I was able to accelerate my own, and so here I am today, and that's exactly what people need in leaders right now is that mentorship.

We talk about that a lot on the podcast, and it's funny that you said that too, because I just had someone on who was an owner-operator and they literally said the best thing my talent can do is be able to hire more talent that fits the right roles. Their staffing is top priority, and so I think the ability to be able to identify the right people and place them in the right roles is kind of a superpower.

Well, and it gets easier over time. As you're building organizations or in some ways rebuilding an organization, like what Robert Hicks and I are doing at Asset Living in Phoenix, the first few hires you make are super critical because they become gravity for your future hires. They possess the attractive quality, the magnetism to bring more people like themselves into your organization. So as I think about building teams, those first few are super, super critical and after that the momentum picks up far more quickly and you can just grow exponentially. But those first few you got to get those right Absolutely.

And assetset is number two. I want to say right, it is.

Yeah, you know your stuff, I know my stuff, I know this and, by the way, robert, like we grew up, you know, I grew up, you know, in multifamily under Robert at Alliance, and just he's been such a mentor to so many people in this industry, so Asset's really lucky to have both of you. So. So let's go towards kind of what advice would you give women that are early on in their career, that are maybe in that leasing phase or the, you know, community manager phase, to become, you know, someone you can't begin to fathom, especially?

when you come in at entry level as a leasing consultant and there will be frustrating, if not infuriating, moments, and they're going to come from a variety of sources. It's going to come from residents, it's going to come from prospects, it's going to come from clients, it's going to come from supervisors. But it's those really challenging moments we are inclined to resist. We find reasons to quit, to look in other directions, and I've been there. My husband's had to talk me off the edge of the cliff.

But if you lean into those particularly hard moments, you can learn so much. The other thing I would call out is the boss that is the most difficult for you. Maybe if you could go back in time you would undo it, maybe you would pick a different boss. That's the boss you can learn a lot from, and sometimes they're teaching you what not to do. Very often that's the case, but there's even nuggets that can be delivered that are super positive. So rather than resisting the difficult moments or the difficult people, lean into it. That's where I've found some of my greatest blessing and benefit Absolutely.

We talk about that a lot in the council, right? Those moments of discomfort where you're like I'm not so sure about this, those are the moments where you really lean in and observe and actually go towards what's actually making you uncomfortable. Oh for sure, that's how you innovate, that's how you know you're on to something usually Agreed, agreed. So you are a council member, I am, and so what benefit have you gotten from being a member of the council?

Well, it may sound superficial, but it's nice to just work alongside of and speak with people who experience my kind of challenge. Sometimes it's nice to just take five minutes and say, hey, yeah, that's me too, and feel like you're not crazy, that your experience is not unique, and then you can move away from that pretty quickly. You don't want to commiserate for too long, but you do want to know that you're not alone in multifamily and that your challenges are not unique. There's hope, knowing that you're going to build and fortify and execute, and you're not and it is possible. You're not alone. So that's the greatest comfort I have found in the Innovation Summit, but also just creative ideas. You know we can become one-dimensional if we're not careful, and so we need other people to challenge our paradigms and ask us tough questions. So we really have to delve a little bit more deeply and we ask those kinds of questions on the council.

That's great, and so has there been anything that's been workshopped that you've kind of brought back to Asset, that you're like wow, this was a great thought, or this was a great guest speaker that had a great idea For sure.

I love our conversations around AI, specifically Nectar Flow, really intrigued by that opportunity. We've had some conversations in our organization around that already. Mentors I found mentors, Patrick Morin, all the way on the East Coast. He and I stay in touch and found him to be a valuable resource as both a professional and just as a person. So just building that network. Also, creative ideas about healthcare, like really unusual strategies that have historically not fit the multifamily dynamic, but you lean into it and think, oh, how can I lever that? And so it just gives you some creative pathways and it's the kind of thing you'll have 10 conversations where none of those things work out, but you'll stumble into magic and it's in the council where you find those little nuggets, absolutely.

And what's really cool is that everybody has such a diverse background of what type of you know communities they represent, or are they owners, are they operators, are they investors? So I think, getting those different perspectives and then understanding which little pieces because we always talk about, it's not a one size fits all. Your company is unique, right, and so what can I bring, what pieces of that can I bring to my company? So I think that's really awesome.

It is. It has been very beneficial.

Good. And then you are also a member of the Women's Summit and you're on stage and you help facilitate some of those conversations. We're really excited to have you this year on the Women's Summit stage. Thank you. What have you gotten historically from that event?

And are there women you stay in touch with on a regular basis? Now what does that look like for you? I do. I've made many friends.

I'll point out Tina West. I had the opportunity to interview her the first year that I participated in the event and what I loved about that interaction was seeing how much of a boss babe she is. She really commands a room. She certainly knows her business. She's a compelling leader. People like to follow her, but she's also a wife and a mom, and I'm a wife and a mom.

I've been married just 21 years. We just celebrated 21 years. We have two children and it's a lot to balance the kind of career that I've I've developed, certainly the kind of career that Tina has established and created. How do we do all of that? And really, what I learned from her is we can't. We have to have great people around us who support us and champion us, and I just I was very inspired by that talk. So, yeah, fantastic women, you're gonna learn a lot professionally, but you're gonna have meaningful takeaways on a personal level. You'll have new strategies. How do I approach this relationship? How do I manage my kids? How do I manage my schedule? How can I lean into my vendor partners to alleviate some of the burden in my life. It's just a very dynamic conversation. I love being a part of the women's event. That's awesome.

I'm so glad you got that from that. So what's next for you? What are you excited about right now in your career, in your future? What does that look like?

We're just doing the coolest stuff at Asset Living. I had the opportunity to work at Asset Living Phoenix before it was even Asset, so I knew the regional business that we had done. I had close connections with much of the team that was in place, many of the clients not necessarily institutional money but great family offices, so there was a kind of a familiarity there that I really enjoyed. But the vision and the scale of what Ryan McGrath and Robert Hicks are looking to do in Phoenix was very exciting to me. So just opening new markets, we have the whole West Robert and I oversee the West division for Ryan McGrath. So going into new places with him identifying teams, picking up great clients, helping existing clients grow their portfolios and new markets super exciting. And the teams gosh. I just love building teams. So to have so much of the territory to just as my playground and to tinker is very exciting for me.

I love that and I think it's great too. We talk a lot about the career path of the onsite team. I started out my career as a sales associate and then I was kind of like, where do I go from here? So I feel like you're the perfect person to champion people, to help them identify what they're great at, and this industry is so good at that, at saying, hey, you might not want to be an accountant, essentially, or you might not want to be anything but sales, so how do we nurture that for you and what does that pathway look like? So what are some interesting things you've done with placement of people or identifying unique skill sets?

Well, I think the most meaningful thing I could call out is you don't have to have a college education to have a great future in multifamily. Having a college education will certainly help you, but it isn't a requirement. And so if you're a young man or woman looking at multifamily, I would say come on in the water's fine. There is not a cap on your potential. It really is going to come down to your work ethic, your ability to learn on the fly, to develop some grit. When you can do all of that, you can advance very, very quickly.

One thing we've recently done and I guess even my story is an example of that but I was able to promote a regional to a regional vice president. She'd been a longtime employee serving our organization very well, Cheryl Davis, and to bring her into a regional vice president role is an inspiration to those who have followed her and watched her career over time. And whenever I bump into our managers and maintenance supervisors, they cheer her, they're excited to see. Like if I stick with asset living, I can do what Cheryl just did. And when I came on the scene as the vice president, there were managers, we were together, we shared a regional, and so they've said hey, thank you, You're one of us, you think like us, you know what our needs are and so I can tend to those very unique needs from my role, which is a job that I really cherish. I don't take that responsibility lightly. I will not forget anytime soon what it's like to be on site and how dynamic that role is and how leaders need to serve people very well in those positions.

But as far as my experience and how I moved through the ranks again, besides leaning into things that are hard and serving others well, bringing people with you as you climb, it's just education, making sure that you're staying ahead of the day-to-day. Like setting an ambitious goal for yourself, quietly pursue it. And getting my real estate license was an example of that. I had it for several years before I became a regional, but I knew that was the end game, so I just I chased it. I didn't tell anyone about it, I just chased it down and I hung it with game.

So I just I chased it, I didn't tell anyone about it, I just chased it down and I hung it with the broker and I just waited for my turn and then I advocated I let people know. This is what I want to do when the time is right. Oftentimes people wait to be discovered and that does happen, but it's the people who go to others and say, hey, this is what I love. This is how I believe I can serve the organization better and better. When they advocate humbly because you can do both for themselves and make their leaders aware of what they want those people will elevate absolutely. So make sure you know what you want and start taking the small steps in that direction and talk to people who can help you get there.

Yeah, I think that's great advice because I think oftentimes to your point. We think you know, especially as women, maybe if I put myself out there too much, I'm going to come off as dissatisfied in my current role. Or you know, what does that look? You know, is someone going to kind of shy away from that because I'm being so adamant that I want to grow quickly? So is that something that you would shy away from if someone came to you and said, hey, I really, really wanna grow my career, what does that look like? Or what's the best way to pose that to someone like you to say this is the career path I see for myself?

I think it could start with an email. Honestly, I look back at a mentor of mine. I heard a great talk about how to approach a mentor and what that would look like, because mentors are busy people, you know. If you want to be like that person, they're probably 10 or two, you know, excuse me, a decade or two ahead of you in their career and they have a lot of demand. So it's nerve wracking to go to that individual. So how do you do that? Approach them, send an email.

If you're at a networking meeting, say hello, find some common ground and then just make the ask and call it out. Hey, I know you're really busy, but I like what you've done and I'd hope I could learn just a little from you and make the ask small. Could I meet with you once a quarter? Could you recommend a book? Could we talk about a book? Just make the ask of their time very, very small, but don't be afraid to ask, and that's what I did.

I reached out to a woman that I could tell we had alignment in values. She was in multifamily, but she was on the legal side and I just said I'd like to know you a little bit better. What would that look like? Would you talk with me once every quarter for an hour? And she said absolutely. And her vantage point on my career was really impactful and her role as a wife and a mother and as an adoptive mom resonated with my experience and so we had that personal connection. But yeah, it just starts with a small ask being very respectful of their time, but also bold. You have to be bold, absolutely.

So take the risk Absolutely. I love that and I think the Women's Summit is a great first place to start. I talk to a lot of people who are a little bit more introverted and they're like I don't really know how to put myself out there. I don't really know how to be that you know that bold as to ask for something more than what I have today, and so I think seeing someone like you and just saying, just ask, like what is it going to hurt to just put yourself out there a little bit, I think it's really smart and it's so, it's really impressive.

Thank you, thank you, and if the person that you ask can't help you, they possibly know someone who can, and that's just how you build a network. So don't let fear be a reason to keep you from asking.

Yeah, and I think all of us who have grown to love this industry and been in it as long as we have have had that mentorship story where I could name 10 mentors right now who are my go-tos. When something happens, right that you call on the phone and you're like I don't really know how to navigate this situation. Right, yeah, and so, and also, being a part of the council and being a part of the summit, it's just a group that you could call and you just know hey, I'm having some issues with build to rent. I can call, you know, and you kind of learn these resources for different elements of what you're doing on a daily basis. Agreed, it's great. And so are you going to the AI Summit too?

Actually, I am putting it on my calendar. I haven't registered yet, but yes, it's on my calendar, Okay awesome.

So that one's going to be awesome. And are you doing anything fun and interesting with technology?

I know we were talking about Nectar Flow, which we're all excited about. Sure, we are. We recognize at Asset Living, and I've long recognized that human capital is our most valuable resource, but we need to augment that. We need to make sure that people are able to stay focused in their gifted areas, stay very people-facing and use technology as really a support system to drive the infrastructure so that they can produce a better and better result without taking them out of play. And so right now, I'd really like to learn how to lever AI better from, like, a document prep perspective for blogging, for social media, where I'm taking all of my marketing gurus and letting them be very front-facing but then giving them the support to create the deliverables as quickly as possible. So AI is absolutely a focus at Asset Living right now.

Yeah, and it's really smart to start with marketing. Having been in marketing and seeing what Nectar, flow and products that are introducing AI to marketing are doing, it's a great way to dabble, to dip your toe in without going full-blown AI right. So I think marketing automation is definitely a very smart first step, so you're doing all the right things, it sounds like.

Thank you. Yeah, centralized leasing. We've centralized some platforms, which has been very productive for our clients as well, and so looking to expand that program. Now that we have the plate spinning very effectively, we want to grow and scale that program. So there's of the joy in my role is, as I develop meaningful relationships with my clients, I start to know what they need and I can customize and build around those needs. And so where I have clients that are very innovative and want to test and they're willing to take some risk with me and we can create a plan together, I'm off to the races because there's no pitch involved, we're just solving problems together. But you have to take some risk with me and we can create a plan together. I'm off to the races because there's no pitch involved, we're just solving problems together. But you have to take the time to build those relationships because everyone has a unique need, and so, as a VP in Robert Hicks' position, we really have to curate these unique experiences for each of the clients to make sure we're delivering.

I love that and I think it's really it's way less common in very large you know PMCs to be able to play or to not see it that whatever we roll out here, we have to roll out portfolio wide or we have to roll it out right. So I think that the ability to see every client as an individual business that you're serving, in a different way, that's really going to give you a leg up on your competition, because that's what that owner operator wants to hear. I hear you, I see your unique set of needs and I think I can do something different here than what we're offering. You know, having those conversations and knowing that they trust you at that level is so inspirational, I think, for the people who think they have to roll something out portfolio-wide.

Yeah, I mean certainly we're a brand and we want the French fries to taste the same right Wherever people go. So we do have a lot of consistency in our programming. But we were built based on regional boutique shops and operators so we still have that very customizable approach when it makes sense for the client and for the organization. But you really have to have your hands on the real estate and build those relationships to know when those decisions work and when they don't.

That's smart, that's really smart, and I think that that's probably why it's been so successful for you guys to have such a large portfolio that operates in that very custom way. I think that's incredibly impactful for a client to have that opportunity. So, thank you, we're having fun with it, that's great. Well, we were so happy to have you here today and we're excited to see you at the summit and have you on stage and to have you as a member as well. So how can people get a hold of you? Do you follow?

you on LinkedIn. Absolutely, linkedin is a great place. I'm very interactive in the messaging. I would love to get to know anyone that listens and spends time with you Could be a friend of mine. So please do find me on LinkedIn and I hope to see people at the Women's Summit, at the AI Summit just great connections, lots of good friends to be made and it's fun to check in with each other a year later Like, hey, this is what we talked about last year. What did you accomplish? Like how close did you get to that goal? So I'm looking forward to this year's events as well.

Thank you, rachel so much for sharing time with us today and thank you for tuning in today. Don't forget to grab your seat for the AI and Innovation Summit. It is in December. You can visit multifamilyinnovationcom where you can also learn about our Multifamily Innovation Council and how to join. We'll see you on the next episode.