ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Routines
- 09/26/23 03:53 PM
When you have as many furballs as we have, routines are important.
Don't sleep past X time.
Don't put them all to bed before Z time.
Know that if you're late feeding them, they're going to let you know you're late!
As their humans, we have our routines in taking care of them, and they know their part of the routines too! Feeding time, the cats know where each of them gets fed, and so do the Chihuahuas. We have a row of small pet crates in the living room and Hairy Winston goes to crate 4, Tiffany to 5, Gia to 6, Ellie to … (13 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Trying On The Clients' Shoes
- 09/19/23 02:33 PM
No, I'm not literally taking my clients' shoes and trying them on! I'm about comfortable footwear that are easy on/off when showing houses, and that's about the end of my interest in shoes!
But what we've been doing is spending a lot of time walking in our clients' shoes (figuratively) for the last year or so as we prepare to transition from our home in Ohio to our forever home (God willing) with the valley view in West Virginia. The skills we've sharpened with almost 20 years in real estate is paying dividends for us now. The advice we've been giving clients, … (18 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Blogging is Risky Business
- 09/12/23 08:26 AM
Your reputation is at risk with every blog post. You're being watched and first impressions formed.
Even if you don't have any comments on a post, you're being watched, just check your stats if you need proof.
Some people lurk, some engage, either way, people are out there and what you post matters.
If you're in an established community such as ActiveRain, you may establish your reputation over time. Be it good or bad, people have thoughts about you based on your comments, your posts, and how you interact with other members.
Reputations can be heavily influenced from the very first contact, that first blog … (15 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Boom!
- 09/05/23 12:09 PM
Back in my Navy days my last job was as the ship's Ordnance Officer. Guns, missiles, associated radars and the men that kept them running were my responsibility. If you're a young man in his early 20s, could there be a better job on a ship than to stand out on the bridge wing as a practice missile went WOOOSH off the rail to chase down its target?
Now many moons later, what passes for excitement in my life is of a far different (and less combustible) variety. Sometimes it's good, other times it's more of a "something fell down and went … (19 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: 10 Sources of Blogging Ideas
- 08/29/23 05:41 AM
Some days blogging ideas come easy, other days not so much.
So how do you find ideas for blogging? The sources are numerous, it's just a matter of tuning in and realizing another blogging idea is right in front of you.
1. The routines of real estate. Great for FAQ type posts that cover the basics of real estate as they apply to your local market. Explaining real estate terms, the steps of first home buying, financing options, home inspections, etc., the day to day stuff is rich with topics.
2. Housing specific. From advertising your own listings to covering subdivisions, types of housing, … (25 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Just A Cherry Picking Blog!!
- 08/15/23 12:20 PM
As an Ohio licensed real estate agent I can technically work with any home buyer or seller within Ohio's borders.
Since I'd down in the Cincinnati/Dayton corner of the state and not the Cleveland corner 3+ hours away, it wouldn't be sensible for me to blog about Cleveland communities unless I was willing to join some other MLSs, hire local team members, learn Cleveland particulars, etc. And guess what? That's NOT something I want to do.
Our blogging gives us an opportunity to broadcast to EVERY potential home buyer and seller with access to the Internet, but again, is it sensible to try … (17 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Lessons From The Beeyard
- 08/08/23 09:18 AM
We currently have 8 honeybee hives in our backyard apiary. In addition to pollinating our flowers and any other blooms within about a 2 mile radius, our honeybees can provide us two outputs: honey or stings.
We're not into our bees as a business, but we've been doing it long enough to learn some important lessons along the way about whether we're rewarded with honey or stings, and those lessons learned apply to both life in general and real estate.
1. Never stop learning. You start knowing next to nothing, and there's always more to learn. I'm still not the greatest at picking … (18 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Here Be Dragons!
- 08/01/23 02:53 PM
Rumor has it that old mapmakers used to put the phrase "Here be dragons!" as a warning for unknown sections of the world. Often, what we don't know, we fear, and there's still much we don't know.
Some fears are legitimate. If you've been in this business any length of time you've heard the stories. Not every day ends well for those in the real estate profession as there are bad people with bad intent out there. You need to mitigate the risks and protect your well-being.
Other things can cause some anxiety, but with time and practice you can develop a proficiency … (17 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Why Do You Blog?
- 07/25/23 10:42 AM
There's an entire spectrum of reasons to blog, ranging from purely social to purely business.
A quick scroll through ActiveRain's blog roll and it's easy to see the variety of motivations for blogging.
We each find a personal reason to start blogging. What you may find is the reason you started blogging and the reason you continue to blog (or even decide to stop) may change over time.
When I first started blogging on ActiveRain I had a shotgun approach. As much as I could type and any pretty much any topic was fair game. Comments were good. Getting featured was a rush. And … (16 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Semper Gumby!!!
- 07/17/23 06:54 PM
"Semper Gumby!!" was a saying back in my Annapolis days.
Semper from the Latin word for "always" and if you had a Gumby toy as a kid (like I did), you know Gumby was FLEXIBLE, thus "Always Flexible!!".
As a midshipman you had to be "always flexible" because things can change quickly and you have to reset priorities. That requirement didn't end when we threw our hats in the air at graduation, and the need to be flexible continues to this day.
Liz feeds our furry crew (9 Chihuahuas & 17 cats) every morning and I do the evening feeding (and there are differences … (24 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: You're Responsible For Who You Hire
- 07/06/23 11:30 AM
Real estate demands a diverse set of skills, and let's be honest, not everyone has the skills to do everything that needs to be done, or if you have the skills, you might not have the time. Either way, there's nothing wrong with hiring help so you can focus on the relationship and building aspects of your business.
That said, your hiring decisions ultimately reflect directly on YOU and not just the person your hired.
For brokers, obviously the agents you hire set the reputation of your brokerage. When I look through a blog roll, I sometimes wonder how a broker would react … (22 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: You Can Grow Your Own!
- 07/03/23 07:48 PM
On our back deck we currently have 6 tomato, 2 bell pepper and 3 jalapeno pepper plants in containers. My parents had extra starters for the tomato plants and gave me 2 each of 3 varieties. The peppers we planted from seed and they've got a lot of growing yet to provide fresh peppers, but we know they will in due time and long before the first frosts of the year.
In a box we've stored many seed packets from a heirloom seed place in Michigan (it's where our pepper seeds came from), but those seeds are being saved for our next … (24 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Nothing Is Impossible For The Peanut Gallery
- 06/27/23 12:56 PM
Nothing is impossible for the man who does not have to do it himself.
It's a saying from decades ago in my life, a little sign hanging in the office of one of my Navy department heads. While it might not be totally phrased to modern day preferences, the core concept is still true: it's easy to be the peanut gallery.
When you're in the peanut gallery you don't know what you don't know, so it's easy to make proclamations about how things are and how they should be.
Blogging doesn't work.
I've heard that one time and again during my time in the Rain, … (17 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: 10 Tips To Increase Comments
- 06/20/23 12:17 PM
It's natural to want some validation. You spent time writing your post, now you want to know that people actually read your post, and what better way to have proof than a comment???
If you're new to the community, you'll find many members fall into one of several groups:
1. The Reciprocators. You leave a comment on their post and 99.99% of the time they'll visit your post and leave a comment. Some of them even have Excel spreadsheets to make sure they don't miss anyone :)
2. Comments Disabled. Maybe literally. No comments are able to be left on their posts, or if … (28 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Chasing The Bright & Shiny
- 06/13/23 09:37 AM
Some of our cats love to chase laser dots. Shine the red dot and they can't help it, they've got to try and catch it!
In some ways, there's not a lot of difference between industry and our cats. Put something bright and shiny out there and some of us will chase it. There's a lot of wealth being transferred from agents to whoever can come up with the latest bright and shiny.
Some bright and shiny things are worthwhile, others can be fools gold.
Over the decades technology has brought some useful tools to our business. Digital photography, electronic signatures, smart phones, personal … (20 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Not Tonight, I've Got A Headache
- 06/06/23 04:37 PM
Now that I've got your attention...
Depending on your viewpoint, blogging might be a totally optional activity, or a sign of the Apocalypse if you DON'T make a post, or somewhere in between.
How much blogging is enough?
How much is too much?
How much is just right?
It's a question for Goldilocks.
The answer to that question is going to be determined by what fits your willingness and the needs of your target audience.
Blogging daily (or slightly less often) might be the thing for you, especially if you're trying to address more than one blogging audience. A few posts to audience 1, a few to audience … (23 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Get On The Consumer Choo-Choo!!!
- 05/30/23 03:33 PM
My mom is from Cass West Virginia. Never heard of it? Then you're probably not a big fan of old time railroads! Until about 60 years ago Cass was a focal point for bringing lumber down off the mountains to be processed at the local saw mill. My grandfather worked there, and while the mill is long gone (mostly) due a closing and then a later fire, my mom can still point out at the top of one of the ruined building where my grandfather used to work.
Once the sawmill was closed Cass could have just shrunk and become one of … (18 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Block and Tackle
- 05/23/23 07:12 AM
Our move to the mountaintop has been much slower than we expected. It's been two years since we purchased our land and the design process has taking a few twists and turns, but we finally have a final set of drawings and ideas for how we want to optimize the use of our land.
Finding the right builder is a key part of that process.
Recently we had reason to re-evaluate our builder selection. The local loan officer had provided us a list of local builders her clients had liked.
After some online research we called 8 of them.
Of the 8:
2 answered the … (16 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Cherry Picking
- 05/16/23 12:17 PM
If you get purchase leads chances are you might be able to designate desired location and maybe type (buyer or seller), but chances are most of the leads are going to be of the generic variety.
And the buyer that signs up saying they want to live in Area A may very well switch to Area X a good 30 miles and half the price point away.
So in short, you might gather that I'm not a huge fan of generic leads, especially generic leads you have to open up your wallet to get.
When we worked for a big box brokerage, we got … (30 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Should I Click PUBLISH?
- 05/09/23 05:31 AM
You're on fire!!!!
That blankety blank politician did something that's got you at 23 on a 10 point scale.
The freakin' moron of a co-broke agent....arrrrghhhh....lemme tell ya about it!!
You're between the 2nd glass of wine and the 3rd and keyboard is calling your name. Yes, it's time to tell everyone how you REALLY feel!
In the old days you'd have to grab a typewriter, load paper and peck away. Time would elapse and you just might have time to decide that letter to the editor or a family member would best be thrown in the trash.
Now, your thoughts can be instantaneously spread to … (25 comments)
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