Today we talked to Rachel Oslund, founder and General Manager of Lodestar Inspection Services about what a home inspection is and what is not. Get in touch with Rachel and her team at: https://lodestarinspections.com 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/49jndae9

Today we talked to Katrina Meistering, CEO and Team Leader at Keller Williams Gateway about the reality of the day-to-day life of a real estate agent, as well as the challenges and opportunities of pursuing a career in real estate in 2023. 🎙️Full episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/7khvm4j  

Today we talked to Matt Derby the CEO and founder of Derby Real Estate Development about how he started in the real estate business and got to where he is today with a portfolio of over 200+ properties in Maryland. 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/bddh3nj6

In today's episode, Matt sits down with Licensed Nurse Practitioner, Nicole Dennis, of CannaCare Docs to discuss the benefits of cannabis treatment. Nicole started her career as a registered nurse on an ICU, critical care unit, and medical surgical unit at both the University of Maryland Medical Center and Anne Arundel Medical Center. Nicole is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner with a focus of complementary medicine and has consulted with thousands of patients on cannabis and shares a wealth of knowledge and insights with us! 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/3wuf7ksm 

Today we have a conversation with Jay Rhine, owner and founder of Rhine Landscaping & Rhine Pools, joins his brother Matt to discuss business, life, our community, and how this local, multigenerational farming family beat the odds in business!www.rhinepools.comwww.rhinelandscaping.comwww.rhinewatermanagement.com 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/bded678f  

Today we talked to Chris Keelty, he's founder and partner at Lawyers Express Title. He represents individuals, investors, developers, and business owners in diverse transactional real estate needs. His line of expertise includes the drafting of contracts of sale, advising in all aspects of a real estate transaction, providing title/settlement services, and representation in complex commercial transactions. Prior to becoming a Member of HWK Law Group, Chris was an associate with the Towson firm now known as Bodie, Dolina, Hobbs, Friddell & Grenzer, P.C. where he was the managing attorney of the firm’s title company. In his early career, Chris served as a law clerk to the Honorable James T. Smith, Jr. Circuit Court for Baltimore County, MD, and the Honorable J. Norris Byrnes, Circuit Court for Baltimore County, MD. 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/5ysx683r

Dr. Rachinskaya is a PhD/MBA with 19 years of experience in the private healthcare and real estate business, owning multiple assisted living and rental properties throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area. She is partner and consultant to several healthcare companies specialized in providing community-based services to the elderly and disabled. Dr. Rachinskaya also currently serves in a variety of boards including as Vicepresident of Industrial Relations for Johns Hopkins. 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/25tf6mhc

Today we talk to James Carter, he is a singer/songwriter that performed for 25 years as the drummer with the Teddy Pendergrass band. He's a Grammy nominated artist alongside Teddy Pendergrass for the album "JOY", which garnered both gold & platinum records. His music has been sampled by artists like Jaheim, Jeremy Dupree, K-Gee, & De La Soul. And shared the stage with acts like Jeffrey Gaines, Josh Hoge, Spencer Day, & the great Roy Ayers. 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/b4d8s7dv

Today we talk to Dr. James P. McGee and his amazing work as a Director of Psychology and Director of Law Enforcement and Forensic Services at Sheppard Pratt Hospital,located in Baltimore, Maryland. He provided over 15 years of service as Chief Psychologist of the Baltimore County Police Department. He is also known for being one of the country's leading sports psychologists having counseled amateur athletes, including Olympic Gold Medal winners. He was the team psychologist for the Baltimore Orioles for 8 years, receiving a World Series ring for his special contribution to the Orioles last World Series Championship season. 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/3txjrnpu

Today we talk to Jon Wald from Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. about real estate in Maryland and the current advantages of investing with diverse financial tools that the market offers. 🎙️Full Episode on Spotify - https://tinyurl.com/yckndjm7 

I am on a recent journey that I feel many other small business owners find themselves on. How in the world do I position myself online to stand out while showing professionalism, experience, and a genuine personality? I am not a robot, and I am a talent you should consider hiring. I personally have chosen a profession where everyone and their brother can enter my business and take a 3-month course and compete against me. Real estate agents grow on trees. Over 50,000 competitors exist in my little state of Maryland alone and to the general public we can all look very similar. Your industry might be similar.  I can speak to real estate at least as that is what I have known for the past 15 years. After many years of being in the business and seeing folks come and go and watching those at the top remain there year after year in my industry, you can see the difference. Thousands enter and thousands exit while the top 100 stay the same it seems. The dedication, sacrifice, and challenges you will need to overcome to be a top performer consistently is not to be understated.  Selling one house is the easy part it seems. Conveying that confidence and the network you gain by choosing the right agent/company is vital. Now how to do that online with people you don’t know? I don’t have the answer. Sorry, that might not be a good thing to admit in a blog post about the subject, but I don’t. This is more of a rant if I must admit. What makes me feel better is I don’t think many others have it figured out either. I have spoken to several website and SEO (search engine optimization) companies lately and they charge a small ransom for their expert opinions but most of them don’t know my industry that well. Would they know your industry any better? I hope so. For now, we have decided to switch website platforms that can showcase our entire market of homes for sale in a way that simulates the big dogs in the space like Zillow… who have billions to spend… while being a “professional business card” online when someone looks us up. I have started to rely on the advice of some of our clients that are consultants in this space that serve much larger businesses that have deep pockets and budgets. They seem to offer very basic and sound advice. Be a human online. Be what the bigger companies you compete against can’t be in your hyper-local marketplace and do the things most others feel uncomfortable or unwilling to do that are a similar size to you. That translates to YouTube videos, blogging, posting consistently, getting reviews, getting backlinks from other local businesses to your website and the like. Yuck, that sounds like a lot of work you say. It will work though I have been assured. It takes a brave soul to be vulnerable online and face potential criticism. I am not good at it personally yet; I want to be liked and don’t want to show up poorly. I am committed to getting better though. So here I go on my own personal journey as a small business owner, I wish you the best luck on yours.