Wordless Wednesday – Meditation Garden at Memorial Dr Homeless Shelter

memorial drive shelter

My husband and I helped prepare and serve dinner at one of downtown Atlanta’s homeless shelters.  It was a humbling experience.  There were 4 families residing there while trying to get back on their feet.  Behind the main building some of the residents and volunteers had built a small meditation garden and planted flowers. It’s a quiet place in an urban jungle.

We just heard last week …the shelter is closing.

memorial drive shelter

Whether you like it or not… Sellers love their Listing Flyers!

If you take the time to create a flyer, then make it work for you.  How do you get a bigger bang for your buck (and your time) with a Listing Flyer?  Think outside the box, (the front lawn box) or the Kitchen counter display!

Start by using these 6 quick marketing tricks!

1) First – Save it as a JPG. Creating a JPG image of your flyer will open up a vast array of online tools for marketing your listing.   Save an ‘image’ of your flyer and e-mail it to area agents from Top Producer or Outlook.

2) Use that JPG image as one of your 25 photos on Realtor.com.  Instant visibility to hundreds of potential buyers!

3) Put your listing flyer on the internet. After you’ve e-mailed that JPG image, upload the listing to Postlets and Craigslist. Both are great sites for listings – And they’re FREE!  Postlets creates an attractive flyer automatically – it can’t get much easier than that!  Add it to your personal website as well.

4) Facebook. Of course, Facebook or MySpace! Upload your flyer image or the Postlets flyer!  With thousands of members you can take advantage of the huge pyramid of friends who will view your listing.

5) TwitPic –Share it with your Twitter friends using the free TwitPic tool.

6) Hyperlinks! And boost the impact of your flyers by creating a PDF version and adding hyperlinks to area websites like neighborhoods, community and your own website. Potential buyers can then visit these sites to learn more about the area and you. Email the PDF as an attachment to out of town buyers or let your sellers email it to their friends and colleagues.

Live Links in a PDF

Listing Flyers can be a fabulous tool for boosting visibility. Make your flyers work for you, by using them everywhere, for all to see!

(Special thanks to Pam Sherlock – Listing Coordinator – for assisting with the information in this blog post)

Wise Words from Jimmy Buffet!

“If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.”  What a great line! Margarita

I heard a statistic the other day that surprised me. (maybe I’m an eternal optimist, but it surprised me)  Did you know that 87% of everything we are exposed to is negative? Whoa… 87%! That’s a lotta negative!  No wonder we feel overwhelmed,  frustrated or feel like our world is going insane!

Take lesson from Jimmy Buffet and laugh a little!  Come on, there’s always something to laugh about!  Or, at the very least, muster up a little chuckle!  Having a positive attitude and an attitude of gratitude is good for the soul!  And if you need some liquid encouragement, have a Margarita!

So sing a long with me!!

Changes in Lattitudes, Changes in Attitudes

It’s these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane

If we weren’t all crazy we would go insane!

Jimmy Buffet

margaritaville

Thank a Nurse today!

There has been much discussion about healthcare reform and the rising costs of healthcare, over the past few days and months.  And there’s much to be reformed!  But before you get all riled up about the big Pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and Medicare … lmaybe we should take a moment to recognize the “people”who are the healthcare industry.  The people who are day in and day out actually caring for our health!nurses

Did you know that today is International Nurses Day?   Nurses… I believe that nurses are the true heart and the real backbone of our healthcare system.

The International Council of Nurses has been celebrating Nurses Day since 1965.  However, May12th -which is the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth – was established as International Nurses Day and now it is celebrated around the world.

When my mom was battling cancer, she had some of the most wonderful nurses.  They not only cared for her, but they cared about her. From the nurses in the doctor’s office, the hospital nurses, the home health nurses, to the Hospice nurses; each one was a special person who cared about their patient – my mother.

As you go about your day, remember the nurses who have cared for you, your family, your children, your friends.  If you personally know a nurse, make sure you thank them and recognize their efforts.  The long shifts, the emotional and physical strain, the red tape and paperwork.  It’s not an easy job and often a thankless job.

So, thank a nurse today… we’ll argue and debate healthcare reform tomorrow!

Taxes!

A friend sent this to me and I couldn’t resist sharing it.  I know some taxes are for good things like roads, schools, etc.  But this puts it in perspective… we pay lots of taxes!

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he’s fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his  pay,
He works for peanuts Anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers,
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid.

Put these words
upon his tomb,
‘ Taxes drove me to my doom…’

When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Here’s the list of Taxes:

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes

Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel  Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges

IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure

How To Have A Successful Yard Sale  Yard Sale Sign

Spring is the perfect time to clean out the garage, the attic and the closets (even under the kid’s beds) and have a garage sale!   We’ve heard that listing agents are encouraging their sellers to have garage sales to help drive traffic and awareness!  Better yet, organize a neighborhood-wide garage sale!  Offer to help out your sellers with signs, balloons, post on your website, or make some lemonade!  Here are a few tips to share.

PREPARATION

Preparing for a yard sale is hard work. Ideally, you should start working on your yard sale 3 weeks prior to the event. However, if you work hard, you can have it ready in 2 weeks. Well prepared yard sales can profit upwards of $800.00 or more.

Week 1: Spring Cleaning – choose one or two rooms a day and begin collecting items in the basement or garage.

Week 2 & 3: Organizing – sort, clean and price your items.

ADVERTISING

Place an adin the local paper and any online garage sale sites. Craigslist, www.gslar.com are some to consider. Large signs or banners placed at all the entrances to the neighborhood and directional signs throughout the neighborhood will bring in the customers and keep them shopping. Also balloons on mailboxes are always helpful to confirm you are open and not just cleaning your garage.

PRICING

Put a price tag on everything and ALWAYS be willing to negotiate.

Overpricing is the next hurdle…yard sales are for liquidation. Quality items should be priced less than half off the original price you paid. Overpricing can turn everyone away before they get to the garage.

yard sale

DISPLAY/SETUP

What you have to sell and how much you have to sell are important factors as well. If you don’t have much to sell, then partnering with a neighbor is a good idea. Put everything in one driveway…you need “The Draw”. Walk the sale, re-organize items, always talk to the customers. Some people are too shy to ask for a price or to negotiate…being friendly can make a sale.

As the day progresses and tables get sparse. Consolidate items so that tables are always full.

THE DRAW

“The Draw” is very important. Although you should always advertise your sale in local papers and online, you still have to get customers to come to YOUR house.

Perception is everything. Bring some large items or “hooks” (furniture, play, exercise and lawn equipment, etc.) out onto the driveway. Your goal is to gain their interest. You can also put items out that you have no intention of selling, just to get customers in the garage. Yes, that’s right, you may have some items that you are on the fence about and you are not ready to part with at yard sale prices. Just don’t put a price on it, or, price it higher, you never know, it may sell.

Sell popcorn, lemonade, cookies, water…these are other ways to get people to your house.

(posted by Suzanne Geddes, Marketing/Graphic Designer for AnotherME)

Reflections on attending REtechSouth 09

What’s the best investment you can make? Is it Real Estate?  Is it in the Stock Market or Bonds? (not today, that’s for sure!)  Nope – it’s an investment in Yourself!  You will always get the highest return when you make an investment in your business and YOU!

That’s exactly what I did last Friday (and Thursday evening) when I made the investment of time and money in attending REtechSouth 09!  It was priceless!         

A one day event with great speakers(Jeff Turner- RESpres, Dave Jenks) fantastic classes(Social Media 101, Twitter, LinkedIn, SEO) an opportunity to network with some of the best in the industry (Missy Caulk, Jim Crawford, Debe Maxwell, Connie Harvey, Lane Bailey), and learning about some great new technology companies!  (RealtyVid, ViewThisHome)

Let me tell you…this was not your regular real estate conference.  It wasn’t a sales pitch, or a big rah-rah event!  It was all about sharing technology, sharing information.  Matt Fagioli and Brad Nix did a phenomenal job of creating an environment where learning was fun… and real!

Lots of Ah-Ha moments, ideas and technologies that I can start using in my Virtual Assistantbusiness, today!  (I’m updating my website and profiles this week!) And I have some cool ideas that I can share with my clients to help them incorporate these new technologies into their real estate business!  Who knew that Flickr was a Social Network? And it’s free!  (Jeff Turner, I guess!)

Start investing wisely… Make an investment in yourself!  The dividends are high and the payoff is endless!  Attend REtechSouth next year!  See you there!

Patty Keller, AnotherME Virtual Assistants