I was so humble, I was shaking in my boots!

18 replies
Well, here is my story and please feel free to contribute! I am a lurker for months, seeing my real estate business going down the drain. I used to be the top selling agent for years but no more.

Not that anybody else is doing better, the market just dropped dead. My last two deals went south and tomorrow, probably that escrow too. Survived on my savings and now that is all gone. So, what to do?

I love taking pictures and not that I am any good at it but still, love it. For my real estate website, I've done about 70 slideshows of homes for sale. I figured, maybe I can do the same for offline businesses and put it on Youtube.

Those slides are "kind of" amaturish (help, do not know how to do a spellcheck in this forum), but my clients loved them. Even potential buyers would spend hours on my website, raving about all the information I had available for them.

Well, raving or not, they are not buying. So, what did I do? Not being on a fan of cold calling and dropping in on business owners, I figured, nobody is going to kill me if I just stop by and give my speil. So, today, I did.

Stopped by this tearoom with lots of old-fashioned little goodies that mostly would appeal to women. Had a chat with her and belive it or not, she has never even heard about Youtube!

Told me that her business is faltering and about to "celebrate" 10 years in business, fighting to survive. I felt so bad for her and gave her my business card. She said she'll call me tomorrow after checking out Youtube.

What I have decided to do, as a learning experience, is to do 5-10 slideshows for free, just to learn and get samples. I told her it was totally FREE of charge and that I would give her additonal information how to help herself.

She has NO money for advertising but I figured, once I gave her all the tools to do it herself, she would probably gladly recommend me to other business owners.

On my way back to put some fresh flyers on one of my listings, I decided to pull of the freeway and go and see this other business owner. He's got his property for sale and since I am a Realtor, told him I was NOT there to solicit his business.

Told him straight to his face that I am a struggling Realtor, explained that I was looking to make a few slideshows for some businesses and he did not have to pay me a dime.

He replied that if my venture ended up bringing him any revenue, he'd be happy to share! Took all my photos, working on them right now.

Feeling a little bit stronger in my backbone (lol), decided to stop by this home builder on my way home. The homes are selling for $500,000-$600,000 thousands!

Was a little over-whelmed but did tour the models. Here is my question in regards to the builder:

1. Should I just Youtube him?

2. Would it be better to burn a bunch of CD's with pictures of the homes that he could give to the potential buyers and if so, what should I charge?

Anyway, I feel good about myself, finally taking action and my mind is racing for what else I could do. Of course, this is just a starting point and I have not made a dime yet but as "they" say, ask and you shall receive!
#boots #humble #offline #shaking
  • Profile picture of the author SteelDanno
    I need to be quick so all I'll say is congrats for taking action and being here and testing and learning and, and, and ... being willing to adapt to your changing circumstances with a creative mind. You're the kind of person who has a good chance of making it big. Good luck on your journey.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
      Thank you Steel Danno, I got to have the guts to move forward and when silly old me thinks about it, I always had! It's just that when you are squeezed into a corner, your brain dies!
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  • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
    By the way, the guy that has his business for sale is selling his land separately and same thing with his business. All I did was taking photos of his inventory which does not conflict with his real estate sales.

    Code of ethics says, do not solicit. Did not. By the way, the guy was really friendly! I think, after he sees what I'm going to do for him, he'll be more than glad to refer me!

    Tomorrow, I'll go for more!
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  • Profile picture of the author AmyKay
    Good for you! Keep going! And keep reading these forums, they are awesome.

    I'd say if you are genuinely looking out for your customers best interest, then they won't accuse you of soliciting.

    Best wishes,
    Amy
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    • Profile picture of the author Gilbert714
      Vikuna,

      Keep at it and keep strong. I to am in the real estate biz and I blew my savings before I got outside the box and started hustling again.

      Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
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    • Profile picture of the author edhan
      Nice to hear that you are moving forward and taking action. This may be a good thing for you as I believe opportunity waits for no man. So you are grabbing every single opportunity that comes along is simply great.
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  • Profile picture of the author MissAnn
    Way to go. Sometimes taking that first step can be the scariest. You have obviously been blessed with talent in this area and now you are developing the courage to step out and use your talent. That's a sure combination for success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Barbara Wilson
    Doesn't sound to me like your brain has died! Sounds like you're running on all cylinders! Good going Vikuna2009+! This is the way stars are born!

    I think for the home builder that the CDs are a great idea. I haven't shopped for a house in a long time - but I watch that TV show sometimes - about first-time home buyers - and they're always taking pictures as they go from house to house. So the home buyer could hand out the CDs like business cards - have his business, name and phone number on them and the prospects have a beautiful portfolio of the house.

    I have no idea about what to charge him. How many houses does he have for sale? Maybe offer him CDs for 1 or 2 - just charge him just enough to cover your costs for materials + a tad for your time and labor. Not what they're worth, make it a bargain. But enough that you clear a little. Tell him it's a test. If the CDs work out for him - you'll do the rest of the houses but they'll cost more. Then figure a higher price for your time and labor.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
      Hi Amkay, never thought of myself as a pushy seller, more like a interested party. Still shaking in my boots though, not really understanding why! No other choice but to push forward and I am actually looking forward to it!
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      • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
        Hi Gilbert714, would you mind telling me what you did? Love to hear it and thak you!
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        • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
          Hi edhan, thank you for your support. My little community is having a pasta dinner on Friday night (tomorrow) to gather some money for the community center.

          I will bring my digital camera there and make a "kid's contest" (read face in pasta, sucking it all up, just like Disney). I'm not looking to make a dime for the next week or two, just to experiment and get myself out there.
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          • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
            Way to go. Sometimes taking that first step can be the scariest. You have obviously been blessed with talent in this area and now you are developing the courage to step out and use your talent. That's a sure combination for success.

            Miss Ann, not quiet sure if this is how I am suppose to "quote" you. Anyway, thank you for your support!
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  • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
    Hi Barbara,

    My thought was to charge him $175 for about a 20 picture slide show with an additonal 4 or 5 "personalized images". Then, do the Youtube thing and more. I know about one guy that charges $500 for FOUR pictures!!!

    In this day and economy, I'm happy to make a little and I would feel good knowing that I am providing excellent value. All I am looking for is to be able to cover my bills. Maybe that is a little too humble, but that is where my "brain" is now.

    Thank you guys, ALL OF YOU, for your kind remarks and encouragements!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author Barlowgirl
      Thanks, Vikuna, for your thread!
      Your story has inspired me.
      In my career as a teacher, the one thing I really enjoyed doing was videoing my pupils doing presentations in the foreign language I was teaching them.
      They really enjoyed seeing themselves afterwards 'on TV' speaking the language they were learning.
      You have reminded me how much I enjoy interviewing people on camera, and filming interesting subjects, especially horses, as I've been passionate about them all my life.
      Now you have given me the motivation to think about a way of using my passion in my business.
      At the moment, I'm learning how to market articles after buying a WSO about it, and it's very hard work, as there is so much to learn.
      I have also just joined the 45 Day Challenge, also called 'The Boundless Living Challenge' which aims to motivate you to achieve more than you thought possible, by joining the community of people embarking on it.
      Maybe that would inspire you in your new venture - just google it for the link.
      I wish you every success in your business.
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      • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
        Hi barlowgirl, glad I could inspire somebody. Yesterday was a busy day learning how to download to Youtube from photo story 3. Also finished up my second slideshow, then went to the tea room and took the pictures for their slide and finished it this morning.

        Taught myself how to make CD covers by using Microsoft Publisher. Now, I have a question and if anybody knows the answer, love to hear it.

        The husband of the tea room business sugested that I should have somekind of form that they could sign, that would prove that they had allowed me to take the pictures and post it to Youtube. Any thoughts anybody?
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by Vikuna2009+ View Post

          All I am looking for is to be able to cover my bills. Maybe that is a little too humble, but that is where my "brain" is now.

          Thank you guys, ALL OF YOU, for your kind remarks and encouragements!!!
          When you are staring at the bottom of your piggy bank, covering the bills is a great start. I have a feeling from reading your posts that when the time is right, you'll up the ante.

          Originally Posted by Vikuna2009+ View Post

          The husband of the tea room business sugested that I should have somekind of form that they could sign, that would prove that they had allowed me to take the pictures and post it to Youtube. Any thoughts anybody?
          The document you are looking for is a "model release", which you should find by googling the phrase. All it does is assign you the right to use their image in your project. You might have to tweak a generic release to fit your business use, but if you keep it simple and understandable, you should be fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author miked
    Originally Posted by Vikuna2009+ View Post

    Well, here is my story and please feel free to contribute! I am a lurker for months, seeing my real estate business going down the drain. I used to be the top selling agent for years but no more.
    But you weren't only "lurking"....you were learning...

    I love taking pictures and not that I am any good at it but still, love it. For my real estate website, I've done about 70 slideshows of homes for sale. I figured, maybe I can do the same for offline businesses and put it on Youtube.
    Awesome. You used your existing skills and knowledge, which you don't consider extraordinary, to market to those who don't have the skills or time to learn.

    Those slides are "kind of" amateurish (help, do not know how to do a spell check in this forum), but my clients loved them. Even potential buyers would spend hours on my website, raving about all the information I had available for them.
    Hours?? Wow, what is average time onsite for a IM website? Minutes?? seconds?? You are on to something here.


    What I have decided to do, as a learning experience, is to do 5-10 slideshows for free, just to learn and get samples. I told her it was totally FREE of charge and that I would give her additional information how to help herself.
    Now could you do this for a business owner who is a person of influence in the community? That would be worth doing for a low price. Make his/her business take off via your skills on YouTube, and word will get around just based on that person's influence in the local business community.


    Anyway, I feel good about myself, finally taking action and my mind is racing for what else I could do. Of course, this is just a starting point and I have not made a dime yet but as "they" say, ask and you shall receive!
    Amen! I love to see someone taking action, instead of talking about taking action!

    My only advice is NOT to get distracted by other IM methods. You have an obvious online marketing skill, and the people skills to market your online marketing services. You could really carve out an incredible profitable online marketing niche in your business community.

    Go for it!

    -Mike D.

    P.S. To do spell check on the forum, if the word is misspelled, you will see the word highlighted by a red underscore. Just right click over the word and select the correct spelling. Simple!
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    • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
      Originally Posted by Vikuna2009+
      Well, here is my story and please feel free to contribute! I am a lurker for months, seeing my real estate business going down the drain. I used to be the top selling agent for years but no more.
      But you weren't only "lurking"....you were learning...


      Quote:
      I love taking pictures and not that I am any good at it but still, love it. For my real estate website, I've done about 70 slideshows of homes for sale. I figured, maybe I can do the same for offline businesses and put it on Youtube.
      Awesome. You used your existing skills and knowledge, which you don't consider extraordinary, to market to those who don't have the skills or time to learn.


      Quote:
      Those slides are "kind of" amateurish (help, do not know how to do a spell check in this forum), but my clients loved them. Even potential buyers would spend hours on my website, raving about all the information I had available for them.
      Hours?? Wow, what is average time onsite for a IM website? Minutes?? seconds?? You are on to something here.



      Quote:
      What I have decided to do, as a learning experience, is to do 5-10 slideshows for free, just to learn and get samples. I told her it was totally FREE of charge and that I would give her additional information how to help herself.
      Now could you do this for a business owner who is a person of influence in the community? That would be worth doing for a low price. Make his/her business take off via your skills on YouTube, and word will get around just based on that person's influence in the local business community.



      Quote:
      Anyway, I feel good about myself, finally taking action and my mind is racing for what else I could do. Of course, this is just a starting point and I have not made a dime yet but as "they" say, ask and you shall receive!
      Amen! I love to see someone taking action, instead of talking about taking action!

      My only advice is NOT to get distracted by other IM methods. You have an obvious online marketing skill, and the people skills to market your online marketing services. You could really carve out an incredible profitable online marketing niche in your business community.

      Go for it!

      -Mike D.

      P.S. To do spell check on the forum, if the word is misspelled, you will see the word highlighted by a red underscore. Just right click over the word and select the correct spelling. Simple!

      To John Mc Cabe: Thank you, I will do a search for "model release".

      To Mike: great advise. I LOVE being part of this forum.

      Did go to Staples, bought Memorex exPressit Label Design Studio and the stupid thing will not load correctly!

      So many more things to learn but I am DETERMINED! Can anyone advise me how I can show you one of my slideshows in this thread? Thanks in advance.

      And as John Mc Cabe said, once I get this going, I Am going !
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