By Anne Houlihan
Fifty years ago, the phrase “women in business” referred to secretaries, low-paid office workers and retail store clerks. Today, more and more women are taking on leadership positions as entrepreneurs and business owners. Women can also be found in government positions, as corporate leaders and in the nonprofit sector. As such, the opportunities for women to lead and influence are greater than ever before. Women in business innovate, persuade, integrate, raise standards, challenge, create policy and ultimately change lives. And much of their success depends on their own …

By Aaron McManus
A few short years ago, real estate values were shooting through the roof. The market carried many agents to a great deal of wealth, but now we’re forced to change the way that we conduct ourselves. Residential real estate has become a serious business, and current economic trends have many Americans frightened by the storm clouds on the economic horizon.
America’s financial future should not be seen from a bust or boom perspective, because it is about polarization. The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. …

By Jon Stetson
Ask any successful person what process he or she uses when making decisions, creating new ideas and strategies or knowing what to say to get people to take action, and the answer you’ll hear most often is “intuition.” Called by other names, such as “gut feeling,” “a hunch,” or even “a guess that seems to come out of nowhere,” intuition is usually the real explanation for all those “educated guesses” that almost always seem right.
Unfortunately, many people are afraid to trust their intuition. After all, people perceive the …

By Deborah Peterson and Lance Thompson
As the housing market remains somewhat difficult, making a home stand out from the rest is a necessity when trying to get it sold. More often than not, small changes to a home’s interior and exterior can drastically improve the resale value. Home automation and do–it-yourself (DIY) landscape lighting are two ways to make easy and impactful home improvements without breaking the bank.
Home automation products are now available through mainstream retail outlets and are no longer only reserved for the rich and famous. These affordable …

By Theresa Rose
In the increasingly tumultuous climate of corporate America, it’s starting to seem as if no place is safe. Nowadays, most places of employment, from small businesses to multinational corporations, contain a pocket or two of whispering staffers fretting over the impending change that is about to hit their world, or complaining about the one that just took place. They have nervously listened to economic reports of doom and gloom, heard rumors circulating throughout the office corridors, watched a steady stream of co-workers come and go, and grumbled every …

By Royce Reed
As any Realtor knows, working on the go is the nature of the business. While this can be a challenge, arming yourself with the right tools can make all the difference. A plethora of products exist today to keep America’s Realtors moving from open houses to client lunches. But, how can you keep yourself mobile without putting a dent in your wallet? Staples has a variety of products that provide solutions for the mobile office.
Keep Your Files on Hand
While many businesses have the luxury of connecting easily to …

By Janine Pringle
Staging, the act of making a property more attractive and appealing in order to highlight its best features, has never been hotter. The reason is simple: making a good first impression can go a long way toward generating interest in a property, increasing the sales price and shortening the sales cycle. Miami is one of the hardest hit cities from the mortgage crisis fallout, with real estate prices projected to fall about 22 percent in 2008. In such a tight economic environment, staging is setting the standard for …

By Walter Sanford
Last week, I showed you nine silver linings that can be found in a difficult market. Below are 10 more reasons to embrace a tough market and still find success.
1. In this tough market, you should have time to pay more attention to the most profitable aspects of your brokerage business. If there are fewer transactions, it is time to capture the “prime” ones. A double-sided transaction allows a double commission with fewer delays. You know the needs of both parties, and there are less gambits.
You should have …

By Scott Coloney
During this time of economic uncertainty, it is imperative for homeowners facing the unfortunate situation of losing their home to foreclosure to understand the options available to them. When behind on mortgage payments, determining if a short sale is a viable option can help a homeowner avoid foreclosure, additional fees paid to the lender for costs associated with the foreclosure-action and also avoid a blemish that will appear on their credit report for years to come.
Although often perceived by real estate agents as a “sales” transaction, a short …

By Bob Corcoran
Consistency is the oil for the engine of business. Peek under the hood of the great businesses and you’ll see consistency causing a smooth purring sound. For McDonalds, no matter where in the country you are those cheeseburgers all taste exactly the same. With UPS, when was the last time you had a problem with “big brown” getting your package either to you or to your client? And Starbucks has that exact aura and taste in every single store.
Ask any of the leaders of those companies why they’re …