President’s Corner

Starla started in the apartment industry at 18 years old as a leasing agent during the oil glut in the 1980s. Sheer determination and grit catapulted Starla to become a 22-year-old regional manager with 35 properties in her portfolio across five states. Through unwavering commitment and dedication, today Starla is a partner and regional director of SMI Realty.

Regional director best describes her day-to-day. She is a boots-on-the-ground leader who is often onsite working with her teams. Her high-level passion and no-nonsense drive are what I admire about her the most. I also admire the fact that she has led SMI Realty to achieve such steady growth over the years. I only hope Veritas can achieve that same pace of growth.

We could all learn a thing or two by gleaning from Starla’s wisdom. Let’s read what Starla has to say.

Starla: I was only 18 years old when I started in this industry, but I learned a lot from my older sister who was in the industry before I started my career. The most important advice for people starting in this industry is that we need to treat our customers with kindness and professionalism. We are really in the customer service industry, and our residents are our customers.

Starla: To always be fair when making any decisions, regardless of what level the decision is. From the most important decision for an organization to minor decisions, always be fair when making a decision. Listen, have patience, and at the end of the day, be fair to all parties.

Starla: For me, it’s I can’t expect everyone to share the same work ethic, drive or the same desire as I do. It’s hard. And it is something I work on all the time.

Starla: The best career advice I’ve received is to remain aligned with the business plan. Basically, stay on course. Don’t compete with others, compete with your own goals. I think that’s hard to do when you see others doing things that make them successful, but every property is different, every portfolio is different. What works for one property may not work for another. If we start looking at what works for everyone else and try it ourselves, it usually doesn’t work. In my career, I’ve learned to pay attention to our business plan and our course. That’s the best advice that I’ve been given.

Starla: My decision to make my career my highest priority and having the opportunity to work with someone who believed in me were the keys to my success.

Starla: I don’t really have a morning routine. What makes me feel most productive is what I do the night before. My evening or nightly routine is to always have a plan for the next day, to prepare myself and others for tomorrow. Don’t wait until tomorrow to start planning. When I was onsite as a property manager, I would have my tasks for the next day ready on my desk, the tasks for my maintenance team ready on my desk and the tasks for my assistant ready on my desk, all for the next day. I don’t wake up in the morning wondering what’s on my agenda. I already know what’s on my agenda before I go to bed at night. I mean, things happen and your plans change, but you can go to bed knowing what your purpose is for the next day. To me, someone who looks at their calendar in the morning to figure out what they have planned for the day is already behind.