Letter from the Executive Director for December 2015

In November we went "back to basics" and didn't work much on public policy. We worked on building our foundation. Here's the update.

First, just a reminder about our strategy. We're different from what other landlord groups have done in the past. Instead of relying on passionate volunteers, we offer economically valuable services and operate with paid, professional staff. Volunteers will remain important to help us grow and deal with emergencies. But essential services are operated by professionals in a business-like manner. The more dues-paying members we have, the more we can offer.

The first accomplishment in November was solidly breaking above 1,000 paid and active members. "Active" is defined as someone who has paid dues in the last 12 months. And "solidly" means we're at 1,053 members. Extrapolation from a survey of Westfield, MA, cross-checked with some state-level econometrics, suggests to us that there are 70,000 landlords in Massachusetts. So we have a long way yet to grow.

Our second accomplishment (although it may be a bit early to celebrate, I'll tell you anyway) was hiring a very part-time marketing expert to help us publish our content to the web, market our local events, and increase social media participation. His name is Ryan and you may start to see emails from him soon. Ryan joins our team of very part-time staff and volunteers that we're now listing at the bottom of every newsletter.

We have been growing solely by investing our revenue. In the parlance of startups, we have been "bootstrapping." There have been no outside loans, no outside investment, and no government grants. Besides the efforts of our many volunteers and the support of our paid members, we've been doing this on our own. We have grown only to the extent that we have earned more revenue and attracted good people to work with us.

Our strategy is working. Membership is at all-time highs. Our network of business processes is expanding. This is the path to a professional trade association. It will help us all to be more successful, to create better rentals, and to do what's right for housing in Massachusetts.

If I could ask for one thing of you, it would be to mention us to the next person you see in the course of business. Tell the next contractor you hire. Tell your landlord friend. Tell your office administrator. Tell them MassLandlords has a free and good newsletter they can sign up for at the bottom of every page. Help us get the word out.

Sincerely,
Doug Quattrochi
Executive Director
C: 617-285-7255