New Year’s Resolutions vs. New Year’s Renovations: Why I Choose to Remodel, Not Resolve

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I’ve never really been a big believer in New Year’s resolutions.

If there’s something in your life that needs changing — your health, your habits, your mindset — why wait until January 1st to start? At 57 years old (almost 58 😄), I feel like if you know something needs attention, you probably should’ve started yesterday.

Most resolutions fall into the same bucket every year:
lose weight, exercise more, drink less, stress less.

All good things. All important things.
But they’re not exactly new ideas.

That’s why I don’t look at January as a “rebirth.”
I look at it as a New Year’s renovation.

And if you think about it, that mindset fits real estate — and business — a whole lot better.

January Isn’t a Reset — It’s a Review

In real estate, a lot of what we do involves year-long commitments.

Marketing platforms.
Advertising strategies.
CRMs.
Lead systems.
Newsletters.
Branding.

January is usually when I finally get a little breathing room to step back and ask:

What worked?
What didn’t?
What needs tweaking?
What needs to go… permanently?

January can be a busy listing month, but it’s often a slower selling month — and that actually gives me the space to think clearly instead of just reacting.

That’s when I start pulling apart the business, room by room, like a renovation.

Marketing Isn’t Cheap — and It’s Never “Set It and Forget It”

Good marketing takes time, effort, and money.
And it’s not enough to just do marketing — you have to constantly evaluate whether it’s actually producing results.

That doesn’t always mean a direct, easy-to-track return on investment.

Some of the most effective parts of my marketing happen completely behind the scenes — things a consumer would never even realize are influencing them.

My philosophy has always been simple:

People need to know who I am before they need me.

That’s why so much of what I do is what I call “marketing by osmosis.”

You don’t always connect the dots consciously — you just recognize the name.

The Billboard That Refuses to Die

Here’s a perfect example.

I ran a billboard over 12 years ago in a heavily tourist-driven area.
To this day, people still tell me they “saw my billboard recently.”

It hasn’t existed in over a decade.

But that’s the point.

Between newsletters, emails, blogs, signage, branding, and community involvement, the message stays alive — even when the original ad is long gone.

Real estate is not a “right now” business.
It’s a when the time is right business.

My job is to be quietly present in the background so that when someone decides to buy, sell, or refer a friend, my name comes to mind.

The Hard Truth About Real Estate Vendors

Here’s where January renovations get real.

The real estate industry is flooded with vendors who promise the world:

“Guaranteed leads”
“Hands-off income”
“Just turn it on and watch the money roll in”

The reality?

Most of these systems are:

Extremely time-consuming to run properly
Far more expensive than advertised
Dependent on paid advertising on top of their fees

Eventually, many of them stop being cost-effective.

So every January, I ask the uncomfortable questions:

Is this still worth it?
Is this helping my clients?
Is this aligned with how I actually work?

And sometimes… things get demolished.

Always Be Changing (Not Just Closing)

There’s a famous quote from Glengarry Glen Ross:
“Always be closing.”

In my business, the motto is different:

Always be changing.

That means:

Never relying on one market segment
Never pigeonholing myself into one “specialty”
Always having multiple irons in the fire

Markets shift.
Buyer behavior changes.
Inventory tightens or explodes.

If you only do one thing, you’re vulnerable when that thing slows down.

Why I Don’t “Specialize” in Just One Type of Property

I had someone ask me recently if I specialize in lakefront properties.

The honest answer?
Not exclusively — and intentionally so.

If you only work one niche and that niche stalls, you don’t have a business.

After 25+ years, I’ve built the ability to pivot:

Different price points
Different property types
Different locations
Different market conditions

I’ve sold:

Condos for $30,000
Lakefront homes for $5.6 million
And everything in between

What matters to me isn’t the price tag — it’s whether I can have an honest, productive relationship with the buyer or seller.

That’s what keeps deals moving and clients happy.

Renovating the Future (Yes, Including AI)

One of the biggest renovations I’m working on right now is content.

I want to take these blogs and turn them into video — but realistically, recording, editing, trimming, and producing videos consistently is a huge time commitment.

So we’re exploring something new: