Appraisers are creating their own businesses left and right, but are they wasting valuable time and money on things that they just don’t need? Becoming your own boss doesn’t come with a handbook, but it does come with tons of advice from fellow professionals. We sat down with Keith Ellis for the upcoming webinar for appraisers titled, “Get Paid: 4 Secrets to Turning Your Appraisal Efforts into Cash” where we discuss helpful tips from someone who has been in this industry for years.
Buzz: What’s the most common mistake appraisers make in their business that ends up being the most expensive?
Keith Ellis: Can I say it’s two things? One is they make the work file building too complicated and the assembly is backward to the way they work. As a result, it is often incomplete and opens the appraiser to State action or litigation. There are way better ways of doing this. The second is not realizing the value of your time. Appraisers have ONLY one thing to sell and that’s their time, so administrative inefficiency is incredibly expensive to an appraiser.
Buzz: Are there pieces of advice that new appraiser business owners traditionally take that they shouldn’t?
Keith: I’m going to spin this around… I think there is a pattern of “biting the hand that feeds you” in this industry that comes from trainees/appraisers spinning off in the same geography as the guys that helped grow their career to that point. I think this industry needs a sense of banding together and working together which starts with company formation. I also think that people have a tendency to think of this as a need to go-it-alone which is simply not the case anymore with the rapidly rising number of appraiser networks out there.
Buzz: In what ways have certain start-ups been able to avoid making costly mistakes compared to older corporate giants?
Keith: I see a lot of the rising stars as technology innovators looking for and using that wide footprint of technology from Anow. They focus on the customer and have a willingness to engage in conversations around solutions.
Buzz: What specific tools and technology has been delivered in the past 10 years that has changed everything in this field to how it is today?
Keith: Anow. It’s been described by many appraisers as the most innovative thing to come for appraisers in the last 20 years. Frankly, I love it when appraisers look at Anow and go, “you can do WHAT??!” More importantly however, for the independent appraiser working with one of our small business specialists, I think there is a rising sense of, “someone’s got my back,” and that someone is Anow. Small changes like this are transformational to an industry.
Buzz: Time = Money. Have you seen any particular case where saving time did not always mean to save money?
Keith: Time is opportunity cost – so you have to look at highest and best use of your time. The question is, if you save a bunch of time, how are you using it. Not every appraiser wants to take that time savings and turn it into more money. We have a great independent appraiser client that is most focused on a balanced life and I think his story is a wonderful read.
Buzz: What can appraisers gain by coming to this webinar?
Keith: Appraisers are deeply experienced in the field and in front of a report, but sometimes ignore the business side of the profession. I want everyone to walk away with just two ideas that they can use to make more money or save time and turn this into personal benefit.
Thank you to Keith for speaking with us. Appraisers should make sure to catch this free live webinar on Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 1:00 pm.
Would you like to submit a story of your own or submit a specific topic? Email comments@appraisalbuzz.com.
