Kim Hill’s Key to Success: Ask Questions & Ask More Questions

Over her tenure at Banyan Street Capital’s iconic Wells Fargo building located on the river in Jacksonville, FL, Kim Hill has worked through hurricane restoration and many large projects. A1 Orange recently partnered with Kim and her team on a large and challenging pressure cleaning of her building and garage.

We asked Kim what advice she has for working with vendors on pressure cleaning a large property such as this. She shared her expertise for managing this process successfully for all concerned – tenants, visitors, property management team, and the vendor:

• Sit down with the vendor and team ahead of time to review expectations.
• Make sure all of your staff knows what is going on.
• Send tenants a written notice in advance of the project, informing them of the dates and key information.
• Schedule work on high traffic areas after normal business hours and make sure the vendor has work areas properly blocked off.
• Communicate with vendor weekly for status updates and pass along this information to interested parties.

We also asked Kim to tell us about how she got involved in the property management field and any advice she would have for industry newbies.

1.How did you get started in property management?

I came in through a temp agency in Denver for CBRE for someone on maternity leave.

2.How long have you been in the property management field?  12 years

3.Can you give a brief overview of your career path?

I started out as a high school business teacher and basketball coach for 8 years and then decided to do a career change. I went to work for a staffing agency, got the temp assignment at CBRE and sort of “fell into it.”  

4.What is your favorite quote?

“Control what you can control.”

5.What is your best advice to individuals new to property management – anything that might have made your job easier later?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask more questions, and ask more questions. Don’t feel like you need to know all the answers on the first day or right away. Maybe take an “Into to Psychology” class because you will be dealing with a lot of different personalities, people, and backgrounds in this field.

When Karen isn’t busy at Wells Fargo, she likes to get outdoors. Karen grew up in Nebraska and is a University of Nebraska Cornhusker. She is the oldest of 5 children with 2 brothers and 2 sisters, and has 4 nieces and nephews in Florida and 6 in other states – or 10 total! She favorite sports team Denver Broncos.