What’s the next step?

This past week has been a week of discovery.

I hate to admit it, but I haven’t done a lot of real estate this week. I’ve been busy doing a lot of thinking and planning instead. The previous week was a slow one for me, so I didn’t have future business to take care of today. Don’t get me wrong, I still worked on getting some things lined up so that next week is busier for me, but this week had a lot more to do with thoughts about where I was heading and how I was heading there.

Last week, I discussed how I am building an empire and chronicled some of the tiny steps I’ve made towards that goal. My blog is getting visitors (and not just from AgentGenius), I’m popping up in Google, I’ve made great local connections through Twitter, and my phone is ringing. It seems as if I’m on the right path.

It’s still slow though. I’m not getting millions of visitors and comments and my phone doesn’t always ring. That’s ok with me…for now. I want the slow growth, so I have time to learn and figure it all out. I was thrust (by my own doing) into real estate in a not-so-great moment. What I learn today will suit me tomorrow when the markets are boiling hot and I’m the answer to the question.

So what steps will lead me to my next stage of growth?

First thing I’m doing is abandoning the things that have not worked in the year I have been an agent. I’ve tried to like some of these things and will incorporate what I have learned from them, but they are just not worth the trouble and expense. I won’t name these things as I don’t want to discourage anyone from them, as I do see value in them – just not value for me. With some of the dead weight jettisoned, I have freed up some much needed time and capital. And with those, I have moved into new arenas.

I have written a lot of posts about local issues, places, and homes and now it is time to broaden the scope of my writing. It is now time to begin writing more about real estate and less about the little things. Of course these little things do matter and they are a great source of traffic, so I will not be leaving them by the roadside to die. Instead, I will incorporate new ideas and real estate specific posts in with them.

When I first began writing I avoided a lot of the real estate posts; either I felt I wasn’t knowledgeable enough, someone had already written it and written it better, or I was so afraid to take a bad step and wind up guiding a potential client down the wrong path. I knew things, but I lacked some of the confidence I now have. With that confidence comes responsibility. Responsibility to the public which comes across my blog and has a thirst for real estate.

photo courtesy of yoondo