As a Director of Residence, Chief of Staff or multi-property Estate Manager, many of you know how hard it is to control what goes on in your own schedule, let alone meet with and train new staff – not to mention create a global world-class team.

Many of my clients in Napa, Ojai and Rancho Santa Fe, CA are all well-aware of the fire risks that they deal with each year during fire season, have an emergency plan in-place and are prepared to evacuate when needed. However, many of you who manage luxury properties in areas never deemed high-risk before now need to educate yourselves for this type of emergency preparation.

For the past week my kitchen has been converted into a print shop – messy with all of the pieces of producing a 3-ring binder landscape manual for a garden that I first designed 20 years ago. Since the majority of my work has evolved into creating digital systems, this has been a nice shift from my normal computer-focused daily routine.

How to train our staff to be successful in this unique work environment.

I haven’t told many people this, but I was fired TWICE in estate manager roles. OUCH!

If you’re a housekeeper who wants to shine like a diamond in this industry (and up your game), take note!

8 Pro tips to help estate managers complete it this year.

You never have more negotiating power in this relationship than you do in the interview process.

You don't need to be a passive participant.

Here are my lessons learned from a recent full-household inventory client experience.

Here are my go-to tech devices and software for doing business from Ethiopia to Tulsa, OK and parts in between.

It’s easy to burn out in our profession. Here’s how to stay sane.

Learn from my plan designed to improve a client’s gardener

Here’s the best way to onboard yourself in your new position

And multiply your value at the same time!

Here are 6 tips from top recruiters + 10 more from me!

Six ways to improve relationships and service between principals and estate managers

Improve communication and your staff’s work performance

If you aren’t working for top-level clients and attracting the most qualified employees in your industry, this may be why.

Get our free “cheat sheet” management resource for your principal- and candidate-clients, and more.