It might come as a shock to many, but I am extremely anti-DIY.
I am not trained as a plumber, electrician or mechanic and I have no interest in doing so even though I know it could potentially save me a lot of money. I am not a REALTOR, lender, home inspector or stager and I don’t pretend to be. I am a graphic designer, videographer, photographer, SCUBA instructor, welder, marketer and coder.
The things I DO are all things I either am or was interested in. Only a few of them I got into because I thought they’d be business ventures. The big issue is I value my time. I know I’m only going to learn things I am interested in (there are many such topics) and that I should just pay people who are good at other skills to let them do what they’re best at.
The reason I mention this is that here and other sites in our industry are constantly encouraging REALTORs to do it yourself. Don’t use/pay for a web site, just setup a WordPress site yourself. Don’t pay for a single property web site, build it yourself.
I understand many people in this industry came from somewhere else. Some of you are geniuinely interested in learning how to code a web site. But to me, the tone has almost turned to a browbeating. “You paid for that site? Why didn’t you just setup WordPress, it’s free!”
I mention this in many of my classes: if you run your business being chief cook and bottle washer, why can’t buyers and sellers do it themselves also? Now don’t get me wrong, I will use a REALTOR when it’s time to sell my house and buy a new one. I value my time. It’s not something I know how to do or want to learn (from a paperwork/liability standpoint, I teach REALTORs to market listings all day, so that I could do).
I really came to this realization at the Seattle REBarCamp and chatting with the ActiveRain guys. I’ve setup close to triple digit WordPress sites now and didn’t see the point in AR. The discussion was that there are (many) people who do not want to take the time to learn and setup a system and a turnkey site like AR is perfect for those people. At least they’re blogging.
So I encourage those of you who are hesitant in setting up a new web site or becoming an “expert” overnight on a new social network: evaluate your time and consider letting someone help, otherwise the DIY concept may put this, and many other, industries out of business.
