Meet Derek McMonagle | President of The STR Manager | Founder & Coach at The DMac Method | VP of Operations at The Bloom Project


We had the good fortune of connecting with Derek McMonagle and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Derek, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
That’s a great question. It’s often a question that get’s overlooked by myself because I can get caught up into the day to day grind of business and entrepreneurship, but I definitely think about it often.
The end goal for me is to make an exit from my Airbnb property management company, The STR Manager in the next 3-5 years, continue coaching and consulting through The DMac Method: Elite Discipline Coaching, and then prioritize my time towards nonprofit work.
I am currently building and setting the stage for two nonprofits. The first non profit is The Bloom Project, which stands for Building Leadership Opportunities w/ Organizations & Mentorships. This is where I want to give back to the business, personal development, and entrepreneurial community. I want to take all of my experience and help the next generation of aspiring entrepreneurs. We are currently building out our programs now and are very excited to launch these initiatives at the start of January 2023.
I am also currently building out another nonprofit that is more personal to myself, my background, and my family. I have had a lot of friends and family members that struggle from alcohol and drug addiction, and unfortunately have lost people close to me from addiction, and it’s a huge passion project for me to stop the disease of addiction. It is my true purpose of why I was put here on Earth. So many people struggle with this disease and I want to make a huge impact on this community and help prevent drugs and alcohol from damaging individuals and family’s moving forward.
So, to answer the question about where I want to be professionally by the end of my career, I’d say, I want to have successfully exited one business that I built to be a 7-8 figure empire, and continue to coach and consult on the side helping entrepreneurs building discipline in their daily lives, while also running my nonprofits and leaving a lasting impact and legacy here on Earth.


Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
So, over the past two years, I started two companies in the midst of COVID. The first company is The DMac Method: Elite Discipline Coaching, which is an accountability coaching and consulting firm for entrepreneurs that I took from 0 clients to over 50 clients, and working with individuals from startups to large corporations like the Phoenix Suns and Google, and having expanded to working with clients in the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Japan.
I also started The STR Manager, which is an Airbnb property management company, and that is the company I’ll focus on here today. When it comes to Airbnb property management, what sets us apart is our approach to how we manage our client relationships, as well as the Disney-world experience we curate for our clients and guests.
In today’s world, it has become easier and easier to join the less than 1% of those that want to be great, simply because people don’t want to put in the effort. We are super proud and excited about the work we do when it comes to curating this type of elite customer service experience and that is what separates us from the large corporations, and also our ability to have local boots on the ground that are available 24/7 to assist our clients and guests at any point, with anything.
Even though this all sounds great, it took awhile of building systems and processes to get to this point and to be able to curate this type of experience. It took us over 10 months to generate our first dollar in business and our first property, and now we have gone from 1 property to 25 properties in the past 6 months, as well as have expanded into 3 states, which include Arizona, Texas, and Florida.
Ruben Ochoa, President and Founder of SF Industries, was a crucial piece to us building the systems and processes we needed to scale and elevate. The mentorship and consulting he provided and continues to provide to The STR Manager is one of the main reasons we are at the size we are at currently.
One of the main things that I want aspiring entrepreneurs to take from our story is that you need to be willing to be a risk taker and willing to persevere in tough times and dark moments. A lot of people look at our story and see the success we are currently having, but that success came with a price. 10 months of struggle, 10 months of not knowing how the bills were going to get paid, and 10 months of questioning whether or not I should shut this business down.
You need to go into this game with a true and powerful understanding of your why and your purpose, and understand that you are going to have to persevere day in and day out. Don’t give up, but also don’t be afraid to pivot and be agile when needed if your plan isn’t working out.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Let’s see! I’ll start with a Friday morning and work my way through Sunday evening. To start, we are going to wake up early and hike Echo Canyon trail at Camelback Mountain to start the day and see the sun rise. After that, we will shower up, and then go grab breakfast at Elly’s in Uptown Phoenix. After breakfast, we are going to go explore Old Town Scottsdale, check out some cool shopping areas, and then grab a late lunch at Olive & Ivy and grab the salmon with Brussel sprouts and a good glass of pinot noir. From there, we are then going to head up to North Scottsdale and end the night at The Cedar Room with a good Cuban cigar.
Saturday morning, we are going to start off with a little workout around Tempe Town Lake, followed by renting a kayak and go for a little paddle along the lake. After that, we are going to indulge in some great Italian in Scottsdale. We are going to check at Defalco’s and most likely grab a good pizza and a couple good sandwiches! Then for dinner, we will end the night up at Scottsdale Quarter and enjoy my favorite cut of steak at Dominick’s Steakhouse, and then grab some desert at Creamistry.
On Sunday, we will start the day with church down at Queen of Peace parish in Mesa, followed by brunch and coffee at Matt’s Big Breakfast in Downtown Phoenix.
That would pretty much wrap up the trip for us! A lot of food for sure!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d say there have been really three main sources of support and mentorship over the past 6-8 months of my business success. Number one is obviously my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, none of what I have been building would have been possible. As a lifelong Christian and Catholic, my faith has been my stronghold and #1 reason for any business success that I have had.
The second source of support would have to be my parents. Both of my parents were entrepreneurs and really set a foundation for me that I didn’t even really understand until I was older. I always wondered at times where my passion stemmed from when it came to entrepreneurship, and I just had to look within my own household growing up. My parents have been super supportive of my growth and my failures as well, and I don’t give them enough credit for raising me to be the man and business man I am to this day.
Last but not least, I’d have to say, Jesse Corrigan and The Growth House. I met Jesse back in November of 2021 and got introduced to this idea of The Growth House, this 90 day entrepreneurship accelerator immersion experience, and it has changed my life. Jesse has been such a great mentor and teammate that has challenged me in so many different ways, and continues to ask me the hard questions and get’s me to think outside of the box and so much bigger from what I was doing previously.
So, my faith in Christ, my parents, and Jesse and the team over at The Growth House. That’s where my credit and recognition belongs!

Website: www.thestrmanger.com | www.thedmacmethod.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmac412_/?hl=en
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekbmcmonagle/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DBM199/
Other: https://g.page/r/CRhFN_BwM9WxEB0/review
