We recently connected with Candice Manning and have shared our conversation below.

Candice , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, folks often look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight – but that often obscures all the nitty, gritty details of everything that went into the growth phase of your business. We’d love to hear about your scaling story and how you scaled up?

Don’t chase money, chase passion and the money will chase you.

After graduating college, like many I was extremely optimistic about my future confident that I would secure a high paying job and be able to excel with hard work and dedication. Coming from a small town, I worked several jobs after graduation but did not find the opportunity in my city to secure a career that I loved or that paid what I thought I was worth. I was a teen mother with a daughter to support, so I needed money. So at the early age of 25, I decided to move to Baltimore, MD where I had family, to start a new journey. I had decided that I would pursue a master’s degree once I moved and thought that I wanted to work in HR.

A week before my scheduled move I posted my resume on Monster.com (aging myself) and quickly got a call from a company asking me if I would like to “make cookies and show apartments”. I responded that I was interested and the day after I moved to Maryland, I had an interview to be a Leasing Professional. My thought at the time was that I needed to secure a small job while I went back to school. As I drove on the apartment community on the way to the interview, I got an overwhelming feeling that I was supposed to work there. The interview went well and was offered a leasing position.

The community was nice, and I quickly realized that I was exceptionally good at selling apartment homes and enjoyed the job. In fact, I fell in love with what I was doing so much that I no longer had the desire to further my education. I felt strongly that I could build a career in property management, and I was extremely inspired by the company’s trainer who was knowledgeable, well spoken, fashionable and a huge resource to those who worked onsite. In the back of my mind, I thought to myself “one day I am going to be her, I am going to train people on how to do this”.

I ended up working at that community for nearly 4 years and had 2 promotions during that time period. I learned a lot about the business and was very driven to continue learning and make it to a management level. Fast forward, I moved on from that company and worked at a distressed property for the largest property management firm in the nation, it was no. ng like the experience I had at my first community but during that time I learned valuable lessons about team, creating processes and making big things happen with small resources. The property I was working at was sold, but I was able to secure another position as an Assistant Property Manager at a mixed-use building in downtown Baltimore. Little did I know that my next chapter would be life changing.

I started my Assistant Property Manager role at a company that was very team focused. This company invested in their people providing training and offering elevated levels of engagement with the team. I loved the culture and unlike most companies they were not just result focused. Leadership understood that to be a leader in any industry, you must be self-aware and hone in on the soft skills needed to lead a team. During my onboarding orientation, I found myself inspired by the trainers who were extremely professional, poised and were also women of color like me. I knew that one day I wanted to train and inspire people like they were inspiring me.

Due to the structure of the company (flat) and the low turnover rate, the opportunity to advance was limited but opportunity to grow personally and professionally was unmatched. I took advantage of the leadership training they offered as well as the autonomy that I had in my position. I made it a point to give my best every day and worked hard not just to achieve but to exceed established goals. I was also anxious as I wanted to be promoted; at the time I was chasing money and a title. I won numerous awards, secured the largest deal in history renting 26 apartments and a commercial space (250k income) and maintained 100% occupancy at the community, yet I still wasn’t getting promoted. At the time I was a bit frustrated but later realized that I had to learn a valuable lesson as I waited for my turn—patience.
As I was learning to be patient and to trust the process, I finally got the call and was promoted to Property Manager after spending 5 years in an Assistant Property Manager role. I was more than excited and wanted to go in with a bang. I led a team of 15 individuals at a mixed-use community. As a first-time Property Manager, I made my fair share of mistakes. I turned over almost half of the team in year one and also overwhelmed my team with projects and change. Despite my mistakes, we ended up being very successful at that community and I realized that I was more than ready for more and new challenges.

I kept getting an internal call to train and develop people. I attempted to do so with my company but again, the opportunity was limited. I decided to reach out to my local association for whom I had been an active member, serving on the board and committees to see if they would give me an opportunity to teach a class. They were more than happy to do so. I began writing content while I was still a Property Manager and was able to start teaching a class. I received no pay at all; in fact, I paid to print my own materials, so it cost me money to train. At the time, I did not care. I just wanted the opportunity to reach people, and I did just that.

After 7 years at the company, I thought I would retire from, I took a leap and began yet another chapter of my journey. I was fortunate enough to be offered an opportunity to open a brand-new building in another area. I was extremely excited for a new challenge and a bit nervous to work for a new company. The company was drastically different than where I came from, and it took me a minute to acclimate to the culture. Managing a “lease up” at a small company was tough as we did not have the same resources that I was accustomed to but it then dawned on me that I had more to learn, more room to grow and not only was I learning 3rd party management I was learning another valuable lesson——get creative and figure it out; flexibility. Nothing is perfect, but there is beauty in any opportunity, you must view it that way.

Successfully opened and leased up the building during COVID-19 and during this time I was gaining momentum on the training side. I conducted several classes for my local association, and had facilitated digital trainings for another association based in Washington, DC. I expressed my desire to be a trainer/facilitator to the company and they were open to it but were too small to support/justify that position at that point. I did not allow that to discourage me, I continued to work hard and trust my process and 3 days after we stabilized my community, I was promoted to another community which was a takeover from another company.

Takeovers are hard as you know nothing. I did not have the opportunity to build my team, I had no one in the building to share previous knowledge and the residents were not thrilled to have a new management company. Despite the challenges and many long nights, I tried my best every day and within 5 months the community was performing better than projected, and ownership was delighted. The team and I did so well at the community that I was then tasked to manage another community with the same owner and became a multi-site property manager.

Despite my outward success, I felt unfulfilled. I wanted to develop people and again just had an overwhelming feeling that I was placed here to reach people in a different capacity. At this point I was training more often—still not making any money doing it, but I was grateful for the opportunity. I was now training for my local association, had facilitated for IREM, and was finally getting calls from companies for work. All of this took place while I was managing 2 buildings. I would work late and chase my dreams at night—preparing content, practicing teaching, googling to learn how to be the best at it. Finally, after 15 years onsite, I found the courage to bet on myself and gave notice. I was determined that I would work for myself until I found an opportunity that matched my passion.

Opportunity quickly found me as I was only independent for 2 months when I was presented with a unique opportunity from my local association, The Maryland Multi-Housing Association. The Executive Director had a vision to open a Leasing Training Academy—a training program to introduce people to property management. I was up for the challenge and accepted a position as a Director of Workforce Development and Training.

The task in front of me was tough as I had to create the program from scratch as well as market, recruit, brand and build a sustainable business model in a 4-month time period. I worked endless nights writing curriculum, got creative with marketing using my personal brand (which I was building in the background) to raise awareness of what was coming and was intentional about expanding my network. At the time, I was a one man show as there are no other jobs like mine in the nation and I had no team to support the Leasing Training Academy (LTA) efforts.

Not only did I write the full curriculum, but I also created every single process associated with the academy as well as managed all of the marketing and recruitment efforts. At the same time, I was promoted within the Association and was now overseeing all education/workforce development for the MMHA, leading a team of 2 which quickly became a team of 3.

The result of my efforts was a 4 and a half week comprehensive training program that educated individuals on every aspect of leasing from Fair Housing, phone skills, tour, ORA, social media, etc. and then transitioned the last week into soft skills i.e., communication for success, polish and professionalism, conflict resolution. We created a structure where companies would opt to be LTA Placement Partners and receive weekly updates on student progress and could be involved in the program. The goal was to gain buy in so that our Placement Partners would hire our students after graduation.

It was finally time to launch the LTA, and the training facility we used was located in National Harbor (Oxon Hill, MD). Living in Baltimore, I drove 1.5-2 hours daily (one way) to facilitate the LTA. The days were exceedingly long, I did this for a year before the program did so well that we approved to expand to Baltimore County using Workforce Development Funding. During that year, we trained nearly 60 students, 75% of which secured jobs in the property management industry. While focused on the LTA, I also continued to work on my personal brand and began training for different companies both through the MMHA and also through my personal brand. Needless to say, year one was tiring but I could finally see the fruits of my work coming to fruition.

Fast forward, now we are at a point where we are ready to launch in Baltimore and were able to contract out a trainer to facilitate in National Harbor. We launched LTA Baltimore in May of 2024 and had remarkable success. 8 of the 10 graduates secured jobs within 10 days of gradation, and with 2 locations it became clear that the LTA was here to stay.
That June, the LTA was awarded the Anthony Pusateri Career Promotion Award from NAA (National Apartment Association) a mere 18 months after launch. Additionally, the LTA has caught the attention of national speakers and organizations; we used to chase people to be partners and now companies reach out to us. Our students are thriving in their roles, and we have had three students be hired into positions higher than leasing due to the training they received in our program. The Leasing Training Academy is a real thing, it is growing, and we have created a sustainable workforce development initiative.

Candice Manning is also still extremely focused on building my brand. Over the last two years, my following has doubled. Not only do I train for various companies, but I now conduct Keynote Speeches, Strategic Planning Sessions and have had the opportunity to work with countless organizations. I am humbled by the turn in my career because there was a time when I trained for free, and now can make a living doing exactly what I love. Opportunity comes to me, I no longer chase it, but I do work hard continuously to ensure that my brand equates to quality. I pride myself on creating content that transforms. I also am humbled by the amount of support that I have received on this journey.

Although I am still working to achieve all my goals, I am optimistic about the future. My network has grown, and I am always humbled by the response I receive after a speech or a training. I am living proof that hard work does pay off, but you do have to be willing to make the sacrifice. I have finally become the woman I wanted to be–like the women who inspired me, I now aim to inspire others.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Prior to becoming the Director of Workforce Development and Training for the Maryland Multi-Housing Association, I spent 15 years working in multifamily property management ending my property management career as a multi-site Property Manager. I now oversee all Education efforts for the association including our innovative and award-winning workforce development programs—The Leasing Training Academy and the Service Training Apprenticeship program.

A lot of my time is spent working with property management professionals to uncover performance challenges that they are facing with their teams. I am then able to create training content based on the needs of the property management workforce. I pride myself on being “different” than other trainers as most people who facilitate/train in multifamily did not spend most of their career onsite as I did. Being onsite for 15 years allowed me to evaluate learning gaps that exist within our industry and see firsthand the effect that company culture and lack of “people” focus has on the teams that are on the ground.

I use my practical knowledge to create and deliver content that is designed specifically to encourage a shift in mindset. I have learned and strongly believe that most of the challenges we face are a result of adopting the wrong mindset; my trainings offer applicable takeaways and challenge individuals to “start with self” as it is only through increased self-awareness we can modify behavior.

I also like to believe that I am relatable. I am not the girl who just had success handed to me. As an African American, single/teen mother I have overcome many obstacles and still believe that anything is possible. I find that people connect with me for these reasons as I can relate to the challenges that many face as they are looking to build.
I work hard to ensure that my brand aligns very much with positivity and intention. I believe that everyone has the aptitude to do what they love and make a living doing it, but you have to have your mind right. Dr. Wayne Dyer (who I listen to daily) has been a huge influence in my life and I now operate under the belief that we should all have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing. I also have a fundamental belief that all things are possible and encourage everyone I meet to BELIEVE that as I have manifested most of my dreams.

Lastly, I work hard to make sure that my personal brand equates to quality and professionalism. I treat every job that I secure as my most important job as it is important to me that when people patronize my business, inside or outside of the association, they feel they receive the value for money they pay. I remain humble and grateful for the opportunities that continue to come my way.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Somehow, wherever I go I ruffle feathers. It is never intentional; I often see possibility that others don’t recognize which makes me look crazy but somehow it works out. It was no different when I worked as an Assistant Property Manager in downtown Baltimore. As a region (city) we were suffering vacancy across multiple buildings largely due to the market. For a long time, our community was able to miss the suffering that all the other communities were experiencing, but in 2017 we too were experiencing vacancy, and I knew that I had to do something BIG quickly so we could bounce back.

I had been working to build relationships in the downtown area and has fostered a pretty big deal with the then Royal Farms Arena (now the CFG arena) which was untraditional but had worked out as a retention/engagement tool for the entire Baltimore region. I built a strong relationship with the PR Director, Jamie Curtis, and one day she called me and asked me to attend a press conference. I had no idea what the press conference was about, but I knew if she told me I needed to be there that I needed to go. Little did I know that my attendance at this press conference would change the trajectory of my career.

The press conference was the introduction of an Arena Football Team in Baltimore. Jamie came up to me while we were there and whispers “they are going to need housing.” I immediately thought we need them to live with us so we can fill all these vacancies. The Arena Team was backed by Monumental Sports Entertainment, and I was able to build a relationship in attempts to have the team live with us.

While this sounded like a promising idea to me, the President of the company I worked for was entirely against a football team living in our apartments. Additionally, Monumental was concerned with pricing and wanted a discount due to the bulk of apartments we needed. Discounts/concessions were a no-no at this company, and we were not allowed to offer concessions at all. A little Assistant Property Manager proposing to discount rent was viewed as crazy and leadership did not support the idea at all.

I did not allow pessimism to affect my drive. I was seeing first had the effects that the vacancy was having on the entire city portfolio and if we didn’t move, it was going to be detrimental. I worked tirelessly touring people from Monumental, preparing spreadsheets, negotiating deals for 2 months and despite newer competition, Monumental Sports Entertainment gave us the deal. They needed 26 apartment homes and a commercial space.

We were able to move the team in across 3 buildings and fill a space that was vacant for years. This deal saved the city and ended up resulting in 250k profit which would have undoubtedly been a loss. Despite all the adversity that I faced while facilitating this deal, once the team arrived, it changed the culture on the block they rented in in a wonderful way.
The president who was terribly upset with me publicly recognized me at the awards banquet, stating “I should have fired her because she didn’t listen to me, but it was a good deal.” The team remained in those apartment homes for 2 years helping multiple communities maintain occupancy.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Funny story, I was at an apartment community that was challenging, and I knew that to get promoted I needed to keep the apartments full (no vacancy). I had a wild idea one day to go into an empty apartment and shoot a video. I asked one of my team members to take his iPhone and follow me around while I toured the home. He did and we posted my tour with no editing to the apartment community’s social media and received 1000 organic views overnight. For an apartment community that was unheard of. This is the day I learned the power of social media.

I got with our Social Media Specialist at the company, and he suggested boosting the post on FB, $50 resulted in receiving 15,000 views and renting 7 apartment homes. We continued to use social media to sell apartment homes, and I didn’t realize it at the time, but it also helped me build my brand.

As I grew in my career, I realized that social media was a gamechanger and started to integrate video into my personal pages. People started to know me from my video presence as I kept it going in every community. I later used LinkedIn to promote whatever it is that I had going on and have doubled my LinkedIn following in the last year and a half through posting what I do and making it clear that my services were available.

My advice to anyone looking to build a social media presence is as follows:

Be clear about what your goals are. Figure out what you want from your social media channels.

Be intentional about what you post. Not only does it need to match your brand, but it also needs to match the channel you want to build on.

Be consistent, challenge yourself to post a minimum of 3 times a week.

Engage with others. You cannot just post to build. You must connect and engage on others’ post.

Be responsive. When people comment or message, find the time to message back.

Be patient. It is not a race. Focus on quality posts that capture your brand and who you are.

Take it off social media. Make connections that make sense for your business and connect via phone, zoom and in person. Your network will determine your net worth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mmhalta.org
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candice-manning-calp-cam-naaei-faculty-1382493a/