By Coco Clayman-Cook
It's important to make time for the things that are important to you. Time has a way of marching by regardless of our wishes. If we don't schedule what is most important to us it has a way of slipping to last on the list. I have a friend who has said for years that she wanted to work out and get in shape, but it never happened. Last summer she sat down with her planner and scheduled time to go to the gym every day. Now she is in the best shape of her life.
The first step in making time is getting a good planner. Take a stress free time, sit down with your planner and turn to a typical week. Begin by blocking off all of the time that you plan to work. Next block off time spent with your family, children or significant others. Now take a close look at the schedule and schedule time for yourself. First schedule non productive time and then schedule productive time. In truth it is really all productive, but often we forgo scheduling rest and recuperation time. Don't be thrown off by the order in which I suggested scheduling your time. It is not in order of importance, it is in order of flexibility.
Make time for yourself and your relationships and your life will flourish.
By Coco Clayman-Cook
Google Reader is a free service that comes with a gmail account. Google Reader helps you to create your own personal "newspaper" geared toward your specific interests. If you see a Blog that you like you can subscribe to it in Google Reader and the blog will automatically publish on your reader whenever it posts. This is a great way to keep track of Blogs that you enjoy.
When you access your reader it clearly displays all of the Blogs that you subscribe to but it also will offer an array of Blogs and articles that it thinks you be interested in based on your recent history on the web.
If you haven't already sign up for Google Reader and at least subscribe to your own blog.
By Coco Clayman-Cook
We've all been waiting to see what help for home owners would be coming down the pike. The new $8,000 refundable tax credit may not be all that we had hoped for, the $15,000 tax credit had a nicer ring to it but it was split over two years, still this is at least a jumping off point.
With the cost of owning approaching the cost of renting more and more people should be moved to buy. An $8,000 incentive will hopefully be the straw that topples the camel's back and encourages more buyers to the market. Let's all hope that more hope is on the way.
In the meantime it is so important that we all stay positive and roll these new policies out to as many people as they can help.
By Coco Clayman-Cook
There is absolutely no substitute for knowing your business. You can be the nicest most sincere Realtor on the block but if you don't know your business you can't possibly do right by your clients.
It's essential to know your niche market inside and out. If you aren't an expert in your field you need to ask yourself why not! If you aren't passionate enough about your business to be an expert in your area, you may need to reevaluate.
As a Realtor in today's market you also need to be up to date on all new legislation. There are new programs available for home buyers that can make the difference in whether your clients can afford a home.
There are industry wide changes that are also vital to know and understand. I make a habit of attending workshops and seminars to keep myself abreast of all new developments. It is an efficient way to keep up with the ever changing market while having an opportunity to network.
Knowing your business is a gift that you give yourself and your clients. When you know what you are doing enjoy your work more.
By Coco Clayman-Cook
Virtual assistants are people you hire to work from a location other than your office. I use virtual assistants for any task that I can benefit from hiring someone else to do. If I don't like a task, I hire a virtual assistant. I don't like posting blogs, it's time consuming and not a good use of my time. So I have a virtual assistant post the blogs for me. That way I have more time to write the blogs, which is a better use of my time.
I also hire virtual assistants to do things I am not good at and have no interest in getting better at. I'm not good at updating databases, it's boring! I have no desire to be better at it either, so I hire virtual assistants to update my database for me. With all the hours that frees up I give my clients better customer service.
Mostly, I hire virtual assistants to do any work that saves me time and money. If I can pay someone between $10 to $20 an hour to do something, it makes no sense for me to do it myself. This includes proofreading, SEO, research and even gift buying.
We live in a great age which allows us to easily delegate work without having to provide equipment or even space. How do you use virtual assistants?
Top Performer in the sale & marketing of Westside Luxury Real Estate. Specializing in low rise condominiums, high rise condominiums, new projects, consulting with developers and the art of negotiation
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