Month: June 2016

Ok, ok, I’ve had you on the edge of your seat long enough!  Last time we were here, I was telling you about my colossal decision to leave the corporate world behind me and start working for myself.  So what was this amazing, earth shattering career change?  Yep, I found the world of real estate.  I’m not sure exactly when the passion for combining homes AND people came to me, but I have a few ideas.  There was a period of time (we’ll call it Lent) when I decided Target had seen enough of my hard-earned dollar and I vowed not to spend another dime in that store until Easter hymns were being sung and all was right with the world again.  Now, I’m not going to lie….Target is not an easy Lenten sacrifice – you can find EVERYTHING within those walls…..well except salvation and re-birth.  It made sense.  So here I was trying to avoid temptation, and somehow got in the habit of visiting every open house in the city of Denver to occupy my time – thank you Carey (devoted, and equally sacrificing sister), for being my wingman (or woman, as it were).  Somewhere between guessing home prices and lengthy discussions about what should have been done for the home to sell, real estate began working its way into my blood.  Take that, a semi-serious relationship with another real estate agent (much more on that one later!), and a significant family life event,and I found myself needing something more and seriously looking at making the plunge.  And so I did.  The rest is history, and here I am!

Which leads me to my story for the day.  Open Houses.  I write this as I sit in an open house for my mentor, wondering if the people who walk in are doing as I did not so long ago and if the bug is going to catch them as it did me.  I also wonder what in the world they will say about me upon exiting.  We all know the open house rules right?  Whatever you do, don’t make eye contact with the agent, most definitely DO NOT give your correct information on the sign in sheet and at no cost engage in a conversation that will lead to a sales pitch!  But do discuss the agents outfit, their ability to sell a house in this market, and rate if you would use them to buy or sell a house on a scale of 1 to 10 once you leave the property….. See?  I know how these things work – I was an open house aficionado back in the day!

From the agent side, let me tell you what we are really thinking, and doing, while at the open house, and also let me share one more “rule” to what is listed above.  First and foremost, while we would absolutely love to sell you a house, and we want to make the very best impression on you (and the home) when you walk through the door, the biggest reason we start talking to you and at times, find ourselves shamelessly following you from room to room, is because we have been alone, in a house that is not ours, for the better part of two hours, with limited technology and minimal stimuli…..and we are dying for human interaction.  See, an agent at heart, is a very social being – we love to talk to people and to have conversations about homes and the market, and if you prefer chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies (we really do want to know!).  And it really is all about filling our emotional bank account back up, which has become dangerously low, while sitting alone, and pondering all of life’s mysteries.  Ok, secondly, it’s alright to give us your real information.  Most of us will never become that crazy stalker agent and blow your phone and email up with sales pitch after sales pitch.  But some of us (myself included) do love to send out newsletters with some great information and from time to time, some good giveaways – just to see if you are actually reading!  So even though you may need to delete our email once a month, you might just win a free ticket to a Rockies game, or free pie at Thanksgiving….and even more important,  you get to look like the smartest guy at the BBQ when the topic of real estate comes up….wait, doesn’t everyone talk about that at their BBQ’s?

Ok, finally onto my final “rule”, and I sincerely advise everyone to read carefully here and take this to heart.  Do not, I repeat, DO NOT eat a rich lunch (that includes mexican food) prior to going out on your open house foray.  Let me tell you, I have learned this from personal experience and without going into too much detail (because it is seriously still way too embarrassing), I will say this; if you eat a rich meal, it is very possible your belly will start to regret said meal, which may leave you in a very bad predicament at an open house, where you learn, unfortunately way too late, that the owners have turned off their water for the day.  I will also say this….one very expensive bottle of wine and a very sincere apology letter may have found itself on the doorstep of a particular open house in Denver very late one evening (cover of darkness to protect the innocent) because of said rich meal.  So, eat wisely my friends, and go out to enjoy some open houses!

Until next time…..

So, by now I am sure you are sitting at the edge of your seat wondering exactly what it is I used to do, and why I made the decision to leave the corporate world behind me and jump head first into self-employment.  (I can’t wait to see what I write here myself, because there are days I still wonder what the hell I am doing!). Well, not so long ago, and in a galaxy not far away, I was an HR professional – pause for dramatic, why would anyone choose that line of work, effect.  Well, that’s a good question, and I’ll tell you, aside from the hard conversations, the counseling, and the strategic initiatives, we have some of the best stories of any job out there! (All you HR people are nodding your heads right now and silently compiling the list of your top 10 – am I right??)  If you don’t have an HR person among your circle of friends, you may want to consider finding one – we are quite the riot, especially after a glass of wine!  All joking aside, it’s a difficult job with no small amount of conflict, and requires sensitivity, and tact.

So, with all that, when did the urge first strike me to leave that world behind and become my own boss?  Here is where I reveal one of my top 10 stories….. It may have started the day I sat with an employee trying to explain to her that Double Jeopardy means someone can’t be prosecuted for the same crime twice and that it most certainly does not occur when you are suspended pending an investigation and after said investigation, are terminated for wrongdoing; and that suing myself or the company is probably not in your best interest.  Or it could have ignited on a trip back from India, after letting go an entire team that didn’t deserve it; the unfortunate result of bad decision-making that started at the top and continued its path down.  I know, I know…. that never happens!

In the end, whatever string of events brought me to that fateful decision (mid-life crisis has also been considered), bring me there they did, and I watched a new, (quite bossy) self be born!  A self that needed to have more balance for the important things in life, like family and friends; summer loving and having a blast; having my cake and eating it too.  It became clear to me that I wanted to spend more time creating a life for myself and less time making a life for someone else.  That working 60+ hours a week at the expense of my passions and dreams was no longer overly appealing.  And so I jumped.  (Again the stressed stare emoticon makes it’s appearance).  Here is what I can tell you: it has been marvelous.  It has been terrifying.  It has been the best thing I have ever done.  It has scared the living bejesus out of me more nights than I care to recall!  And even though I am working my tail off,  I am living my life and having a blast (most days anyway).  And in the end, isn’t that what really matters?  In a world where we spend too much time worried about what we don’t have and who we should be, and experiencing all to often the senseless tragedies that tear away the things we hold most dear, there needs to be more time for joy and doing what makes us happy.  More time to experience what the world has to offer and to find our own personal peace – whatever and wherever that is!

So….what is my new self-employed line of work you ask?  You’ll have to stay tuned. I don’t want you getting too comfortable in that chair you’re on the edge of!  Until next time…..

Today is the day.  I write.  About what?  Good question!  I have visions of being the next Carrie Bradshaw, only with a fashion style that includes a significant amount of “fat pants” instead of stilettos, a home in Denver and not New York, and a sex life that is not quite as……exuberant, to say the least.  (By the way, fat pants are a much better term in my mind than yoga pants – I have a sneaky suspicion that not everyone you see in fat pants is also a yogi…. I for one wear them to Thanksgiving dinner, when I can get away with it; and let’s all be honest, an elastic waistband is always a good idea, I don’t care who you are!).  Perhaps that is why my sex life is not as exuberant…. something to think about.

So, the question remains, what do I write about?  So many things have crossed my mind – should I write about my decision to leave the corporate world behind me a year ago and enter the world of self employment?  Maybe I’ll write about all the things I have learned from said decision (insert stressed stare emoticon here).  I can write about how important rescue organizations are (nothing funny there, just true).  Or maybe I’ll write about my experiences on all the dating sites in town (everything funny here…. seriously).  The bottom line is this – I love to write.  And I was also blessed with the ability to be witty on occasion, or so I am told. No reason not to put the two together and write about things that matter, and those things that don’t (I can’t be the only one who thinks about the zombie apocalypse really happening and how I am going to find my tribe and survive right?)

My goal is to write everyday – well, almost every day – about my profession, about what I find important in my profession, about how hard it has been to strike out solo and make it stick, about my passions, about life in general –  and I can promise a significant amount of humor here; don’t know how I got so lucky to see things through humor colored glasses, but thank God I did, because I have needed it!  And I sincerely hope that you will find some enjoyment out of my posts….If not, you can stop reading – just tell all of your friends to read instead (no kidding around here).  Who knows, maybe someday, a big fancy publishing company will get wind of my stories and want to make a book out of my articles, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll travel by train to California where I meet Mr. Big at a book reading and have to kick my friends out of the hotel room for just a bit… Oh wait, first I need a Mr. Big…………stay tuned!