"They say it's your birthday!" - My Favorite Guest Post

Conduct your business in an upright manner and remember,
the most important thing in one’s life is to be honest with one’s self. 
Sidney Cohen

by Skip Cohen

Once a year, I like to run one of my favorite guest posts written by my Dad. It seems like the perfect day to run it, since today, Halloween, is his birthday.  Notice I used the word "is" and not "was".  Dad may have passed away almost ten years ago, but that doesn't change his presence in so many aspects of my life. Before he passed away, I remember saying, "There aren't many people my age who still have their parents around, let alone like them!"

Dad had just turned 88 when I talked him into sharing some of the wisdom I grew up with in a blog post. So, for those of you who never met my Dad, meet Ralph! Right up until he died, he still did a lot of business on a handshake, and the wisdom he shared in the post below is right on target for so many of us.

And to my Dad—I miss ya, pop. But the good news is, I'm surrounded by great memories every day. Your love and support were never-ending. And tonight, every time the doorbell rings with kids for Halloween, I'll laugh and do a quick flashback to every birthday dinner we tried to have for you when I was a kid. The irony of dozens of Halloween trick-or-treaters interrupting your birthday dinner, was that when I was a kid, you were in the candy business! 

Happy Birthday, Pop!​

Just Watch the Left Front Fender! Guest post by Skip's Dad

I finally closed the deal to get my Dad to write a couple of blog posts, but only after we negotiated a life-changing compensation program that hopefully won’t disturb his Social Security and is comparable to what he underpaid me as a kid!   What I’m most happy with is simply being able to draw from Dad’s years of experience.  His message in this first blog is everything so many icons talk about.  

This blog is a prime example of as much as things change they stay the same!  The principles of business, while the vehicles to deliver the message might be different, the message itself is still the same.  So everybody, meet Pop, Skip’s Dad, with some great foundation tips to help you build your business.

Yesterday was my 88th birthday.  I have been happily retired for many years, and unemployed for at least 15 of those. Now, out of the blue, comes our son, Skip, threatening me with employment! The pay he considers adequate is $.02 per word. So gathering together, my 50+ years in business experience, I thought this would be a good time to put my two cents in.

I am not a plagiarist, but I must quote my father who spent the last months of his life writing advice to his children:

“Conduct your business in an upright manner and remember, the most important thing in one’s life is to be honest with one’s self. Maintain the high standard and dignity that your business requires. Do not go into deals hastily and be visible in your business as much of the time as is possible.  If you take time to play, do it away from your business, because your livelihood needs all the attention you can give to it.”

Early on, I concluded that the best testimonials came from my many friendly competitors.  We didn’t really compete with each other, in the true sense. True, we were in the same field of endeavor, but we all knew we were there to help each other. Happily, the “tough competition” fell by the wayside. 

I remember giving Skip driving lessons and I told him, “Watch the left front fender…..the rest will take care of itself!” I’ve found this is really true of everything in life.

An old axiom says “If you tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said.”  That is all part of reputation-building. I found that, sadly, in the field of real estate, truth is hard to come by for many. In our case, it was a major building block in the reputation which we enjoyed, and helped us to thwart the competition.

Goodwill is all of the above, plus a lot of caring for your clients as well as your competitors.  If life is a give-and-take situation, giving is the more important of the two.  The taking will come with time and be far more appreciative.  Just remember - you heard it here!  

​Ralph Cohen, Founder and Creator of Skip Cohen!