Real Estate Solutions

From my bookshelf

I’m not a Florida Realtor but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy their always current and interesting Florida Realtor Magazine. In fact, I like it so much I recently bought my own subscription. I find myself taking notes, highlighting, and folding down corners of the most interesting articles. But if you don’t feel the need to own it, you can read Florida Realtor Magazine online.  The online magazine uses some pretty nifty technology called iMuris, a digital publishing platform. Reading the magazine online is a breeze, unlike some attempts by online magazines which are downright clumsy. 

Give it a try. I think you will enjoy an article in the Nov/Dec issue called Lead Generation, Click and Close.

From my bookshelf - Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell is known for his best selling books, The Tipping Point and Blink, but I think he’s done one better with his latest book, Outliers.  When I finish a book and immediately want to read it again, it ends up on my special places book shelf.  This one surely will.

The book wasn’t anything like I expected. The subtitle of Outliers is The Story of Success.  I expected to read the typical business book about how success is a result of intelligence, hard work and determination, but Gladwell doesn’t even come close to espousing that theory.  Instead he points out in stories how some successes are simply a matter of the right blend of social circumstances, advantages including being born at the right time and place, and maybe a little luck.  Karma even came to mind a few times although I suspect you won’t see the word “Karma” in any other book review.

The book had me hooked in the first chapter with Gladwell’s reasoning of why most pro hockey players were born in January. I was fascinated by the “10,000 rule”, the notion that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill.  I wasn’t surprised to read about how our short U.S. school calendar year effects student performance when compared to students from other nations.

Don’t read Outliers if you are looking for a 10 step plan to greatness or a how to succeed book.  Outliers leaves you with more questions than answers, and many of Gladwell’s theories seem to need more research to be proven. That aside, it is an interesting book that will make you think about your opportunities and current circumstances.  It is a quick read and one I think you will enjoy.

From my bookshelf – Soundview Book Summaries

I love to read. While I enjoy most any category of books, I’m ravenous when it comes to reading business books.  Unfortunately, one of the down sides of having a busy career, as well as being a social networker, is finding time to actually read them. I’ve also discovered that among the huge selection of business books available, there are only a handful that can be counted among my favorites.  I have reviewed a few of those favorites here and plan to continue but in the meantime my search continues for business books that can make a difference in what I do.

About three months ago, I discovered Soundview Executive Book Summaries.  Executive Book Summaries are just what their name implies, summaries of executive books. (Remember Cliffs Notes?)  I signed on for an annual subscription by mail for $149. This also includes free access to the online versions of my summaries so I can easily access them when I’m traveling. I can read the PDF or HTML version or listen to them in MP3 format. (The online version only is $119 and a CD version is available for $159.)  In addition to monthly summaries, you can also purchase individual selections or collections of a specific category like marketing or the art of selling.

Here’s why I like them.  I confess that I have more than a few business books sitting around that I’ve never read beyond the first chapter.  Now, after getting a small taste of the book being reviewed, I can tell if I actually want to buy it.  A novel concept?  Soundview Executive Book Summaries have been around for over 30 years. 

From my bookshelf – Riches in Niches

The books I love are pretty worn; I’m hard on them.  I even turn down the corners of the pages that speak to me.  I have plenty of corners turned down in Susan Friedmann’s Riches in Niches, How to Make it BIG in a Small Market.  SEO experts lecture about using "the long tail" in your internet strategy. Susan explains how to use "the long tail" in your everyday business and for me, it relates perfectly to real estate.  It’s the "sell more of less" theory, the same theory that Seth Godin talks about in Small is the New Big.

Most real estate agents try to serve too many masters. They will work with investors and builders and single family homebuyers.  In between, they might show a rental or two or throw on some boots to walk a piece of farm land. Just for good measure, they’ll try to dabble in commercial real estate.  At the end of the year, a typical real estate agent will have put a gazillion miles on their car.

Many years ago, there was an agent in my office who’s niche was mobile homes.  Diane was the expert. She could drive by a mobile home and tell you what model it was and what year it was built.  If you have ever seen the movie, My Cousin Vinnie, Diane was like the character portrayed by Marisa Tomei who knew everything there was to know about cars. Most agents hated the idea of listing or selling a mobile home because they were cheap which meant the commissions weren’t much. As a result, when a call came into almost any office in Eastern CT for a mobile home, they’d suggest the customer call Diane.  Diane made well over $100,000 back in the 90’s selling almost exclusively mobile homes.  Since she was the expert, she was also able to raise her commission which helped when selling cheap mobile homes.  Later in her career,  Diane become an expert in selling HUD foreclosures, another area that most agents avoided.  She learned everything she could about the process and became the HUD Foreclosure expert in the area.  I’m sure she never thought about "the long tail" or Seth Godin but it sure put a lot of money in her pocket.

In the book, Riches in Niches, Susan coins becoming an expert in a niche as a "nichepreneur". She goes on to talk about ways to enhance and capitalize on your expert status.  I’ve always subscribed to the "Do one thing really well theory".  What I do really well is list property in my small town of Ledyard, CT.  90% of my commissions are earned from listing property in one small town.  I realize that a new agent might not be able to narrowly focus on one small niche but it is something to strive for.  By becoming an expert at just one thing, you become a "nichepreneur".  That is a very good thing.

If you get a chance, be sure to watch My Cousin Vinnie. I promise it will make you laugh and you’ll see an expert in action.

From my bookshelf - The E-Myth

The E-Myth is my all time favorite business book. Hands down. I first read the E-Myth in 1995 and it changed the way I did business. It was eye opening for me and I read it in record breaking speed, anxiously looking forward to the next chapter. I know that sounds a bit dramatic but it is true.  I always considered myself to be organized but this simple book by Michael Gerber started me down the path of developing systems for my business.  I now read this book once a year, about the same time I work on my business plan.

The E-Myth was originally published in 1988 and replaced 8 years later by The E-Myth Revisited.  I actually liked the original book better. Gerber explains that the revisited book is a clarification of the E-Myth point of view.  Fine, but I still liked the original book better, even though I was able to have my Revisited book signed by Michael Gerber at a seminar I attended. (I found him to be a better writer than a speaker.)

The basic premise of the book is that most small business owners work "in their business" and not "on their business" as they should. The E-Myth Revisited is written with small business owners in mind but single real estate agents or team leaders can embrace the principles Gerber shares. Gerber tells stories about successful small businesses that have developed systems and built "franchise prototypes" to run their companies more efficiently.  These businesses, similar to McDonald’s, are systems dependent, not people dependent.  I call it my "getting hit by a truck" theory.  If I were "hit by a truck" tomorrow, my business should be able to run without me because of the systems I have put in place.

Although The E-Myth was originally written in 1988, the ideas presented are timeless, and every real estate agent should have this book on their real estate book shelf.  You have one of those don’t you?  With the birth of this blog, I’m taking a look at all my business books, thinning the heard and including my favorites on the bookshelf in the sidebar here. 

By the way, after I read the E-Myth the first time, I became known in the office as the "binder queen" as I developed system manuals for every aspect of the business. Since then, software programs like Agent Office are now able to launch "plans" for repeatable actions of a real estate business and eliminate the need for binders. Not able to help myself, I still have a few binders in use.

The E-Myth Revisited  is an absolute 10.  I like this book so much that I have given dozens of copies away to colleagues, either starting in business or looking to move their business to the next level.