Posts from March 2023

Sometimes the simplest things are the most profound. 

Sara Blakely founded Spanx in her late 20s. The company made $4 million in sales in its first year and $10 million in its second year. In 2012, Forbes named Blakely the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world. 

In an article about Blakely in Inc. magazine in 2017, she discussed how the best career advice she ever got came from conversations with her father as a child.

Blakeley is clearly a successful businesswoman. But the best advice she ever has received is not about success at all, quite the opposite. 

In the article, she talks about how, as a child, her father would sit her down at the dining room table and ask her the same question: 

"What did you fail at this week?" 

Click Here to Read More...

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the Federal Funds Rate has been increasing dramatically over the past year, forging the fight against inflation.  The Federal Reserve continues to study data (economy strength, employment numbers, inflation in various sectors, etc.) to determine if they need to hold steady with the rate, increase it slightly, or increase it more to continue the fight. Recent news is now showing that the increased rates are starting to have a negative effect on the banking sector with 3 bank failures in the United States and trouble brewing at Credit Suisse in Europe. The news this week is scary, but can it be good news?

Bank failures are terrible. When consumer faith in the banking system starts to wane, the ramifications for the economy are widespread. Consumers and businesses begin to rethink where and how they keep money, and some s...

Click Here to Read More...

Here we are! At the top of our spring selling-season and chomping at the bit to go, am I right? The past couple years have not given us much opportunity to flex our acquired muscle or to use the knowledge we've accumulated over time, but hey – more normal times are back! Let's get to it!

OPEN HOUSE opportunities are proliferating, but it's not enough to mark it in the MLS and put out a sign in the yard. Remember? If we want highly successful open house experiences, we have to go all out in preparation and in execution. Let's run through it, shall we?

(I can hear some of you now…"I don't do open houses…" All right. You do you, boo. But these principles will apply no matter the application. Hear me out.)

• Check the calendar. Avoid scheduling your open house on a weekend with a major event in your town. I like scheduling an open house on the first week...

Click Here to Read More...

You guys are used to hearing, "you need to stay in regular contact (FLOW) with your sphere of influence". Some of reasons you've heard before are:

• This is how you build long term relationships with them.
• You need to stay top of mind, so you are their first choice.
• You want to be their real estate resource for any related needs.
• They will refer you to their friends and family. 

I have one more reason for you to consider: We owe it to them to keep them informed!

We need to adjust our mindset to add this perspective because we do owe it to them! Why? For one, all the classic reasons above are good and true, but they are about you. But the people we know and love NEED us to be their Trusted Advisors. They deserve it. Be of service to them. 

Let's play a little game of Perception vs Reality:

Click Here to Read More...