Rick Obst with Obst Business Solutions Team

I regularly read the GeekEstate Blog, written by a team of authors and contributors. A recent post, How to Get Started in Real Estate, presents a list of items that new agents should keep in mind to be successful:

What to Expect.

Treat real estate as a profession, not a hobby
Focus on both leads and listings, buyers and sellers
Put in the hours
Remember that you are an entrepreneur
Be open to clients and opportunities at all times
Measure and evaluate your performance
Set concrete, time-specific goals for improvement areas
Research trends, practices, and conventions in your local market
Know that you may work weekends
Have some savings to live on for the first 6 months
Be a cheerleader for what you do
Start prospecting and don’t stop
Use a CRM
Invest in your business and in your education
Consider a real estate coach
Do the stuff no one else wants to do
Work harder than your competition

Build Your Network

Get involved in your community
Join your local realtor’s association
Get to know public officials
Volunteer
Join a mastermind group
Participate at your child’s school
Join the board of an organization you care about
Treat everyone you meet as a potential client
Use a personal touch to stay connected with former clients
Maintain a presence online
Preserve your reputation by focusing on quality, not quantity
Embrace your personality
Promote causes and organizations you believe in
Be friendly, but professional
Build and keep up relationships with coworkers
Seek mentors, share concerns
Shadow and request feedback from more experienced agents
Research and talk to top producers in your community/region

Embrace Technology

Setup a website to build your brand and drive leads
Use a CRM to keep track of clients, listings, and leads
Consider syndicating your listings for greater reach
Consider Craigslist to get buyers and sellers
Become a master of lead generation
Learn how to do SEO
Think in terms of building good systems so you can focus on creating relationship and closing deals
Set up your profile on the major social media sites
Educate yourself with books and blogs
Take classes and talk to more experienced tech users
Attend conferences to keep abreast of emerging trends
Recruit experts to help you build your technology portfolio
Market yourself with social media and networks
Get comfortable with smartphones, mobile technology
Use video
Don’t be a Luddite!

Choose Your Broker Wisely

Research company earnings
Research company clients; compare to your preferred niche
Research company, agent reputations
Compare franchise agencies with local/family-owned in your area

Interview brokers regarding:
1. Commission splits
2. Technology and administrative support
3. Marketing/advertising budgets
4. Training and education programs

Interview other agents regarding:
1. General satisfaction
2. Company culture
3. Management styles
4. Future plans

Do you agree with this list? What would you add to it?

Every seasoned agent would probably do things differently if they could start their business fresh. They'd channel their knowledge, time, money, and effort into areas that experience has taught them to be effective in generating leads, converting them to prospects, and closing transactions.

Realtors can't begin anew, but they can help to mentor new agents entering the profession. Now is a difficult time to become a real estate agent. New agents don't have the luxury of time and a rising market to bail them out of their early business mistakes.

If a brand new agent approached you for advice about building their real estate business, what would you say?

I posted this question on Trulia and received a number of frank answers from experienced agents:

• Annette Lawrence in Palm Harbor, FL warns against broker promises and slick brochures and recommends finding a good mentor;
  
• Judi Monday in Green Valley, AZ suggests having a first-class website and lead capture system;
  
• Rob Hughes in SE Pennyslvania wrote a long answer with many good points.

ActiveRain members have posted to their blog with their thoughts on what they would tell a new agent:

• Michelle Gibson from Wellington, FL wrote a post called I'm a New Agent how can I Compete?;
  
• Margaret Woda from Crofton, MD wrote Advice to New Maryland Real Estate Agents;
  
• Bonnie Erickson from St. Paul, MN wrote Advice for New Agents;
  
• Julie Escobar from Tampa, FL wrote What Every New Agent Needs to Know ... Part II;
  
• Liz and Bill Spear from Mason, OH wrote So You Want To Be A Real Estate Agent? Some Unsolicited Advice;
  
• Nickolas Underwood from Lawrenceville, GA wrote The New Agent Survival Handbook;

If a new agent approached you to become his or her mentor, what advice would you give?

Don't believe everything that you read on the internet.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

I came across this quote on the web recently and it helped me to realize that I shouldn't accept as gospel every tidbit of information that I come across in my travels through cyberspace. I learned about Abe Lincoln in school and have read the biography Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Lincoln's leadership and accomplishments, especially during the nation's time of crisis during the Civil War. If he says that we should be careful about believing what we read online, I'll take him at his word.

Websites, blogs, news channels, political ads, and more are all created and written by human beings with their own biases, opinions, and agendas. Most things that we read shouldn't be taken at face value. The content is often intentionally designed to subtly guide our thoughts and emotions in a certain direction. As we've seen during some political campaigns, it doesn't have to be true. The means only have to achieve the desired results.

I try to think about the source and their possible motives when reading online. Of course, you can rely on the absolute truth in this blog post. As George Washington (who founded the Republican Party) once famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

You've probably heard or been told that a virtual assistant (VA) can be an invaluable resource for your business. For most, that's probably as far as the discussion went. What exactly does a virtual assistant do, how can they help me in my business, and where can I find them? Some VA's are generalists. Many are specialists in the services that they provide.

There are resources on the web that can answer these questions far better than I can. So, I've assembled some links to help you answer these questions for yourself:

Why and How to Use A Virtual Assistant

• How to Find and Use a Virtual Assistant to Get Ahead
• The International Virtual Assistants Association has a great webpage with 101 Ways to Use A Virtual Assistant. You can also download this list as a pdf file for printing
• Here is another list of 101 Ways to Use a Virtual Assistant

One place to find virtual assistants is right here on ActiveRain. Visit the virtual assistant groups here. Go to your home page and click on the link that shows your ActiveRain state ranking. Select "All States" from the state drop down list. Select "Virtual Assistants" from the drop down category list. You should get a list of virtual assistants on AR. Click their links to read the profile pages and read their blog posts.

Virtual Assistant associations and groups are a great source for learning more about the virtual assistant industry and finding virtual assistants that you can hire. Below are some of the better known or more established associations and groups. If they have public forums, it can be interesting to read some of the discussions and get a feel for the members who are posting. This list is by no means complete and I will add more links as I come across additional organizations.

Virtual Assistant Associations

• Administrative Consultants Association
• Alliance for Virtual Businesses
• Alliance of UK Virtual Assistants
• Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection
• Canadian Virtual Assistant Network
• Coaches, Authors, Speakers Professional Assistants Association
• Deleware Valley Virtual Assistants Association
• International Association of Virtual Assistants (UK-based)
• International Association of Virtual Author Assistants
• International Real Estate Virtual Assistant Association
• International Virtual Assistants Association
• International Virtual Assistants Association Facebook Page
• Real Estate Virtual Assistant Network
• Southeastern Virtual Assistants Group
• UK Association of Virtual Assistants
• Virtual Assistants Network

Linkedin Groups

Go to the Linkedin groups where virtual assistants network and read their discussions, blog posts, and comments. Some groups are public, some require logging into your Linkedin account. You can get a good feel for the VA's skills, interests, and personalities here.

• American Virtual Assistant Association
• Digital Marketing
• International Virtual Assistants Association
• Real Estate Virtual Assistant Rainmakers
• Small Business & Real Estate Virtual Assistants
• Small Business Marketing Forum
• Social Media Marketing Virtual Assistants
• Tech Savvy Virtual Assistants Networking
• VA Classroom
• Virtual Assistant
• Virtual Assistant Outfitters
• Virtual Assistant Tips & Tricks

Or simply type "Real Estate Virtual Assistants" into Google and see what individual VA websites come up.

Each virtual assistant brings different skills, abilities, and knowledge to your business. Here is a good post on Four Key Lessons I Learned from my Rotten Virtual Assistant Experience. Personally, I don't agree with the fourth point. Many top VA's get to choose who they want to work with and aren't accepting any more clients.

Take time to visit some of the links above and begin envisioning how a virtual assistant can help to accelerate your business plan. Think about tasks that you can delegate and projects that you'd like to get started or completed. Maybe contact one or more virtual assistants that intrigue you and begin exploring whether you'd like him or her to become a part of your professional team. Remember, VA's are professionals and business owners like you. They are independent contractors, not employees.

There are websites where you can post a job offer and receive bids from freelancers. Some of the better known ones are:

• Elance
• Freelancer
• Guru
• oDesk
• vWorker

Bidders tend to compete by price and oftentimes you get what you pay for, so be careful with this approach. Sometimes the cheapest approach becomes the most expensive one for you.

If you know of any other links that should be included in this list, feel free to post them in the comments section.

I worked on writing my obituary today. It's a very personal and difficult thing to write. The topic itself really forces me to concentrate on my innermost thoughts:

1. What accomplishments make me the proudest?
2. What are my biggest regrets?
3. Whose lives did I impact by my presence?
4. What legacy will I leave behind?

These are tough questions to answer. Every day that I live leads me closer to my death.

Fortunately, I'm not dying and in good health as far as I know. I'm working on my obituary because it's a great way for me to focus on what's really important. I'm using it as a business and life planning tool to guide my day-to-day decisions and activities. It helps me to block out many of the external pressures and temptations that encourage me to stray from my true self and desires.

When my thoughts and actions are consistent with who I am and want to be, I'm mentally at peace. Problems and difficulties arise every day, but I'm in the right frame of mind to deal with them. The pathway toward achieving my goals, and embodying the person I want to become, becomes a little clearer and guides my actions.

The obituary that I'm working on today reads far differently than the one I would have written decades ago, or even last year. The main points remain, because it reflects who I am. The goals, desires, and opportunities change based on what point I am in my life.

I'm fortunate that I have the time and good health to forge the events for my obituary every day that I live. I can die content if my tombstone can truthfully say these words:

1. He used his talents to their fullest;
2. He made a positive impact on everyone he met;
3. He followed the Golden Rule.

What would you like your obituary to say about you?