People often argue about if agents are worth what they are paid, who is a good agent, what makes a good agent, and so forth. I’m not (for now) going to dive into any of these questions, but instead step back and try and determine how do we even go about setting up the discussion in order to answer those questions? The more I think about it, the … [Read more...]
How to Avoid Using Third Party Vendors
By nature, I tend to be a bit of a do-it-yourselfer. I build my own websites, manage my own hosting, and do my own research. There are times when I just have to use a third party to do work for me like my accountant or my dentist. This was a hard post for me to write. On the one hand I am a vendor but on the other I am a small business owner so I … [Read more...]
A Lesson in Decision Making
How much time should you spend evaluating any given solution? As is often the case, there is no single answer to this question. The formula I like to apply requires you to at least estimate how long you plan on using the solution. Short term solutions generally don't take much time to figure out. It goes without saying that nothing core to your … [Read more...]
To Be a True Market Leader, Good Product is Half the Battle
While I was waiting on a train yesterday that never came, I pondered this thought as I grew more and more frustrated with the MTA. I brooded, "If I did this to my clients they wouldn't think twice about leaving me". Of course I don't have the luxury of being a city funded, mandatory tax line item, 'make no apologies for anything' monopoly so that … [Read more...]
Three great free tools, three cool collaboration tactics
Anyone who has ever worked with me knows that I am a big fan of virtual offices and telecommuting. I really do believe that many jobs can be done from anywhere. One of the biggest challenges to doing this is being able to effectively work on tasks that have historically always required people to be in the same room to be properly executed. Today’s … [Read more...]