Ninja Mom Meeting June 2010 ~ Sure Fire Ways To Plan Your Summer For Fun And Business

School is almost out and summer schedules are filling up.  I love summer and am always SO ready for this time to come.  I start thinking about all of the fun things that I can do with the kids and the trips that we can take as a family, but all too often at the end of Summer I realize that we didn’t do so many of the things that we wanted to and it was a jumbled, frustrating time of trying to work and trying to spend time with the kids and not doing either very well.

This summer WILL be different. The key to making it different ~ having a plan, both personally and professionally.

I got together with some great Ninja Moms this week to brainstorm ways to have fun this summer and stay on track with our businesses.  Here are some of the great things that came out of the meeting:

• On the business end we talked about everyone having heightened emotions right now. Weather it is the clients or the agents on the other side, everyone just seems a bit fussier right now.  The key is to hold the space and not get caught  up in everyone’s emotions.  If we stay focused on the task at hand ~ helping Buyers buy and Sellers sell and don’t get caught up in everyone else’s stuff’ things seem to go much more smoothly and with better results.
• Interest rates are at 50 year lows.  It really is amazing how much more buying power people have right now as a result of the rates.  Be sure to get the word out!
• We talked about places to get note cards and some of the favorites were Barnes and Nobel, Borders, 1/2 price books, and paper direct.
• The monthly webinars with Larry Kendall are a great way to stay on track.  His recent class, Getting To Yes was great and he will be offering it again on the 28th if you would like to join in.
• I must admit that up until now, I have not ever had a real estate website.  There is some default Windermere one from my company, but nothing that I have ever put any effort into.  Part of the reason is that when I first got into the business and websites were all the rage they were $10,000 to set up and you could not change anything without having your web guru do it for you and there was not any interactivity.  I also didn’t get it because they made it sound like if you spent all of this money then new and random clients would instantly appear after cruising the internet at all hours of the night and randomly finding  your site.  I just didn’t buy into it.  But now I have seen the light and am working on a real estate site.  While I may get some new and random clients from it, the focus of the site is to be an online interview spot for clients when they are first referred to me.  Now it is infinitely more cost effective and I will be able to update the site on my own to keep it fresh.  If you need any web help, Amanda Krill is THE BEST.  She gets it done, is super quick and insanely affordable.
• For keeping yourself on track and accountability, one agent recommended www.e.ggtimer.com  It is a site where you can plug in a timeframe ie. 1 hour to make calls to clients or time to work on a project and then at the end of the time it will beep at you letting you know to shift gears and start something else.
• One other fantastic aha was for marketing.  I have wanted to know how to send fun, formatted postcards to clients via email.  I am still a believer in mailing something on a regular basis, but thought it would be fun to supplement that with an email once a month.  Turns out it is incredibly easy! If you have your document in a publisher file, you just go up to file in the drop down menu  it has an email option and you can just email as html.  It’s that easy!!!
• Biznik is a great website for networking and building  your list.

For tips on how to make this summer fun AND profitable:

• List ALL of the fun things you want to do this summer.  Ie. Farmers markets to visit, vacations, picnics.parks, play dates, activites. Then when you have a day and are not sure what to do, you can look at the list and set out on a mission rather than wasting away the day.
• Get involved in fun things.  Being active and doing things that you enjoy is a great way to meet others and builds an instant connection.  Some of the great things that we talked about were joining a golf league, getting involved in causes that are important to you such as volunteering at the library, playing sports, cooking classes, the list goes on.  Use this as an excuse to do something fun that you have been putting off because you are just too busy.  It is a great way to connect with people which is what our business is all about.
• Figure out how you can maximize your time.  When you have kids compartmentalizing your life gets tricky, especially during the summer.  If you are going to the beach with the kids, call a friend or client with kids the same age and make it a group event. Of course as I am typing this I am thinking I might schedule some walks with my clients before breaking out the swim suit in front of them, but you get the idea.  It’s alot more fun to go in a group and you get the chance to connect with someone fun.
• Summer BBQ’s at the house are easy and inexpensive and a great way to get together with people.  Invite 2 or three families over that may or may not know each other, but you think will enjoy eachothers company.  It is a fun way to build connections for everyone.  Maybe you know someone that will be new to the school next year.  Invite them over with some other families that already go there.  Everyone will have fun and the new kids will really appreciate the chance to get to know other kids at their school
• Create your hot and warm list for clients that you want to make sure you are taking care of this summer and carry this with you at all times.  Schedules get so spastic and time is chopped up over the summer so keeping this list with you and glancing at it when you get a free moment here and there will help keep you on track with your business and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.
• Find out how you will get blocks of time to work.  It may not be a lot, but register the kids for camps or find someone that can watch them even just one day a week if need be so that when appointments do come up you have a default day or time that you know you can do something rather than having to scramble at the last minute and cancel other plans.

How do you find time to enjoy the summer and stay on track?  Either way, make sure you get some down time in to just relax and enjoy the sun with your family.