Business Marketing

Change is Good

Published

13 years ago

July 1, 2008

Announcing Change

I would like to announce Miamism Team’s new home – Majestic Properties.

It was time for a change, a change that would compliment not only our business and marketing style, but a change that would benefit each one of our clients individually! Teresa wrote a post last week that reflects what each one of us is looking for in a brokerage company.

What compliments our goals?

Our needs and wants have to do with the fact that most of us that are here are autonomous, technically inclined and on the forefront of technology. Coldwell Banker was good to us and we are the first to admit that, it offered a strong corporate backing that Rick and I were used to with out prior corporate lives as an architect and accountant.

As real estate has changed in the past few years, so has our business plan and marketing strategy. We have learned that this business is not so much about us, but about what we can offer our clients. We still hit the streets the same way as before, but we also blog and are very active in the social networking aspect of the Internet. We customize marketing strategies for our clients and expose ourselves to every new marketing medium available to be able to offer better business.

We found a company that will compliment our style, a flexible brokerage without roadblocks and rigid corporate rules. Majestic Properties is a respected full-service real estate organization that focuses on providing the highest level of service by employing cutting edge resources.

About Majestic

They have an amazing reputation in South Florida, with beautiful high design offices in the Design District and Miami Beach; and in 2006, INC 500 Magazine ranked the company fastest growing, privately held, full-service real estate company in the United States.

Majestic Properties successfully identifies industry trends in residential and commercial markets, incorporates cutting-edge technological tools, hires passionate and dedicated agents and staff and plays a prominent philanthropic role in the community. It boasts an internal Advertising and PR agency, a one-stop marketing shop for Majestic agents and clients. Additionally, Majestic helps customers from all over the world with financing and mortgage, and then there’s an interior design team and furniture showroom. From real estate to marketing to financing to design, Majestic Properties offers it all.

We also have a new Miamism Team member! Karen Alvarez, who, as our buyer’s agent, will compliment our growing business and help us provide even better service.

The next level

Making a change is never easy. It was especially difficult for us because we did not want our customers to be affected in any way. I am looking forward to using all the positive energy we are getting from Agent Genius, Miamism and now Majestic Properties to help our business expand to the next level.

Related Topics:changing brokerages miamism

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Ines Hegedus-Garcia

Ines is all Miami, all the time. A Miami Beach Realtor® with Majestic properties, Ines authors Miamism.com, PrimeMiamiBeach.com, and MiamismPix.com and is always on communication's leading edge. She goes out of her way to engage and be engaged, often using Mojitos to keep the mood light and give everything she does a Miami flavor. You can find her goofing off or instigating trouble at Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or LinkedIn.

33 Comments

Jamie Geiger

July 1, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Congrats on all you new changes and your team addition, sound like this is a very exciting time for you and your family.

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 12:45 pm

Thank you Jamie – it’s an amazing time! no complaints! 😉

Reply
Jason Sandquist

July 1, 2008 at 12:45 pm

Congrats on the new endeavor and keep me posted. Possible thinking of making a switch as well by years end.

Reply
Lani Anglin-Rosales

July 1, 2008 at 12:55 pm

Ines, I know that changing is so much more than just ordering business cards, so I commend your going through this massive stress not just for yourselves but for your clients. You really are an inspiration- JUST DO IT, right? 🙂

Reply
Barry Cunningham

July 1, 2008 at 1:06 pm

Cool! Hope it works out for you neighbor!

Reply
Rudy from Trulia.com

July 1, 2008 at 1:54 pm

That’s Awesome Ines!

Change is good.

Will you be working out of their Lincoln Road office? I hear they have a nice motion sensor video display in the window – hehehehe 🙂

All the best to you and Rick!

Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia

Reply
Mack in Atlanta

July 1, 2008 at 2:06 pm

Congratulations Miamism Team. You deserve the best.

Reply
Jennifer in Louisville

July 1, 2008 at 2:41 pm

While I’m not familiar with the Majestic brand (they aren’t anywhere around in our area), I’m glad to hear that you were keeping an eye out for making a change in improvements. While a lot of persons view the relatively soft national real estate market as a time to cut costs/services, I think that now is the time to lay the seeds for establishing dominant control of market share when the market turns positive again.

Reply
Eric Blackwell

July 1, 2008 at 2:52 pm

Hey Ines;

Very cool! Best of everything in your new digs…

Eric

Reply
Jeff Turner Says Congratulations!

July 1, 2008 at 3:01 pm

Ines… Congratulations on the move and your new team member!!

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 3:09 pm

Jason – I will surely keep you posted, it was not easy to do (still not easy with the transitionless move), and congrats on the Inman TIX!!

Lani – it’s been really stressful and our customers should not even feel it – you know I will write about the process when I clear my mind – thanks!

Barry – I have absolutely no doubts! And the energy is amazing! thank you.

Rudy – we are actually going to be working from the Design District Office (down the street from Michaels), but will visit the Lincoln Road office often.

Hey Mack! thank you! It’s comments like yours that keep us going.

Jennifer – you hit an important point. With Majestic, we will have the support we need to take over market share….which is one of our goals.

Eric – and very cool digs at that! The owner of Majestic (Jeff Morr) is hands on, with a great design mind and a visionary – we are psyched!

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Hey Jeff – you are always sneaking in there – thank you! and Congrats to you on that awesome video feature. Your product is superior and all of us that use it know it!

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Damn Lani – you already changed my profile! Holy Cow! THAT’s what I call being efficient! 😉

Reply
Mark Eibner

July 1, 2008 at 6:12 pm

we’re at it again Change is Good: Getting out of the feed reader and commenting on this.. https://tinyurl.com/6yyudf

Reply
Holly White

July 1, 2008 at 5:00 pm

Congrats on the move Ines! I agree that it takes alot of nerve to make a huge change like that. Kudos to you!! I hope it’s better than you ever imagined.

Reply
The Harriman Team

July 1, 2008 at 5:16 pm

Congrats Rick & Ines! Pat and I have been thru this change ourselves twice before so we can relate to what you’re going thru. We wish you all the best and best of luck to Karen, too!

Pat & Wayne Harriman

Reply
Matthew Rathbun

July 1, 2008 at 6:42 pm

I love to see that good folks are growing. God speed!

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 7:20 pm

Holly, that’s very sweet of you – no better wishes than that!

Hey Pay and Wayne – I think the one that will need the most luck is Karen! 😉

Reply
Bill Lublin

July 1, 2008 at 8:36 pm

No matter where you go, you guys carry your success with you. Best wishes for a smooth transition. May the move provide you with everything you hope for and more. Congratulations and Best Wishes fromyou rfriend in the frozen North (alraight its 90 degrees here today but still its Philly!)

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 8:47 pm

Bill – the support has been unbelievable – just with the encouragement from the blogosphere I know we will surpass our own expectations (which are tough ones) – stay wam in the “frozen North” 😀

Reply
Paula Henry

July 1, 2008 at 9:14 pm

Ines – Congratulations! I, too have been considering a change, so know the thought and time which dominates such a decision. Best to you!

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 9:25 pm

Paula – timing is crucial to making a change – procrastinating about the change is easy to do – I will confess that Rick and I butted heads a couple of times but finally came to a consensus and here we are – no regrets and not even going to look back.

I am grateful that our Office Manager is a great person and was not at all antagonistic. We understand she needs to follow CB Protocol and expect her to do her job.

Reply
Andy Kaufman

July 1, 2008 at 11:30 pm

Hey Ines, congrats on the evolution of your business!!

I’m looking forward to hearing all about it when you’re out here in a few short weeks 🙂

Reply
Ines

July 1, 2008 at 11:39 pm

Andy – I like the way that sounds, “The evolution of our business” – I will certainly share….stay tunned.

Reply
Jonathan Dalton

July 2, 2008 at 8:37 pm

Good luck with the change, Ines … as long as it doesn’t change the mooooo-jiiiii-tooooooos!

Reply
ines

July 2, 2008 at 8:51 pm

Jonathan – you and gotbob are worried about the mojitos!! They now have a Majestic Kick! 😉

Reply
Ken Smith

July 2, 2008 at 8:57 pm

That is exciting news. Make sure to report back after a few months about how things are going. Sure there are more then a few agents reading this that can’t imagine leaving their National Name brokerage. Hope stories like yours will help empower others to take control of their business.

Reply
Matt Fagioli

July 2, 2008 at 9:37 pm

Hi Ines,

It’s great to see the trend in action. More and more savvy agents will be leaving the big box brokers and find great partnership in the innovative new 2.0 brokerages.

I wish I had met you before your change. Maybe you’d be “MiamiDwellings” by now!

See you at SF Connect.

Matt Fagioli

Reply
Jonathan Dalton

July 2, 2008 at 11:18 pm

Great minds think alike, Ines!

Reply
Jay Thompson

July 3, 2008 at 12:13 am

Very cool Ines. Rock on!

Reply
ines

July 3, 2008 at 7:47 am

Ken – I will definitely do that! You are right, leaving a big National Name is never easy and most people don’t even know what their independent contractor agreement reads and what the repercussions can be.

Matt – just checked out diamond dwellings and you definitely have a cool concept going on there. I’ve always had clear objectives in my mind and we are now working on making those a reality – nice to know that there are similar minds in the blogosphere.

Jonathan – you betcha! 🙂 especially when it comes down to mojitos.

Jay – 😀

Reply

Business Marketing

Pay employees for their time, not only their work

(MARKETING) Yes, you still must pay employees for their time even if they aren’t able to complete their work due to restrictions. Time = Money.

Published

7 hours ago

December 2, 2021

Jack Lloyd, Staff Writer

The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired a lot of insightful questions about things like our healthcare system, worldwide containment procedures, and about a billion other things that all deserve well-thought answers.

Unfortunately, it has also led to some of the dumbest questions of all time.

One such question comes courtesy of Comstock Mag, with the inquiry asking whether or not employees who show up on time can be deducted an hour’s pay if the manager shows up an hour later.

From a legal standpoint, Comstock Mag points out that employees participating in such activities are “engaged to wait”, meaning that – while they aren’t necessarily “working” – they are still on the clock and waiting for work to appear; in this case, the aforementioned “work” comes in the form of the manager or supervisor showing up.

In short: if the reason your employees aren’t working is that the precursor to completing the work for which you pay them is inaccessible, you still have to pay them for their time.

Morally, of course, the answer is much simpler: pay your employees for their time, especially if the reason they are unable to complete work is because you (or a subordinate) didn’t make it to work at the right time.

Certainly, you might be able to justify sending all of your employees home early if you run into something like a technology snag or a hiccup in the processes which make it possible for them to do their jobs – that would mean your employees were no longer engaged to wait, thus removing your legal obligation to continue paying them.

Then again, the moral question of whether or not cutting your employees’ hours comes into play here. It’s understandable that funds would be tight for the time being, but docking employees an hour of their work here or there due to problems that no one can control may cause them to resent you down the line when you need their support in return.

The real problem with this question is that, despite most people knowing that the answer should always be “pay them”, the sheer number of people working from home in the wake of worldwide closures and social distancing could muddy the water in terms of what constitutes the difference between being engaged to wait and simply burning time.

For example, an employee who is waiting for a meeting to start still fits the bill of “engaged to wait” even if the meeting software takes an extra half hour to kick in (or, worse yet, the meeting never happens), and docking them pay for timecard issues or other extenuating factors that keep them from their work is similarly disingenuous – and illegal.

There are a lot of unknowns these days, but basic human decency should never be up for debate – especially now.

Business Marketing

Cooler temps mean restaurants have to get creative to survive

(MARKETING) With winter approaching, restaurants are starting to find creative and sustainable ways to keep customers coming in… and warm.

Published

3 days ago

November 29, 2021

Robert Raney, Staff Writer

Outdoor eating at restaurants grows in popularity.

Over the last decade we have seen a change in the approach to clientele experiences in the restaurant business. It’s no longer just about how good your food is, although that is still key. Now you have to give your customers an experience to remember. There are now restaurants that feed you in the dark, and others who require you to check all your clothes at the door. Each of these provides an experience to remember alongside food that ranges from good to exquisite, depending on your taste.

Now, however, the global pandemic has rearranged how we think about dining. We can no longer just shove people into a building and create a delectable meal. If you’ve relied mostly on people coming into your restaurant, you may struggle to survive now.

The new rules of keeping clients safe means setting things up outside is the easiest means of keeping large numbers of them from crowding inside. Because of this, weather has become a key influence in a company’s daily income. Tents that were a gimmick before, only needed by presumptuous millennials, are now a requirement to keep afloat. People are rushing to make their yards into lawns that bring some in some fancy feeling.

The ties to the sun in some areas are so strong that cloudy days have been shown to drop attendance as much as 14% for the day. This will become the more apparent the colder it gets. For me, I always mention hibernation weight in the winter, when all I want to do is curl up and eat at home. Down here in Texas we are already finding cooler weather, drops into the 70s even in August and September. We are all assuming a cold winter ahead. So, a bit of foresight is finding a means of keeping your guests warm for the winter ahead.

San Francisco restaurants have started with heat lamps during their cooler evenings. Fiberglass igloos have also been added to outdoor seating as a means of temperature control. A few places down in the Lonestar state keep roaring fires going for their outdoor activities. While others actually keep you running in between beverages by encouraging volleyball matches. This is the new future ahead of us, and being memorable is the way to go.

Business Marketing

Canva is catching on to content trends, launches in-app video editor

(MARKETING) Canva launches an in-platform video editor, allowing access to their extensive library of assets and animations to create high-quality videos

Published

1 month ago

October 25, 2021

Veronica Garcia, Staff Writer

African American woman working on Canva Video Editor Desktop in office setting.

Video content consumption is on the rise, and the graphic design platform, Canva, took note of it. The $40 billion Australian startup has entered the video business and announced the launch of its video editor, Canva Video Suite.

The end-to-end video editor is an easy-to-use platform that anyone, no matter the skill level, can create, edit, and record high-quality videos. Best of all, it’s free, and it’s available on both desktop and mobile platforms.

The tool has hundreds of editable templates that you can use to create videos for several online platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Some templates can be used to create workplace and business videos, while other templates are perfect for personal videos. There are playful themes you can use to create that spooky video just in time for Halloween or make a laugh-out-loud video to send to your best friend! With a wide range of selections, in no time you’ll start creating your very own video masterpiece with Canva.

Caucasian man holding iPhone showing Canva video editor on mobile.

What else does the video software offer and what can you do with it? Well, let me tell you:

Collaborate in real-time

Having everyone on the same page is important and Canva’s video suite takes that into account. To collaborate with others, you simply send them an invite, and together you can edit videos, manage assets, and leave comments to give your input.

Video timeline editing and in-app recording

Similar to building presentation slides, Canva’s scene-based editor simplifies video editing by using a timeline approach. With it, you can quickly reorder, crop, trim, and splice your videos. Also, users don’t need to leave the platform to record that last-minute shot; within the app, you can shoot and record yourself from a camera or a screen.

Library of assets

The video editor is filled with an array of watermark-free stock footage, icons, images, illustrations, and even audio tracks that you can choose from – but if you really need something that is not on their platform – you can upload your own image, video, or audio track.

Animate with ease

Although still in the process of being released, soon you will be able to add animations of both text and visual elements in just a few simple clicks. Among others, animation presets that fade, pan, and tumble will help you transform your video and take it to a whole other level.

Overall, Canva Video Suite is very intuitive and has all the essential things you need to create a video. And by streamlining the video creation process, Canva is ensuring it enters the video marketplace with a bang.

“One of Canva’s guiding principles is to make complex things simple, and our new Video Suite will allow everyone to unlock the power of video, whether that’s to market their business, make engaging social posts, or express their creativity,” said Rob Kawalsky, Head of Product at Canva.