Notorious R.O.B.

I’d like to make a major announcement that impacts the little company, 7DS Associates, which I started a couple of months ago.

The Myth, The Legend

We have raised a second round of funding — totaling approximately $22 and a bottle of vodka — from Jeffrey “JeffX” Corbett, formerly of ActiveRain, Ratespeed, and a half-dozen other companies.  That brings the total capital raised to date to approximately $45 and a bottle of vodka.  Chew on that, Zappos.

As part of his investment, Jeff will be joining 7DS Associates as a partner.  So when I use the word “we” from now on, it won’t be the royal we but the actual first person plural pronoun.

Now, I wasn’t really looking for investment, as our little company is already more profitable than Trulia and Zillow combined — a fact that surely influenced Jeff’s decision to invest and to join the firm.  But the new partnership means that our average height increased by 3″, and there’s a lot of research which shows that height is directly correlated to earnings.  And when Yao Ming, who wasn’t gonna be doing much anyhow, turns you down, you go for the next best thing.

What Jeff brings to 7DS is even more intelligence we can sell, of course.  For those who may not know, Jeff is the founder of TheXbroker blog, which changed the way I look at the mortgage industry.  He’s also a savvy operator, having helped ActiveRain achieve new heights of revenues and profitability in several short months.  And it doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the true experts on social media, Web 2.0, and how they interact with real estate, mortgage, and professional services.

So please welcome Jeff to the ranks of 7DS, now that we actually have ranks.

-rsh

Thanks to Greg Afarian (@zipvogreg) of Zipvo, there’s apparently video evidence of my session at REBarCamp Philadelphia.

It was a great and fun session, and I hoped it would be useful to people who attended.

For more information on NetPromoter Score and Real Estate, you can check out the page on 7DS: www.7dsassociates.com/RENPS.

Thanks again Greg!  I owe you a drink next time we see each other.

-rsh

Just posted on the 7DS Blog — Leadership in a Time of Cholera:

If you are the CEO, broker/owner, team leader, managing partner, or otherwise in charge of a real estate company today, this is an absolute must-read.  In fact, if you read nothing else this entire year, I recommend you read this fascinating article from A.G. Lafley, Chairman and CEO of Proctor & Gamble.

The article is entitled “What Only the CEO Can Do” but the insights and lessons Lafley lays out are really about leadership in time of trouble, when enormous changes coupled to internal lethargy are threatening to pull you down.  I think his advice, based on his hard-won experience as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, widely admired for their marketing and product management expertise, is timeless and applies across all industries.  But right now, today, in the real estate industry, I think his advice is particularly timely and particularly relevant.

Read the whole thing; you won’t regret the time spent.

The following are our observations about the lessons that a real estate company executive — particularly the CEO/owner of a real estate brokerage company — can draw from Lafley’s article.

I thought it worth cross-posting, since I know quite a few of you are interested in management/strategy issues, and that quite a few of you are CEO/owners/leaders in real estate organizations.

Continue on to the post on 7DS.

-rsh

Since my announcement last Thursday, I have received an enormous outpouring of support, concern, and above all, questions.

“Where are you headed?” and “What’s next for you?” are common questions.

Truth is, I have no idea.  The-event-that-shall-not-be-discussed was only last Tuesday, and suffice to say I hadn’t planned on it.  At the same time, I’m not one for sitting around looking backwards when exciting things are happening all over the place.

So it is with great pleasure, and greater trepidation, that I announce the formation of 7DS Associates.  True, the “Associates” in “7DS Associates” consists mostly of my other personalities, but the mightiest oak began as an acorn dreaming.

Even that is somewhat more grandiose than I had in mind, because truth is that I’m looking at all my options, entertaining all opportunities, opening every door, and looking under every rock.  But there are things that I love doing, and things that I’m passionate about, and I rather think it would be fun to blend all of that together to work with some of the coolest business people I know.

For now, I we will be offering advisory and consulting services through 7DS in the following core competency areas:

• Marketing: This includes interactive, Web 2.0, social media, and alternative marketing strategies, as well as the traditional market segmentation, marketing mix, and competitor analysis.
• Operations: Organization analysis, workflow process, financial operations.
• Strategy Development: Business plans, strategy formation, trend analysis.
• Technology Assessment: Business cases, vendor research and management, platform analysis, tools assessment.
• Product Development: Ideation, product development strategy and documentation, market and product requirements, and execution.

Those are the subjects I know, have over fifteen years experience doing, and find endlessly fascinating.  Upon request, I will throw in wardrobe consultation (for men only, as I’ve only worked in men’s fashions) at no charge.

7DS Associates’s tagline is: “Intelligence for sale”.  I think it’s rather appropriate.

As it happens, not only am I looking for interesting projects, tough challenges, and cool clients, I’m also looking for people to team with me in one or another capacity.  Y’know, the whole “Associates” part of “7DS Associates”….

The 7DS Associates new (brand, spankin’ new) website is here: www.7dsassociates.com.  Please, refrain from criticism until you’ve heard how I’ve put it together with my bare hands in two days’ time.

My new business email: rhahn -=at =- 7dsassociates -=dot=- com

Thank you all, and look forward to hearing from you!

-rsh