The Business of Community with Joseph C. Rector | Behind the Frame

Welcome to Behind the Frame, where we go beyond the LinkedIn bios and Instagram highlight reels to talk about what really happens when you’re building something from scratch.In this episode, Jay Duffy and Morgan Watson sit down with their close friend, Joe Rector, Co-Founder of Pelican Property Management!Joe and his co-founder, Jordy, took the leap to start Pelican in 2013 and have since grown from six units—Joe's very first client—to over 100,000 units today! Headquartered in Towson, Maryland, Pelican has leveraged technology, process innovation, and thoughtful leadership to elevate the resident experience and board performance across HOA, condo, and commercial property management.In this candid conversation, we dive into:The Problem with Property Management: The "cat dog" relationship between communities and their property managers, and how Pelican breaks outside the black and white by focusing on collaboration and hospitality.The Yin and Yang of Partnership: How Joe (the people person, focused on culture and business development) and Jordy (the tech and software architect) leverage their different strengths to grow the business.Growing a Business & Lessons Learned: Joe shares the difficult leap of starting young with no "book" of clients and why you need to be “calloused enough” to handle the downside of the real estate world.Pandemic Pivot: How being an early adopter of tech like Zoom made their rapid digital transformation "seamless"."Plead the Fifth" Rapid Fire: Which Joe trusts least: a weatherman, an economist, or a board head who promises a short meeting? Plus, is strict HOA rule enforcement hot or not?Joe also reveals his leadership philosophy, which includes hiring people "way smarter than me" and why, as a business owner, you have to find time to "put your mask on first".Whether you're starting a business, navigating a partnership, or just curious about what's really behind the frame of a growing company, this episode is a must-watch!