From: Mike Jacobs [mailto:mike@reagentsidekick.
Sent: Thursday, September 8, 2017
To: ‘All Clients’
Subject: Newsletter 2: You can find me at the boutique
Since the last newsletter, I’ve been keeping busy working on several projects for clients, one side project, and managed to squeeze in a vacation, so it’s been an exciting summer.
I also became a business affiliate for the Boston chapter of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (BIRC). This partnership will not only allow me the opportunity to provide value to the members of BIRC with information about websites and marketing, but also to offer my services to their members. I’m really excited that BIRC accepted me as a business affiliate to be able to work with such a great organization!
About that vacation – my wife and I spent a week at the Jersey shore last month. The weather was perfect, the ocean was warm (compared to the ocean in MA), and spending time with the family that I married into was priceless. It was good to relax and recharge.
Book Recommendations
I recently read a fantastic book that was recommended to me by a client. It was so applicable to Realtors and home stagers, that I would like to offer it as a recommendation to you.
Worth Every Penny is about how to turn your business into a boutique business. Boutique businesses offer a unique service or product to a specific type of customer, much like your business. The authors, Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck, explain how to brand your business as a boutique, how to set pricing, how to market and sell, and how to provide exceptional service. This book is perfect for Realtors and home stagers. Most of their recommendations seem pretty obvious, but the book is a simple guide, written in a logical manner, and very motivating. Worth Every Penny will ensure your boutique business stands out from your competition.
Worth Every Penny reminds of another book that I read a while back titled The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. Gerber explains how to work on your business, not to work in your business. In addition to actually selling or staging homes, every Realtor and home stager has a hundred different tasks that they do. The E-Myth Revisited explains how to manage those hundred tasks to make your business run more efficiently. It’s especially important for a business that wants to grow, expand, or some day be sold.
These two books are ideal for Realtors, home stagers, and most anyone running a small business. Best of all, they are quick and easy reads. Here are links to the books on Amazon, if you’re interested:
Worth Every Penny
The E-Myth Revisited
Website Improvements
As new technology and enhancements become available, I will continually improve your website. The most significant improvement over the last month is the addition of reCAPTCHA.
reCAPTCHA was added to all websites. reCAPTCHA is the checkbox at the end of a contact form that the user must check to prove “I am not a robot”, which you have probably seen before on other websites. It prevents your website from getting spammed by BOTS and abused. It is one more layer of security, and who doesn’t like more security?
Final Thoughts
A lot has happened in the past month … vacations, BIRC, books, and contact forms. Hopefully, your summer has been just as exciting.
You can rest in the comfort of knowing your website contact form won’t get spammed by bots, while you sit down with two very easy to read books that will provide exceptional value.
Mike
