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Home : Blogs : Douglas Ching : Douglas Ching's Blog

Off to Chase The Next Big Storm AR's V.P of Sales and Blog Trainer Signing Off.

bird taking flight on the shore in Zurick If you ask Jon Washburn he will tell you that he is “not a sales person”, but don’t let this fool you! What began as an innocent lunch back in 2009 resulted in me leaving my successful business behind to join forces with Jon at ActiveRain. The goal was to find a sustainable revenue model for a company that was on the brink of running out of the capital.

ActiveRain was a robust community at the time with a little over 100k members but very little dependable revenue. Jon, in my opinion, had two choices: he could clutter every page of AR with advertising, or we could start charging our new members to take advantage of the reputation (SEO) the community had built. Thus, the Rainmaker concept was born.

A few months later I began noticing that the agents who were upgrading to RainMaker with the hopes of increasing their online presence didn’t have the training required to make that possible. So I turned to my trusted friend Steven Graham, who within two weeks developed SEO strategies for those members of AR who needed it the most, and turned it into a two hour training class for new members. This single class evolved into ActiveRain University, led by Steven, which currently has over 10,000 graduates.

This company was Jon’s vision and legacy. ActiveRain is now at over 200,000 members, and in January alone of this year we signed up just shy of 1,000 new paying RainMakers! We were fortunate enough to be asked to join Jon on his journey to accomplish that vision, and we hope his legacy of ActiveRain-- and now DailyTicket-- will continue to grow and thrive.

Now that Jon’s active role in the network has ended Steven and I have decided to find a new vision. Changing lives, both within the ActiveRain community and at the ActiveRain corporate offices, is the reason we came to ActiveRain and the reason we stayed. Jon gave us the freedom to create a unique culture here that you couldn’t find anywhere else. The community thrived, as did the employees of ActiveRain. Since the changing of hands, we have grown to miss the creativity and challenges that come with building and maintaining this type of culture.

As of today Steven Graham and I will no longer be employed by ActiveRain. The time has come for us to find a new home. We have been invited to help ePropertySites.com develop a social media and SEO blogging platform as their V.P of Sales and SEO Blog Trainer. Imagine every tool you could possibly need to succeed online in one tool box. That is ePropertySites.com, where we will both continue to do the work we love, and although we’ll miss being part of what goes on behind the scenes at ActiveRain, we’re excited to embark on this new adventure.

if you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at:

Doug@epropertymail.com

Steven@epropertymail.com

Posted by Douglas Ching on 05/20/2011 06:01 PM

Comments (175)

goodbye, farewell

Short URL: http://actvra.in/b9S

Post is included in group: Blogging & SEO
Post is included in group: Effective Farming

175 Comments on Off to Chase The Next Big Storm AR's V.P of Sales and Blog Trainer Signing Off.

MAY

I am so distraught and disappointed! I cannot believe that you two are gone from AR! I did not take enough of the AR courses, and feel that I didn't concentrate quite hard enough at times, and now will wish you were still here to help. I will go check out what you are doing over at epropertysites and see what the rest of the world is doing.

I am so disappointed - I loved the classes! Steven is great. BTW - I use ePropertsite and love them.

Barbara Hensley

Wow... I'm glad I got to meet you and chat with you through the Ambassador program.

Sad to see you go. I hav personally benefitted both you and Stephen.

Good luck in your future endeavors and I will be watching the epropertysites for future changes.

Doug - I remember your first training session for Ambassadors way back when. Wishing you much success in your new endeavors--things are certainly changing at Active Rain.

You will do great at Eproerties I did that for several months, but the cost was too great for me- that is one of the reasons I moved to AR- Plus, as nice as Carl is, every call was trying to upsell me on something else. Best of luck in your future! Helen

Good luck to both of you! I will definitely check in to how you two are doing at ePropertySites.

Steven & Doug,

I am glad that I got to meet you both at the first San Francisco RainCamp. And then taking classes with Steven afterward really helped me to get my blogs to page 1 of Google. ActiveRain will not be the same without you two :-(

I am not at all surprised. The corporate take-over at Active Rain is not lookin good. I saw the writing on this wall a long time ago ans am glad I shifted my thinking to make sure this does not affect me.

I wish you both the very best of luck. You have to do what is right for you, as do everyone.

this is really getting to be a trend.....leaving ActiveRain. I am going to have to check out ePropertysites.com and see what is there. Guess that means AR University is over or is someone else going to continue with it???

BOB- I am sure you are going to be responding to that last question.

Wish you both luck in whatever you attempt to do down the road!

Fred Strickroot, Lic. Real Estate Broker, HomeNet, HomeNetYOUTeam, Tampa Bay Area Homes for Sale
Great success to the both of you! I took a look at the eproperty site and it looks very interesting. It is great to have taken one of Steven's blogging classes. I am just getting started in ActiveRain, and I am having great experiences so far. There is a lot of talent around here.

Fred Strickroot, Lic. Real Estate Broker, HomeNet, HomeNetYOUTeam, Tampa Bay Area Homes for Sale

Steven, very sorry to hear the news. I enjoyed your classes and was looking forward to taking more; you made it fun and easy to understand. Very good luck in your new endeavors. ( Doug too)

Doug & Steve ~ Best of luck to both of you in your new jobs ~ Changes continue hopefully for the better ~

wow....who will be doing the blog training at active rain university? I was really enjoying the webinars and learning lots.

OMG, I'm so super sad. What a huge loss for the AR community. You are both super stars and ePropertysite.com is so lucky to have you. I do hope you are super successful and happy there and I do hope you will keep in touch.

I will miss the "#1 blog trainer in the world" and I have the dubious honore of "stumping the Steven."

Best of luck and thx for doing this professionally.

Hey guys - I wish you all the best on your new adventure. You know how much you're going to missed around here, don't you? You really are.....do keep in touch so we don't miss out on all the good stuff you'll be creating in the future.

Doug,

I loved meeting you at RainCamps and so appreciate all you've done. As I said on Steven's reblog, whoever is getting you 2 is one lucky company/person!

This news is most worrisome. New management at AR and top level people are jumping ship (Jon, Brad, Steve, Douglas). Not a good sign. This is indicative of the new "Corporate Management" profit strategies taking effect. What made AR what it is today I sense will soon be dead.

It is a shame especially as I was just getting started building my blogging knowlwdge. Thanks Steve! I learned more from taking your AR University classes then I had in hours of surfing the net and reading blogging books.

I'll follow your progress on eproperty. It may be time to jump ship myself.

Aloha Dauglas, you will be missed . Best wishes in your new jorney

Best of luck to you, Doug, and to Steve, and by extension to all of here relying on AR to carry us forward into "the new marketing."

Steven,

We'll see you over at ePropertySites.

Hi Doug and Steve,

wow, now it is really raining at AR, tears that is.

May I be so bold to say that AR better Right this ship, in order to stop all these pfanntastic people jumping ship at this time.

Great companies ae made up from great people, when the core leaves, we need to be resold on the merrits of the new direction, and so far I am for one getting concerned.....

Sorry to See you guys go, but I am sure you did what you needed to do and as such we wish you well, thanks for sharing your skills, knowledge and patience, we will miss you and we will check out E-properties as well....

Best wishes on your new adventure.

Doug, Steve,

I hope this is a great move for you both. I know our paths will be crossing again!

Best of luck to both of you on your new adventure...

Best of Luck to both of you....you guys are two smart cookies! and will do well anywhere you go.

Doug and Steven,

I am sad to see both of you leave and understand your reasons for doing so.

Doug and Steven so sorry to see you both,,but I understand. Thanks for the contribution here and I will keep an eye on the mark you will make at epropertysites.com.

Best wishes for the future.

Doug ...Good Luck on your new adventure !!!!

I too am glad I've adjusted my thinking to keep my business moving forward.

Change is good, but too much change is bad. And there is way to much change going on at Active Rain.

Sorry to see you all leave.....best of luck in your new venture!

Wishing you all the best. Will check out the new site.

Doug, I've learned a whole lot from you, thank you. Best of luck with your new position; until we see again, aloha and mahalo.

I'm going to miss you guys... glad I got to meet you in person a while back. Best of luck to you in your new adventures, you're both very talented guys, you'll do okay... Take care...

Thank you for being there for me from the very begining Steven and I know you will be a success no matter where you go or what you do.

Best of luck - you will be missed!

AAAGGGHHH - this is NOT good!

Your trainings Steven Graham are quick, fun and to the point. You taught me google juice in 3 hours - something that THREE books couldn't do. In this industry time rules, and your trainings rule Steven Graham!

You will be truly missed.

Best of luck to you both! I will miss your classes, Steven.

Hey Gents!

Sorry to see you go but glad you're sticking together & following your passion. I hope it's everything you originally sought at AR and exponentially more!

God bless, much success, & my heartfelt thanks go to you!

Shoot me an email when you're settled in... Now, go rock it in the new digs!

I am literally sick to my stomach. The old saying that everyone is replaceable .... I do not agree.

It is getting scary here.

Thank you, Doug. Thank you, Steven. You have both taken time from your busy schedule to personally help me - above and beyond your daily work schedule.

From Niki's comment,

"We will continue building a world class training program here at ActiveRain that will be better than ever before"

Nothing could be better than the best.

Steven and Doug, great job at AR and best wishes for your new venture

I will miss Steven, as he has come to know my sense of humor and got me featured so many times in the Rain.

AR's loss and eProperties gain. It was a pleasure meeting you both and perhaps we'll be able to do it again with eProperties. They do need some help with their SEO. Best wishes to you both in your new endeavors.

Oh No! I absolutely believe that you and Steven were a huge asset to Active Rain. This is truly sad. I don't know who is making these decisions because the people I speak to who are in high places at AR and even the CEO Nikesh are very much in favor of the education of the members to be able to blog better and get found on line. I certainly hope that the board of directors will take a step back and look with a more clear vision of what the members of this community need and that I will say without a doubt is the continuing education of how to blog, how to add SEO to blogging, etc. Leave that one checked at the door, and they will see what is their number one problem continue to get worse, and that is , that you can sign people up to be rainmakers all day long, but rarely do they ever write their first post. This should be the focus, how to remedy this problem. I believed that Steven was a huge part of making a breakthrough with that issue. Katerina

This also comes at the point where AR finally turned around raincamps into a great venue from what was a huge sales pitch before. The energy we created as speakers at Raincamp and the synergy in which we all connected, was a huge part of the great connection that Bob, Steve and I had to share with all the members. Katerina

Thank you all for the love and support incoming. This was one of the most difficult decisions that we have ever made. When I originally walked into AR corporate we had about 5 employees and building up our team and training has ben the biggest joy and business success of my life.

Virginia you where one of the first persons to complete our training programs back in 2009 and we still use your blog examples in our sales room today.

I am eternally grateful for the people here who have included me in their family =)

AR new Management please refrain from removing this blogs ability to reblog and do not delete comments unless they break the AR terms of service. "You also represent and warrant to ActiveRain that you own all rights and have unlimited control of your Content, which makes it possible and legal for you to share and transmit your Content."

OMG - not you two too... Oh my word. I gotta go e-mail the bay-bays. Tell me how to find you on Facebook. I know how to find you in Twitter. Keep in touch sweetie pie. :-)

It can't be said enough... we will all miss you. Good Luck!

This appears to be a problem.

WTF...I got C's message...All I can say is big changes comin' down, but WTF?? ( Pardon my language) Everybody??

Good Luck and thanks!

Change is always scarry, we're scared. We can only imagen what you're facing.

You'll do well. I'm sure.

Bill

Thank you, and wishing you the very best...but Ouch, that hurts!

Hmmmmm... best of luck to you both, but should I be reading something BEYOND a new opportunity for you all? With new management there is different chemistry that is for sure. AGAIN, wish you both the best...

We will all miss you guys and the great training that you so enthusiastically provided. In each of our lives doors and windows open and close but know that your new venture will provide you with wonderful new challenges to keep you growing, learning and sharing. Thank you for all that you provided here for us and we are all so grateful. We send with both of you our sincere best wishes for continued happiness and great success. And we ask that you provide a way for us to reach out to you!

All Our Very Best Wishes!

Most Sincerely,
William

Oh BUMMER. You will both be missed greatly. I hate to see this but understand if it's a better move for you. It really concerns me that the old crew is all leaving. The reason I have hung around for so long is because of the community AND the AR Gods. You will be missed my friends. Best of luck to both of you in your new venture.

Thanks CTStarr for informing us!

Too much change...too fast...Just send the bill!

Another significant loss to the AR Community. You will be missed and your new employer is gaining two great employees.

You have had a good run at Active Rain, I hope the new position is enjoyable and is a great stepping stone for something even better. Good Luck!

I'm too old for so much change. Thank you Steven for getting me to the first page of Google!

Am I missing something going on here at AR? WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY IS EVERYONE LEAVING?????

All the best to Doug and Steven, and thanks for the journey.

After all this time on AR - see comments below - I've Just RECEntly started bogging regularly. AND SO many NICE, Helpful, kind, caring people here.....

I know you will be missed! Even as still a "newbie" I will miss you. AR community; stick together & support each other as you have always done in the past.

No matter what.

Steven you were helpful and very patient when teaching classes to help us get our word out, and will be missed. Epropertysites were very lucy to get you both. All this change is worrisome. THANK YOU BOTH for your contributions to our success!

Wishing you both the very best as you venture forward, onward and upward!

As Virginia said, "...nothing better than the best..." and that is what you have given us...and that is what we wish for You.

Many Blessings,

Doug,

I came from Laura;s reblog. I read Niki's PC post, and I felt there was something here, and you answered my questiton.

It is the change... the change of culture.

To say that I am just concerned would be an understatement

Wishing you the best

Best of luck to you Doug. It was a real pleasure meeting you in Atlantic City last December. Take care.

Good luck with your new endeavour. You will be missed. I wonder the future of AR. What ever happens, it has been a good ride...

I just posted this on Niki's Blog and I think it should be posted here to.

"I find it odd that you featured your post about them leaving but you didn't feature their own post with their goodbyes.

For everyone who wants to read the original post you can here: http://activerain.com/blogsview/2308276/off-to-chase-the-next-big-storm-ar-s-v-p-of-sales-and-blog-trainer-signing-off-

I've been on AR a little while and the day they started asking us to pay for hyper local neighborhood placements was the day I decided my time was best used on my own platforms. I think AR is only good to build links to our own platforms. Yes the community is great, but the community is dissolving. The people who built it are almost gone.

I think it's funny how many agents don't realize they can do everything they can on AR with their own blogs. All they have to do is setup a WP blog, buy a domain name, and pay for hosting. It costs less than $100. And you will be out performing the rain within a few months easily. ActiveRain is too full of duplicate/spammy/low quality content that brings this whole domain down. With your own blog you have control over all the content and this is the best way to long term web marketing.

What does this have to do with Doug & Steven? Not much. Just a thought for those who are worried about AR going in a direction they aren't happy with. You can do this on your own very simply. You can setup your own blog/s and out rank AR very simply. Use AR to build links to your own web properties and build up your own domain. Otherwise you will always be at the mercy of someone else's intentions."

As an AR Ambassador - I will say the best thing about AR was the community, and I hope it remains. But I see the writing on the wall. Please don't put all your efforts in promoting AR when you should be promoting yourself.

To Doug And Steven: Your classes rocked and you will be sorely missed. Yes, change is inevitable, but it doesn't makeup for the fact that the people who built this network are the reason it was successful. If they are gone, there is no more AR to me.

Best of luck to you both in your new endeavours. It is never easy to leave a place we have loved, but sometimes we know it will never again be the place where we felt such conviction, dedication, and passion. Onward and upward - c'est la vie.

I wish you both great success, and deeply appreciate the help you provided me.

So sorry to see you go. I already use epropertysites and will look forward to what you do over there. Best of luck.

While I am a relative newbie to Active Rain, I quickly came to realize how very much talent was contributing behind the scenes.

I listened in to several of Steven's training webinars, and his expertise & positive attitude will be sorely missed.

Lots of changes going on at AR.....not at all sure they are all for the better....???

You guys WILL be missed - I hope you are on to bigger and better things!

Will be watching for you....all the best to both of you,

Edith

I'm kinda numb. I'm trying to concentrate but all I keep thinking is my fave people are moving on. I guess this is part of the growing pains but I have to say I'm not too happy about it. I'm transparent enough to admit that's very selfish of me. It's a comfort knowing you guys are always around in cyberspace so I'll adjust. At least Bob will be there for my kids to steal "rain cookies" from the next time I drag the shorties in for a brief hello at RainCamp. ;-)

Certainly wondering what's to become of us!! Good luck Steven and Douglas.

Doug and Steven--It seems so sad to be saying goodbye to friends who were so new. Here's wishing you all the best. You have brought up your AR offspring to be strong, tough and versatile. Whatever happens, we will be fine thanks to all of the tools you have given us!

I can't say I've ever heard of you and I've been here since AR was three weeks old, but from your explanation above, I understand. AR is going through a lot of changes, and I hope things will be ok.

I have epropertysites and, honestly, I can't imagine them having a blogging platform and other stuff. They do websites and texting technology, but other stuff they've tried to integrate on the site doesn't work for me. I wonder what will come of it...

Good luck to you both. I wish you the best. I do feel that there are a lot of changes going on right now, but that is to be expected when management changes. I have seen it happen time and time again.

Douglas, I wish you the best! I do remember that first amabassador training. I guess I will need to check eproperty out.

I too am so sorry to see you both go. Steven, I JUST started taking your classes on blog training this week (I managed to fit in 2 of them), after over a year of blogging on this site, and am shocked to hear you are now gone! You did a great, enthusiastic job of training and I am so disappointed I won't be able to take more classes with you this coming week (which I signed up to do already). You are/were truly an expert! I don't know who Jon is (?? somehow I'm out of the loop there), but this is a big loss to AR, and very distressing. I hope someone else will be picking up the training immediately ??

I wish you and Steven the very best with your new endeavors. It appears you both broke a lot of hearts with this announcement, this must be hard on you as well. Hang in there!!

Howdy and evening to you Doug

Doug, this sure is not at all good news about you and Steven! But I have been wondering how long it would be before the Top AR staff at ActiveRain started leaving. I also know that when the news come out, that it was not really a partnership that was going on.

I know for sure that you and Steven are going to do very well!

Have a good one
Dale in New Hampshire

I am so sad to see both of you go. The loss of Steven will be a huge blow to AR University. I felt he was so incredibly knowledgeable and willing to give that knowledge away! I also use Epropertysites and love the product so I'm excited to see what the two of you can do to improve upon it. Good luck in your endeavors!

I'm so sad to hear this news. I wish you both the best of luck. As a user of epropertysites, I hope you can do for them what you have done for AR. Best wishes.

We will miss you both terribly. Whenever a question, always a ready answer....

Best of luck to you both in your new ventures... I will have to check out the new site.

Not for nothin'...is anyone home?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who hit that "SUGGEST" button! Interesting that the "announcement" post is in position #1, but this post is nowhere to be found...

S0 who works at AR? Just crazy.

This stinks!

Sorry.

Hate to see you guys go and hate to see the changes happening..

I do hope the new position turns out to be a wonderful move for the two of you. :)

They have turned off the reblogs at Active Rain, guys, so do your own copy/ paste and get this out there ....

Now I'm nervous!

Hi Doug... WOW! This is quite a surprise. As one of the original AR Ambassadors, I have watched you grow in your role here at AR since that first Ambassador training and both you and Steven have helped build a foundation that will hopefully support the growth of AR as it moves into what is clearly a time of change, opportunity and new possibilities for AR moving forward.

I read somewhere recently that periods of growth are typically preceded by periods characterized by change. I wish that growth for both you and Steven personally as you transition with your changes, and I know from talking with Bob and Nikesh that they are committed for the same sort of growth for all of us here in The Rain as we grow through the changes. I will miss you both and your contributions to the community... and I optimisitically await what the future holds for all of us!

The changes we are all going through reminds me of one of my favorite AR posts!

Good luck... I use ePropertySites, so I'll be expecting great things from you there!

Hello Guys;

I WILL MISS U!!!! I've been planning on coming back to ARU for a refresher of Steven's class- NOW HE'S GONE! Well you know what they say about procrastination :(

CHANGE & GROWTH IS A POSITIVE thing so "all the Best"! I checked out eproperties & it's very interesting indeed!

Will definately check it out!

Hey Bro, I've been meaning to catch up with you for weeks but been so stinking slammed. As someone that knows you better than many on this network from working side by side with you & Steven day in & out, I know you both poured countless hours into this platform.

I wish you both the best of luck in your new journeys. And, you know how to get me, so you better contact me soon!

Quite an interesting read. What to make of it and what to become of AR, I guess only time will tell. Best wishes!

Doug, thanks for the opportunity to train & learn with you two. Good luck with your endeavors.

Blessings to you as you go forward. We ALL MUST when our time comes. Thanks for the update C!

Wow! I'm going to miss all the Active Rain Gurus. It seems as if everyone is jumping ship.

Blows me away.....I don't like it one bit. However, I will say that change can be good. I love JW. I wish you nothing but the best. Be blessed in your endeavors.....but it does bum me out!

Good luck on your new venture. I know you both will be successful. I learned a great deal from AR University. Thank you for that.

Such a pleasure to meet you last year at the Dallas Raincamp. Was looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday too. I guess not now.

I've used Epropertysites for more than a year now. I guess I'll just hear more from you on that end.

Hey! Does that mean you are coming to Aliso Viejo??? YAY! for me and my Staff~ Congrats! ;)

Oh man, I was looking forward to meeting you guys at raincamp! Oh well. Is there still going to be a raincamp?

You will be missed sooooooooooo much here at active rain. I loved the short amount of time I was able to spend with Steven.....he is awesome. Change is always difficult; but we wish we could keep you here at AR.

Peg, I hope so. That's part of the fun. :-)

Doug,

You were so helpful to me in 2009, and I wish you all the best in your new venture! One of life's constants is change, and we'll just roll with the punches and keep on keeping on.

Mike in Tucson

I'm glad I read this post....Finally got me motivated enough to start the activerain university and to follow you to your next endeavor. Best of luck!

Doug, this makes me so sad.

I will forever be grateful for the time we had at NOLA, eating out and the fabulous AR party that Jon always threw.

Best of success and stay in touch.

More reaffirmation that this community is amazing =) (I have always taught my staff to answer each comment..If I miss some I apologize))

Dagny - its literally impossible for Steven to not help anybody that ask for it.

Barbara - I'm glad to receive positive feedback about our new home!

Lane - It was an honor to begin at AR and start out by talking to our biggest supporters.

Tom - Thats what we love to hear! I appreciate you showing your support in our new company.

Norma - Ever changing, AR will not go away its the community that makes it strong.

Helen - I hope to have an impact on your next experience with eProperty.

Josh and Dawn - We both appreciate the opportunity in growing our relationship =)

Advantage1 - We will still be members here at AR

Ann - RainCamp! Raincamp is awesome for the connections that agents are able to make. Told you page-1 was easy

Corinne - Corporate take-overs will always have an impact but its the community of friends and family here that is worth investing in.

Debb - Steven is an amazing trainer and helping people is what the guy lives for. (I know its cliche but its true)

Frank and karen - I'm looking forward to the opportunities at epropertysites.com (gota give a shout out =)

Jason - I'm sure Bob will take over in the in-term until a replacement can be made. (sorry for the extra work Bob)

Debbie Gartner - Thank you for your complement we to are lucky to have this opportunity presented to us by Chris and Greg.

Thank you Doug and Steven for all that you have done for the members and for ActiveRain. Wishing you both a tremendous amount of success. Please keep us posted and let us know if you need anything.

All the best,

Margaret

Wow...I am with Dagny...can't believe I didn't take more classes....I hope they continue...

I wish both of the the best of luck!!!!

Doug and Steven,

I wish you the best and I have really enjoyed working with you. I truly wish you had stayed at ActiveRain to work with our wonderful community and take ActiveRain to the next level. We will all miss you. Good luck and we wish you tremendous success at your new company.

Niki

MAY

Doug and Steven, wow. More change. It makes us wonder what is really going on, but I think you said it. Change of culture. I just hope and pray that the new culture doesn't forget what made Active Rain a great place to be.

Sharon

Please post the revised schedule for the Dallas RainCamp, Nikesh.

Doug, Steven, I am sorry that I did not get a chance to meet you before while here at AR, I am an oldie but newbie at AR and just recently learned of some of the many trainings you did and the need to review them. I sincerely hope that the new AR corporate powers that be will still make your previous trainings available for all of us here in the community to review. Luckily I have an epropertysite account and will benefit now from your expertise there as well. I am looking forward to it. Wishing you the best in your endeavors.

Oh wow... I've been a rainmaker just 3 or so months and was so amazed by Steven's classes.. I really hope AR does something to fill this gaping hole that will be left behind. Good luck Doug & Steven- you will be MISSED!

It's true - When it rains.... it pours!

Anna Banana - We will miss you to. I promise we will keep in touch.

Irene - Thanks for the good reference! I'm sure our new team we have joined will read this =) Another reason to go to Raincamp guys..

Adam - I don't quite no what to say here.. other then AR does have a wealth of SEO information available beyond Stevens amazing classes. Many Ambassadors like Nestoer & Katerina and Lisa have blogs with invaluable SEO info on them. We again appreciate your support.

Elena - mahalo I was born on the Islands myself.

Adan - I look forward to it.

Peter and Linda - We are very sorry to go as well. Thank you for checking out our new home.

Gilda - I would count on it!

Jaime - Thank you.

Aida - We seem to have a mountain of luck coming our way, thank you.

Christine - It was heart breaking to make this decision =(

Jennifer - We are excited to join the pros over at epropertysites.com they are already making an impact on agents everywhere, and are good people.

Lisa and Donna, I loved your comments. Best of luck with everything.

Lisa - I did notice that and I really appreciate you including our blog link in your comment. It's nice to feel so much support and love in our corner. You are right the greatest thing about AR was the community, there are lots of ways to get business but its impossible to SEO for friendships. You have ben a wonderful person to know, thank you for everything.

I want to thank everybody who have reblogged this post, its tough to find you all as the option to view a AR profile seems to be down so i'm probably missing allot: Judi Barrett, Laura Giannotta, Frank & Karen Baker, Dagny Eason, Barbara-Jo, Ellen Adamns.

Doug,

Good luck in your new venture. I'm sure that you'll give it your energy and do well. :)

Steve

As the "Rose" said just before she collapsed on stage (in the movie "The Rose"): "Where is everybody going....?"

Man oh Man, I've had the pleasure of meeting Steven in person at the very first RainCAmp in San Francisco.... had lunch with him I've taken his class so many times and I was planning to take it again.

I am so sorry to see you both go.

Anyone know the answer? WHo has an IDX Widget on their AR Blog? Who is Ellen Smith?

I know Jonathon, Steven, Bob, Brad, Kerri - none of them have a widget to search for properties on the AR page, in fact I'm not sure they sell real estate.... but Niki does... nice SEO for him.... if I was an AR member living in Bellevue I wouldn't be happy.

Does it matter, I'm not sure, still mulling that over. I was around the last time AR had growing pains and several key - vocal people left ...it survived I'm guess it will again.

Thomas - I still love AR and the employees remaining are amazing individuals who will keep pushing forward.

Jayne - Much apreciated

Leolinda - Aloha and Mahalo =)

Rene - We will still be here as fellow members!

Jim - AR was here for us in the beginning so we just continued the tradition

Ellen - As mentioned above its literally impossible for Steven not to respond to a request for help..he is always there.

Brian - Will do!

Virginia Hepp - We love you! You have ben an inspiration and example that I have shown to each new employee, proving that this was no ordinary sales job but came with the ability to change lives.

Bill - Thank you, love my fellow LO's

Ellen - You got yourself featured, Steven is the best type of Coach, he cares.

Jeff and Jane - We will absolutely meet again and are honored that ePropertySites gave us this opportunity.

Nestor & Katerina - We both will continue to read and learn from your amazing blogs! I agree with you, education is everything when it comes to the success of a Rainmaker or for that matter anything else you try and accomplish in life. They still have Bob and his energy is usually like a magnet where he will attract more good people and speakers.

C Tann-Starr - haha It was awesome meeting you and your kids at Raincamp. We will keep in touch.

Al and Peggy - We will miss being a greater part of AR more then you could know, but look forward to our new challenges and team.

Laurie - Niki is very resourceful and there are good people at Market Leader who will support and help him as needed.

Laura - If the head of the snake changes direction then the body must change with it.

Bill - When we determined that it was best to leave...we where terrified at the thought. Chris and Greg the owners of epropertysites.com have welcomed us like family!

Gwen - We know and are sorry.

Gary - Damn chemistry, I was more of a physics guys =)

William - We appreciate your kind words, its nice hearing that we have had such a wonderful positive impact on so many lives. Our new emails are doug@epropertymail.com and steven@epropertymail.com

Elizabeth - We thought long and hard about this move, maybe its time for new blood to move in.

Laura - I am confident that Niki will direct AR in the direction that he believes in his heart is best.

Cindy - With our loss comes the opportunity for new people to step up and shine. I couldn't ask for a better reference thank you.

Ann - I would not take anything back for the world! ActiveRain changed my life for the better and I know ePropertySites will do the same.

Good luck Doug and Steven! Steven, Thank you so far for all of your training help. Unfortuntely I was just about to retake the classes to check out what i miised the first time through. I should have retaken them sooner that later. Carol

It will be interesting to see how AR changes...my experience with Market Leader is not what it has been with Active Rain.

Good luck on your journey to the next phase of your life. I hope it is profitable for you.

My best and sincerest wishes for you both to thrive. Thanks for all you have done in the past and undoubtedly will do in the future.

Doug - all the best to you as you move on. We never met or talked but I know for certain that your contributions to the community were intregral to the team who made AR what it is today. Thank you so much for that! :)

❦ A great big thanks for all you both have done over the years here in the Rain, and best wishes in all your future endeavors.

But I have to admit Doug I'll miss your smiling face!
Pamela

See you at your new local, I just signed up.

You guys will be missed here! I use epropertysites and glad to hear that's where you will be.....can't wait to see what great things happen over there.

I had the opportunity to take a few classes from Steven & it was invaluable. I never had the opportunity to work with or meet Doug. I wish you both the best. I checked out epropertysites just now - not impressed - yet - will keep looking at it.

In the meantime, I hope AR continues building on its success. Change is scary.

We all do what we have to do. Best wishes to both of you.

Wishing you the best. . . .

Doug...

A very classy exit. Best of luck on your next endeavor.

Doug- Wowsa ! Just got wind of this now. Am sorry to hear about this as it is certainly a loss for the AR community. It was a pleasure to meet you at Philly Rain Camp (pre-party and Raincamp itself) . I wish you well in your next endeavor !

I am a little bit out of the loop with the new management at AR.

Who is the new management ? Who is still there ?

Will check out your next place and let's stay in touch on Twitter, FB and the like and perhaps we will see each other at the real estate conferences down the road !!

~ Chris and Stephanie

Steven and Doug, we will miss you at AR. We enjoyed your classes and are just scratching the surface of improving our blog. We heavily utilize ePropertySites.com and will look forward to your expert influence there. We are excited to see what you bring to the their already great services!

Sincerely,

Brian & Chloe Kissinger, Kissinger Bigatel & Brower REALTORs

Change and growth is a constant factor in life. Best of luck to you both.

Thanks for all I've learned from you. We will miss you both. Go rock your new world!!

Sad to see them go. But change is inevitable. I just hope things continue and get better.

Congratulations - - sorry to see you both leave AR, but I do love epropertysites! Change can be rejuvenating and I have learned to roll with just about ANYTHING! Wish you all the best and looking forward to seeing what you come up with in your latest adventure.

"Now that Jon’s active role in the network has ended Steven and I have decided to find a new vision."

Good luck! :)

I am sorry to hear this Steve has always been so Helpful and I have always enjoyed his classes ..Good Luck to both of you

HelpfulHannah

Steve, Steve & Douglas, I wish you the best of luck with your new endeavor. I am sure that you will be just as successful if not more. Please keep in touch.

Best of luck to you. I have not heard of epropertysites but will absolutely look them up.

Doug & Steve, here's wishing you the best at ePropertySites.com. Will miss the SEO training.

Doug and Steven- All I know of blogging and SEO I learned from AR, which must mean from you. Good luck where you're going and many many thanks for your dedication.

Good Luck in your future endeavors! I will definitely checkout ePropertySites.com

I hope your new venture is a successful one! I know it will be and you'll both be missed here at AR.

Best of luck to you in your future endeavours! Thanks!

We definitely must keep in touch. :-)

Well, just when I got used to logging into my account, commenting and a sharing a few of my own blogs, you leave. I'll miss you. Thanks for teaching me this stuff and I wish you the best.

Oh, wow... out of the loop for a bit and what a shock. Thank you so much for all you have done on AR. I wish you the best in your new endeavor but you will be sorely missed here.

Congrats Doug! It was great to meet you last year in Philly. Maybe we'll meet up again.

So eproperty sites is starting a blog platform to integrate into their websites???

Sorry to hear about all these changes and things going down at AR, but hope it's for the best. Good luck with your new venture and keep in touch.

So sorry to hear you're leaving. While I love change, there are times when it makes me a little nervous. This is one of those time. I'm sure your future endeavors will be just as successful. Best wishes!

Steven- you are such a tool...no...a big tool....thats not right, you were a useful tool to help all of us achieve better SEO ranking and readable blogs. Thanks.

Melissa - We felt that it was simply time to move on to our next challenge and ePropertySites already has an amazing base and product line to build from.

Nellie - We will continue to support the AR community however we can, we love you all =)

Joan - Steven's patients comes with the true desire to help and that is what makes him the best.

Wanda - Love it, that was Stevens original idea for a title (onward and upward) I vetoed it though heh

Asheville - I see you understand the advantages of the SEO gained from your name being a real estate search term. We thank you for your complement and blessings.

Jon - Nikesh will no doubt accomplish amazing things with AR, the change in culture is inevitable with a different leader. ePropertySites is a great fit for what Steven and I believe in.

Susan - Ahh Atlantic City! We will meet again.

Michael - It has ben an amazing ride and should continue to be.

Tanya - You spoke my heart.

Bill - We will continue to help the real estate community wherever we are.

Nancy - I'm glad to hear of so many agents already using the company that we are moving to. See you on the other side!

Edith - I appreciate you understanding and crediting the people behind the curtain that put their heart and soul into this community.

C Tann-Starr - Don't think your going to escape us anytime soon.

Gail - As long as Bob is around you will be in good hands.

Pat - I have no doubt about it!

Donna - There are many employees that worked behind the scene to help build AR to what it is today, our community builders are the visible faces and get most the credit =) I challenge you to come back to ePropertySites in two months for a return visit.

Suzanne - Change is a constant and not always a bad thing.

Marchel - Ahh so long ago was that training, I appreciate you checking out our new home.

Amy - Jon was the founder of AR, Bob will probably take up the training and Steven will always answer questions sent to him via email

Terrie - The hardest decision we have ever made. This was not just leaving a company it was leaving friends and family.

Dear Doug,

I am so sorry you guys are leaving AR. It really won't be the same without you. You guys were a valuable asset to the site and were always very helpful. I wish you the very best of luck on your new adventure.

hugs,

Betina

Doug,

I am sad that we are no longer working together. You know that I have the utmost respect for you and believe that you are an amazing and inspirational leader. I wish you the best in your new job.

Doug and Steve, so sorry to hear that you're leaving the AR community. We all benefitted from the knowledge you shared. Wishing you the best in your new endeavors and hope you succeed in fulfilling all youara dreams and aspirations with this move, but you'll be sorely missed!

MAY

I hate it when companies get NEW management ... and the change in personel starts! It is my hope that AR continues to succeed!

Good luck at your new venture; I'm SURE you'll both do well!

Doug, I wish you and Steve great success. Will you have training for us at your new place? We'll all be there sooner or laterr!

A Market Leader sales rep called me the other day. She was was on a roll and I couldn't stop her from reading her script. She was trying to sign me up for some program she didn't understand or couldn't explain. She couldn't answer any questions outside of her script.

After about six or seven minutes of her meandering droning, I got the impression that her script assumes that Realtors are ignorant fools that can't accomplish anything on their own, therefore they must sign up for Market Leader for salvation. I'm ALWAYS open for new marketing channels, but I didn't have an hour to spare in hope that this pitch lady will get to the point. Maybe I'll call them back and try to get a knowledgeable sales person.

During the sales call I kept thinking that since Market Leader has now taken over Activerain I wonder if this is how Activerain will be marketed. If Activerain gets destroyed, the fantastic model that the ousted founders created will re-emerge under different new ownership, a different name, and different leadership.

Sounds like we need to change the name of this site to "ActiveChange".

I know I am starting to look at my options in the real estate world for new and evolving companies on the horizon to team up withy as well. I have built my resume to where it is much better used in the national arena.

Like they said in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "Goodbye, so long, and thanks for all the fish"! Thanks for the idea for today's blog: http://actvra.in/bfK

Dagny - We will still be members of AR and are willing to answer any questions.

Sheila - Thanks for checking out ePropertySites.com, our new home =)

Brian - I would agree with you, it is interesting but not surprising that they featured several post from other agents about our departure but not ours. Culture change I guess.

Teri - I love your signature line! Glad to see you back in the blogging world.

Greg - Of the original group, Bob and Kerrie. Niki will no doubt bring in good people and there are some employees like Kelly P that keep the place running.

Judi - We hope so to!

Dagny - We tried to leave without a $60,000 eulogy..but its probably because we mention the company that we are moving to that they are trying to keep this underwraps?

Jody - As long as Bob is here nothing to drastic will change.

Steve - I appreciate your post and your optimism for a good future!

Adell - Thank you for already checking our new family out! I'm sure more classes will become available at ARU

Jeremy - Long time no see, your right about the countless hours...three years of employment and I did not take 1 day of vacation...

Petra - Time will tell, AR will not go away but it will evolve.

Brian - We learned from all of you as well, thanks back.

Diane - It has ben a blessing to work here.

Maria - Bob is still left =)

Larry - It bums us out as well. Yes change can be good.

Dawn - The amazing thing about this community is the freedom and sharing of knowledge and information.

Loreena - Raincamp was FUN! Dallas welcomed us like no other RC. I love to hear that prominent members like our Ambassador's are already using ePropertySites.com and seeing success.

MAY

WOW - I loved Steven's classes and was looking forward to meeting him at Dallas Rain Camp. I use eProperty sites and love it! I guess I will hear more later on the next turn in the road for you at eProperties. Good luck.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and support as Douglas and I make this difficult transition. It is my goal to conitnue to provide real estate proffesionals with the very best blog training that can be found online today. It will take a couple of weeks to get every thing up and running the way I would like it at Epropertysites.com. They have a great staff and a solid platform with reliable technology, so my confidence is high in this regard. I have no doubt that I will be teaching people how to become Google Heros again very soon. I will be sure to let all of you know when my classes have become available again. Until next time folks.......STAY BEAUTIFUL!

Doug, it was a pleasure to meet you and Steven at the AR event before KW's Family Reunion. I wish you much luck in your new venture!

MAY

Many thanks to both of you for your many contributions to Activerain. When leadership changes, the staff often does, too, so I guess this was inevitable. Good luck to you both in your future endeavors.

WOW YOU GUYS!! You guys will be sorely missed - both of you are amazing and I'm sure have done INCREDIBLE things with ActiveRain... WAHHHHHHH :(

Vickie - Thank you, we feel loved! Steven will continue doing what he loves, training agents how to be successful online.

Mike - Thats all we can both do my friend. I'm glad our training had a good impact on you this is the best kind of reward for us.

Joe - I love it, we will see you there.

Missy - I will always remember that day. The times I had with your son and daughter will stay with me forever. Very sad day for us as well.

Margaret - The fact that you are offering us help while using the word "us" proves how amazing this network of agents are. Real people =)

Deborah - Steven will continue to teach about blogging and SEO that can be applied to any platform or website.

Nikesh - Thank you I know you will take the reigns of AR and do well.

Frank & Sharon - A change in culture forces you to adapt to that culture or change your environment. I don't think they will forget

John - Our previous training are not really available as we did all live classes. Fortunately you do have a ePropertySites.com account so you will still have access to our training.

David - I'm willing to bet that Bob will take over training until a replacement can be found. Bob is more then capable and knows his stuff.

Brad - You know it buddy. I miss our late chats together.

Steve - It's amazing how you can make something work if you place your heart and soul into it.

Charles - They are going simply to a new location to continue the same work

Susan - It will survive again, and yes I knew the answer =)

Carol - Bob will do an amazing job at the classes, he is a very good teacher.

Christopher - I agree it will be interesting to see how AR evolves.

Bill - Thanks for the luck, we have never had personal profit on our minds honestly. I gave up a tremendous amount to work here at AR and money is not why i'm leaving.

Craig - I appreciate that, just because your behind the scene does not mean you do not play a part. We will meet and talk someday!

Lee & Pamela - hah I could send you the file for your background -)

Bob - I really appreciate that my friend, we look forward to helping you any way we can.

Ann - We can't wait either! I'll look you up once we are up and running.

Christine - Change is always scary, but also adventurous. Keep your eyes peeled we got some awesome stuff coming up.

Barb - Thats the truth, even if you don't like it.

Richard - We still love this community and will not slam such an amazing community of friends and family

Douglas, the only certainty about change is change itself! Best of luck to you and Steven in your future endeavors!

I just received the email from Steven, and am so sad to see you have gone. The classes were great! Thanks so much, and God Bless you in your new adventure. :)

OCT

Sorry to see both of you left AR. I know you will be successful in your next adventure. Best wishes.

JAN

Howdy and evening Douglas

Douglas, Welcome to the New Year of 2012! Hope y'all had a mighty fine and safe New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year to you and your family!

May each and everyday bring you and your family an abundant of blessings for the rest of 2011 and all the way though the New Year of 2012!

Have a good one
Dale in New Hampshire

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Douglas Ching

Kenmore, WA

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Address: Bothell, wa, 98021

Cell Phone: (206) 218-8939

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