Hi Jim Duquette, Welcome to Active Rain and congratulations on a great first blog post. Active Rain is a great place to meet, learn from and interact with awesome, like minded professionals while getting info on other real estate markets.

Hi Jim Duquette if a Realtor is a Ball Of Gas or a Shining Star, the truth will all surface very soon after work begins.... that's a fact...

and welcome to ActiveRain....it's a great place to learn, share, market and network....and I hope you enjoy it and benefit from all of it...

Hi Jim Duquette ,  Welcome to Active Rain and congratulations on your first blog. A very nice blog!

A lot of very spot on points ! Our attendance is soaring in Pre-licensing classes !

Jim Duquette 

Great job on this post love the title. Welcome ot Active Rain. Glad you are here. 

Jim welcome to ActiveRain and congratulations on posting your first blog on this site.

Jim- first of all welcome to ActiveRain and thank you for writing such a wonderful first blog post here.  You really chose a great time to enter the world of Real Estate, didn't you? LOL  I told an agent I know who entered when you did that the best thing is that they were learning everything and anything about how to survive.  Well done and hope to see more posts from you. 

Many times I have said that you would do well to have a four-year degree in psychology if you are taking on real estate. Congratulations on your first post and on making the wise decision to join ActiveRain.

Welcome to ActiveRain! I hope you find as much enjoyment in blogging as I do.... Very catchy title. Follow me if I can be of any assistance to you on the Central Coast of California. 

Yes Jim, there is a lot of gas out there, sounds like you have lived through the tough years and prospered, hopefully your clients all recognize you as a Shining Star!

Welcome to Active Rain, looking forward to reading many more of your posts, let me know if there is anything that I can do to help as you get started here.
Bob

Welcome to active rain. Good luck in achieving our goals on active rain.

Hi Jim! Welcome to the world of Activerain, may your blogging  create a whole new chapter in your Real Estate Career.

Jim, there is something wonderful about new agent energy that I wish I still had!  But you're right.  There has to be a supportive broker/manager/trainer/mentor at the newbie's elbow.

Welcome to ActiveRain, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your insight into our industry.

Hi Jim! Welcome to ActiveRain and Congratulations on your first blog post.

Welcome to Active Rain Jim Duquette!

Thanks for an exceptionally well written first post here in the 'Rain!

We like your writing style!

As REALTORS® who have been here for almost 10 years, it's well worth it!

We wish you great success with your blog posts and networking with other members of Active Rain!

We clicked the “Follow” button on your profile so that we will be alerted to your future blog posts and can read and comment on them, and we invite you to "follow us" - should you be interested - by clicking the “Follow” button you see underneath our photo to the left. There is no requirement or obligation for you to do so, but we would be honored if you choose to do so!

Being “Followed” by another member gains you 50 points, and following another member gains you 10 points.

More information on the Active Rain points system can be found at this post:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/4563477/the-activerain-point-system

This will tell you what activities in the ‘Rain earn points.

If you have a “Rainmaker” account, your blog posts will be visible to the public - a very 

good thing.  You will get the most “bang for your buck” if you “optimize” your blog posts. More information about how to optimize your blog posts can be found at this link:

https://activerainuniversity.com/unit/write-a-blog-post/?id=4863

Once you reach 500,000 points you are entitled to a FREE Rainmaker account.

If you are currently paying for a Rainmaker account - then the sooner you reach the 500,000 point mark, the better for your wallet!

As we mentioned earlier, one of the best ways to get started is to read through blog posts and questions, identify members who you like to read, follow them, comment on their posts or respond to their questions, and post or ask questions yourself!

Two final links that may be of interest to you:

The Active Rain Leaderboard:

http://activerain.com/social/leaderboard

and the Active Rain Top Bloggers:

http://activerain.com/topbloggers

We look foward to seeing your name in lights!

If you have any questions that we can help answer for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us - we’re always happy to be of help if we can!

                                Thank you   Jim Duquette 

Welcome to ActiveRain! This is a very realistic look at being new in the market - it IS tough, and you should definitely have a mentor to help in the beginning. 

I can relate Jim Duquette 

I found your excellent post ( I missed ) through Kathy Streib's What I Learned This Week At ActiveRain-August 14-August 20, 2016. 

I also got here by way of Kathy Streib's post. Welcome and hope to see a lot more of you around here. Good first post!!!

Good morning Jim Duquette , welcome to ActiveRain and congratulations on your first post. If we can carry the energy of a brand new real estate agent through the years, we will come on top. Great thoughts!

Another great post...I can see why Kathy chose to highlight it this week!

Hi Jim

Welcome to ActiveRain and congrats on getting featured by Pat in her weekly list. I look forward to learning more about you, your business and your community. You're off to a great start.

Starting in 2008 must have been a reall challenge. Tough times for so many!

Jeff

Great 1st post Jim Duquette and welcome to Activerain... And I'm glad I caught this via Kathy Streib 's weekly list. I was fortunate starting out. My county manager assigned 3 great people to keep an eye out for me. I had no idea at the time what a blessing that was and I think I drove all 3 of them nuts with questions. We all started somewhere, like the beginning!, and without help and guidance I never would have survived. One of my jokes in classes is, "Oh you started in 2008?" We won't have to retrain you ;O) Best of everything and I look forward to more of your posts!

Hello Jim

Congrats on your first post and welcome to the ActiveRain network.

We are currently selling a boat and our broker is....lets just say VERY DISAPPOINTING. So frustrating. 

Loved your post! Great information and advice!

Welcome to ActiveRain and blogging here!   Excellent post and making Kathy Streib 's weekly list is a great start!

Welcome to ActiveRain Jim Duquette .

This is The Best place to learn, share and build relationships with like-minded professionals.

Jim Duquette - we all were new at some point in time.

And my two cents - to be successful in business (and life) a mentor is must....

There are too many brokers who rely on completion of the state licensing requirements to assume competence.  There is also an association that acts as if its job is to con the public into thinking all members are experts. 

The harsh reality is that, get a license, pay your dues, and, Boom -- you're a REALTOR. 

Until a period of competent mentorship is a requirement, people who passed the test and paid the dollars will continue to add to the fabulous public perception that real estate agents are all like Phil Dunphy.

Welcome to ActiveRain, interesting and enjoyable first blog post, look forward to seeing more from you.