The Sun Sets on #REBCDen

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Compliments to @Respres (best real estate virtual tours/shows on the planet) who created a representation of our Tweets today.

Sponsor Gretchen Faber is a Strong Supporter of #REBCDen

Gretchen Faber is a very active member of the real estate community.  She is a manager at her company, a NAR Director and a member of countless committees.  REBC is very grateful to have a strong supporter like her on board, as this is the second year she has sponsored the event.

I would like to introduce you to the readers of the REBarCamp Blog.  Would you please tell us a little about yourself?

I’m a 40-something workaholic with not enough hobbies.  I just love the real estate business!

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?

I started selling real estate in 1996 after a divorce. I needed to reinvent myself and find a new career.  I had been working with my husband and that obviously wasn’t working out too well.  We owned an advertising agency specializing in print and radio for small financial institutions.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

I work at The Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek.  We’re a locally owned brokerage and I’ve been with the company since 1998.  In 2007 I became the Broker Manager of the office and I still handle my real estate clients as well.  I guess that’s my hobby.

Our company has made a concerted effort in the past 3 years to really leverage our online presence. We’re also blogging and on Facebook, tweeting, etc.  Our industry has changed so much, and more changes are on the way!

Are you involved in social media?

Yes! I’ve been blogging about Denver and real estate at www.LifeStyleDenver.com for three years.  I also use Facebook, and to some extent Twitter to focus interest back to my personal web site.  My blog also links to my web site, www.GretchensDenver.com.  On that site people can search neighborhoods, look for properties, map areas they like and find relocation information.

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

The more circular links you have, profiles on a variety of sites, the more you can drive traffic to your site.  I’ve also had good luck by being very focused.  There are times when I’d love to write a blog post about tips for brokers in the business, or ruminations on something random and then I remind myself that LifeStyleDenver is about real estate and the readership is buyers and sellers.

The best way I’ve leveraged social media is to communicate with good, interesting content that keeps potential clients engaged and gives them a reason to contact me.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

I’m always happy to help with advice, tips or tricks.  Sharing with each other is one of the great aspects of our business.  We’re a cooperative bunch!

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow!  I presented last year about writing for blogs. This year, I think I’ll just listen and take it all in.

How can we contact you?

grf@gretchensdenver.com

Patty Silverstein to Present Opening Session #REBCden

The national recession that started in December 2007 was the worst that has happened in the U.S. since the Great Depression. How might the country and Colorado pick up the pieces left from the collapsed financial markets, employment declines, and eroded consumer confidence and rebuild an economic system that has growth potential throughout this decade?

This presentation includes current and projected growth trends at the national, state, and local level. It focuses on the industry developments that are impacting the seven-county metro Denver economy, including employment and unemployment trends, population growth, construction activity, and the real estate markets. While the Metro Denver economy remains challenged by cautious consumers and businesses and governments working through a damaging combination of lower sales, property, and income taxes, improvements in the Metro Denver economy will become more apparent by the middle of 2010.

Don’t miss this opportunity to get a preview into Denver’s economy and market throughout 2010.  There will be time allowed at the end of this presentation for Q&A.

Carol Grape to Offer Her Wisdom on Real Estate Photography #REBCDEN

Carol Grape is came highly recommended to me several years ago when I was looking for speakers for REALTOR Rally.  Carol volunteered to help and has been a steady supporter always willing to pitch in when needed.  Carol’s photography talent is well placed in real estate and she is very popular due to her willingness to share.

Personally I’m a tad jealous of her, not only because she gets to take pictures all day, but because she is named after my favorite color and gets to wear it all the time!  It’s just not fair!

Let’s welcome Carol to the REBC Blog, please tell us about yourself…

I am really a sculptor who makes a living as a real estate photographer.  I grew up in the Maine, went to grad school in Ohio, lived in NYC for 6 years, then moved to Northern KY with my husband for 15 years. We have been in Colorado (in Ken Caryl) for 6 years this summer and love it. We try to ski 10-15 times a year.

How long have you been in the real estate industry?  What did you do before?

I have owned my business, grape imaging since February of 2005. Before that and moving here to Colorado I was an adjunct instructor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and Thomas More College. Just before leaving KY, I was the Chair for the Master of Arts in Art Education program at the Art Academy, as well as the Gallery Coordinator. I was also working actively on exhibiting my sculpture.

Tell us about your company.  How long have you been working there?  What services does your company offer in the real estate industry?

In my company, grape imaging, ltd I do photography and virtual tours for real estate, custom design flyers, postcards and brochures and design PowerPoint Presentations and Listing Proposals. www.grapeimaging.com

Are you involved in social media?

I am involved in social media a bit. I stay active on Facebook and have a blog, on which I am not as active as I should.

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

I use Facebook not only to show my personal side but to also promote tours that I do for my clients.

I use my blog http://grapeimaging.wordpress.com to primarily give good tips to those Realtors and offices that are doing their own real estate photography. I feel that doing the blog shows off my expertise as a real estate photographer.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

My goal is to promote an excellent visual presence on all real estate websites. I would love to see those fuzzy, dark, dismal photos that show up on mls sites across the country disappear and replaced with well lit, well framed, crisp images for the consumer to view.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

I will be at REBC and would love to offer any information to participants on real estate photography and virtual tours.

How can we contact you?

cgrape@comcast.net or 720.981.3943

Land Title Rep., Jim Renshaw Discusses Use of Social Media

The best part of planning REBarCamp just has to be meeting many new and interesting people.  I enjoy hearing from people I don’t know and learning how they are incorporating social media into their lives as well as their business.  Jim Renshaw is one of those people who emailed me about his blog.  Jim has uses his blog to inform his readers about the state of real estate in metro Denver and the many services his company provides.  It’s my pleasure to “virturally” introduce Jim!

Tell us about your company.

Land Title Guarantee Company is a locally owned Title Company that has been serving the Colorado real estate market for over 40 years.

How long have you been working there?

I’ve been working at Land Title for 6 years.

What services does you company offer in the real estate industry?

Superior title research and professional closings along with marketing assistance to help real estate professionals grow their business. I can do this by being part of a team at Land Title

Are you involved in social media?

Yes – I’m on Facebook, twitter and have an active blog at Jim Renshaw

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

I use social media to enhance or create new relationships.  I’ve found that using social media enables me to get to know my clients better so when we do meet face to face our time can be very productive and enjoyable.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

I look at my role as helping real estate professionals grow their business. It start with our core services of having accurate and timely title research so clients can depend on the information. Professional closing services so buyers, sellers and borrowers leave the closing table with the best possible experience and increasing the chance of referral business in the future. I also provide marketing assistance that varies from farm pack to real estate statistics, postcards, flyers, foreclosure list, home books to name just a few.  I’m also big into education so I like to do classes on everything from understanding title and closings to utilizing social networking with your real estate business.

If you were asked to present a topic at REBC, what would you like to talk about?

If I did present a topic I would do the following using plugins to help with your wordpress blog such as feedburner, Akismet, WP-ContactForm and a few others I like.

How can we contact you?

I can be found on my blog at http://www.JimRenshaw.com

Thanks Jim!  Hope to see you and everyone else at Real Estate Bar Camp Denver, on Friday, May 22, 2009!

DocuSign Supports REBarCamp as a Sponsor

DocuSign is a REBarCamp sponsor and will have An Bui representing them.

Tell us about you…who are you where do you live?

My name is An Bui and I split time between Seattle and Boulder. In Seattle, I live in the Belltown/Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. In Boulder, I live in the Flatirons neighborhood. I love both communities for the outdoors opportunities coupled with the entrepreneurial energy and creativity.

Where do you work?  How long have  you been working for DocuSign?

DocuSign, the #1 provider of on-demand software services for electronic signature and online contract execution, chose me to lead their social media/blogging efforts since January 2009.

How do you use social media to leverage your business?

Yes – I’ve been involved in social media since college, joining Friendster and then Facebook. Before that, I was involved in social networking in high school, back when Six Degrees was around.

Professionally, I generate content and attach metrics to social media efforts for organizations such as DocuSign as well as speak at conferences and give talks about social media, digital identity and online community.

DocuSign uses social media to connect with its customers and potential customers. Using Twitter, we try to help those who have tweeted that they are looking for more information about electronic signature or electronic contract execution. We also use it to share new updates and be more accessible to our customers. to establish a knowledge base for our customers. There, they can post questions, share stories and connect with others of the DocuSign team. Forums are a great resource for our customers and a great place to see what else has worked for others.

How can your product/service benefit those in the real estate industry?

DocuSign’s electronic signature and online contract execution services help real estate agents save time, money and do more deals. Using DocuSign, our customers don’t have to drive all over town to get papers signed nor do they have to deal with paper and fax machines. Deals close more quickly because all you need is an internet connection, web browser and you’re in business.

In a time sensitive industry like real estate, electronic signature and online contract execution can help you get deals done in minutes.

Are you coming to REBC Denver and would you like to present a topic? Which topic?

I’ll be at REBC Denver, and would like to present on the Business 2.0: Advantages of the Mobile Office.

Where can I contact you for more information?

You can check DocuSign out on the web call 866-219-4318, or leave a comment on , in the forums for my business card – text “AnWith1N” to 50-500 for my contact information -

Joel McDonald is Winning with Social Media!

REBarCamp continues to grow and attract the top brokers, movers and shakers in the Denver metro area.  On we if we don’t know in person we  certainly have stumbled upon online is Automated Home Finder’s, founder Joel McDonald.  Joel has embraced Social Media like he embraces everything else in life, with a passion!  Enjoy reading his responses,

You surprised me when you told me you  no longer are a licensed real estate broker, but you own a company.  Please tell us what you do these days.

I deactivated my license in 2006 and hired a broker to run our company with the intention of focusing solely on generating business for our agents via online marketing. Our company’s online marketing efforts are responsible for about 80% of our agents’ business.

What made you decide to get into the business and when was that? What were you doing before real estate?

Unless you count my “job” as a paperboy, mowing lawns, or my high school bagboy job, I didn’t do anything other than college before real estate.

I got into real estate right after college in 1994 because I’ve always loved marketing and negotiations, and never really liked the idea of a “W-2 J.O.B”.  Since I bought my first home at 19 and convinced a few college friends to do the same, going into real estate sales seemed to come naturally.  I started as a salesperson in ’94, got a website (after my Dad told me to get with the times) in ’96, started Automated Homefinder in ’98, & started my own Boulder real estate</a> brokerage in ’99, and expanded the company to about 60 agents in 2005.

We first met in person when you invited me to lunch, but we had known each other from Twitter? How long had you been tweeting at that point in time?

I believe I had only been on Twitter for about 3 months at the time we got together back in November.  I had admired your fantastic blog for a couple years prior to that, but never did I imagine we’d become friends considering we’re technically competitors.  (Funny how social media works, huh?)

Social media has become so popular in the real estate industry. Can you tell us what it has done for your business?

Social media has opened doors that would have never have had a chance of even being opened in a “web 1.0 world”.  I have been invited to speak at conferences & radio shows,  I’ve opened up Automated Homefinder in 3 territories outside of Colorado (and am negotiating a few other territories as we speak), and most importantly — I’ve made fantastic connections with some pretty amazing people in my field who would otherwise have been inaccessible.

If you could pick only one aspect of social media, what would that be.  By that I mean you must choose from Active Rain, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and any of the hundreds available, which one would you use and why?

That’s a tough one because all of them are so great, and each has its own strengths.  Honestly, it depends on what hat I have on, so I’ll pick only one for each of the many entrepreneurial hats I wear:

• If I were wearing my “Local business owner in charge of getting more buyers and sellers for my Colorado agents” hat, it would have to be Twitter. Since all of our agents already have a large database of potential buyers and sellers, our biggest need is building rapport with those prospects. Twitter would be the best way to do that, and would probably outweigh any of the other SM tools.

• If I were wearing my “CEO of a company expanding into multiple states” hat, I would choose ActiveRain because the network of real estate professionals I can collaborate with is invaluable.
• If I ever put my Realtor Hat on again, I would probably choose Facebook because that is where my “sphere” of local clients already exists.

Me: Are you coming to REBarCamp Denver?  Would you like to present a topic? If so what would that be?

Joel: I’d be honored to present a topic! Considering I’ll be among so many amazing social media folks, I could focus on one of the two things Automated Homefinder does best – traffic generation strategies (Off-page optimization), or conversion tactics (CRM).

Thank you Joel for your contribution to the REBarCamp blog and your willingness to share your knowledge with us at Camp!  I am looking forward to your session.

Joel can be found on Twitter as @JoelRunner

If you would like to meet Joel in person RSVP and come to Denver’s landmark event on May 22, 2009 to be held at the DPPA.