Carol Letcher, Owner/Broker

Thinking of opening a new real estate office? It may sound exciting, but I'm here to tell you that it's no easy feat.

After almost 19 years with Re/Max I decided to go on my own with my husband and open our own company, Desert Properties Realty. Coming from a 100% office like Re/Max I was used to paying for everything, having minimal support and learned how to build my business on my own over the years so I really didn't think that it would be very difficult to just "open shop" under a new name for my husband and I.

The move to a new physical offsite location (other than your home office) was easy, new furniture was installed, fax lines, cable set up, computers, etc..But what I was really not well prepared for would be the time spent staying on top of the education, new trends, new laws, forms that a broker should have reviewed by an attorney, etc., so that I can stay in the forefront of my field. This is in addition to the time spent with clients showing property, returning calls and emails, lead generation etc. Time management is the biggest crucial obstacle that I face every day when I go to work so time blocking my schedule is a must, otherwise 20 hour days could be a norm.

On the business side this has been a good move. We don't have any other agents, it's just the two of us and production is up, due to good systems and better communication with clients. I love having our own company and building it to it's greatest potential. There's an old saying "you reap what you sow" and nowhere does this apply in business more than real estate. I would encourage anyone out there who is thinking of opening their own office to carefully weigh all the pros and cons to determine if it would be a good fit. It was the right choice for us!

Carol

OMG...it's been a month since I posted, I have been swamped with real estate, buyers and more buyers , and lots of business planning and changes. December was a busy month for referrals and January has been no exception. I unfortunately neglected all of my social media with the exception of my personal and business facebook fan page and it's time to get back on the horse with AR.

I spent some time today listening to my business coach, Brian Buffini, speak about the "Annual Review" of your business and the upcoming "Blitz". I have done the Blitz's before and this one starting in January will be no exception, except that I am more excited than ever. All indications from our local market and the national economy indicate STRONG spring sales and I can already see it happening. There is still a good demand out there for housing as evidenced by the multiple offers that I am seeing, especially on REO listings. Will 2011 be the "TURNING POINT" for real estate in AZ?

I will also be in Seattle at the end of January for the Buffini Turning Point, so if any of you "rainers" plan on attending, I would love to meet you in person.

Until then, happy selling!!

Don't let the holidays slow you down...I see so many agents slack off from now until January and then their business suffers for months.

The holidays can do this to us and it all starts with Thanksgiving or for a few, Halloween. A few days off and sometimes it's hard to get back into the "swing of things".

This morning I visited a client who was vacationing at their 2nd home that they had purchased from me a couple of years ago, they are fun clients and great referring clients as well. I thought nothing of driving 45 minutes to make a personal visit, made them some yummy cookies and wrapped a bottle of wine. These are the kind of clients everyone wants to have, they even invited my husband and I to their summer home next year.

So, if you are not quite in the "swing of things", make a call to a past client, a business owner or a peer that you can share some ideas with, you will be surprised by how motivated you can be to continue working through the holidays!

The nation's largest one day holiday turkey drive came to Phoenix yesterday and wow, this is always one of those days that really let's me know how many kind and giving people there still are out there. With so many individuals and families struggling to pay bills and buy food for the table, it's tear jerking to see the generosity.

My mother is a regular volunteer at this event held at Bashas, one of the local grocery stores that collects the turkeys and I always make it a point to drop off a few turkeys at her site each year. When I arrived I saw a shopping cart filled with 12lb turkeys and I asked who made the donation and was told that a Texas family had dropped them off..Another donation of 36 turkeys was made by a man in a wheelchair who went through the grocery line with his assistance dog.

Please, help those that are less fortunate throughout this holiday season, nothing is too small! Remember, Thanksgiving is all about "giving"!

Enjoy your holiday!

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