By Daniel Rothamel on June 7, 2009
I am a beach bum.
I LOVE the beach.
I guess it all goes back to my birth. I was born in Port Jefferson, NY. My mom was a lifeguard at the Brookhaven Township beach before I was born, and my Dad spent much of his life on beaches, until we moved to Virginia when I was 8.
As a young child, my Mom would take me to the beach A LOT. Mainly because she worked from home, and because we lived about 30 minutes from the beach. As soon as I could walk, my Mom got a little worried. …
Posted in Real Estate | Tagged NAR
By Daniel Rothamel on March 22, 2009
Creatures of habit
Basketball referees, all sports officials, are creatures of habit. We tend to do the same thing the same way each time. It is a big part of what we do. This applies not only to what is done on the court, but to preparation as well. . .
One of the little things about officiating that you won’t learn from any rule book is packing your equipment bag. I would say it is one of the most fundamental aspects of being a basketball referee. Seriously. If you can’t your stuff together, get organized, and get to a game…
Posted in Coaching, Highlights, Real Estate | Tagged preparation, professionalism
By Daniel Rothamel on January 22, 2009
When I went to the 2007 NAR Convention and Expo in Las Vegas, one of the most interesting and valuable speakers I saw was former NCAA Head Football Coach, Lou Holtz. Coach Holtz talked about a lot of stuff, most of it not specific to real estate, but all of it valuable.
One thing that has stuck with me ever since I heard him speak is the story he told about his time at Notre Dame University. Coach Holtz was extremely successful at Notre Dame, especially early in his career. After he left Notre Dame, he was asked what his…
Posted in Coaching, Marketing, Point & Purpose, Real Estate
By Daniel Rothamel on December 18, 2008
I am a musical anachronism
Kari and I are a little bit odd in our musical tastes. Oftentimes, we think we might have been born about 30 years too late. At 28 years old, ask us who are favorite singers are, and no one from the last 25 years is like to make the top 5.
This became readily apparent a little over a week ago when we attended the Neil Diamond concert here in Charlottesville. Our last three concerts in Charlottesville have been, Neil Diamond, Elton John, and Billy Joel.
Billy Joel was outstanding, Elton was just ok. Honestly, we…
Posted in Coaching
By Daniel Rothamel on December 4, 2008
I know you’ve heard the comparisons before. . .
“The Internet is going to disintermediate REALTORS just like it did travel agents.” Such a comparison is easy to make, especially given the fact that the man who shook up the travel industry with Travelocity.com also started a site you might have heard of– Zillow.com.
I am now of the opinion, however, that REALTORS should try to be more like travel agents, well the successful travel agents, anyway.
An eye-opening look into the travel industry
So the other night, Kari and I were watching the Bravo channel (when we watch TV, we…
Posted in Coaching, Highlights, Marketing, News, Real Estate, Realtors | Tagged Real Estate
By Daniel Rothamel on November 13, 2008
Basketball on the brain…
My first college basketball games of the season are just a few days away, and high school scrimmages start next week. The officiating season has already begun, so I’ve got basketball on the brain. Don’t worry, though; I’m still thinking about real estate. . .
People tend to watch referees when they blow the whistle, and pretty much ingore them the rest of the time. Referees are okay with that, believe me. If, however, people watched the referees when they weren’t blowing the whistle, they would gain a new perspective on the game. One of the things that…
Posted in Ethics, Real Estate | Tagged ethics, Real Estate
By Daniel Rothamel on October 21, 2008
Thanks for the photo, Dale.
My Dad is smart
I’ve talked about my Dad’s honesty before, but my Dad is also a very smart guy. He won’t tell you that. He’ll tell you that he was barely an average student through high school and college, and that he goofed-off a lot more than he should have. Since I know he won’t tell you, I’m going to tell you that my Dad is a smart guy, and I’m going to share with you one of the best pieces of advice he ever gave me. . .
My Dad, the coach
My dad was a…
Posted in Opinions | Tagged Marketing, Real Estate
By Daniel Rothamel on October 10, 2008
I don’t know if you’ve ever read the blog, “Stuff White People Like,” but you should. I have the book, and it makes for great bathroom reading. I wish I had thought of it.
I have, however, thought of an entry for “Stuff White People Like.” I am going to call it “#347: Lists of the Top ‘x’ of something”
Man, “Top” lists are popular. It seems like every magazine has one (People’s is probably most famous). Sportscenter has one at the end of the show every day. Entire college alumni groups wait every week in anticipation of seeing their…
Posted in Awards, New Media, Real Estate, Social Media
By Daniel Rothamel on September 28, 2008
Create something.
Go ahead, I’ll wait. . .
Having trouble coming up with something? Why? I just said, “create something.” I didn’t give you any crazy rules, or tell you what you had to create, just go and make something. That should have been easy.
But it’s not.
One of the funny things about creativity is that it functions best when it is all bound up, when it has walls to bang up against, when it has a space that needs to be filled, constraints to keep it in check.
Scientists are so creative because they follow very strict rules
All of…
Posted in Coaching | Tagged blogging
By Daniel Rothamel on August 22, 2008
photo credit
If We Stop Now…
For all we have accomplished, for all that blogging and new media have done to change the real estate industry, we have done nothing if we stop now. If we rest, satisfied with what has been achieved, if we think that everyone else isn’t going to catch up, then we are in big trouble.
If you want proof of this, look no further than the American Olympians. USA Basketball can tell you better than most what happens if you believe that what you are doing works, so just stick with it, no need to improve it. On the other hand.…
Posted in Coaching | Tagged professionalism, success
Consumerism, Geo-mapping columnist
Marketing columnist