For those of you in South Baldwin, BBB is a common acronym for Big Beach Brewery, I think it's the only brewery in Baldwin County east of Fish River. It is a fun local haunt where you can frequently hear people yell, "Norm!!!" when a familiar face walks in.   (For you youngsters, you ought to look up the sitcom "Cheers", you'll thank me.)

BBB also stands for Building Business Basics, which I have never heard before, but it's probably used out there somewhere. The BBB of real estate, as you know, begins with connections with people. We recently had the opportunity, or challenge, to increase our LoLo database to take advantage of a pricing discount. It had me thinking of ways we could increase our database.

This week, I looked over at my Ninja Installation handbook and noticed that it was opened to page 77, entitled "150 Ways To Build A Database". So I grabbed the book and took it home. I wasn't thinking that a simple google search would have taken me to this web page: 150-Ways-to-Build-Your-Database.pdf. That was easy!

Every once in a while, you should browse through this list. Some notables from the list:

• Who services your car?

• Who owes you money?

• Who is your pharmacist?

• Who prepares your taxes?

• Who do you play golf with?  (I have a good friend who plays a lot of golf, and it is his main source of real estate income)

• Who is your insurance agent?

The reason I have been buying Fords the past 12 years is because I listed and sold the home of the owner of the Foley Ford dealership. This type of business partnership is good for everyone.

Another BBB is sharing good content with your contacts. In addition to the Bellator weekly, "What To Post" email,  you probably run across an interesting article every day that would be worthy of sharing. These days, anything about the predicted course of interest rates grabs my attention.  

Don't you think that many in your sphere are interested as well? If you pay attention, it seems like Friday is the day that many mortgage brokers email their most recent rates. The week before last, a local bank shared some rates that caught my attention: 5.125% on a 15-year fixed, or 5% on a 15-year fixed loan above $400,000. I shared that information with many people, and I made sure that I told that to the broker that sent it out. Who knows, maybe that will lead to something.

Regarding content, my favorite topic to share with people is information about local capital improvement projects, either planned or in progress in our area. I find that most everyone is interested in projects happening in their area. Because I am very interested in this topic, I tend to share the information with most everyone I know. 

Several times a week, I'll get a call from someone asking me: "When is XYZ going to be completed?" or "What is going on at XYZ?". When I don't know the answer, it gives me the opportunity to find out and share. If you are interested in this topic, you can easily gather information from most city websites regarding their capital improvements or the items on the planning commission or city council agenda.  

For example, in Gulf Shores, you can go to:

City Projects | Gulf Shores, AL - Official Website

Agenda Center • Gulf Shores, AL • CivicEngage  (City Council Agendas)

Agenda Center • Gulf Shores, AL • CivicEngage (Planning Commission Agendas)

Orange Beach:

Council Agendas | Orange Beach, AL   (City Council Agendas)

You get the picture.  As easy as it is to find interesting information to share, I find that people would rather be told what is going on than find out for themselves. You can easily become the expert of what is going on around you. Make it a part of your routine to look this stuff up and share it. Your sphere would probably rather hear about this than Trending Paint Colors or Moving & Packing Tips.

Get to work on your BBB.  And if I happen to see you at the other BBB, I'll buy you a B.