15 Shades of Organized

Imagine you’re a business owner with 15 properties, all at different stages. Some are leased, some under construction, and some waiting on permits or payments. Where do you even start with organizing all that? That was my initial reaction too, but with excitement. I get so stoked starting an organization project like this. Each property had its own set of contractors, payments, forms, and project notes. Nothing was in one place. Every task lived in someone’s head or a random text thread. The owner hired me with one main goal: “I just need to know what’s going on.”

The first thing I did was create a master property tracker. One document that listed all properties, their status, and what was actively happening. I built columns for project notes, payment deadlines, open invoices, and upcoming needs. Now, instead of digging through old messages or spreadsheets, the owner could open one link and instantly see where we were at.

In addition to the property tracker, each property got its own digital folder. Inside, I organized contractor contact info and contracts, bills and payment records, before and after photos, and city forms or permits. No more “Do you know where that document is?” or “Who was the plumber for that one?” Everything was labeled and easy to find.

For leased-out properties, I created a separate spreadsheet that tracked addresses, tenant contact information, move-in and move-out dates, rent payments, deposits, and any open maintenance work orders.

Next came the calendar system. I set up recurring reminders for things like utility payments, lease renewals, permit expirations, contractor payouts, material orders, rent payments, and even contractor days off. By automating those small but important details, the owner could stop worrying about due dates and start focusing on growth. At this point, we really had a flow state of things happening.

To keep everything moving, I built a simple weekly system. Every Friday, I sent the owner a quick summary that included what was completed that week, what needed follow-up next week, and any red flags or overdue items. It became a rhythm. A way to close out the week confidently instead of letting loose ends get lost.

Within a few weeks, some of our reliable workers started coming to me with their own ideas for how we could streamline and be more efficient together. That showed the trust and teamwork the company was capable of. Everyone felt more secure in their role for the day and confident they would be compensated fairly for it. The owner could finally see his business from a bird’s eye view, make faster decisions, and trust that every property was accounted for.

Organization doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to work. This was just a 3 month contract and in this case, building a clear system around real business needs changed how the entire company ran. If you’re juggling multiple projects, properties, or moving pieces, start with one thing: visibility. Once you can see everything clearly, organization follows.