Our Hawaii Vacation (April 2022)
In April, the owners of Adlaw Appraisals, myself and Yuki, took a two-week vacation to spend time with all 23 of the Lawrenson Family members in Hawaii, in commemoration of my father’s passing in December 2021. The office was kept open at a limited capacity, and we had to turn down a lot of business as a result. The office didn’t burn to the ground thankfully and we found that most of our clients were pleased with the decision for us to focus on family. To my surprise, those loyal clients were right there waiting for us when we returned. We love our clients.
Why? We were burnt out. 2021 was very hard on Yuki as she had a difficult pregnancy, and was in and out of Woman’s Hospital with hyperemesis. Nearing the end of the pregnancy, we were given notice from our rock star #1 administrator who said that she was going on maternity leave and another administrator, who was fresh out of University, gave her notice advising us that the job was too “fast-paced” for her personality.
Yuki, 8 months pregnant, our admin team dwindling from 4, to 2 to 1, we were in trouble. Luckily, Kara Davidson, our rock star #2 administrator picked up the slack big time. (thanks Kara!) She is an appraisal processing machine and does it all with a smile and a cheerful attitude. Although we knew the late nights and early mornings were taking a toll on her as well, we were incredibly grateful. We decided to hire two administrative assistants as well as two more appraisers. We are setting ourselves up for more success!
What?
Two administrators were hired in March/April and the training is now underway. They both have a wealth of experience with client service and finance and are incredibly eager to contribute to Adlaw’s growth over the next few years. We also hired two new appraisers to add more depth and coverage to the North Shore and Fraser Valley areas. Prior to 2022, Adlaw was run incredibly lean, we would not hire until everyone was at 110% capacity. My motto has always been “a busy worker is a productive/happy worker”. That motto is being revised.
This year, and looking forward, we will invest in people and technologies like never before. We will provide space for administrators to work on side projects, come to events and enjoy all aspects of working in the appraisal / real estate industry. Although we have been touted as having the best service in the business, this will improve our service levels even more. The technologies we are researching and implementing will make our values of “integrity, accuracy and speed” come to life in a new and exciting way.
Although I am a work in progress, and the demands of work/life can pull me off course, Adlaw’s April Slow Down and the two weeks with my family provided some good reminders.
- Money comes and money goes.
- There is enough for everyone.
- Life is short.
- Family is everything.
- Friendships are incredibly important.
- Be kind and enjoy your life.
- Don’t work too much.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
