GROWING YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESS WITH VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS

When our real estate business, Good Life Real Estate Group, was growing by leaps and bounds in 2017, selling over 200 homes, we tapped into the power of virtual assistants. The skill and savvy of these virtual professionals helped us list and market homes, stay in touch with buyers and other agents, answer phones, post on social media, and do a litany of different tasks. This freed us up to work directly with potential buyers and sellers and grow the business even more.

We scaled the business with the help of virtual assistants we trained and who, in turn, trained new assistants. This created a network of highly trained professionals who could step in at a moment's notice on any task.

Growing your real estate business with virtual assistants isn't difficult. If you're looking to scale your business and know your strengths and weaknesses, putting virtual assistants into place can help you scale fast. Here are some important things to keep in mind or consider when bringing on virtual assistants.

WHAT ARE VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS?

Maybe you envision a robot programmed to take calls and perform specific computer tasks. But this couldn't be further from the truth. Virtual assistants are human beings with carefully honed skills and the ability to take on tasks that you may be needing to spend far too much time on, taking you away from the more essential aspects of your business. Virtual assistants give you back your time, which is priceless in the world of self-employment

Virtual Assistants Can Be Jacks And Jills Of All Trades

What's great about hiring virtual assistants is that you can find a wealth of knowledge from people all over the world, not just in your backyard. Virtual assistants can tackle various real estate office tasks, such as booking showings, updating listings, handling the phones, or social media posting. One person probably shouldn't be tasked with handling all of these jobs simultaneously, but with virtual assistant services, you can bring on multiple assistants to help you in different areas of need. If you have clearly defined roles and expectations for your virtual assistants, you are bound to find their services not only useful but lifesaving!

These days, it's almost unheard of not to have a social media presence for your business. Social media is where the clients are. The issue is that not everyone knows their way around social media, especially with a new platform seemingly every week. Virtual assistants can help grow your reach on social media and increase engagement, and your following, leading to far more leads generated and houses sold.

Not All Virtual Assistants Are The Same

When we first started with hiring a virtual assistant for our real estate company, it was a leap of faith. For one, we had never hired a virtual assistant before. Two, the woman who applied for the position lived clear across the

CRAIG GOODLIFFE craig@cyberbacker.com Craig Goodliffe is the founder of Cyberbackers.

world in the Philippines. It ended up being a gamble that paid off, and that assistant is still with us.

It's important to remember that not all virtual assistants are the same. Make sure you are either using a reputable service to source virtual assistants or vet any who apply for positions thoroughly. You are putting a good amount of trust in them and doing your due diligence in the hiring process will save you a lot of heartache later.

Virtual assistants should be true collaborators and partners for you and your agents. It's integral to taking on virtual assistants to have clear processes in place before bringing them on. You also want to have a clear vision of what you expect to gain from virtual assistant help, how it works with your budget, and how you expect it to help scale your business. Managing expectations is paramount, and, like with any employee you bring on, you want to make sure that your vision and mission is being clearly communicated.

Virtual assistants are helping business owners across most industries focus their attention on the most important parts of their businesses. Virtual assistants give you back the most critical asset of your business: your time. n

DIVERSI NS HE SAID | SHE SAID – PART V

A husband and wife were grocery shopping together. He picked up a case of beer and put it in the cart. “What are you doing?” asked his wife.

“They’re on sale—only $10 for 24 cans,” he said. “Put them back. We can’t afford them,” his wife insisted.

They continued shopping and two aisles later, she put a $20 jar of face cream in the cart.

“What are you doing?” asked the husband.

“It’s my face cream. It makes me look beautiful,” replied the wife.

“So do 24 cans of beer,” said the husband, “and they’re half the price.”

That’s him in aisle 5.

ROSE-MARY RUMBLEY rosetalksdallas@aol.com

Rose-Mary Rumbley has written three books about her native city – Dallas. She has also written “WHAT! NO CHILI!” and a book about the 300th anniversary of the invention of the piano. She has appeared on the stage at the

Houston

sam houston left tennessee and arrived in Texas just in time to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence— on March 2, 1836. He knew many of the men there at Washingtonon-the-Brazos—one in particular, Collin McKinney, (at 68) the oldest of the group. Talk about determination!! These guys declared Texas independent in spite of the fact that the Alamo was going to fall in six days and Goliad was going in 21 days! Where was their hope? Well, these declared Texans thought Sam could win the war even though he was drunk! Yes, Sam was known as The Big Drunk of Texas. Here's the story.

Dallas Summer Musicals and at Casa Mañana and was head of the drama department at Dallas Baptist University for 12 years. Today she is on the speaking circuit and teaches drama classes at Providence Christian School. Her loving views of Texas history appear in every issue of can’t do it drunk! Go to Texas, defeat the Mexican army, and bring Texas in as a state." And that is why Sam was in Texas drunk! service in the Confederate Army. He was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. He lay dying on the battlefield, when a Union doctor stopped to see if he could save this Confederate. The doctor took from Sam Junior's pocket a Bible, "Property of Sam Houston, Jr." He asked, "Are you really Sam Houston's son?" When the wounded Confederate said, "Yes!" The doctor did all he could to save Sam. The Union had always admired Sam Houston because he didn't want Texas in the Confederacy. Sam Jr. recovered to go on to medical school and later practice medicine.

SAMand he decided he knew everything. Mrs. Houston could do nothing but pray for him. Did her prayers save him? Maybe! Because the War of 1812 was raging, and Sam joined the army! That was good for him, because it was in the army that he met a man he truly loved and admired — Andrew Jackson.

Sam and Andy fought the British in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, where Sam was badly wounded. He struggled back to Tennessee remembering Andy's last words to him, "I'll never forget you, Sam." Andy went on to win the War of 1812 in the Battle of New Orleans. Jackson Square marks that victory. Then Jackson was elected President of the United States.

Houston came home and opened a school. He'd never been to school a day in his life, but he proved to be a successful and beloved teacher. He made the kids call him "Professor Houston!"

Andy wrote a letter, "Dear Sam, Come up to Washington. I need you!" Sam ran for congress, won, and went to Washington to serve. Then Andy sent him back to Tennessee. "Now, run for Governor of Tennessee, win, serve, and then run for the President of the United States. I did it. You can too!"

He sobered up, got a bunch together, went to San Jacinto, defeated Santa Anna, and declared Texas—not a state—but a Republic. "And I'm the President!"

He served two terms and then took a vacation to Alabama, where he met a 22-year-old Baptist girl, Margaret Lea.

He was a 46-year-old drunk. She fell in love with him and told her family she was marrying Sam Houston. They married and quickly departed for Texas, where he had his own city— Houston. Sam became a Baptist and was baptized in the river waters. Pastor Rufus C. Burleson, first President of Baylor University in Waco, dipped him in the river, declaring, "Sam, your sins are washed away!" Sam, with a smile, replied, "God help the fish!"

One sister wrote poetry (as her mother did) and attended Baylor University. Another sister moved to San Antonio with her family and became a close friend of Elizabeth Ney, the artist. When she died, the flag at the Alamo was flown at half-staff. One sister lived in Abilene with her family where her husband practiced law. Another sister also wrote poetry. Her husband was a professor at Texas Military Institute in Austin. Later, they moved to College Station where her husband served as the campus doctor of A&M University.

Sam Houston was born in Virginia in 1793. When he was a child, his father died and left his mother with a bunch of boys to rear. She promptly moved the family to Tennessee to live with one of her husband's brothers. The boys were all good but one—a true rebel, Sam. He wouldn't go to school; he did what he wanted to do (which was to read and study for himself);

Sam came home, ran for governor, won, and moved into the Governor's Mansion. All was well—sort of. Sam was a womanizer! Ladies came in the back, front, and side doors, and there was talk...to say the least! His PR people got to him. "Sam, you must marry. We're grooming you for the presidency of the US, and we have discovered womanizers do not always make good presidents!" (Pause for laughter.)

Sam got married to Eliza Allen, a beautiful woman who stayed with him 11 weeks. Her leaving crushed him. He resigned as governor, joined the Indians, and began to drink. Andy wrote him another letter. "Well, you're finished politically. But you can still do one thing for me, but you

The marriage was a loving one, and Sam and Margaret had 8 children. As my mother would say, "And they all turned out good." When Texas joined the Union in 1846, Sam went to Washington as our first senator. He was well-liked, but when he came home in 1860, he demanded that Texas NOT join the Confederacy. "We can be a Republic again and I'll be the president and we'll let the North and South have a war. We will not be involved!"

Great idea, but there were too many Southerners in Texas. Texas joined the Confederacy. With a broken heart, Sam went home to Huntsville to die, never seeing the end of the war. Margaret, so much younger, died a few years later. She couldn't live without her Sam.

What happened to the kids? There’s a story of Sam Houston, Jr. and his

One of their children was visiting the Alamo. A guide pointed out, "Son, here is a souvenir from Sam Houston." He responded, "I'm a souvenir from Sam Houston!"

One son, Andrew Jackson Houston, ran for congress against W. Lee O'Daniel but lost! Pappy O'Daniel was a favorite! Even a Houston couldn’t defeat O'Daniel. Son Willie was in Oklahoma tending to Indian affairs when he died. His sister who lived in Dallas, brought his body to Dallas, where he is buried in the Oak Cliff Cemetery!

There you have it—the Houston Family, always adored in Texas. n