Michael Osgood, owner of newly-created Residential Services Group, says he’s found some silver linings in the shutdowns and quarantine of the pandemic.
Osgood started the company in January, and it had its official launch in early March. Residential Services Group specializes in multi-family housing, a cross between residential and commercial real estate.
“We serve small to mid-size multi-family properties, between two and 50 units,” he said. “There are a lot of those in the Hartford area, and that market, generally, is under-served.”
Residential Services Group partners with Sentry Commercial and its CEO.
Changes that hit mid-March, Osgood said, hit the industry which can be pretty flexible. While he’s on the road about 75-percent of the time normally, he’s had to switch to a work-from-home mentality, which he said is “surprisingly pleasing.”
Before, going out and meeting clients and prospective clients was a big part of his job, and growing his company. The pandemic put a stop to that, but Osgood has been able to pick up the phone, chatting with property owners and investors.
“To my surprise, those conversations have gone pretty well,” he said, adding that his firm has been able to be a resource, helping owners with their tenants’ needs, like safety from the virus and with securing unemployment compensation.
The pandemic and surrounding issues are actually topics of conversation that make for good ice-breakers.
“Everyone has their opinion, and it’s a good way to build rapport right off the bat,” he said. “It’s a little more of a political conversation, but regardless, the day-to-day has changes.”
On a more personal level, Osgood said he’s glad to have some more time for personal and professional development, and reading more.
“And to really step back and be able to paint the picture of what we want the company to look like, going forward,” Osgood said. “The pandemic has enabled us to think about what our stance is in the market, and what our perception is to clients and others.”
Going forward. Osgood said he plans to make his own growth a bigger part than he had planned. Working remotely, he said, will also enable him to realize savings in office expenses and supplies. The layout of the current office will also be different. Online meetings will also likely continue to have a larger role.
The setback in the early goings for Residential Services Group, Osgood said, will hopefully one day be a small glitch in the rear-view mirror.
“Our expectations for growth are pretty high, but our timeline is pretty long,” he said. “It’s probably a blessing in disguise to have these three to four months to finalize our business plan and be able to come up with a strategy to come out of the pandemic.”
For more information, visit https://scresidentialservicesgroup.com/.
