07/06/2026
I trained as a social worker.
Spent 12 years in front-line child protection before I ever thought about short-term rental property. Had focussed on renos and flips in my "spare time".
When my partner and I started this STR management business in 2019, friends thought it was an odd pivot. But six years in, I think social work was the best possible training.
Here's what carried over:
1. You can't fix what you won't measure. In child protection, decisions are only as good as the assessment underneath them. Same with property. Owners who don't track their numbers can't improve them.
2. The story matters more than the spreadsheet. A high-performing property has a story — who it's for, why it's there, what they'll remember. Same as a good case plan.
3. Calm under pressure is the actual skill. 3am guest call, broken air-con, an owner who needs to hear bad news clearly — none of it gets easier with hype.
4. Most problems are predictable. The ones that surprise you are the ones you didn't ask the right questions about up front.
Different industry, same craft.
What's the unexpected background that prepared you for what you do now?
