Do people sow or reap Quality of Life? When measuring Key Wester’s Quality of Life do people prefer value given or payment taken? Is Key West’s Quality of Life measured by Givers or Takers? Scores of old-timers lament the loss of the good ole days; sour well-water, no air conditioning and mosquitos. Scores of new-timers lament the good new days; the high cost of rent, limited job market and low relative wages. Is there Quality of Life in any of this?
The First Law
The Law of Value - Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value then you take in payment
At 2.5 miles by 4.5 miles Key West would barely qualify as a modest sized suburb in any medium sized city. Yet within this area, Key West has four distinct regions and twice that number of neighborhoods. The region where I live is called Old Town but it encompasses four distinct neighborhoods; Old Town proper, The Meadows, Truman Annex and the WNW part of Bahama Village. The densely packed homes are predominantly wood frame with construction dates between the 1880’s to the 1930’s.
The Law of Value. From The Go-Giver - The first law of stratospheric success.
My business (farm) region includes the above four neighborhoods plus three more to the south; Casa Marina, Old Town – South of Truman (For many years referred to as The Cuban area) and the WSW part of Bahama Village. Again, densely packed areas consisting of wood frame or concrete block construction, particularly the Casa Marina area, with construction dates between the 1920’s and today.
For many years the neighborhoods Casa Marina, Old Town - South and the WSW part of Bahama Village, were the outback, scruff and grasslands. Eventually, the well-to-do of Old Town built large home on sizeable lots so they could get away from the high density living of Old Town. And due to the rare but tragic fires that sometimes ravaged Old Town, homes were built of concrete and concrete block.
Which area has the highest Quality of Life?
A while ago I approached a woman interested in selling her Casa Marina home. From the onset, she insisted on a premium because of where she lived. She had determined the worth of the value she had added to her home and concluded the payment due her was above the norm. I performed a complete review of all sold homes and the subset of all sold homes equal to hers in the four priciest above neighborhoods, identifying exactly the payment due to her. Not surprisingly, any premium due to her based upon location was minimal.
I also showed her the added value I would bring to the selling process; namely, in addition to local, regional and national exposure, the ability of my company, Re/Max Keys Connection to promote her property on the international market, from where many buyers are being found. I also spotlighted my skills in broadly exposing her property through the internet, social media, print and personal efforts.
She disagreed with my pricing of her home (seeing no "value" in the additional attributes I brought) and said she would wait 6 months for the market to “turn around”. Two weeks later another Realtor listed the home for sale, at an 18% premium over my recommended price. Today, 450 days later, the woman is still the proud owner of a lovely un-sold home in the Casa Marina neighborhood.
Such is the difference between telling an owner what they need to hear to sell their property and what they want to hear so they will list their property. In the first, the owner benefits, in the second, the Realtor, by virtue of for sale sign advertising, benefits.
The work value I demonstrated and promised was below the True Worth she insisted on taking for her home. Therein lays the dilemma – Who determines your True Worth?
In 2013, a worldly couple invited me and my company plus other realtors and their companies to a sort of pre-listing tug-of-war. We were all given the green light to promote the property. At the end of the 90 day period, a winner would be chosen to formally list and sell the Old Town property.
I put into play my Premium Marketing Plan that included exposure on the internet, two property specific web sites and social media. The owners were kept well aware of each move, in fact authorizing photos, virtual tours and receiving url links to their property’s web sites. Around day 65, while briefly out of town, I received notice from a third party that another Realtor and company had been selected to sell the property. The owners never contacted me.
To this day, January 2014, the property remains for sale. No virtual tours, property specific web sites or social media have been employed to promote the property. How then did the owners determine the value of my Plan and the merit of my company against the promises of the other Realtor and company, particularly since commission payment was equal?
In both of these instances, my True Worth, as measured by those giving the payment, was zero – or less given my outlays of time, energy and money. Yet, my True Worth, as measured by how much more I gave in value then I took in payment was 100.
Plus, in these two circumstances, the owners were reaping Quality of Life. They had decided that their True Worth was going to be determined by payment received, not in value given.
Not all payments are tangible.
Throughout 2013, I promoted a science program and project to four Key West elementary, middle and senior high schools under the heading of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The Navy League of the US, of which I am a multi-year member, had initiated a nationwide STEM program and I was the STEM coordinator in Key West. The net result was over 225 students from Grades 6 – 12 benefitted from this high end science project that focused on teamwork and modular learning.
My payment? A framed certificate was presented to me, and 85 other volunteers, during the annual Community Foundation of the Florida Keys (CFFK) 2013 volunteer awards luncheon as the Volunteer of the Year from the local Navy League chapter. There’s nothing like being appreciated for voluntarily giving your time and energy.
Conclusion
Lesson Learned? Most of the time, the best and possibly only person who knows your True Worth is you. Not a boss who values you for the income you put in his pocket. Not a head in the clouds client who needs to boast of being listed for $1M. Therefore, reward yourself for sharing your value. A good beer, a steak, a movie and gelato (two scoops). Share your reward. Take a friend for no reason other than to be a friend.
Next up - The 2nd Law - The Law of Compensation.