My business keeps changing!
Right when I feel like things are heading down the tracks in one direction, up comes a fork in the road. Six months ago I made the bold decision to just connect with people that I wanted to work with. Previously I had spent most of my time making phone calls to people I didn’t know. I spent 90% of my time on 10% of my business. I decided I would give up that 10% and focus on the 90% of where my business came from- people I already know. Moving to the direction of connecting and maintaining relationships with my current friends and family has really brought me the satisfaction I’ve been looking for in my business. The outcome has been great so far. I’m able to spend my time now with people who already trust me. My next move is going to be a bit different. I want to connect with other business owners and leaders in my local community. I’ve decided to start a podcast. Podcast, you may be thinking? A podcast is basically a radio show but it’s recorded and not live. People subscribe online and listen to them at their own leisure. Eugene Advice Givers was born in the process of determining how to accomplish this goal. My plan is to interview business owners, thought leaders and other influential people in the Eugene area. I’ve committed to doing two per month. Once I figure the system out, then I would like increase it to one to two per week. I’ll post the website in my next newsletter for you to listen. It’s really great when you have the time and energy to determine the direction you want to take your business. I plan to stay on track and see what the next year brings to the Grand Realty.
When I set out to study Warren Buffett, his investment philosophy, to find out what made him the world’s greatest investors, and, ultimately, how his methods could be applied to my clients’ home sale—I came stumbled upon a book called Differentiate or Die. This book changed my entire perspective on real estate. Jack Trout was the author. In the book he laid out the fundamental reasons why a business must differentiate from competitors, not just to be successful, but as the key ingredient to thrive in our current era of Killer Competition. Now, admittedly, from a business perspective, this is common sense. Every entrepreneur knows he must differentiate his business. As a mentor once told me, “Nobody needs two left shoes.” In business, if two businesses are the same, then one is dispensable.
“Meet Aimee Mullins, she as 12 pairs of legs. Like most people she was born with two, but unlike most people Mullins had to have both legs amputated below the knee due to a medical condition. Mullins has lived with no lower legs since her first birthday.
I don’t know why I watch this show, sure, I guess it’s entertaining, but it drives me insane to see my profession displayed in this light. And, unlike Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, which celebrated some of the hardest working men and women in America for doing the jobs most would never do, Million Dollar Listing paints the profession of real estate agent as a “lifestyle,” and celebrates the “stupidity” and “character flaws” of those in the profession.
This past week he unleashed a “Twitter Storm” of truth. A truth that NAR (National Association of Realtors®), individual agents and brokers, have long been in deniable about—that the real estate industry, 
as a majority, is not an industry that can be trusted. Don’t get me wrong. Good and bad apples exist in every industry. But most industries, unlike real estate, the “people at the top” don’t profit from bad apples. A bad employee, in most cases, hurts the company. Not the case in real estate. Real estate is a free for all. Then there is a “government” (NAR) that tries to manage the million-plus independents.
The other results include, 21% “unwilling to negotiate,” 20% “Won’t make repairs,” and 28% said, “unpleasant odors,” presumably pet odors. In other words, according to the 1,000 real estate agents asked, “It’s all your fault,” you—being the home seller. The client.