Innovation out of principal, not necessity. That’s exactly what every business, no matter what industry, should keep at the forefront of their goals. 

You’ve heard me claim that one of the keys to a successful business is to put yourself out of business, which means that you should be finding innovations that your competition could use against you and make sure you adopt them first. If you want to be the best at what you do, you need to constantly figure out how to improve, do away with any fears of trying something new, and take the leap towards your next evolution. 

Back in 2017, Rockstar Capital began its journey into the digital space. Today, our business is capable of operating 100% remotely. We can give virtual tours, complete the leasing process online, collect payment on our online portal, and even utilize a 24/7 call center operated by professional leasing agents. This means that in the event that our prospects cannot make it to our office or we are forced to close our doors, we can continue to do business without a hitch. 

We certainly didn’t build this process with an international pandemic in mind, but now that we find ourselves in this situation, we are prepared and ahead of the curve. We’re able to continue focusing on keeping our assets stable and our residents at a time when the competition is scrambling to build the infrastructure we’ve had for years. 

It’s one thing to be an early-adopter and another to play catch-up with your industry. When you innovate too late, it means that you miss your chance for an easy and slow transition. Your cost to adapt will mostly likely increase and you almost certainly give your competition a chance to surge ahead while you step aside to refuel.

Blockbuster didn’t innovate into the online space until it was far too late. Netflix already owned that space and the rest of the industry was quickly following suit. It broke their business simply because they waited to innovate until they had to, and by then it was already too late. 

In cases like this, you’ll never know how valuable an innovation will be until your thrust into the one case in which you need it most. That’s why innovation through principal, not necessity, is crucial to any business.