Office Updates

Hello all,

"Office Updates"

Try not to do this to often in My Monday email but some office updates that I would like to address.

Aspen Hill Closing- Megan has begun a position on the Michelle Yu Team as the administrator and we are starting the process of shutting down the operations in Aspen Hill. A final time frame for shut down has yet to be determined, the office will only be operating as a satellite office moving forward. Understaffed, phones have been forwarded to Potomac, internet and the copier are still in place. A general rule of thumb should be if you need to use the office but are unsure of the capabilities please check with Paulette, Mark or Myself. 

Admin Fee- We are heading into the 4th month of the admin fee change to $395. Everyone has done a great job of collecting the new fee and it is appreciated. The grace period for anyone forgetting to charge the new amount will be ending at the end of this month. Again, thanks for your cooperation on this. 

Contracts- My every six month reminder that contracts need to be turned into the office in a timely manor once they are ratified. Let's set a goal of being caught up and have everything turned in by mid week.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss." 

 

 

~ Thomas Carlyle 

 

 

TAKE A SIESTA! 

 

When setting goals and planning our future, we sometimes fail to look far enough ahead. Consider the following story: 

 

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. 

 

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" 

 

The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, then stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life." 

 

The banker scoffed, "I'm a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You would eventually open your own cannery and control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise." 

 

The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the fisherman. The banker laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." 

 

"Millions? And then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos." (!!!) 

 

So . . . what are you working for? The IPO or the good life? Stop working toward "someday," and appreciate your success on this day. Take time to enjoy the siesta! 

Golf Tournament

Hello all,

"Golf Tournament"

Attached is the flyer for our 9th annual Golf Tournament sponsoring Childrens Miracle Network and Clarksburg Baseball. It is an event that is near and dear to my heart, a great day out with colleagues and supports a couple of good causes. We will be promoting this in the office over the next couple of months, it is our one and only charity fund raiser throughout the year. Hope as many of you will participate as possible. 

Clarksburg Baseball has been part of this for 9 years, the money they receive from the event offsets the rising field costs and allows them to make youth baseball affordable, we proudly support them. I understand this does not sit well with some of you. I fully appreciate and understand everyone's opinion on this subject. It is something we have been doing for a long time and we can't turn back at this point. They need the support to operate. 

If you choose not to participate in the event because of this I would like to ask you to make a donation directly to Childrens Miracle Network which is the main sponsor of Remax. The accounting department can help you and we will have a representative at a sales meeting soon to talk about it.  We only ask once a year for all of you to give back and you have two choices on how to do it! Fun day with the office or a small donation, both will go a long way to help others.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe 

  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." 

 

 

~ James B. Cabell 

 

 

THE SKY IS FALLING . . . NOT! 

 

"The glass is half-full." "The glass is half-empty." "Looks like a beautiful day!" "I think it's going to rain." "I'm happy." "I'm depressed." "I'm an optimist!" "How can you be an optimist with things the way they are?" 

 

OK, we all know the difference between an optimist and a pessimist - right? In some of Steven Covey's material, he states that "no one knows enough to be a pessimist." Pessimism, more often than not, is generated by inner fears, most likely fears "of the unknown." Hence, "No one knows enough to be a pessimist." 

 

Consider the child about to learn the art of riding a bike. "I know I'm going to fall," proclaims the child - just before taking a skinned knee. After a week of practice, is the child still fearful? Once bike riding becomes second nature, i.e. once the child "knows" enough about bike riding, the fear (a.k.a. pessimism) disappears. 

 

Just as the child's pessimism ("I'm going to fall...") precedes the skinned knee, our other pessimistic thoughts may precede our worst fears. By substituting a positive thought for a negative one, therefore, is it not possible that the action that follows might also be positive? 

 

Add to that positive thought an extra measure of learning and knowledge, and it's highly unlikely there will continue to be room for either the pessimism or the subsequent negative action. From one optimist to another, heed this advice: "Don't worry - be happy!" 

Funny

Hello all,

"Funny"

Lisa had a listing appointment last week and when she walked in the owner thanked her for being on time. The owner went on to say that he had an appointment earlier and the agent was an hour late because he got lost. The funny thing the owner said was when he spoke to him on the phone the agent positioned himself as an expert in the area. 

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe 

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"The path you're on looks different when you turn around." 

 

 

- Cynthia Copeland Lewis 

 

 

 

LOOK BACK TO THE FUTURE! 

 

Life has been described as a path, a direction in which we travel over time - rather than a single event. Each of us gets to choose the direction our path will take us. By making those choices, we also clear the way to achieving the objectives we've set for ourselves. 

 

When we fail to choose the path we will travel, that is also a choice. In that case, the path we travel becomes less distinct with more twists and turns than we would have liked. Each side path we encounter tempts us to change direction. Lacking any roadmap of objectives we might have chosen, we often end up somewhere - else. 

 

Regardless of the quality of our choices, we can get a clear understanding of where we are likely to end up - just by turning around. By simply looking back at the path we have been following, much can be learned. For example, is the path behind us straight, or filled with curves and detours taken? Is it paved with solid, masterfully laid stepping stones, or filled with muddy ruts that zig-zag around every obstacle? 

 

Chances are that, as teenagers, most of our paths seemed to have had many twists and turns. As we matured and learned from our mistakes, however, it is also likely that we began improving the direction and quality of the path we travelled. The more attention we paid to the path, the more enjoyable the journey became. 

 

Want life to be a most pleasant journey? Build your own roadmap - then start paving! 

Today is the Day

Hello all,

"Today is the Day"

Some of us have been busy for two months, some of us have been busy for the last couple of weeks and some of us have been waiting for the spring market to hit. No matter which group you fall into to "Today is the Day" that starts the best stretch we will have in the 2015 Real Estate year. The clocks have moved and the weather is breaking, over the next four months there will be no better opportunity to create and close business, and, well, who knows what will happen after that. Time to pound the streets ladies and gentleman and make it happen for ourselves.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"The path you're on looks different when you turn around." 

 

 

- Cynthia Copeland Lewis 

 

 

 

LOOK BACK TO THE FUTURE! 

 

Life has been described as a path, a direction in which we travel over time - rather than a single event. Each of us gets to choose the direction our path will take us. By making those choices, we also clear the way to achieving the objectives we've set for ourselves. 

 

When we fail to choose the path we will travel, that is also a choice. In that case, the path we travel becomes less distinct with more twists and turns than we would have liked. Each side path we encounter tempts us to change direction. Lacking any roadmap of objectives we might have chosen, we often end up somewhere - else. 

 

Regardless of the quality of our choices, we can get a clear understanding of where we are likely to end up - just by turning around. By simply looking back at the path we have been following, much can be learned. For example, is the path behind us straight, or filled with curves and detours taken? Is it paved with solid, masterfully laid stepping stones, or filled with muddy ruts that zig-zag around every obstacle? 

 

Chances are that, as teenagers, most of our paths seemed to have had many twists and turns. As we matured and learned from our mistakes, however, it is also likely that we began improving the direction and quality of the path we travelled. The more attention we paid to the path, the more enjoyable the journey became. 

 

Want life to be a most pleasant journey? Build your own roadmap - then start paving! 

-

Part 2

Hello all,

"Part 2"

This is a follow up to my coffee last week when I spoke about creating and having value in yourself as a Realtor. Over the last couple of months Redfin has come up from many of you concerned about if and how much of a threat they are or will be. Discount Brokers have been around forever, they were especially prominent in the 2000-2006 range when all you had to do was pick up the phone to be an Agent. Save 6, Assist To Sell, Help-U-Sell... they will always talk to a certain amount of consumers, the 10% I spoke about last week. Now we have Redfin with the difference being the have a nice website and a slick marketing campaign but at the end of the day they are still just a discount Broker. Let me give you a couple of talk tracks if you go up against Redfin in a listing or buyer presentation. 

"Interesting that you mention Redfin, do you know how they pay their Agents? Obviously they are working for a lot less then a full service Agent to begin with however their compensation for each deal is based on the Clients satisfaction at the end. So if a transaction is not going as smoothly as it should and the Client is unhappy will the Redfin agent be as motivated to get the transaction complete as they should be knowing their compensation will be cut dramatically because of a bad review".

"Also, all of the Redfin agents I know are Agents that could not make it on their own, Redfin offers them a small monthly stipend and Company leads so they can survive. To be honest from my experience with those agents you will be just as well off selling it on your own".

So... you will always need to make the decision on who you work with based on your business, if you go up against Redfin I hope this helps. I do strongly suggest you think about working with some of the clients you encounter. You deserve better then how some of them will treat you.

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

 

"Just because you're the lone voice in the wilderness, it doesn't mean you're wrong." 

~ Ghandi

 

ME, MYSELF & I - A GROUP OF ONE!

 

Remember this tune from the protest era? "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do." The poignant lyrics call attention to the reality that being alone, being a group of one, can be a very lonely, uncomfortable, and sometimes challenging situation.

 

When it comes to the important issues in your life, it's much more comforting to know that others are standing with you. You stand up for a student issue at a PTO meeting, and others stand with you. You call attention to a social injustice, and are backed by a majority of the members in your organization. Together, the group gives strength and credibility to the views of its leader.

 

What, then, if the leader and followers are a group of just one? What value is there in taking a position with no one to back you up? What's more, acting alone often stimulates inner questioning, self-doubt, and ultimately self-defeat.

 

So, where do you stand when it comes to defending your own principles of living? When you witness cheating, dishonesty, or unfair criticism of others, do you stand up as a group of one when no one else cares to stand with you? Do you then feel like the "lone voice in the wilderness?"

 

Our world has few leaders and many followers. The stand you take alone may provide the inspiration needed by followers who agree, but who do not have the ability to speak out on their own. As Ghandi counseled, just because you're "the lone voice . . . doesn't mean you're wrong."