Michael Song’s MR Empire By Paul Shih, PRET Australia Trainer
From a cleaning business to a management rights empire, Michael Song’s enviable portfolio now boasts more than 20 buildings across three states, including some of Australia’s tallest buildings.
I found it hard to believe, upon our first meeting, that such a young man was the founder and CEO of Song Properties, a group that manages over 3500 units across 20+ buildings in Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia. At just 34 years’ old, Michael Song has achieved more than most in our industry!
PERSON OF INTEREST
(Song Dynasty):
Back in 2003, Michael arrived in Adelaide as an international high school student from China, then moved to Brisbane in 2006 to study accounting at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). His first job was working as a waiter at a Chinese YumCha restaurant, serving hot tea, clearing dishes, and figuring out how to carry more plates at once without breaking any. Michael attributes his success to a few key lessons he learned from his parents: how to deal with people, how to analyse problems from different perspectives, how to work hard, and how to save money. He learned to be adaptable at work and appreciate any opportunities thrown his way. He says he always believed that in this lucky country he would not starve but that hard work would bring him a better life. Michael started his own cleaning business back in 2009, and this marked his first encounter with the management rights industry. One day, after an argument with one of his onsite manager clients, he came back home to his apartment, hungry and tired. His roommate had prepared a hot pot for dinner, and as he went through the leftovers, Michael noticed the Chinese newspaper used to cover the dining table had an advertisement listing for Pine Tree Apartments Management Rights for sale. He thought to himself, I can do better than other onsite managers. So, he used his hard-earned savings and bought his first management rights business off-the-plan in 2011. There were many challenges for an inexperienced onsite manager to face in an offthe-plan apartment.
Michael Song
ResortNews | September 2020
INDUSTRY
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