Change is in the Air!

I've been doing some searching of my heart lately.  I've been writing in my journal, working on my websites, studying, researching, talking to lots of people, making new friends, talking to old (no...not in years girls!) friends, and spending some time just thinking.  I've even been driving without music or a book playing the background....  Ok...fine!  One day I drove all the way home with music blaring so loudly the people in the cars around me were looking to see if it was coming from my car.  I think my dancing behind the drivers seat gave it away and they knew it was me.  hahaha!  It was pretty funny.  You should do it sometime!

Anyway, what I have come to realize is that I need to make some changes and do things differently.  I've been part of the 98% as Dani Johnson would say.  The 98% that just keeps doing what they are doing and hoping their lives will change.  I need to be part of the 2% that actually makes things happen!  I need to step up and make my life the way I want it.  No more excuses. 

I CAN!  I can succeed!  No matter what anyone else tells me I can be successful!  And so, some decisions have been made and I've taken the first steps this weekend.  Here's the plan...


Shorts Across America!

I'm going to become an online publisher!  I'm going to compile a book of 50 stories from all over America of short stories.  Well, actually I'm going to compile 3 books. 

• "Children's Shorts Across America"
• "Teen's Shorts Across America"
• "Shorts Across America"

It is going to be AWESOME!  This weekend I started a blog which will turn into a website hopefully by the end of the year and I've written the Release for publishing purposes (which will be checked over by my attorney).  Next step...make the blog what I want it to be with all of the details and start advertising for stories.



Real Estate Answers

The next thing I'm going to work on is a website for real people to get real answers about real estaste without a sales pitch and without all of the real estate lingo.  I'll invite real estate agents, at least one in each state, to contribute and article and/or answer a direct question submitted by our readers.

Real estate agents will be able to advertise in our "rolodex" and they will be rated by us and by their clients.  The rating system will be kind of like on Amazon where there are stars and comments.  There will be 5 categories they will be rated on and that will be averaged into a total rating.  Their clients can write in and submit a reference which will be published on their rolodex card.

Prospective clients will be able to search the rolodex or ask us to find them an agent.  They can tell us the questions they want asked and tell us exactly what their needs are and we will do the research for them and find the top 3 agents for them to call.



Secret Suprise

The last project I have is already in the works, but I cannot under any circumstances give away the secret!  Shhhh !  It's going to be amazing and you'll love me when it's done!

Not even a hint of what it will be!





Have a great week everyone!





 

Get Clicky

I have been using Site Meter for years on my site, but I've found a new application that I think is better.  It was recommended by a friend and I like it a lot.  I can look at the stats on all of my websites in one place and compare.  Check it out!

Looking for a Mentor

Recently I've been looking for a mentor. Most everyone I know is a real estate agent and they don't know much about social media, building a website, or building an online company. They are all wonderful people, but the person I am seeking needs to be... well... a techie. Having built at least one successful online business would be helpful.

First a little background:

I've been reading and doing research about starting an online business and formulating a plan. I've found some amazing people to follow on the social media sites and also found some great free advice, but to get one on one time is probably not even an option.

Maybe you know some of them: Dani Johnson http://www.danijohnson.com, Sandi Krakowski http://www.arealchange.com/blog, Michelle Dale (Virtual Miss Friday) http://www.virtualmissfriday.com, and Ali Rittenhouse http://aliciarittenhouse.com to name a few. What wonderful women! What I wouldn't give to be able to have just a few minutes of their undivided attention! I'm sure they have tons and tons of requests every day. I don't want to be in the spotlight like they are, but I do want to be as knowledgeable and successful. All of these fabulous women have given me tons of help and guidance. They are mentors to a point, that's for sure!

I need to ask some direct questions in relation to my specific idea to someone who won't try to use the idea themselves. I'm not trying to sell a product online and that is what most of their information is about. My idea is a little different. My idea will provide information and the participants will pay to be on the site.

Anyway, I came across someone on several social networking sites who I thought just might be able to help. So, after reading about this person, reading their blog, looking at some of the links posted etc., I got up the nerve to contact this person.

The reply I got was disheartening to say the least. Which brings me to the following question:

Should a mentor be someone you "study and admire" or someone you can actually interact with?

Would love to hear your answers!

Controversy

While reading about how to get more followers to my blog I came across an article that said I needed to say something controversial to get people to comment on my page and then follow me.  I don't know that I can do that all the time.  I mean, after reading some of the comments on Facebook about the Chick-fil-A thing... or Mitt Romney and/or Obama... I'm not sure I really want those types comments here.  People are just crazy sometimes!

Then, today my son posted the following picture on his page.

There were hundreds of comments about this on the page he got it from.  I was shocked!  Let me share a few of these gems with you.

• "focusing on 6 things at a time is what everyone who isn't mentally challenged.  11 is high though"
• "dont forget more prepared for zombies"
• "I drive like I do in grand theft auto. Thankyou video games."
• "It's very true I drive ALOT better since I play videogames a little bit more than before I got better reactions as well and quick reaction time !" 

These are just a few thoughful comments, written exactly as they were on Facebook.  Some of the responses were very long and surprising.  Some agreed and some disagreed.  Funny thing too is that there are people correcting other peoples grammar and their grammar was wrong while doing it. 

I see the same thing happening whenever there is something political posted.  I just don't understand some peoples responses to some of these things.  I never realized that there were so many angry people in the world.  So many people who want to make themselves seem better by making others feel stupid.

You may wonder what my response to my son was since he posted it and added, "This is for you mom!".  Well, I'll start out by telling you that my son is 20 years old and he has a great job.  He is an amazing kid, a wonderful son, and just an overall fantastic person.  He is loved by everyone who knows him.  He also, I think, is not living up to the potential he has.  When he was 6 he wrote a letter to Lego asking what he needed to do to have a job there when he grew up.  Now, he doesn't want to work for Lego, but he would like to be a game developer.  I want him to be the best he can possibly be no matter what he chooses to do.  I want him to succeed in every aspect of his life.

This was my response:  "That's awesome son!  Now that you have accomplished so much and grown and improved yourself while playing video games you can get out and be a huge success at real life!  Good job bud!  Love you! ;) I know you can do it!"

His response: "Dangit... She always has a valid comeback..."

What a great boy!  I can't wait to see what he does with his life!  I love him so much!!!!

What to do...

I've been doing research for my business as I work on my business plan and I'm feeling overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. So much information to process, and yet I don’t feel that much of it is helping me at all. Also, it seems I'm over qualified and under qualified for what I do for a living and I find that very frustrating.


When I was young I wanted to be a lawyer. Then I wanted to be a college English Literature teacher. Then I wanted to be both. Those are still things that would, I think, make me feel fulfilled in my professional life. Yet, when I was about 22 I came into the real estate world by working at a real estate school. It seems that is where I am to be planted instead of in the English Lit and Law world.

I have worked in a property management company where I ran the company managing over 160 residential homes across Utah, then I worked for a commercial real estate company as an assistant to 20 commercial agents, then I was a leasing director for a commercial real estate company where I leased kiosks in a mall and helped with in-line leasing, and then I was a stay at home mom for 10 years. When I knew I would have to go back to work I wanted to do something different but ended up working at an HOA where I once again fell in love with all things real estate. When I left the HOA I went to work as an office administrator for an international real estate company where I basically assisted about 30 real estate agents.

I like real estate. I understand it. It has always made sense to me. Whenever a new task is given to me it seems that I just instinctively know what needs to be done. Doing paperwork is something that I have always enjoyed. Working on a computer comes easily and naturally to me. I am a people person and I like to help other succeed in what they do. I like to be the person they can come to, drop something on my desk, and walk away knowing I'll take care of it. Or the person they can brainstorm with to come up with how to fix a problem.

So, why am I so frustrated with my business? Why am I struggling to find clients? Why am I having such a hard time writing a business plan so I can get a small loan to get my office set up and working smoothly?

Honestly, I think there are several things that are holding me back right now. One of them is that I feel like there are so many things I need to know more about, like technical stuff, that would make me a better virtual assistant. The most important thing? I would love to move into the world of construction. Weird eh?

Not really, since my father was a builder, my brother is a builder, and my husband is a superintendent. Building things has always fascinated me. Do I want to do paperwork all my life? Yes! I love it! Do I want to work from home for the rest of my professional career? Yes! That would be awesome! But, I also want to travel, watch homes and buildings be created, be involved from the purchasing of land to the final handing over of the keys. I want to be a part of it all.

When I worked for the commercial real estate developer I was there from the beginning of one of his large projects. Many acres of a business park surrounded by a golf course were developed with my attending each weekly meeting, ground breaking (I even have a gold shovel!), planting flowers, deciding on how many and where to put parking, who to lease the buildings to, invoices, architect meetings, oh how wondrous it was! Maybe I need to go to school to be a project manager. That would be awesome!

Maybe what's holding me back is that fact that I want so much more than what just being an assistant will give me. Maybe I need to do something bigger? But how? Where? When? And certainly, how much will it cost? So many questions to work out.

Tonight, in my written journal, I'm going to write down what I define as success. What would make me happy? What will make me feel successful? How can I help others become successful? I could create jobs! Help others learn and grow and be as excited as I am about something.

Sorry, that was sort of a freak out on my part. It has been a long day. Tomorrow...What is success?

What is success to you?

More Followers

http://goinswriter.com/more-blog-comments/

I just read the article above about how to get more followers.  Now that I'm wanting to work on my writing I'll need followers to give me comments on my writing.  I'm planning on trying to write something everyday.  All of books, blogs, websites, and articles I've read about writing say that is the best way to be a better writer. 

But, getting more followers the way this guys said could be a problem for me.  I'm don't like to start contraversy and that is what he suggests.  I think I'll keep reading and looking to find a way to get more readers and followers.

In the mean time, I do need to know what types of things you...my current readers...would like to hear about.  So, let me know what is on your mind, or what you would like to hear from my mind.

Have a great day everyone!

LeapFrog Creations!

So, for the last year I've been doing research on what a virtual assistant is and what it takes to be one.  When I changed jobs in May my boss asked me if he could hire me as a 1099 employee or as a contractor.  I agreed. Since I'm working only part-time I've been trying to get something going on the side at home.  This worked out great for me when he even agreed to pay me more if I agreed to it.  Now, I have my own business and I'm trying to make it grow.

Friday my husband and I drew up plans to build our garage/storage area into an office/storage area so I can build the company.  I love working in Real Estate and I love doing paperwork.  I am NOT a sales person so I wouldn't use my license to sell houses, but I love doing the other side and helping with everything else. 

Right now, I work for a company and help them with all of their paperwork.  They haven't had an office manager for more than 2 years so my work is cut out for me.  The 8 agents I assist are all very behind with the details of business.  I've found money that has never been paid to our company, organized the files, found missing documents, cleaned up the office, created statistics, connected all payments to transactions, generated listings, and more.  I work in their model home so I've even helped them get more walk-in traffic.  (I'm hoping it will pay off with commissions soon!) I enjoy it so much.  The agents are great and very nice.  My Brokers are easy to work with and very understanding of my need to be home sometimes. 

Now, the plan is to find other offices that will let me do the same for them.  I'd like to have computers in many offices with Skype on them so I can "be available" to help agents all over Utah.  Then I'd like to expand to other States and have Licensed Assistants, Transaction Managers, and Office Managers working virtually from home.

Mom's need to be home.  Since I had to go back to work after my divorce I've been trying to find a way to be home.  Then when I met and married the most wonderful man in the world I've been trying to find a way to have the best of both worlds and be home while working.  The best way
to start a business is to have an excellent support system.  I have that now and I'm raring to go!

Yesterday I met with a mentor at the Women's Business Center and I'm totally excited!  She loved my ideas and gave me tons of advice and information on how to make it work and how to get a loan.  For the next two weeks I'll be working on my Business Plan.  Ug!  I need to get a loan so I can get a new computer, scanner/copier/fax, build out the office, and do some marketing.  Would be nice if I could somehow make this thing work so I could hire an accountant, legal advisor, IT person, and Web person!  Wish me luck!

The ultimate goal of LeapFrog Creations?  To have a Virtual Assistant network across the nation, to help other people achieve the goal of owning their own business, and to have a commercial space here with several different types of offices for individual businesses.  LeapFrogVA is only the first of many businesses under the umbrella of LeapFrog Creations!  Onward and Upward!!