Welcome back to Exit & Equity, the email for serious self storage owners.

Today we’re applying a ruthless engineering principle to the messy reality of running a storage facility.

Let’s go!

There is a software engineer somewhere in Seattle or Austin right now who thinks he saved your business today.

He looks at your business and thinks he sees the problem: "They need online rentals. They need occupancy dashboards. They need to collect money."

And sure, he's technically right. We do need those things.

But most technology projects in this industry never address actual user issues. They just guess. They build features based on what looks good in a demo, not what happens when a gate code fails at 9 PM or when a lead goes cold because your manager got distracted.

So you end up with beautiful dashboards, sleek "modern" designs, and a shiny interface... but you're left wondering why your daily operations still feel like a fire drill.

You're left wondering: "Is this it?"

The problem isn't the code. The problem is that the software is trying to be everything, and failing at most of it.

I got tired of waiting for my PMS (Property Management Software) to become a good project management tool. It's never going to happen.

So I stopped asking it to.

I built a Decoupled System. I stripped the PMS of its power and distributed the work to components that actually know how to do the job.

Here's how I broke my data out of jail and built a stack that actually works.

In data engineering, we hate "monoliths", massive, all-in-one systems that do everything poorly. We prefer "micro-services" or decoupled systems. You pick the best tool for the specific job, and you build pipes between them.

Storage operators need to adopt this mindset.

Your storage software vendors want you to be a "Monolith User." They want you to use their CRM, their task manager, their internal messaging, their website builder. They want you trapped in their ecosystem so you can't leave.

I rejected that. I decided to treat my facility operations like a data pipeline.

Here are the four components of my stack.

Tool: Your PMS (SiteLink, storEDGE, Tenant Inc, Storeganise, 6Storage, etc.)
Role: The Database of Record (and nothing else)

I treat my storage software with a healthy dose of disrespect. I don't look at its dashboards. I don't use its "To-Do" lists. I don't rely on its reporting.

I force the PMS to do the only two things it is actually good at:

That's it. It is the "Source of Truth" for money and leases. But it is not allowed to manage my team's workflow. It is strictly a database that we happen to pay monthly for.

Why this works:
Your PMS is built for compliance and transactions, not operations. Stop forcing it to do jobs it was never designed to do well.

Tool: Slack
Role: The Nervous System

Most operators use email for operations. Email is where tasks go to die. It's slow, siloed, and passive.

Slack is our "Comms Center." It's the nervous system of the business.

How we use it:

Channels: We have dedicated channels for #leads, #maintenance, #collections, and #site-updates. Everything has a home.

Transparency: When a bot posts an update, everyone sees it. No more "Did you get that email?" or "Check your spam folder."

Speed: Operations happen in real-time. Alerts happen here. Discussion happens here. Decisions happen here.

Why this works:
Slack on your phone means you see exceptions in real-time, not when you remember to check email three hours later.

Stop typing reproductions and start vibing code. Wispr Flow captures your spoken debugging flow and turns it into structured bug reports, acceptance tests, and PR descriptions. Say a file name or variable out loud and Flow preserves it exactly, tags the correct file, and keeps inline code readable. Use voice to create Cursor and Warp prompts, call out a variable like user_id, and get copy you can paste straight into an issue or PR. The result is faster triage and fewer context gaps between engineers and QA. Learn how developers use voice-first workflows in our Vibe Coding article at wisprflow.ai. Try Wispr Flow for engineers.

Start flowing free

Tool: Make
Role: The Task Generator / Traffic Cop

This is the most important part of the stack. This is the "General Contractor" that tells everyone else what to do.

Make.com sits between my PMS and my team. It watches the PMS like a hawk.

Examples:

It applies Business Logic. It decides who needs to know about this event and what they need to do about it.

The PMS doesn't decide urgency. Make decides urgency based on the rules I programmed into it.

Why this works:
Your PMS fires events (new lead, failed payment, move-out). Make catches those events and routes them intelligently based on YOUR business rules, not the vendor's default assumptions.

Tool: Monday
Role: The Execution Layer

This is where the work actually lives.

If Make.com is the traffic cop, Monday.com is the destination.

Note - I like to use Monday, but there are a few other tools that work just as well:
- Click up
- Asana
- Smartsuite
- Airtable
- Jira

Shoot me an email if you are curious about the differences between these!

What we use it for:

Monday is our OS. It's visual, customizable, and—most importantly—it's ours. We define the columns, the statuses, and the views. We don't rely on a software vendor to guess how we want to view our data.

Why this works:
Monday.com (or Asana, ClickUp, etc.) is built for workflow management. Your PMS is not. Use the right tool for the job.

Here's what happens when you hook these components together.

The "Little Engineer" at the software company thinks a lead is just a row in a database. I think a lead is a ticking time bomb.

The Event: Customer fills out a web form at 2:37 PM.

PMS (The Ledger): Records the inquiry in its database.

Make (The Logic): Detects the new record via API within 60 seconds. It immediately formats a message: "🔥 Hot Lead: Sarah Johnson looking for 10x10 Climate. Phone: (804) 555-1234. Source: Google Ads."

Slack (The Comms): Pings the #sales channel instantly. Notification appears on manager's phone.

Monday (The OS): Creates a new item on the "Sales Pipeline" board, assigns it to the on-duty manager, and starts a timer tracking response time.

Result: We don't check the software for leads. The software taps us on the shoulder. Our average response time is measured in minutes while the Industry average is in hours.

The PMS thinks a failed payment is just a red number on a report. I think it's an immediate threat to cash flow.

The Event: Autopay declines at 2:00 AM.

PMS (The Ledger): Marks tenant as "Past Due" in the system.

Make (The Logic): Sees the status change within minutes. It checks the tenant's history: First time delinquent or repeat offender? Amount owed? Days overdue?

Slack (The Comms): Sends a notification to #collections channel at 8:00 AM (no middle-of-the-night pings): "💳 Payment Failed: Unit 104, John Smith. Amount: $150. First-time delinquency."

Monday (The OS): Automatically moves the tenant into the "Day 1-5 Collections" column on our Collections Board. Task assigned to manager: "Send friendly payment reminder text."

Result: We aren't reactive at the end of the month when we finally run a delinquency report. We're proactive the same morning the payment fails.

The PMS thinks a move-out is just a vacancy that needs to be re-rented. I think it's a unit that needs cleaning, inspection, re-pricing, and re-marketing—in that order.

The Event: Manager processes a move-out at 11:23 AM.

PMS (The Ledger): Updates occupancy to "Vacant." Removes tenant from billing.

Make (The Logic): Triggers the "Turnover Sequence" immediately. It knows: What size is this unit? What's the current market rate? Is it climate-controlled or standard?

Monday (The OS): Creates a series of tasks on the "Turnover Board":

Slack (The Comms): Notifies #maintenance channel: "🔧 Unit 204 ready for turnover. Inspect and clean by EOD tomorrow."

Result: Nothing falls through the cracks. Every vacant unit moves through a consistent process. Our average time-to-market: 2.3 days. Industry average: 7-10 days.

When you build a decoupled system, you become dangerous.

You realize that most of the "features" you pay for in your PMS are garbage compared to dedicated tools like Monday or Slack.

You realize you're paying a premium for a "suite" where only 20% of the tools are useful.

Software vendors want you to be helpless without them. They want you waiting on their roadmap for a better report or a better task list. They want you locked into their ecosystem because switching costs are too high.

When you decouple, you stop waiting. You own your data. You own your workflow.

If your PMS goes out of business tomorrow, you lose the database—but your operational systems (Slack, Monday, Make) keep running. You can plug in a new PMS in days, not months.

That's freedom.

you don't need to be a data engineer to do this, but you do need to stop accepting the default settings.

Here's how to start with ONE workflow that will change how you operate.

We're going to build the "Lead Speed Protocol" from Example 1 above. When a lead comes in, it will automatically:

Total setup time: 60-90 minutes
Ongoing maintenance: Zero
Value: Never miss a lead, respond in minutes instead of hours

Monday.com:

Slack:

Make.com:

This is the crucial step. You need to get data OUT of your PMS.

Option A: API Connection (Best)

Option B: Email Parsing (Easier but less elegant)

For this example, let's assume you're using the API method.

The Flow:

Module 1: Trigger - "Watch PMS for New Leads"

Module 2: Format the Data

🔥 Hot Lead Alert Name: {{lead.name}} Phone: {{lead.phone}} Unit: {{lead.unit_size}} Source: {{lead.source}} [Assign to manager NOW]

Module 3: Post to Slack

Module 4: Create Monday.com Item

Module 5: (Optional) Start Response Timer

In Make.com:

Debug if needed:

In Make.com:

In Monday.com:

In Slack:

Track these metrics:

Before automation:

After automation:

In Monday.com, you can track:

Monthly recurring:

Total: $0-20/month

Time saved: 5-10 hours/month in faster lead response and eliminated PMS checking

Revenue impact: Even one extra rental per month from faster response = $1,200-2,400/year. ROI: Infinite.

"My PMS doesn't have an API"
→ Use the email parsing method. Most PMS platforms can email you lead notifications.

"Make.com is too technical for me"
→ Try Zapier instead (more user-friendly, slightly more expensive). Or hire someone on Upwork to set it up for $50-100.

"I don't use Slack"
→ Use Microsoft Teams or even just email alerts to start. Slack is better, but any notification beats checking PMS manually.

"What if the automation breaks?"
→ Make.com emails you when scenarios fail. You'll know immediately. Plus, your PMS still has the lead data—worst case, you check manually once while you fix the automation.

"How do I get my team to use Monday.com instead of the PMS?"
→ Make Monday the ONLY place they check for leads. Don't give them a choice. If it's in Monday, it exists. If it's not, it doesn't. Consistency beats preference.

Once you have lead routing working, build these next:

Delinquency Alerts (Example 2 from earlier)
→ Same process: PMS marks past due → Make alerts Slack → Monday creates collection task

Move-Out Turnover (Example 3 from earlier)
→ PMS processes move-out → Make triggers turnover checklist → Monday assigns tasks → Slack notifies maintenance

Maintenance Requests
→ Tenant submits request → Make routes to Monday maintenance board → Assigns to appropriate person → Slack notifies

Weekly Revenue Report
→ Make pulls weekly revenue from PMS → Formats nice summary → Posts to Slack every Monday 9 AM

Each workflow takes 60-90 minutes to build. After 3-4 workflows, you'll have a fully decoupled operational system.

Your PMS is a database, not an operating system. Stop treating it like one.

The "Little Engineer" in Austin will keep building features you don't need. Meanwhile, you can build a decoupled stack in a weekend that outperforms his entire roadmap.

The four components:

Pick ONE workflow to start: Lead routing is the easiest and has the most immediate ROI.

Build it this week. Once you see how it works, you'll never go back to checking your PMS manually.

Stop letting software vendors decide how you run your business.

Own your data. Own your workflow. Decouple.

P.S. - Want to see my exact Make.com scenario for lead routing? I'll send you a screenshot of the full setup plus the JSON file you can import directly into your Make.com account. Reply with "Blueprint" and I'll send it over.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

— Epictetis