It’s a little-known fact that Microsoft founders Bill Gates’ and Paul Allen’s first “big idea” was to build a business around collecting traffic data for engineers. The company was called Traf-O-Data—no joke—and one can only imagine Gates rallying around the dream of “a light post on every corner, of every street, processing traffic everywhere.”
But, the company failed. Read the full blog post from Jay Papasan on the KellerINK blog.
By Matt Fetick, associate, Keller Williams Brandywine Valley market center
In our fast paced, technology driven world, we are bombarded on a daily basis with the latest and greatest tech tools. It can be simply overwhelming trying to keep up with all of the options. Not to mention the cool-factor that goes along with being the first to roll out a sleek, new app.
When I’m tempted to try out or implement a new app, fresh out of the box, I give it my Technology Gut Check: First, will that technology save me time? And second, will it save me money? If it does one or the other, or more importantly both, then I’m inclined to give it a try. Here are my Top 5 Mobile Apps that have passed my Technology Gut Check:
1. 
Drop box: Used as a cloud-based filing cabinet for all of our team’s documents. Whether I’m on my mobile phone, iPad or desktop, I have access to every agreement of sale, disclosure and appraisal. (https://www.dropbox.com/) – Available on iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry
2. Evernote: The best place to take notes, save web clips and manage prospects in progress. You can share a unique notebook with each prospect and track their home buying or selling progress. (http://www.evernote.com/) Available on iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry
3. Fax burner: This mobile app allows you to shoot a photo of any document with your mobile phone, converts it to a PDF and can fax it directly from your mobile phone or iPad. (http://www.faxburner.com/) – Available on iPhone only.
4. Shoeboxed: This awesome app manages your receipts. Simply take a photo with your mobile phone of the receipt and email it to Shoeboxed. You’ll have a digital copy and using Optical Character Recognition or OCR for short, it will file it and create an expense report. (https://www.shoeboxed.com/) – Available on iPhone and Android.
5. Dragon Dictation: A voice-to-text free, mobile software. This app lets you dictate emails, texts and documents and then transcribes them for you. This app is great for realtors on-the-go, because we can talk much faster than we type. (http://www.nuancemobilelife.com/) – Available on iPhone.
Next time you think of technology, choose an app that isn’t only fun and cool, but rewards you with more freedom, time and money.
The mood was as bright as the sunny Orlando, Fla. sky on the last day of Keller Williams Realty’s Family Reunion. And like the 13 years before, it ended with the annual Inspirational Brunch. Led by Mo Anderson, Vice-Chairman of the Board, the brunch was an opportunity for associates to come together as a family, to share stories that embody the culture of a unique company, and honor those KW Family Members who have overcome challenges, fought through difficulties and made a mark in the hearts of so many.
“The spirit in this company is, and will continue to be, unshakeable,” announced Anderson from the stage, “you have held one another in troubled times, and YOU have molded the stories that touch our hearts, year after year. Today we would like to share four uplifting stories with you”
In the Arms of Family
Taking the stage first was Diane Harbison, operating principal in the Palm Beach, Fla. market center, Brian Wilder, associate in the Palm Beach, Fla. market center and his wife Jennifer.
Diane is a grandmother to four baseball-loving grandsons who were on the last leg of a five-week tournament trip. In the early evening, with Jennifer driving and Brian asleep in the passenger seat, their right tire blew, instantly causing the SUV they were driving to roll five times until it landed upside down. Miraculously, Mason, the oldest boy, age 14, managed to get himself out of the car. Braiden, age 11, had been ejected from the car and was badly injured. He had broken arm, his jaw was severely injured, had severe road rash, and was bleeding profusely.
Mason pulled him off to the side of the road to safety. Mason quickly made his way back to the vehicle and Jackson, age 6, was stuck inside. He had a pocket knife on hand and used it to cut his brother out of his seat belt and helped his other brother, Ethan, age 9, out of the car. Once his brothers were safe, Mason went to get his parents out. “I woke up hearing my son repeating over and over, ‘We’ve got to get out of the car, Dad. I smell gas’” Brian said, recounting the story on stage. “By that point, a number of people had stopped to help our family, pulling me and my wife out of the car.” When the paramedics arrived, Brian, Jennifer and Braiden were immediately put into emergency vehicles.
“I felt a lot of comfort in the fact that I knew the kids would be OK – no matter what happened to me or Brian,” said Jennifer. “Mason was a hero. He took care of all of us and made sure we were safe. He was calm and kept his emotions in check.”
Recounting a deeply personal saga of growing up not knowing his father, and then holding to an undying commitment to be a daily presence in his son’s life despite a bitter divorce, a year of homelessness, 10 days in a maximum security prison for unpaid parking tickets, and an arduous upward climb to make it as a stock broker, Chris Gardner held Family Reunion attendees in rapt attention Tuesday morning.
Gardner’s determination to hold onto his son despite all odds was every bit matched by his professional ambition. Starting out as an unpaid intern for a stock brokerage firm, and working his way into a commission plus a small base sales position, he said he had made a determination early on to “be world class at something.” It was a determination that kept him focused on the one thing that he needed to do every day: “I made 200 cold calls a day on a rotary phone. Everyday. See how this finger is cockeyed? Next time you sit down at your desk, look at your finger. If it’s too straight, you know you ain’t doin your thing.”
His focus and hard work led him to the highest ranks of his profession and to a higher purpose – something every real estate agent can relate to.
“You all aren’t in the sales business, you’re in the business of keeping families in homes.”
Gardner’s story caught the attention of the national news media and Hollywood movie producers who convinced him to participate in a major motion picture based on his life. Starring Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness” ended up grossing more than $400 million. His book with the same title was a New York Times Bestseller for 25 weeks – three of them as No. 1 – and has been translated into 40 languages.
“When one of the biggest movie stars in the world decides to do a movie based on your life, your life changes,” Gardner says, adding, “it took the movie producers $70 million to accomplish what I was able to do for nothing.”
Despite the international notoriety and financial success that he has achieved, he claims without question that the most important accomplishment of his life was “breaking the cycle of fathers not being there for his children.”
To everyone’s surprise after the Keynote, Gardner and Mo Anderson began signing books for attendees!
