Laura Kombrink

When a home is sold there is an entire network that goes into action behind the scenes. There is obviously a realtor that takes the listing and puts a sign in the yard, but there are many other players involved to get to the closing table.

Once the sales agent leaves the home after planting the sign and taking pictures...your home is placed in the MLS and on a website. If you have an agressive agent, your home then goes out to multiple sites on the internet and other area agents are notified of your listing. This means that an administrative and technical team goes into action to flood the market with pictures and information about your home.

Some sales agents also employ a plethera of other market techniques such as hotlines and postlets and blogs to get the news out about your home.

Once a buyer has decided that your home is the one....then a whole new team of experts is called into action. It starts with the agent representing the buyer. Contracts are written and lenders and their teams step into the picture. A title company is brought onto the team as well as inspectors, appraisers and others to get the transaction to closing as smoothly as possible.

This entire village of experts comes together on both the sellers behalf as well as the buyers.

Often times, many of us believe it is in our best interest to try and sell our homes ourselves...thinking that all it takes is a sign, however in the end you will save time, money and frustration by surrounding yourself with sound team of experts.

After all, even the president of the most powerful nation on earth surrounds himself with experts to guide him through the process of governing.

It truly does take a village to sell a home. Give me a call and let's talk about the team that I have in place to get the job done!

It was announced this morning that Jobs of Apple Computers is taking 6 months leave for medical reasons. Stocks for Apple dropped 10% in pre-market trading. Why is this important and what does this teach us?

It is said that Jobs is the idea guy...the "core of Apple"...pardon the pun. Without him, it is believed that Apple computers cannot compete. Is this true? Only time will tell, however it is obvious that, at least publicly...Apple is really all about Jobs and his leadership. Where did Apple go wrong?

Let's look at short term and long term strategy. Jobs is fantastic at what he does! He's made Apple competitive and successful....for the short term. He is the driving force for Apple, however who, if anyone, was being developed to take his place for long term growth? What will happen during his leave of absence? No one knows...so far there are no names being presented as his replacement. Has Apple been developing talent to take the reigns when Jobs is no longer there?

I would like to take a lesson from this and ride my "hobby-horse" for a moment. I've been talking alot lately about branding and long term strategies. Many have thought me crazy for thinking about my exit strategy when I've only been doing real estate for 6 months.

Apple Computer's current situation beautifully illustrates why I choose to brand my business rather than myself. It also affirms why I should be thinking about exit strategies at the beginning of my business.

I fully intend to build a highly profitable business. I fully intend to take my business as far as it can possibly go. I've spent countless hours marketing, networking, developing websites and just plain beating the bushes for business...and I've done it in one of the toughest markets.

I fully intend to reap the immediate rewards of all my efforts. Although at this point my business is all about me, I do intend to build a team and to lead it. Part of leadership is developing other leaders within an organization. Why would I want to take the time to do that? Why wouldn't I want my name and face everywhere?

Because 20 years from now, when I want to retire, I don't just want to shut everything down and walk away. What I do want is a business that can continue under different leadership and bring me income for the rest of my life.

We all have different motivations for getting into real estate. For me, it's a business....a business that I love...a business that I am having fun building....but a business none the less. I have decided to glean as much as I can from other real estate businesses, but I am also looking to businesses outside of the real estate industry to draw important lessons from.

So, what can we learn from Apple Computers?
Here it is in a nutshell:
If a business revolves solely around one person or personality....and that person is no longer on the scene....then that business may not survive. It's just good old fashioned common sense.

I don't know about you, but life can get stressful at times. We can often feel as if we are going in 10 different directions at the same time. When you throw business, children and a spouse into the mix, it can become overwhelming.

We all have dreams. We have, in our minds, a picture of how we would like our lives to be...some day.

There are a couple of things that I have learned over the last 2 years from others that have really helped me to hone in on my daily activities and have allowed me to move towards and achieve some of the things that I could only dream about before.

Am I still busy?

The answer would, of course, be yes. However, I am busy achieving my dreams and I am having more fun than I ever have before.

So, Laura, you ask, what is the great secret that you have discovered?

The first thing that I learned is to actually sit down and think about what it is that I would like my life to be like.

What do I want to accomplish before I die?

What type of home would I like to have?

What type of activities would I like to participate in?

What would I like to leave for my children and grandchildren?

What type of relationships would I like to have?

What does success mean to me?

...and so on...

I then sat down with magazines and began going through them looking for pictures that closely matched my ideals. For instance...I cut out a picture of a woman relaxing in a bubble bath; surrounded by candles. This picture represented peace and tranquility to me. I found pictures of gardens and an outdoor kitchen. I have another picture of a vessel pouring water into another vessel and above it I put:

I am ready to receive
Wisdom
Wealth
Love
Happiness
Peace

I chose some core values that I would like to live by, and some other little things that I would like to have. Of course I cut out pictures of money because unfortunately, it takes money to have some of these things. I then bought myself a cork board and pinned these pictures to it. This is my vision board. I also have an empty cork board which is my achievement board. This is where I place the pictures from my vision board once I have achieved them.

The idea of a vision board is not new. Many people have them. I reflect upon my vision board daily. It reminds me of what I am working towards. I had my vision board about 3 months...all the while wondering how I would achieve my dreams.

Then my boss gave me an audio book to listen to on my long commute to an from work. The book is entitled "Good to Great" The book was written with businesses in mind, however the author outlined a concept that he called the hedge hog concept.

The author points out that we are all inundated with opportunities. Businesses have many opportunities to expand what they do, but this is not always a good idea.

As I listened to the book in my car, I began to apply the concept not only to business, but to my personal life as well.

The author recommends that you decide three things:
1. What do I have a passion for?
2. What can I be the best at?
3. What will earn me money?

I recommend you tweak these a bit if you are thinking of applying this concept to your personal life. For instance:
1. What do I have a passion for?
2. What am I best at doing...or where is my talent?
3. Will this bring me...money?...peace?...happiness? (you get the idea)

Next you take a look at your vision board and your 3 concepts and your current life, friends, activities.

Does everything line up?

Here's another example...I'll use something from my vision board...I mentioned that I desire peace in my life. If I truly desire peace, then why would I allow someone into my inner circle who likes to argue? If I desire to have enough money to have an outdoor kitchen, then why would I continue working for someone who won't give me a raise, or for a company where my income will always be limited?

You get the idea.

There are many self help books out there that are quite popular and probably very good. The problem is we don't implement what we learn from these books. I have read many books over the years, but when I decided to implement only these 2 concepts, I reaped tremendous changes.

My point is...we can't possibly follow every recommendation that every self help/personal growth author puts out. We would be running ourselves in circles. But....if you are looking to simplify your life...you must first know WHAT you want and then measure everything by a specific criteria before you allow it into your life.

Our lives are cluttered enough. It's ok to let those things go that don't take you where you want to be.

Hello Everyone! RE/MAX Alliance is hosting a Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting for their new office located at 531 Belt Line Rd in Collinsville Illinois.

The time will be from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Thursday January 8th. Tammy Anderson-Owens and her husband, Rick Owens are the owners and my Tammy is my broker.

We would all love to see you there to share in our celebration and of course there will be food and refreshments! Stop by to congratulate Tammy and Rick and celebrate with all of us.

We'll see you there!

We live in the internet age and it is easier than ever before to locate your next home on-line. Sometimes, this can cause us to think that we don't need the help of an agent. But, this line of thinking could cost you time and money.

What is it that a real estate agent does and why do you need one when you begin the search for your new home?

Some people think that an agent just searches for houses and then lets you in to see them, however a great agent does sooooo much more.

Were you aware that your agent actually represents your best interest during the home buying or selling process? A great agent will spend time with you prior to your home search to find out exactly what your needs are. A great agent will ask about your financial situation and develop a strategy to make sure you get the home you want in the price range that you need. Most agents are backed by a group of other experts that help you navigate through title work, financing and closings...not to mention offers and counter-offers. Your agent may spend a couple of hours driving you to different homes, helping you see the value of each property, but the work is not done when he/she drops you off afterwards.

How will you know if the seller is asking too much or too little for the property?

Did you know that market values can vary widely from neighborhood to neighborhood?

How will you know what type of home loan fits for your current financial situation and for the types of properties that you are interested in?

It can be costly when you decide not to choose an agent to represent your interests in buying a home. There are many steps in the process and a good agent will be an invaluable tool for helping you save both money and time, as well as avoid pitfalls when purchasing your new home.

If you have been searching the internet alone for your next home, please consider giving your local real estate agent a call. Make your home buying experience as easy and uncomplicated as possible. Call your local agent and schedule an appointment today!