Her Story
About Zaida
Zaida Rivera serves as a Property Manager in the apartment industry, where she has worked for about 14 years since around 2010. Based in Foley, Alabama, she manages several apartment communities in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with a focus on owner-managed properties and ground properties. She has successfully increased occupancy and revenue at properties, such as raising occupancy by 20 percent at Sweetwater Apartments in nine months, and has overseen operations including marketing, maintenance, accounting, and SOP development for larger portfolios of up to 490 units. Rivera holds an Associate Degree in Apparel Manufacturing Management and an Associate of Arts degree. Her background includes retail management experience from Los Angeles, California, after growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, which she applies to property management through attention to detail and a merchandising perspective. She values transparency, teamwork, and maintaining a positive attitude, and attributes her success to her motivation and the influence of her hardworking parents, including her father's Army service and her mother's career progression.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Zaida
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think I'm just motivated, like I want to do my best. I just want to go home and just be proud of what I do. My father and my mother were really hardworking. My dad was in the Army. I've seen my mom start from delivering pizzas at Pizza Hut to working with generals in the Army.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
At the end of the day, we can't sweat the small things. We have to focus on the bigger picture. In this industry it could be very draining because there's always some kind of issue that we're trying to resolve or some crisis sometimes on a daily basis, and you can't let what people say dictate your emotions. And just to stay positive, and for me personally, like, laughter really truly is the best medicine.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that I think it's always really important to be optimistic. Do your best, and always have a network of people that you can turn to and trust. Whenever you need advice, or even just encouragement, I think it's really important to keep a network of people around you, a good circle of friends. And mentors.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the challenges in my industry, I think there's a disconnect between upper-level management and the on-site team as far as what the team can handle. There's a lot that can happen on site, especially on the maintenance side of things, and sometimes resources are limited. As far as opportunities, I think it's a great opportunity for women. Starting in property management is one of the best careers I can think of because a lot of companies are willing to train on the job. You don't necessarily really need an education or a background, you just need to have a great personality and the willingness to want to learn and be eager to try new things.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Taking pride in what you do, and just knowing that I did the best that I could do every single day. Transparency is huge for me. Teamwork's a really big deal for me. If your team's not cohesive or you don't get along with the people that you work with or someone has a bad attitude, that can really bring down the team. An attitude and a great personality is, you know, goes a long way.
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