From Drab…to Fab!
March 29, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
Harmon Enterprises Corporate Headquarters is open for business and great things are to come.
What I thought would be a simple two week home office remodel project of painting four walls and buying some Pottery Barn furniture is now complete – 3 months later. What an ordeal (but aren’t these things always a bit more than they are initially cracked up to be?). Unforeseen issues including a roof leak, an urgent care visit, and an 8 week Pottery Barn production delay all played their part. However, I must say, it has been worth the wait. I’m thrilled by my new environment and look forward to many hours of productive work in my updated space. I find the green happy and cheerful, and the expanded desk space and configuration is such a treat. A few details are still to go (my Aeron chair will be arriving soon, and the roof leak issue still needs to be resolved) but, for the most part, I am up and running and productive.
Here is my office before:
This is during (working out of my bedroom during this time was a treat…let me tell you). I went with the darker hue:
And after:
Where I sit:
My future assistants workspace (and the view you get if you Skype me):
I’d like to give special thanks to the following people whose help on this project is immensely appreciated:
- Trask Harmon – Rowdy and I both apologize for nearly killing you. That would have been a major bummer on the remodel. Instead, you have helped me to create a space that is positive and I love and I am so grateful for your help and your continued health.
- Sally DuBane – From square paper cutouts to carpet cleaning to keeping me sane mid project, you are always my favorite and most effective support. Thank you.
- Jill Parma – Your patience and understanding through the chaos is appreciated. And, you certainly came through when furniture moving was needed. Thank you.
- Rico – You were the icing on the cake. Your calm manner (and brute strength) in executing the movement of heavy pieces of furniture was a lifesaver. Margaritas soon are my treat!
- Rochelle Matson and Julie Ward – I appreciate your help as I undertook my first ever painting endeavor. Rochelle, you should be in sales – I was convinced it would be easy ;) Julie, your help certainly made things more fun. I’m sure however you will both understand when I hire out any future painting jobs!
- Spencer Brown – Those green boxes were a huge help in keeping things organized and tidy during a hectic time. I so appreciate the loaner.
For those of you who I Skype with, I’ll be happy to give you a full web cam twirl next time we talk. For now though, signing off from my new M&M green office!
Shifting Perceptions: Who Knew Escrow Could be Cool?
March 27, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
Let’s face it – escrow has never been the sexiest part of real estate. So when Windermere Coachella Valley wrote this very cool post on their video blog discussing how CV Escrow is “Not Your Parent’s Escrow Company” and asked in their opening line “Who knew escrow could be cool?”, I got excited. The post was written in response to the technology and social media efforts I have been implementing for my client CV Escrow over the past several months. While focused primarily on the goal of strengthening relationships with Realtors utilizing social media and technology, I’m finding an unanticipated benefit of our efforts is the “progressive” perception that comes with it. This is my new favorite success story from my current project. What fun I’m having out in the Desert working with the team there to bring value to Realtors, evolve the perception of the company and escrow, and build business. Thanks to Windermere for the nice write up and buzz!
I'll be at RE BarCamp Los Angeles on April 2nd…will you?
March 4, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
On April 2nd, 2009 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Real Estate Bar Camp Los Angeles (RE BarCamp LA) will be held at the Pasadena Hilton. RE Barcamp’s are my favorite RE.net events. I learn so much. This will be the 4th Bar Camp that I have attended and for anyone interested in being around other real estate people who are passionate about social media, technology, and web 2.0, this is the place to be. It is one unstructured day of learning and discussion with the industries best and brightest and most curious. Any Realtor who is interested in finding out more about how they can survive in this changing economy should attend. This group sees opportunity in this changing landscape. You will hear about how to apply technology to grow your business, market yourself, promote your properties, and interact with buyers. Topics and sessions from past RE BarCamp’s include: Social Media, Selling with Statistics, Blogging, Twitter, Targeting Niche Markets, Why Your Real Estate Website Sucks, and Search Engine Optimization. Those in attendance are guaranteed to learn something. Attendance is expected to exceed 200 people and, it’s FREE to attend (but you do need to register). You can see a list of who is registered here (and there are some GREAT people attending!).
More general details about the conference can be found here: http://rebarcamp.com/losangeles/
The twitter conversation for the conference can be followed at #rebcla (if you don’t know what this sentence means, you should DEFINITELY attend the conference)
So, this is where I will be on April 2nd. I hope to see you there!
This is It! Twitter is FINALLY going mainstream.
March 1, 2009 by Stacey Harmon · View Comments
I’m pretty sure this week is the turning point. I’ve been on twitter since May 2008. I talk to Realtors on a weekly basis about technology, social media and new ways of communicating with their clients. Rarely has one of them even heard of twitter. And if they have, they do not understand why anyone would use it. But, I’m certain that is going to change. What I and other avid twitter users have know for a year is that twitter is revolutionary. It provides a new way of communicating that fills a need we didn’t know we had. Twitter is awesome (even though it is really hard to explain why)! We twitter-ers knew it would just be a matter of time before it reached mass public awareness. And, in the last week, I’ve seen 3 signs that twitter is poised to go mainstream.
1. Gretchen Benes is on Twitter. I have 700 people following me. Many of them I know from my RE.net journeys and interactions. Many of them I have met, and several of them I consider friends. But, for the most part, we all met through some connection to an interest in social media, both on, and off-line. Gretchen is the very first friend from my immediate social circle who is actively using it and “gets” it. And she isn’t at techie. She isn’t addicted to her computer the way I am. She can still live without texting. But, she is loving twitter. I predict her addiction will arrive soon…
2. Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, was on Charlie Rose . When my Dad, who lives in the sticks 40 miles outside Spokane calls to tell me about this interesting twitter application he saw on Charlie Rose, I know it is reaching a broader audience.
3. CBS Evening News did a story on how Congress is Twittering. They point out that the 75 year old Congressman is an unlikely poster child for new technology but that he and his colleagues recognize twitter is an outstanding way to reach interested constituents and anyone else who wants to listen. It provides an great “gut feel” for what the congress person is thinking right in the moment vs. the sanitized press statement that may go out days later. Of course the public is eating this up. How refreshing to have some brief direct real time glimpses into Capitol Hill! The story also pointed out that the Repbulicans have 58 twitterers vs. the Democrats 34 and that both sides finding it an interesting way to cut out the middleman (the press) – no camera crew is needed to get your voice out to interested parties. Finally, they noted that John McCain is the biggest twitterer on Capital Hill (with some help from his team), although he recognized that his tweet about Steve Nash’s knee injury received more feedback than most of his more “weightier” tweets.
So, these three events in the span of the last 7 days, indicate to me that twitter is going to be reaching the masses…soon. I’m excited to watch it evolve. I’m particularly interested to see how they monetize it and how that affects the experience that I so love now. Twitter is by far my favorite social community. I’m guessing a few other people are going to fall in love with it soon too. And, I’m particularly interested to see how Realtors apply it effectively to their business. I know it has been invaluable in keeping up with and establishing myself in the RE.net community, but I have yet to hear real success stories from Realtors who use it to sell or use it as a tenant to reach their clients. I’m sure they are out there though, and I believe it is an essential part of the Realtor of the future’s networking and marketing plan. I just think the exact application of it is still being sorted out for the Realtor. I am however certain that lots of opportunity and success exists in this evolving place called twitter.
Please follow me if you aren’t already (www.twitter.com/staceyharmon). I look forward to tweeting with you!
