As I talk with other appraisers and read online forums, I am often saddened by what I hear and see. Many appraisers appear to be unhappy with their profession, and this perspective has to affect their personal lives as well. Whether you fell into appraising or actively pursued the profession, you are choosing to be an appraiser and you are choosing to run your business a certain way.
I often see and hear comments that reflect a victim mentality in the appraiser world. I believe individuals should be happy in their various situations 82% of the time. Things happen, life happens, and every situation is going to have its low points. But if you are not satisfied with your life at least 82% of the time, then it is time to make some changes.
Now I know it is much easier to talk about making changes than it is to actually do it. Believe me, I know. I used to be a middle-school teacher. I realized at some point that I hated working for someone else. I made the decision to start my own company and be a real estate appraiser. This was a long and extremely challenging process, but ultimately it was worth it.
In the end, you have three options if you are currently disliking your role as an appraiser: you can change professions, you can change the way you do business, or you can continue to be unhappy. Ultimately, complaining does little to help whatever difficult situation you find yourself in, so make a resolution now to start making different choices that lead to better results.
For example, one issue I consistently see appraisers complaining about is AMC’s and difficult clients. I get it. Sometimes they can be a pain in the ass, but you do not have to work for clients that treat you like crap. There are a lot of options out there. I personally only do work for A and B clients (see this corresponding blog for more information on this topic). You also have the option to move to the private sphere and stop working for AMCs all together as some of my mentees have done. The point is there are other options and you always have a choice even though those changes may be difficult.
I hope that as appraisers, we can choose to be better. I hope we can focus on the solutions rather than the problems. I hope we can help each other rather than tear each other down. And I hope we can have the courage to make the difficult decisions that ultimately lead to more success and happiness.
If you are interested in joining a community of appraisers committed to helping each other make changes to their businesses for the better, please check out my All Star Team.
For more information on this subject, please listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode:
