It is rare for me to have tears streaming down my face as I read a blog, but that happened to me last week. One of the most wonderful couples and families I have ever known shared the story of a rare “wind event” tearing through their backyard, ripping out hundreds of trees in a hurricane-force moment that left them reeling to figure out what to do with their now apocalyptic landscape destroyed by nature.
Having just moved into their dream home on Lake Michigan, The Kotecki Family have inspired so many through 2 decades, finally able to achieve the great American Dream with their hugely successful company Escape Adulthood, while Jason paints & speaks, Kim runs the business details and homeschools their darling children, and found the perfect home on a property surrounded by trees, a majestic wonderland preserved for their joy. What you’re about to see is…
Posted On Friday, 08 July 2022 00:00 Written by
There is more opportunity now to transform the customer experiences and customer service of your business organization than at any other time in history. We live in a technological world, but more importantly, we also live in a human world. That world is filled with human customers, human employees, and human wants and needs. Human beings are all about relationships and experiences — the emotions and memories derived from these occurrences are what drive us and, largely, what separate us from machines.
I recently asked Shep Hyken — who I would refer to as the ‘Chief Experience and Amazement Officer’ at his company, Shepherd Presentations — to join me on my program, “Opportunity Hour Conversations with The Masters,” on the subject of creating amazing customer service experiences in this digital, transformative world.  For decades, Shep has been helping companies elevate their customer experience and customer service efforts to remarkable levels.…
Posted On Thursday, 07 July 2022 00:00 Written by
Reed is a life-long Kentuckiana resident. He graduated in three years from Indiana University’s prestigious Kelley School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a minor in Economics. Swimming has been an integral part in Reed’s life since the age of 5. During his college years, he was a member of IU’s swim team and was part of the 2006 Big Ten Championship team, the first in 21 years. After college, he picked up coaching a summer league swim team until his real estate business grew to the point of having to stop. These experiences allowed him to develop a work ethic that is second to none. Shortly after graduating college, Reed began his career in real estate in September 2007 and is licensed in both Kentucky and Indiana. As a REALTOR®, Reed has worked with developers building shopping centers in front of WalMart Supercenters throughout…
Posted On Tuesday, 05 July 2022 00:00 Written by
The following questions are asked to provoke thought and drive you the reader, into thinking about what the reality is in your market and the correct answer or response to the question! Asking for a friend: “The government says we aren’t in a recession, and they don’t see one coming, is that true?" Technically, the answer is yes & no or not yet. While first quarter GDP numbers were once again revised to the worse, from 1.5% negative growth to 1.6% negative growth for the first quarter of 2022. It is generally accepted that you need two consecutive quarters of negative growth to be in a recession, so the first second quarter report is due on July 28th so stay tuned. In any case, the economy is challenged and that is a concern. Asking for a friend: “I hear there is going to be a housing bubble and I should wait…
Posted On Monday, 04 July 2022 00:00 Written by
Whether we swipe our finger or ask Siri using our voice, smartphones have become a window to the world of information and knowledge sitting in our front pockets and purses. Nearly all of us and our customers have access to this miraculous device that allows for constant connection to and communication with the rest of the world, and in the rare case that we are not with these smartphones or other digital devices, we are probably asking the person next to us to use theirs to check something for you, as commonplace as we used to ask someone to check their wristwatch for the time. A Paradigm Shift As soon as businesspeople and consumers alike moved away from using devices like the BlackBerry and instead picked up a Samsung or iPhone, a behavioral paradigm shift occurred. We can now send a text or make a call with flawless precision, send high-resolution…
Posted On Friday, 01 July 2022 00:00 Written by
Sure looks like the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf Tour are in for a long battle. As you know the PGA Tour is not allowing its members to play in the LIV golf events and has already suspended 17  well-known golfers (among them AT&T Pro-Am favorites Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson) from its ranks. Some of those who chose the play in the LIV tour played in the US Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
How can those PGA suspended players play in the 2022 US Open, you ask? Well, the US Open is run by the USGA (United States Golf Association) which has not suspended those players who played or will play on the LIV Tour. Speaking of LIV – what do those letters mean? First off, the LIV is a Saudi Arabian-funded golf tour and is an adversary to the PGA Golf Tour. The…
Posted On Friday, 01 July 2022 00:00 Written by
 Summer Goralik is a Real Estate Compliance Consultant and licensed California Real Estate Broker (#02022805). Summer offers real estate brokers a variety of consulting services including assistance with California Department of Real Estate (DRE) audit preparation, mock audits, advertising review, and training. She helps licensees evaluate their regulatory compliance and correct any non-compliant activities. Summer has an extensive background in real estate which includes private sector, regulatory and law enforcement experience. Most recently, she worked for the Orange County District Attorney's Office as a Civilian Economic Crimes Investigator in their Real Estate Fraud Unit. Prior to that, Summer worked for the DRE for six years as an Investigator. Among many achievements, she wrote several articles for DRE, four of which were co-authored with former Commissioner Wayne Bell. Before she embarked on her career in government and law enforcement, Summer also worked in the escrow industry for nearly five years, for both…
Posted On Thursday, 30 June 2022 00:00 Written by
The advantage of Zero-Based thinking is that you are starting with a clean slate! There should be few pre-conceived notions with your primary focus on how to best go to market and take great care of your customers based on what’s going on today (and the days, weeks and months forthcoming). 
Three opening action items to participate in are recommended: 1. A new SWOT Analysis – SWOT Analyses (An assessment of current Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) can be very revealing. It is suggested that you have several of your smartest people participating in this exercise. Incidentally, if you do one every year, it should look different every year. This speaks well of the concept of constant fine-tuning of your business strategies and actions rather than doing what you have always done! 2. Have in-depth discussions with your top 5 customers. Identify the agendas of the top 2-3 people…
Posted On Wednesday, 29 June 2022 00:00 Written by
The numbers continue to show that people, especially millennials, are interested in home ownership. Despite higher home prices and higher rates, loan applications are still strong for home purchase loans. While refinances are significantly off year over year due to higher rates, purchase applications are down only about 10%. That is a far cry from what some would have you believe on social media and the TV “experts”. Home prices are up on average 14.8% from this time last year, which is down but that is still significantly higher than the 5% or so rate experts were predicting. Despite all the claims of a housing bubble and higher foreclosures, we are at a 40 year low in actual units foreclosed upon. None of this is surprising if you just look at the markets and see that available home inventories of supply is down 4% year over year and we haven’t…
Posted On Monday, 27 June 2022 00:00 Written by
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