Jodi Brown of RE/MAX Territory Inc. in Burlington, WA, is a full-time mother and breadwinner for her family. It frustrated her that business was eating up 70 or more hours a week, time she would rather spend with her husband and three daughters. Here is how she was able to cut her work time in half and increase her business by at least 50% by applying one simple concept.

Dear Michael,

I have been in business since 1992. Two and one-half years ago I began a full-time real estate career in a brand new community. My husband stays at home with our 3 daughters and I have an in-home office. We moved out to the country and have a "different" lifestyle... my Mom and Dad have a home on our joint 9 acres, we have a very large garden - of which we can the "fruits of our labor," we have some farm animals, and no TV connections to the outside world.

My family is paramount to me and they are the reason we moved "back in time" and adopted back into our lives the old- fashioned family values of our previous generations. Time is a precious commodity and the more time I can spend with my family the more complete and "centered" my life is.

Being the full-time provider for our family of five has developed many challenges for me, first and probably the most noticeable has been the time "lost" due to the building and developing of my business. Until the middle of last year I was working from 7:30 am - 10:30 pm or 11:30 pm every day of the week except for Sundays. I was overworked, very emotional and wasn’t spending any quality time with my husband and our daughters. Seventy-plus hours per week, my family time was gone. What was I going to do, something had to give -- didn’t it?

I found my first Virtual Assistant, a graphic design artist in New York via www.elance.com after hearing about it from an agent that heard it from you. She is responsible for building my "Corporate Identity Package" -- logos, slogans, stationery, business cards, etc. It had taken me almost 10 years to develop the concept and it took her less than 10 months to create the materials! Several e-mails and a few phone calls and that was it! I continue to utilize her services as I expand my marketing pieces.

Next I hired a Virtual Assistant from www.revirtualtc.com to be my Virtual Transaction Manager. She utilizes www.SettlementRoom.com to manage each Pending Transaction on-line and has saved me hours and hours of following up with all of the details on our files. My VA follows the terms and the conditions of the Contract and makes sure that all time-lines and documentations are followed to the "t".  She even reviews Preliminary Title Reports and makes me aware of any unforeseen problems on Title. She has saved me numerous times! Every Client, Vendor, and Cooperating Agent loves it! The documentation that is provided is on-line and it is also downloadable for storage on a data file.

Lastly, I hired my third Virtual Assistant in June of this year. She is my Virtual Leads Generation Manager. She handles the 200+ e-mail requests per month that we generate from our web sites. She is notified of each lead with the technology of www.LeadPhone.com. She first calls the lead immediately, then she sends the lead an e-mail introducing them to our services and her phone call. Depending on what my VA discovers from the submitted contact form and phone call, she will enter them into our MLS (Multiple Listing Service) Prospecting System -- where they’ll be notified of properties that match their search criteria. She’ll also enter them into an e-mail drip system provided by the Gooder Group if they wish to be kept informed of real estate trends, etc. I receive each of the same leads that my VA does, only I do not touch them until she sends me an Action Item e-mail to follow up with the Prospect.

How much time have I saved since hiring these three Virtual Assistants? I now work 9am - 5:30pm M, T, TH, F, a half-day on Wednesdays, no Sundays, and Saturdays by appointment only! I work less than 40 hours per week and have been able to reclaim the time with my family which is what is most important in my life.

What’s next for me? Well, I am ready to hire three more VAs to assist me in growing my business to the next level!

Jodi Brown
Associate Broker,ABR,CRS,CSP,e-PRO
"Catchin' Your Dream"
RE/MAX Territory Inc.
320 S Burlington Blvd
Burlington, WA
1-866-770-JODI
Website:www.JodiBrown.com
Email:Clients4Life@JodiBrown.com

PS: Please note - my VA Transaction Manager was hired when I had closed 22 transaction sides. I increased my sides by 50% already this year alone!

Awesome job! —and congratulations on having your priorities straight with respect to your family. Jodi happened to be at one of my recent NAR convention speaking sessions and she shared the above story with the audience. It makes quite an impact when someone is able to cut their job time nearly in half and increase their business by nearly 50%. She also hired three more VAs during the session and now has a team of six supporting her success!

Because Jodi is our success story of the month, she has her pick of the three valuable tools below, ranging in value from US$149 - $199! Since she is already a raving fan of Imprev.net, she is going to receive a complementary renewal on her annual subscription.

Remember, even if your story isn't chosen you still win because you get to see how other top performers do it. Besides, you can always try again!