Yep, that's me, handlebar mustache...

We tend to reminisce as we grow older, and yes, that picture was taken in 1975.? We recall events and friends from way back. For me, these recalls are not merely nostalgic. They are very productive.? Rather than thinking of the past, they make me fruitful in the present.

I changed careers, but not my calling.

When I switched from creative director at a Seattle marketing company to a career in real estate, I initially felt a significant loss. I feared that 25 years of designing and writing had come to a sudden end. Over the next 20 years, I discovered that my fears were unfounded. Slowly and over time, I realized that my talents and experience were transferable. First, I could create websites and optimize them for search engines. Alta Vista was the web search engine of the day, and Google was in its infancy.?

Those who list last.??

I heard this maxim first during my initial real estate classes. Over time, the balance of my real estate activity grew in favor of listings. Concurrently, I realized that my facility with design and writing gave me an edge. My tagline became "What sets me apart, will set you apart."? Early on, I met a family that allowed me to deliver on that promise. Then, I met a real estate client who would challenge my creative side.?

Meeting the "right people" can change everything.

One of these meetings was with a family relocated from Chicago to Seattle. From 2003 to 2020, I helped them first buy and then sell three properties. As they grew as a family,?so did the value of their homes.? They purchased their first Seattle home for $315,000 and sold their Bothell home for $2.1 million before moving out of state.

The other encounter came via a referral.? We met at his family's Redmond home. The charge was to find a Bellevue property and build a new home.? Once they had moved in, I listed and sold the Redmond home.? That was in 2014, the best year to buy real estate in the Seattle area recently. Ten years later, we are close to completing the construction of the second of two Bellevue luxury homes.?

Back to my roots?

Over these ten years, my client and I became best friends. While building his first home for his family, I became part of a team that included an architect and a builder.? I became the marketing expert of the team. Now, I am back to writing and design.? I work for the builder and my friend, the developer.?

Forward with new tools

This is not the web of 1995 when I bought my first domain name. I graduated from HTML, first without and then with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). About 12 years ago, I switched to WordPress.? Ranking anywhere near the top of Google has become nearly impossible. I'm not one to give up easily.? As of today, "Bellevue luxury home design"?ranks near the top. That's for The Nest - our next Bellevue luxury home.?

Luxury home construction on social media??

Social media constantly evolves, and keeping up with changing features is challenging. Luxury brands have adjusted to social media. Getting attention for luxury home construction is not easy. How do you show off the luxury of a home with an unfinished interior? In part, I?decided on a story hosted by Moses, a Newfoundland.? He makes me think I should grow a handlebar mustache again.