In today's temperamental economy no matter what your business is you must always continue to Lead Generate and Prospect for new business.  This requires a firm daily commitment on your part - with this commitment your business is guaranteed to succeed.  If you time block your day for this prospecting and adhere to the time block you are well on your way to building part a of well planned business strategy.

Each time you are face to face with the general public you always want to remind them of exactly what you do and how it can help them in their business or personal lives. 

As you go about your business and personal lives remember what can be lead generating opportunities for you, whether you are in Real Estate, Staging, any other type of sales, and so on: 

Holiday Celebrations                    Seminars/Classes

Car Shows                                      Networking Groups

Animal/Horse Shows                     Gyms

Moving/Painting Parties                Sports Clubs

Weddings                                        Card Clubs

Family Parties                                Alumni Groups 

photo from Flickr robnilas

It is that time of year again.  Time to gather receipts, make note of all home improvements, upgrades and energy efficiency installs.  Not only can this help in your tax deductions but can help reduce your bill totals all year long. 

When you are making a move you always want to consider location, the home itself, the school system, taxes, closing costs, your interest rate and your mortgage.

 A good public school system can be an important consideration for home buyers, even if you don’t have school-aged children. Good schools can enhance the resale value of your home and make it more attractive to a broader range of potential buyers and tenants.

To check out school information, go to School Match, which offers school data services. Here you’ll find test scores, student-teacher ratios, spending, college bound information and more.

When you find that special home you look to be there for a long time.  However if you have done your homework and do have to make a move sooner than expected, having done these things will help you get the best price for your property if you do have to sell. 

Turkey Buzzards are commonly found in the Hudson Valley but usually when you see one, there are at least 10 to 15 more around close by.  This was sitting in the tree right outside my deck.  The picture probably doesn't do the size of the bird justice as this is probably at least 6 or 7 times the size of my dog.  Now let me clarify that my dog is only 3 pounds.     :-)

Photos by Debra Walsh, Copyright © 2012 Debra Walsh. All Rights Reserved.  These photos may not be reproduced, used or transmitted without the express, written permission of Debra Walsh of Keller Williams Realty in Goshen, New York.  If you would like to use an image please contact me directly.  Thank you for not plagiarizing!

I was amazed when I saw this clip on the Ellen Show the other day.  Then today I came across it quite by accident and decided to post it.  I was very intrigued by the bird "sleigh riding" over and over again on a longer clip that was very bouncy and hard to watch so I have posted a shorter clip.  Seeing the bird going up and down really makes you think about how just how smart they are.  Enjoy!  Would love to hear your comments also. 

We are all upset about Picnik and here is another way we can try to save it.  Please post this to your facebook and Twitter pages and maybe there is a chance to keep it from being taken down.  Thanks Jeanean!

This week I think anyone who has been using Picnik got the terrible email - They are shutting down effective April 19th.  I am going to be so sorry to see them go.  I am a huge user of Picasa but an even bigger user of Picnik.  I went back into my posts from last year and pulled up the post I did about Lunapic.  Lunapic is similar to Picnik and does just about the same things.  There is a little less of a learning curve but it may take a few more steps to accomplish what you were able to accomplish in Picnik.  At least for the time being until we find something else this will serve you until you do or maybe this will become your new "Picnik."  Picnik I will miss you!

This week I discovered quite by accident a site called LunaPic for Photo Editing. It is a FREE site which of course caught my interest. Normally I will use Picasa or Picnik, both of which I love and use all the time. However when I tried LunaPic I decided I will be adding this to the mix as well. It offers different features that I found easier and quicker to do using LunaPic.

I grabbed a picture from my collection of neighborhood animals and then proceeded to do some fun things to the picture. It took me less than 5 minutes to change the edge of the picture, add a text bubble and some text. Now this is not what I would normally use it for but as you can see by the image above there are a lot of editing options that run along the left side and across the top. Enjoy!

Photos by Debra Walsh, Copyright © 2011 Debra Walsh. All Rights Reserved. These photos may not be reproduced, used or transmitted without the express, written permission of Debra Walsh of Keller Williams Realty in Goshen, New York. If you would like to use an image please contact me directly. Thank you for not plagiarizing!

As usual this was taken up the street from my house on my way home from work one day.  Sometimes you will see too many to count and other days just one or two.  No matter how many, for me, they are always a pleasure to see!

Photos by Debra Walsh, Copyright © 2012 Debra Walsh. All Rights Reserved.  These photos may not be reproduced, used or transmitted without the express, written permission of Debra Walsh of Keller Williams Realty in Goshen, New York.  If you would like to use an image please contact me directly.  Thank you for not plagiarizing!