Appraisals and Finding Value

I absolutely love looking at something with potential and brainstorming things I could do to bring that potential to fruition.  I watch the fix and flip shows on DIY and HGTV and I see how they find this complete wreck of a house and put some work into it and end up with this amazing home that anyone would be thrilled to live in.  I have been driving around the city I live in looking for opportunities to do something like those guys on the fix-flip shows.  I have done enough renovation to know what I can do and what I need help getting done.  I am pretty good at figure out the work that is needed, how much it will cost, and what the return on the investment will be. 

Recently I bought an apartment with a coin-operated laundry room.  I was interested in how that works so I did some research on the web and found out that it has the potential to be a real money maker.  I thought about that and started looking into store-front laundromats as a possible business venture.  I found some very interesting things out about the business.  For example, the ones that appear to be clean and well cared for had a much higher market value than ones that did the bare minimum maintenance.  Does that surprise anyone?  Not me.  It makes perfect sense.  The better you care for your investment, the more value it has.  It kind of dove-tails into the biblical concept "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"  But I see that both directions.  Where your heart is, there will be your treasure.  And business owners that care for their business and take care of it see the most treasure (value) from the investment.

I started playing with ideas.  What if I section of an area for entertainment and I put in an old Nintendo and charge a little to rent time on the console?  I can buy one online with a dozen games for $100.  If I rent it for $5 an hour I could recover my entire investment in a few short days.  Everything after that is pure profit.  Not only do I make money from the console, I provide the parents a tremendous benefit by keeping their kids entertained while they wash clothes.  If you have kids you know what a nightmare it is to keep them behaved for several hours when they bored out of their minds.  So the Nintendo will add marketing value to my business and encourage customers to use my machines rather than the machines 2 blocks closer to home.  Value.

It makes me smile thinking that I named this blog "Life and all the possibilities"  Because that is what I see everywhere I look.  I wake up every morning and I ask what can I do to make life more valuable and rewarding today.  If I am in a relationship how can I bring more value to it?  How can find new ways to bring that person back and have them feel like this is where they are getting the most return on their investment.  They have other options, what can I do to make my offering more valuable to them than the competition?  What do they need in their lives that I can somehow provide that would keep them coming back for more of me?  Keep them from window shopping for other more enticing locations? I look at opportunities I have had where I was not successful and it breaks my heart.

Ultimately that is what we need to ask ourselves each and morning.  What value can I bring to the table today?  What do I see in my partner that would flourish if I put some extra effort into it?  Do I see opportunity to grow something that is otherwise neglected and unused?  Is there something there that is just waiting to have someone show some interest?  Is there this dry empty field that hides millions of beautiful flowers beneath the surface and is just waiting for the right pair of eyes to recognize it and put a little water on it?

I want to be that person.  The one that recognizes the potential in my partner and find ways to grow it.  I want to see her beaming with a smile that starts in the soul, moves to the heart, and radiates from her eyes.  I want to find the ways to make that happen.  When I have failed, I ache.  When I missed the opportunity, I kick myself and I am angry at me for not paying attention. 

Heartwork:  Take the time to appraise your relationship.  Figure out the true value.  Figure out where there is opportunity to grow that value.  Find new untapped potential and put some serious effort into frowing that from an empty lot into a beautiful field of flowers.  Email me and tell me what you discovered.

brainstorminglife@yahoo.com