Peter Fountain -

real estate

The World Of Real Estate Is On Fire

Mar 20, 2024 #real estate by Pete

I’m beginning my 6th (and final) year as a real estate agent and as a near the end of my time in the business, the real estate world is about to undergo radical change.

This past week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced that they plan to settle a huge lawsuit against them, a decision that has set the real estate universe on fire.

You can read more about the settlement here, but the important take away is that NAR will pay over $400 million and more importantly they will erase the buyer compensation data from MLS listings.

I’m not an attorney, so I won’t get into all the details of the settlement, but the part that has the real estate world on fire is the part about buyer agent compensation.

Be it true or not, most people on the internet have decided that the settlement will mean that buyer’s agents will no longer receive their commission from the listing agent (in most cases, the seller pays their agent a commission of 3-6 percent, and the listing agent then shares part of that commission with the buyers agent).

Quite frankly, I’m not sure what will happen except that something will happen.

And I hope it does.

Real estate in our country is broken.

Many entities have found ways to dip their hands into the pot to enrich themselves with each and every transaction.

Take a look at any closing disclosure or settlement statement and you will likely be surprised by the number of entities getting paid at closing and you will likely be even more shocked at the amount of money some of those entities are getting paid.

For now, anger is directed at real estate agents, particularly buyers agents.

Many agents work hard and are decent and honest people.

But many are just goofballs looking to make easy money.

Unfortunately the goofballs give everyone else a bad name.

That being said, it’s always been odd to me that the seller pays the full commission for both agents.

There aren’t many industries I can think of where someone is required to pay a party that is actively working against their best interests.

It is widely believed that this settlement will result in buyers having to pay their agents commission.

I’m not sure if that’s how things will shake out, but I suspect this is just the beginning of tremendous change in the industry.

For someone new to home buying or selling, I think an agent can provide quite a bit of value, although not necessarily for their knowledge or skill.

In the future I suspect agents will primarily be project managers. They will make sure the processes and steps towards bringing a transaction to the closing table all happen in a timely manner.

I imagine the days of a percentage based commission will come to a close and flat fee or menu based pricing will take over. Buyers and sellers will pay set fees for the services they want.

But I could be wrong. I often am.

I’ve had to limit my social media exposure the past couple days as the emotions have begun to reach a fever pitch.

Some agents are angry. Some are confused. Some are done. Some see opportunities.

Change is hard.

Change brings out the best in some people, and the worst in others.

Thanks to social media, we are seeing it played out before our eyes, and it’s hard to watch.

For my part, I decided before all this hoopla that I would leave the business in a few months.

It’s been 5 years and while I could blame Covid or the market or interest rates, the simple truth is that I suck at prospecting.

As an INFJ I possess the innate ability to connect with people, but I have not learned to harness it for sales. After 5 years of trying, I’m ready to move on.

The NAR settlement will undoubtedly drive many agents out of business, and that’s a very good thing.

Thin the herd! Cut some of the dead weight.

The strong will survive and thrive, and I suspect others will find ways to help buyers and sellers in ways we haven’t though of yet.

I’ve lived long enough to know that things are rarely ever as bad as they first seem (never, in fact).

The real estate business is ripe for change. “We’ve always done it this way” is a tired old phrase spewed by people who can’t let go of the past.

It will be exciting to see how things change, and hopefully how home buyers and sellers benefit as a result.

business, Life

Yes, I Use AI (Sometimes)

Feb 6, 2024 by Pete

AI seemingly exploded into the public consciousness in 2023.

Although AI wasn’t exactly new in 2023, it was new to most people and as usual it was met with a wide range of reactions ranging from the fear of a “Terminator” type cyborg apocalypse to indifference similar to NetFlix challenging Blockbuster.

I’ve always been drawn to technology starting way back when after I saw my first Commodore 64 but I’ve never been terribly impressed by fancy features or crazy claims.

When it comes to technology, I always find myself asking “what can this do for me” or “how can this make my life better, easier, faster, cheaper, etc.”

I’ve never really been a fan of technology for technology’s sake.

As AI burst into the mainstream last year, I found myself in the same position as usual.

While I marveled at what some AI tools were capable of, I quickly found myself asking how I could harness it, how could it make things easier, how could it make me more productive.

So I opened an account on chatgpt and started messing around with it.

I quickly realized that there were a number of ways it could make my life easier, particularly with managing social media and creating posts. I also realized that it could serve as a sounding board for ideas and sometimes even help me look at things in a new or different way.

I also discovered that I don’t love everything AI does. It sometimes gets facts wrong, and while it writes grammatically and technically correct text, there seems to be something off about it sometimes.

It’s hard to describe, but sometimes the writing sounds mechanical, like it’s going through the motions without really understanding what it’s doing.

And that’s fine!

Like most technology, I look at AI as something to compliment what I do, and in some cases to elevate what I’m doing.

Sometimes it spits out a decent Facebook post that I can edit and improve.

Sometimes it spits out text that helps me see something I hadn’t considered or thought of that I can add to my own writing.

Sometimes it spits out something so awful that I decide I’m better off taking care of it.

And all of those things are perfectly OK!

I’m not threatened by AI, I embrace it as a tool to help make me better, to help me produce better results, and to help make my work better, faster, and more valuable.

Maybe someday AI will take over the world.

Maybe someday a Star Trek-like world will evolve where material needs are taken care of and people only live to enrich and better their lives.

Who knows? I imagine down the road AI will be looked at as the most important advancement in human history (assuming SkyNet doesn’t eliminate us first).

I’m not sure what the future holds, but in the present I’m happy to have another tool to help me and in some cases to make life a little easier.

Life

2 Minutes of Unexpected Gratitude

Jan 28, 2024 #gratitude, #happiness by Pete

Winter in Western New York is usually a long, cold, dreary affair.

Some people embrace winter and find ways to enjoy it.

Some of us just put up with it while we think ahead to warmer days and sunshine that goes with the arrival of spring.

The past couple weeks have been harsh starting with bone chilling cold and snow and transitioning to rain and fog. The rain and fog in particular have tormented us for over a week now and to be honest, it’s starting to affect my mood.

Two days ago I was asked to make an unplanned trip from Rochester to Watkins Glen, about an hour and a half south. In the summer or fall, it’s a spectacular drive down along Seneca Lake.

In the winter, the drive is a stark reminder of the cold and barren time that winter can be.

I didn’t want to go. I would say I was dreading it. It was an assignment I didn’t really want and the pay wasn’t very good.

But when I agree to do something, I do it.

But I didn’t have to like it!

I woke up Friday morning in a foul mood, frustrated and angry about my impending trip.

As if to emphasize my mood, I wore a scowl for 88 miles all the way to Watkins Glen.

As crested the final hill and began my ascent into Watkins Glen, I noticed the dark clouds in my rear view mirror, but suddenly I noticed clear sky in front of me!

Low and behold, the sun was out!

That big beautiful orb in the sky that I hadn’t seen in weeks was suddenly blasting through my windows!

What a wonderful surprise and in an instant my mood changed. The sunlight coming through the windshield warmed my face as I squinted against the brightness.

When I arrived at my destination and exited my car, I was greeted not only with warm sunlight, but also with warm temperatures! I had left Rochester and it’s rainy 34 degree weather only to discover a 55 degree sunny paradise only 90 miles away!

Before entering the building for my appointment, I stood in the parking lot and faced the sun allowing it to envelope me. It felt wonderful!

I stood in the light for a couple minutes and allowed myself to simply enjoy the moment and most importantly to be grateful.

I wore the scowl and bad attitude all the way to Watkins Glen. I had allowed the lousy weather to perpetuate my lousy mood.

But for two minutes I was so grateful. I had no clue the sun was out in Watkins Glen, or that it was warmer there. It was a most unexpected surprise.

It was also a reminder to practice gratitude, not just when it’s convenient or unexpected.

We are surrounded by things for which we can be grateful and my trip Friday was certainly a reminder to find those things and focus more on them.

Life

My Vote Doesn’t Count, and I’m Glad

Nov 9, 2022 #civil rights, #democracy, #election, #election day, #vote by Pete

I vote in every election. I have voted in every election for a long time.

Before every election I do some research and then on election day, I head to the voting booth and vote for people I think will do a good job.

I do not vote along party lines, nor do I allow silly ads and other political trickery to influence me.

That being said, I firmly believe two things:

My vote doesn’t count
Nothing much is going to change

Those statements are not cynical or pessimistic. They are not “whoa is me” or hopeless statements.

They are quite the opposite. Knowing that my vote doesn’t count and that not much is going to change actually helps me sleep better at night!

Let me explain.

The feeling that my vote doesn’t count assures me that no one person can decide who is elected. We vote as a collective, we collectively elect the people who represent us. Right, wrong, or otherwise, most voters should get the desired result.

Again, in my opinion this is a very good thing.

My second point, that not much will change, is also very comforting to me.

Change does happen, but it happens slowly. While slow change can be frustrating and at times tough to watch, it also helps defend against any one person (or party) taking power and making rapid changes that could destroy our democracy.

In addition, most things that affect me directly function pretty well. If someone was breaking into my house, I could call 911 and the police would show up.

As I write this the town is going through my neighborhood vacuuming up leaves.

If my house caught fire, a well-trained group of volunteers would show up and put the fire out.

Lots of things that make everyday life livable work perfectly fine.

Are there things that need to be changed? Of course.

Are there things on the state and national level that I would like to see change? Of course.

Those changes may happen, some day. But they may not.

And that’s ok, because in most ways that matter to me, life is pretty good.

I imagine there are millions, and perhaps billions of people around the world (and throughout history) who would give anything to prevent a tyrant from taking power, or for someone making quick changes that bring about destruction and suffering.

Ultimately, I do not vote because my vote matters, or because I think things will change, I vote out of respect and gratitude for all those who have sacrificed so that I live in a society where I have the right to vote.

Many have paid a dear price to ensure the peaceful transfer of power we enjoy. Going to a warm, dry, safe building filled with friendly people to fill in a couple of dots with a Sharpie is absolutely the least I can do.

real estate

Rethinking High Interest Rates

Oct 31, 2022 #interest rates, #living, #money, #real estate, #refinance by Pete

This past week interest rates for a 30-year mortgage went above 7% for the first time in recent memory. That alone would be shocking, but it is even more shocking considering that less than a year ago it was possible to get a mortgage for around 3% interest.

When compared to the 3% interest rate of a year ago, a 7% interest rate will add hundred of dollars to your monthly mortgage payment.

Of course the media has jumped on the increase and shares with us stories of buyers who can no loner afford to buy a home because of the increased monthly payments, and sellers who are struggling to sell their home because there are fewer buyers out there.

There is certainly truth to these things. Higher monthly payments will certainly push buyers out of the market, at least until interest rates go back down. Some sellers will not get the ridiculous offers their neighbor’s have gotten in the past couple years as the buyer pool shrinks.

As a real estate agent and a notary signing agent (I see hundreds of mortgage transactions a year), I’ve been challenging people to rethink some things, primarily how much home do they need?

When buying a home, it’s very common for a mortgage banker to tell a buyer how much of a loan they qualify for, and for an agent to use that number as a basis for a home search.

When people qualify for a $300,000 mortgage, they tend to go looking for a $300,000 home.

But I encourage people to consider if they really NEED a $300,000 home!

Just because the bank says they will give you $300,000 for a home doesn’t mean you have to take it.

Getting caught up in the hype and the emotion of buying a home is easy and it’s fair to say that many $300,000 homes are nicer than many $200,000 homes (although not always).

But what if you detach yourself from the emotion (and your mortgage broker’s constant phone calls)?

How much house do you really need? Do you want to pour every last dollar into your home leaving you with no headroom at all (financially).

More to the point, if the 7% interest rate makes a $300,000 home unaffordable, why not consider buying a $250,000 home, or even a $200,000 home?

Again, just because the bank will give you $300,000 doesn’t mean you have to take it!

Of course there are many variables to consider, but in many cases most people could find a lesser-priced home with which they would be perfectly happy.

The companies who lend us money love to push us right to the top. If you go to buy a car, the salesperson will take you right to the car at the very top of that range. Do you need a brand new car, or would a two-year-old car, with a much smaller price tag be sufficient? You can guess the salesperson’s answer to that question.

Your mortgage broker and your agent will tell you to look at those $300,000 homes. Why shouldn’t they? They all benefit from you buying a $300,00 home more than a $200,000 home.

While 7% interest rates will certainly price some people out of the market, I offer the opinion that many more people are pricing themselves out of the market because they want to spend every single dollar the bank will lend to them.

If you really want a home and interest rates are too high, find a less expensive home!

And let’s not forget, interest rates will come back down again. No one has a crystal ball to predict such things, but some very smart people, who make a living watching such things predict that interest rates will fall in 2023 (which is only a couple of months away).

It hurts that interest rates are more than double what they were a year ago and that is going to cause some people to put their home search on hold.

But for many, it’s also an opportunity to evaluate what they really need and how much they want to spend to get it.

business

Choose Wisely

Oct 30, 2022 #exercise, #fitness, #gym, #health, #personal trainer, #personal training, #workout by Pete

Have you considered hiring a personal trainer? Have you hired a personal trainer in the past but not gotten the results you hoped for? Are you intimidated by the very thought of hiring a trainer and setting foot in a gym?

Working with a personal trainer can boost your success rate by up to 30% (according to the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine), so working with a personal trainer seems like a logical step to take if you are serious about your health.

I’ve always believed that good health equals true wealth, and after college I decided to immerse myself in the fitness business in the hopes of helping people get fit and feel great.

I started by becoming a certified personal trainer, learning as much as I could about exercise, nutrition, and wellness. I spent most of my waking hours in the gym training people, learning and observing. Over time it became apparent that the best personal trainers were not always the ones with the most impressive credentials or the most years in the business.

Becoming a personal trainer is fairly easy, in most cases you just have to pass a test. Some certifications are more rigorous than others and it can be difficult to determine the good trainers from the bad.

Conventional wisdom says to look for someone with top-notch certifications or even a formal degree in exercise science, and someone with lots of experience.

Education and experience are important, but I am here to offer the opinion that there are other factors to consider that are equally important. When looking for a personal trainer, consider the following:

Personality. I believe this is the most important factor. Are they laid back or intense? Will they holler at you during sets or will they gently encourage you? Do they follow through (if they say they will email you a diet or some information, so they actually do it)? Overall, do you feel comfortable with them?
Availability. We are all busier than ever. It’s important that a trainer has time for you that fits your life.
Communication. How do they communicate? Are they the strong silent type? Do they speak in industry jargon or do they communicate in a way that you clearly understand the message? Do they answer questions without getting defensive or dismissive?
Motivation. Do they inspire you to follow through on your workouts and health plans? During your session to they encourage you and keep you pressing forward? Do you look forward to your next session, or do you dread it?
Patience. Teaching people how to exercise properly can be frustrating. A personal trainer has likely become an expert on various movements, but helping someone learn something that now comes naturally to them can be trying. It takes patience, and the ability to keep you motivated while you learn, not matter how fast or slow the process.
Good listener. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason! Your trainer should listen to you, ask questions, and clarify what you are saying. If you don’t feel heard and understood, it’s time to move on.
Passionate. At the gym the other day I watcher a trainer walk their client through a workout. The spent 60% of the time on their phone. You want trainer who is not only into fitness, but is into your success. You don’t necessarily need a Richard Simmons type character (unless you like that), but someone who is passionate about your goals and your success is vital to your success.

Education and experience are important when considering who to hire as your personal trainer, but so to are the intangible factors like passion, listening and patience.

Money spent on a personal trainer, and on your health in general makes for a wise investment that can pay dividends for a lifetime. Make sure to choose your personal trainer wisely.

real estate

Buyer Be Prepared

Oct 29, 2022 #home advice, #home buyer, #home buying by Pete

5 Tips For Making a Winning Offer on a Home

If you are trying to buy a house right now, you’ve realized that it’s a jungle out there! Low inventory, high demand, high interest rates, and skyrocketing prices have all converged to form a perfect storm of misery for buyer’s.

There is very much a sense of despair amongst buyer’s right now, and rightly so. Many have given up. Other’s drag themselves to showings while muttering under their breath about wasting their time.

But all is not lost! despite the odds, there are several things buyers can do to help tip the tables in their favor.

Get preapproved for a mortgage. This goes without saying right now. Almost every seller requires a preapproval letter because they can. Requiring a preapproval letter helps weed out the tire kickers and saves everyone time. If possible, use a reputable local lender for your mortgage. They can be easier to work with, especially where communication is concerned.
Know your budget. Knowing your budget before your start looking at houses will help keep you grounded. House hunting can become an emotional process, and it’s easy to get swept up in the emotions of finding a house you really love, despite the price. Part of your budget must include the numbers for your mortgage payment (principal and interest), taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance. Too many people overlook things like taxes and insurance. Both can add considerably to your monthly payment thus making an otherwise affordable looking home unaffordable.
Decide on must haves vs nice to haves. Write these down! What must your house have? Consider the basics like number of bedrooms and bathrooms and square footage, but don’t forget about things like central air, a deck, or a garage. Also write down things you would like, but aren’t necessarily deal breakers. Having a solid list will make your house hunting much more focused and maximize your time.
Decide where you can be flexible. Is your desired closing date flexible? Do you want and inspection (yes, you do) or can you live with an inspection for informational purposes only? Can you put more money down for the earnest money deposit? Do you want to offer to help pay the seller’s closing costs? Are you willing to rent the house back to the seller for a period of time?
Be prepared to move. Not move as in moving your furniture, move as in making a decisive decision to buy. If you’ve done your homework and you are as specific as possible you will be prepared to make a decisive move and make the best possible offer for the house you want. Things go quickly in this market, and being prepared can make the difference between getting a house you want and losing out.

Here’s a bonus sixth tip: Have thick skin! You will probably hear the word “NO” numerous times. You may be subjected to seemingly unfair competition or unreasonable demands from sellers. You may have a house all locked up only to have someone swoop in with a cash offer that supplants yours.

It’s tough out there. It’s frustrating, maddening, and mystifying. The worst thing you can do is to let it get to you. Learn to take a deep breath. Learn to let things go. Remember that this is not the end of the world. The house of your dreams is out there, but you will never find it if you let things get you down until you eventually give up.

Life

And Life Went On

Jul 24, 2022 by Pete

Last night, life went on.

Three days ago someone ambushed two Rochester police officers, killing one, injuring another.

In a city wracked with violence, where killings and shootings and violence seem to be business as usual, we have ended up with dead and one injured police officer.

As expected the mayor and some community leaders, as well as leaders in law enforcement spoke out about the violence and the need for it to end. Some called for prayers.

The sadness over such a senseless tragedy hangs over the community like a heavy blanket. Not just the killing of a police office, but the violence that has a vice like grip on the community.

Last night I marched in a parade in East Rochester. There were signs of support for the Rochester Police Department. The group with whom I marched, the Penfield Fire Department, had signs in the windows of the fire trucks supporting the RPD.

The parade was like most, big crowds, lots of music and other noise. People celebrating and having fun. After two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, it was very much like the “old days”, almost normal, if there is such a thing.

At the end of the parade was a carnival filled with rides and food and games and music.

This year the crowd seemed larger than ever. At times it was hard to move as people waited patiently in long lines to get on their favorite rides and to get their hot dogs and fried dough.

Under the canopy of the beer tent it was a little less frantic and I was offered a chance to step back and take it all in.

In that moment I was struck by the reality that only a couple miles to the east there was a community (Fairport, the slain officer’s home town) mourning the loss of a husband, father, son and neighbor, and a couple miles to the west, a city suffering the weight of anger, violence, and hate.

Yet there we were in the middle of those two places where none of that seemed to matter. I’m sure many people there, especially the many police, fire, and other first responders had the weight of recent events in their hearts, but the majority of folks were simply having fun on a hot summer night.

Quite simply, life went on.

There was another murder and multiple shootings in the city last night.

We keep hearing reports about the slain officer and how much his service meant to the city of Rochester, and how much his life meant to the Fairport community.

In the coming days the slain officer will be laid to rest, and the community will say goodbye to someone who made a difference.

In the coming days the coward who ambushed those officers will begin his journey through the court and penal system.

And life will go on.

It’s easy to get lost in the sadness, anger, frustration, and senselessness of the world around us. It’s easy to think things are dark, wishing for “the good old days” when things were simpler.

But life goes on.

Despite sadness, tragedy, anger, and hate being on either side of us last night, thousands of people still went out and had a good time. They laughed, danced, drank, rode, and embraced the moment.

Because life goes on. It has for thousands of years, and it may for thousands more.

Human’s seem to find a way to pick up, dust off, and keep going, even in the ugliest of times.

Life goes on.

Life

Where is the Middle

May 29, 2022 by Pete

In the past two weeks, we have again witnessed the senseless murder of innocent people.

First it was 10 people at a grocery store. This past week it was little kids and teachers at an elementary school.

Almost before the bodies were cold, the tired old rhetoric and debates started up.

As always then these things happen, there are people who demand stricter gun control laws.

“Why do civilians need military-style weapons?”

And of course on the other side we have the folks who shout “you can have my gun when you pull it from my cold dead hand”.

I have no interest in debating which side is correct because I don’t believe either side is 100% correct.

And while both sides are dug in, bound and determined to be 100% correct to the exclusion of all other possibilities, people continue to get shot and die.

Where is the middle? Where is the acknowledgement that an answer may lie somewhere in between each extreme?

How can reasonable, rational people believe the answer to this horror is as simple as taking everyone’s gun’s away, or posting armed guards at the door of every school, or requiring background checks.

Watching stories on the news of innocent people, particularly school children being murdered in cold blood understandably stirs many emotions. Perhaps that emotion clouds our ability to find middle ground.

Have we lost the art of compromise? Have we lost the ability to agree that we all want to see an end to the horror that has become all too common on the nightly news?

It seems we have.

Is there anyone out there who could be a voice for the middle? Someone who could help both sides see the logic in coming together, ending the finger pointing and name calling.

Would it be the end of the world if someone, anyone on either side would just say “I understand where you are coming from, and while I respectfully disagree with your solution, I’d like to try to work together to see if we can come up with something that works while also considering all of our concerns”.

Instead we get angry finger pointing, name calling, opportunists trying to push their own agenda.

And all the while, people keep dying.

With the latest school shooting this week in Texas, it feels like we have learned nothing, and changed nothing since Columbine happened seemingly so long ago.

And worse, I doubt anyone in this country could honestly believe that this isn’t going to keep happening.

Why would it stop?

While we debate, point fingers, and dig in our heals, nothing changes.

Where is the middle?

Like too many things in our culture, it seems there is no middle anymore. We rarely hear about compromise, we rarely see people agree to disagree and still be civil towards each other.

“If you disagree with me, I hate you.”

Obviously that’s not true for everyone, but it seems like that mentality has become the norm.

No middle. No civility. No negotiation. No common ground.

My way or the highway.

Few things in life are black and white and it feels like we will never get anywhere until we rediscover the middle.

business

This Time is Different

Apr 19, 2022 by Pete

I’ve long felt that I needed to work to develop passive income streams to help guard against the unexpected. Among other things, the pandemic was a very real lesson in the importance of not relying on one source of income.

For years I’ve been aware of the folks making good money doing things like affiliate marketing, freelancing, online sales, and other things. Countless time’s I’ve read about it, thought about it, said “I need to do that” and nothing happens.

Some of the folks I started following years ago have built their businesses from very modest monthly sales to multi-million dollar empires. While those people are undoubtedly the exception, I know there care countless other’s who have enjoyed plenty of success.

Although I’ve done relatively well with real estate and loan signings, the crazy housing market has clearly had an impact on things. It’s a war out there, and it’s very difficult to make any headway, especially for newer folks like myself. It’s certainly not impossible, but it’s very slow going.

On the other side, interest rates are going up, and I assume that will mean a slow down in people refinancing, buying, and selling, which will negatively impact my loan signing business.

Rather than wait for the bottom to drop out, and while I continue to work hard at real estate and loan signings, I realize there’s time to pick up a side hustle (or two).

Of course I’ve had those thoughts before, and they never go anywhere.

But this time is different.

Rather than my usual pattern of thinking, planning, preparing and dabbling, I’ve decided to hit it hard. I decided to open an Etsy shop . To start I’m selling coffee mugs with funny, clever, or witty sayings on them.

I decided to start here because I thought it would be fun. Designing the mugs and finding catchy or funny sayings to print on them is an interesting creative challenge. Drawing people to my shop and making sales will also be fun. Learning SEO, sales techniques, and providing great customer service all appeal to me.

But this time is different. Different how?

In less than two weeks, my shop is up and running. I spent a little time doing research. I watched a few youtube videos and read some articles. I paid someone on fiverr.com to make me a banner and logo (something I would have tried to do myself in the past). I did a little research into popular products and then started designing.

I have five mugs in my shop. My logo and banner are acceptable, and everything else seems ok, for now.

But the most important part is that I’m up and running in weeks, not months or years. I’ve broken my usual pattern of endless thinking, planning and procrastination.

I don’t have any sales yet, but some people have visited my shop. I believe the sales will come as I keep improving things.

This time is different, and it feels wonderful! Taking massive action is a great thing!

It’s been very hard to ignore my usual habit of planning, thinking and thinking some more. I’ve done it all my life. I’m sure I’ve missed many opportunities because of it.

But I’m on a roll now. I know I’ll make lots of mistakes, but I also know I’ll learn from each one.

I know it will take time and patience to build a following and a loyal customer base.

I also know that the most successful people aren’t necessarily the brightest or the best salespeople, they are the one’s who don’t quit. Then learn from their mistakes. They start over if they need to. But they just don’t quit.

I want to be one of those people, and it starts here. It’s scary, it’s even a little painful, but it feels so good!

This time is definitely different.