Internet connectivity has enabled us to address all our personal and professional communication without budging an inch from wherever we are stationed. And, that too internationally! So much for the world being a global village! Nevertheless, the whole business community across the globe, including Kennewick Washington is now reverting to personal interaction because of the need to identify presence beyond the world of anonymity, online.
The brick and mortar office can never be completely replaced. There are a number of reasons why the cabinet and work station arena rules large, and here are the best five:
• Human interaction is still an integral part of any business.
• Employees are always more productive under supervision at the brick and mortar setting.
• Personal motivation and important business centric discussion cannot be eliminated from the work environment.
• Phone lines and web servers do go down and cause disrupted connections. The in-house team is able to make productive use of down time instead of waiting endlessly.
• The most important advantage of a brick and mortar office is the fact that it allows you to truly make your vocation a vacation! The space provided does more than set you or offer you work centric applications, it enables you to concentrate and improve.
There is no doubt that instant messaging, email, telephone and video-conferencing are exciting, but can they accurately communicate body language and either cynicism or excitement towards a deal?
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I am with you on this, I like to work at home, but it’s almost depressing to not go into the office. Human interaction is the basic foundation to lively hood, without it, life gets pretty boring. I also feel that having a Brick and Mortar shows that your business is more stable, and you have a lot more invested into your business. I don’t think the Brick and Mortar is going anywhere anytime soon.
I have to agree that a brick and mortar office is important. When the real estate market went on the decline, we moved our office into the front bedroom of our home and it is very hard to get away from work and actually enjoy our home.
No doubt that there is something to be said about a physical location. The element is the experience that is absent in the online world. I feel that for retail in particular the online shopping will soon subsidize the retail experience.
I offer a good team, working together, is far superior to the typical real estate office. Our team feeds off each other, is motivated by the other, and this makes us all better. There are plenty of real estate offices I’ve seen where Agents would do better working from home. or are succeeding in spite of their office, not because of…
No one can completely do away with the Brick & Mortar office. In fact most people prefer dealing with the firm or individuals who have a permanent office address instead just having a web space
Matt
The eradication of the office has been forecast for years. But no technology replaces the face to face in any business…but especially for property sales.
It was interesting to stumble onto this blog as Central Washington is were I was born and raised. I was born in Pasco, but lived most of my childhood in Moses Lake. It is nice to see someone doing so much with the web. Anyways the real reason I chose to comment here is I disagree with one of the points you made for your argument in favor of a brick and mortar.
“Employees are always more productive under supervision at the brick and mortar setting.”
I really do not agree with this point. I think many employees are more productive at home, but you have to lay down expectations or it is possible for them to take advantage of the freedom working from home allows. I think the best thing would be to set a basic minimum production level that is required based on brick and mortar statistics on productivity. Then you offer to let people work from home as long as they exceed that level of production. This then gives the employee the ability to retain hours lost commuting. I think as people get more involved in video confrencing and social networking online that we will not even need brick and mortars for human interaction.
I find that having a physical office outside of your home is a more productive work space and gives you a better image in the community. Especially in an industry such as real estate, where image is very important, customers take comfort in knowing you have a traditional place of work.
Real estate is a people business. Texting and Twittering does not get you out in front of people. And, as you say, when you go to the office, most people actually get some work done!
I also feel that having a Brick and Mortar shows that your business is more stable, and you have a lot more invested into your business.
kemer
This is a very interesting blog post. It seems like it was just yesterday that everyone was writing about the Internet has removed the need for a physical location. I happen to agree with you on this one. Your point about human interaction is right on!
New Orleans Real estate
I know one thing for sure, my productivity is about 500% better in the office than at home. I believe many people get into our business because of the freedom to work anywhere. For a good portion of people that are disciplined, they can take advantage of it. But for most people, that freedom may be what prevents them from being successful.