Jumped into my first PM role last month managing a 72‑unit garden property in Aurora and I’m trying to build a real network fast. If you’ve found a mentor through IREM/BOMA or another path, how did you approach them, and are there specific monthly meetups or Slack groups you’d recommend for rookies? I’m also open to shadowing — what’s a fair way to ask without being a time sink for the mentor?
What’s worked for me is offering a small deliverable when you ask: “mind if I shadow one turnover walk and I’ll build a 1‑page photo‑log template you can reuse with vendors?” @jadams70’s ride‑along idea is solid; add a clear end time and bring donuts, then follow up with the template — want my exact DM script to copy?
IREM Denver Coffee & Convos is rookie-friendly — ask, ‘can I observe one renewal call?’ I’ll swap my 72‑unit comps.
Cold DMs were a black hole for me, ; what worked was asking our flooring rep to intro me to a regional and using, “could we do a 20‑minute exterior walk next Tuesday — I’ll send my turn matrix beforehand and recap notes for you?” For rookies, Apartments Association of Metro Denver’s roundtables/Next Gen are solid monthly touchpoints: https://www.aamdhq.org. If you’re game, I can connect you to my AAMD contact or share the template I used for my 72‑unit in Aurora.