Perhaps, perhaps...perhaps

I am looking into my “next step” in life, or trying to find my way through something more widely known as a “mid-life crisis”. I of course have to have this crisis during the worst economic recession since 1929. So I’m looking at all things new and old and feeding my serial entrepreneurship.

I have been making my money in the real estate biz with Keller Williams Realty since 2003 and my family has been successful in real estate investing for many years prior to that. It’s what we know and we thought was , as many others have, safe, as the saying goes “safe as houses”. Well, that saying needs to be revised.

For those of us who have made a nice living in real estate, times have been tough, but fortunately things are on the upswing as I have heard. For me, I have many talents and many interests, real estate only being one of them. So when times got rough, I did as my father has always told me to do, be diverse. So I diversified, and diversified, and diversified again, now it seems, I’m spread too thin and I’m considering going back to Real Estate sales, to be aka “Realtor Extraordinaire” yet again.

I got out of real estate sales because I was burned by a client, and burned out in general. So I started teaching agents, building agent websites, concentrating on Ebay sales and motorcycles, using the phrase ”do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” as my mantra. It hasn’t been easy. And well, I’ve been beaten up and spit out of so many businesses in my life I’m uncertain of my passions, and what I love. I’m a little gun shy and afraid of the future. And that’s not really a good state of mind to be in when starting a new or old, as the case may be, business endeavor. But maybe hesitation is what I need, “err on the side of caution” and don’t be so gung-ho that you over enthuse yourself out of business, which seems to be the trend of my business career I have never been at a loss for enthusiasm.

I participated in a swap meet this past weekend at Blue Ridge Riders in Asheville, hoping to clean out some inventory from my shed and storage bin and put some cash in my pocket. It was fun; it was also a reminder for me how much I love the motorcycle industry, and riders of all shapes and sizes no matter what make the wheels are. It made me want to get my Honda CBR 600 F3 back together and actually ride in 09, which I haven’t yet-sad very sad. But I also realized I’ve done most things for the wrong reasons. Be it what someone said I should do, or for the money, or to feel important, or stroke my ego. I realized that I will be successful regardless of what I do if I feel passionate about it. I also see that I have always gone back to motorcycles when I was in trouble, needed a job, needed cash, or needed friends. And it has always saved me. Well, I need to be saved…again, but how to begin…again.

Real estate was a great payday, it was hard work but it was a good payday for good work. There are very few things that will do that. I think I got burned out for the same reasons I mentioned above.” You should” “You could”…whatever. I forgot what I wanted, and honestly I bought my own BULLSHIT. I made a fortune, and lost it as well. I bought and sold, leveraged and recruited, built and destroyed, and burned myself out, Big time.

So why go back? Maybe I miss the money? Maybe I miss being the “Mayor”? Maybe I miss being a rock star? Well…DUH! And hindsight being what it is, I need to stay out of the politics and do what I do best, and reap the rewards. Take my time and sock it all away, after of course I pay my school loans, back taxes, and overdue credit card bills…oh I’m sure there’s more…THEN I’ll sock it all away , and restore my bike to its original glory…how much time do I have before I'm in the black?

“So how come you’re talking about 2 different things” You may ask? Well, I live in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in one of the most desirable small towns in Western North Carolina, Hot Springs- population 625. During the summer the poulation bursts to a few thousand...motorcyclists.

Motorcyclists of every ilk come here 11 months out of the year to partake of the twisty-turnies and the mineral baths and a cold beer break. (A nice day trip is described well in this blog)If you decide you want to stay and camp that’s ok too. But what do you do if you want to stay, put down roots and own part of this indigo treasure? Buy Real Estate.

That’s where I come in. The “Biker Chick Realtor” that’s it! Let’s go look at property on 2 wheels and make sure that we can get up the driveway, wrench on the bikes and appreciate the views with a cold beverage after a hard day on the road. Maybe combining these two will give me what I yurn for and what I need, and provide a unique service to those chosen few what are like me? Hmmm?

Sometimes you have to be stripped down to bare nothingness to hear your inner voices screaming, or maybe its an 600cc inline 4 at 5000 rpm that you hear, that you must pay attention.

As the song says “Perhaps, perhaps… perhaps”. I’ll let you know.