Shawn Van Dyke's Page

Inc. has a great article on the how-to’s of getting a good deal on a commercial lease.

[The article appeared in the May 2009 issue.]

Even though signs are showing that the residential real estate market may have already bottomed out and may be poised for slight upticks in certain markets, commercial real estate is becoming more and more a tenant’s market.

In the commercial real estate market, now may be the time to take a good look at that existing lea… Continue

Most people will not admit that they are dumb. In fact, they will try to convince you that they are reasonably smart.

Mark Twain said it best…

“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”

I have “removed all doubt plenty” of times. But each time my stupidity was brought to light, I have learned something….sometimes it pays to be the dumbest person in the room.

I found that when I worked for someone else I was always trying to impress someone… Continue

As a General Contractor, the question I am most often asked is:

“How much does [that] cost?”

I love being asked this question. This one question alone means that this potential customer has yet to be sold on a person. If I am being asked this question, then it doesn’t matter if they have received a dozen other prices from other contractors. What this question tells me is that this customer has not been sold on a PERSON to perform the tasks they are hoping to have performed.

You see, most peop… Continue

I am not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions...I can never seem to accomplish everything "I want" to do, but I have found that I need to plan out everything "I must" do in any given amount of time. Practically this means I try to make sure I sit down with my calendar in front of me every Sunday night...after the kids are in bed, after the football games are over (it helps when the Titans play the early game...) and with the Wife...also with her calendar in front of her. This is a weekly exercise… Continue

This post will specifically explain how I am using the Wordpress ‘Excerpt’ function to display the images on the front page. Here's my original post.