Episode 22 with Steven Toro

• 01:14 - Meet Steven Toro, property manager and improv comedian
• 12:02 - The nonlinear path of multifamily and property management
• 13:21 - Employee entrepreneurship
• 20:06 - 3 Community Boss questions

It’s such a joy to interview Bosses on our Community Boss podcast, and today’s guest is no exception! Meet Steven Toro: former actor, model, and comedian; previous multifamily and student property manager; and a current podcaster and YouTuber in the PropTech real estate investment realm. Aside from an entertaining conversation, he elaborated on what he’s coined as employee entrepreneurship.

Employee entrepreneurship is the idea that employees operate as independent contractors, even though they are employed by a company (and even though employees are not categorized as independent contractors for tax reasons).

In previous generations, employees often stayed with a good company for as long as possible, hopefully until retirement. The idea was that if you’re a good worker, the business will be good to you and pay you more.

However, employee entrepreneurship considers you, the employee, as an asset. You are the commodity that you’re selling back to the company. Obviously, employees bring value to a business. Yet you can work for a company that views you as an asset, and you have the opportunity to work for a company that you truly enjoy. And with the intertwining of technology, the work-life balance has tipped over the years, making this perspective even more important.

Steven said, “We’ve all heard it: nobody wants to work anymore. These people have always existed who don’t want to work. But, however, the difference is…not that we’re not working, just that we’re operating differently in the workplace. And that’s where employee entrepreneurship comes in… It encapsulates the new work style that we’ve adopted.”

Bosses, how are you an employee entrepreneur? Have you coined a phrase in the multifamily industry that has impacted how you live, lead, and Manage Like A Boss? We’d love to hear more — share it with us on a future episode of the Boss Talks Podcast!

Just for fun: Steven Toro’s lessons from improv comedy:

• You always have something to say.
• It makes you think on your feet.
• You have to be aware of multiple people at the same time.
• It exposes the multiple aspects of conversation and interactions.
• You quickly come up with creative solutions.
• It helps you develop a lot of confidence!