Letter From the Future: Jayson Yoss of GoldenWest Talks Business Growth and Lessons Learned

Know your price point. Create a training process. Hire cultural fits.

These are just a few of the things that I wish I understood better back in 2004 when I founded GoldenWest Management. Fast forward to today and I’ve experienced and learned a lot which has contributed to the amazing growth of the company.

In this article, I try to highlight how I built my business into what it is today and the advice I’d give other property managers (PMs) who are looking to grow.

Aside from serving in the United States Marine Corps, property management has been my only other professional focus. In 1999, just after high school, I was working with a top producer, and she was the one who encouraged me to get my real estate license; first in California, then in Arizona. By 2004, I had enough clients to go out on my own  so I opened GoldenWest Management with 12 properties.

Eventually, I expanded into three markets – San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix – and growth came fast. After the market crashed in 2008, a lot of investors were purchasing rental properties. The company went from a couple hundred doors to almost 1,600 doors quickly, but it was hard to make money, even with all the business.

In 2018 and 2019, I stepped out to intentionally meet more people in the PM industry, and I started working with ProfitCoach. I quickly found things I could be charging for that I wasn’t. I started focusing on providing top-quality service and raised prices to help match those goals.

Instead of having as many doors as possible, I focused on having the best operational skills possible at a higher price point. I initially lost 30% of my doors but gained 60% more in revenue. My team has since worked to formalize a more efficient approach to property management. It’s been a game-changer and led the company to where it is today with over 1,000 doors, 32 employees, and three big markets.

Still, there are a few things I would change if I could do it all again.