While reading through the Tim Ferriss blog, I stumbled across a post that speaks about the rollercoasters of emotions that entrepreneurs endure when they build a successful or unsuccessful business.

While reading, I quickly connected the same emotional roller coasters that strata manages experience as they go into the strata industry and manage a portfolio.

Building and maintaining a portfolio can very easily be compared to building maintaining and nurturing and business, you have to manage the client’s needs and expectations, ensure revenue and expenses are both controlled and navigate your way through over 120 different pieces of legislation that regularly contradict and pushing against each other.


The four stages of the rollercoasters perfectly depicted and explained in the following summaries:-

Uninformed Optimism

* Stage 1: The first stage of the concept is called “Uninformed Optimism”. At this stage on a rollercoaster, just getting to the top of the rollercoaster, you experience feelings of an adrenalin rush, characterised by excitement and nervous energy.

Informed Pessimism

* Stage 2: The second stage is called “Informed Pessimism”. As you ride over the top of the curve, you now have a bit more information. Feelings of fear, nervousness, and frustration begin to set in. Perhaps you even want to get off of it.

Crisis of Meaning

* Stage 3 – The third stage is called “Crisis of Meaning”. You’re past scared. You feel despair. It’s as if you’re standing on the edge of a cliff ready to jump, and you begin to think “Today the roller coasters going off the bottom of the track for the very first time.” You feel he, and you’re both terrified and frozen.

* At this point, you face a critical juncture. You can come off the bottom of the curve and crash and burn, which is when your business goes bankrupt, you lose your marriage, you start drinking, or you end up in a doctor’s office because of stress. Or you can come around the corner because you’re getting support at “Crisis of Meaning” and you can enter an upward swing call “Informed Optimism”.

Informed Optimism

* Stage 4 – Informed Optimism. You’re calm. You’re informed. You might even say you are cautiously optimistic.


The crisis of meaning is absolutely real in strata management and traditionally happens to all managers around year two or year three. At this stage that strata manages with good mentors and experienced operators assisting, guiding and supporting them make it through to stage four.

While the managers that are left to self-educate and self-mentor find themselves overwhelmed in the deep dive and come off the tracks. Then leaving the industry never to return, while the majority of their dealings and actions match that of a greater strata manager.