What better way to talk about boosting productivity than to talk about the software you are using. Recently, I was talking to an appraiser in my Dream Team who had switched over from another company to a la mode. Since there are a lot of appraisers using a la mode, I thought I would share some of th...

There are many little, or even big, inconveniences that are simply hazards of being an appraiser. When it comes to thinking of the costs of running your business, you likely don’t factor in things like, well, speeding tickets!  

I recently got an out-of-state speeding ticket. Because I wasn’t guilt...

As business owners, we are all too well accustomed to the problems or “weeds” that pop on a frequent basis. I want to give you some tips for growing a healthy business that runs a little more smoothly.

When it comes to growing a healthy, weed-free lawn, there are two basic approaches one can take: ...

It wasn’t so long ago that, like many real estate appraisers out there, things just didn’t seem to be adding up for me. I was working plenty of hours, but I was still living from paycheck to paycheck. It was like that for most of the first twelve years that I ran my real estate appraisal business.

I do around 4 times as many appraisals as my competitors. That’s not a boast: I’ve done my research, and it’s the truth. People in the real estate appraisal industry know how much work I get through, and the question they always ask is, ‘How do you do so much without cutting corners?’ They seem to t...

Okay full-disclosure, I still hate April 15, but just not as bad as I used to.  Paying taxes can be a challenge for anyone, but it seems especially hard for those who are self-employed.  Every spring, I used to get a big surprise from my tax returns until I changed one, small thing.

For the first d...