Jills Way of Working from Home (LA 1213)
Jills Way of Working from Home (LA 1213)
Transcript:
Steven Butala:
Steve and Jill here.
Jill DeWit:
Hello.
Steven Butala:
Welcome to the Land Academy show, entertaining land investment talk. I’m Steven Jack Butala.
Jill DeWit:
And I’m Jill Dewitt, broadcasting from sunny Southern California.
Steven Butala:
Today, jill and I talk about Jill’s way of working from home. You know, it just occurred to me that these shows air a week after we record them, so we’re talking about this … I’ve never seen such a current event, minute by minute, what’s happening that we’re all involved in with this virus and so hopefully a week from now, it’s like we’re talking about it and we’re saying, “Oh, this can happen,” and it’s over.
Jill DeWit:
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Steven Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
Not sure if that’ll happen in a week, but that would sure be nice.
Steven Butala:
Right. Today, Jill and I talk about Jill’s way of working from home.
Jill DeWit:
We said that.
Steven Butala:
Oh. Before we get into it-
Jill DeWit:
Before we … well, that’s what we didn’t say.
Steven Butala:
Let’s take a question by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It’s free.
Jill DeWit:
This is so funny. Wayne wrote, “You guys have been around for a long time.” Well, hang on, Wayne, not that long. Okay, just kidding.
Steven Butala:
I think he means Land Academy.
Jill DeWit:
That’s good. Okay, that’s good. What … or just buying and selling land. That’s true too. What changes are permanent or temporary in real estate based on current events? Love this.
Steven Butala:
This whole week, we’ve been actually talking about that. I’m going to very directly answer the question. We’re going to see major permanent changes in commercial real estate. Is there really a reason to build a new office building? No. Do we need strip malls? No. If I want to order a Coke, I can just order one online or have it delivered. We’re going to see a much more mobile everything.
Jill DeWit:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Steven Butala:
We’re going to see people moving to rural locations like never before, and here’s why, because this taps in. Everybody’s got kind of a irrational concern about something that it’s not founded at all. Well, being a hypochondriac or a borderline hypochondriac, this is going to send you to the moon, and there’s a lot of people that are going to move out of cities because of this, I think, and a lot of people that are going to have this thought, “I work online anyway. I’m sitting in an office, in a cube, working on the internet. Do I really need to be there, or maybe I can get a job doing the same thing and then I can go live in a very small town where real estate’s way cheaper.”
Jill DeWit:
I just thought of something too, I wanted to say, I want to make a point. What’s going to happen when this is all over and everybody says, “Go back to work”? I expect there’s going to be some pushback.
Steven Butala:
Me too.
Jill DeWit:
“My company says it’s safe. I don’t think it’s safe.” We all know there are still people getting sick. It’s not like we’re going to wake up one day magically, serious, I mean seriously, I wish that were true. But if we wake up one day and magically, all of a sudden it’s over, everybody’s healthy, we’re not going to get it again, game over. No, it’s going to be … And people are talking about that, the gradual getting back into work. Well, I can see that` companies are saying, “Okay, the doors are open. You have to come in,” and what are you going to do when the people push back and say, “I’m not coming”?
Steven Butala:
Exactly. They’re going to hire new people. But everybody wins there, you know? Look at 9/11. Isn’t it, really, in the scheme of things, a micro example of how things change permanently and how you got on an airplane, what changed with building security and all of it, permanently. So-
Jill DeWit:
Metal detectors at the schools.
Steven Butala:
All of it. So this is going to mean huge changes here. Huge, huge health changes, the way people go to restaurants, where they work. Jill’s exactly right. And all of that trickles down quickly to real estate. If I had a massive … if I owned a lot of stock in a real estate investment trust that invested in office buildings right now, I’d be done.
Jill DeWit:
Do you know-
Steven Butala:
Maybe something like this is going to happen. It turns out everybody gets sick when they go to a hospital with their virus and the people who work there get sick or they’re way more prone to contract this thing, maybe we don’t have hospitals anymore.
Jill DeWit:
Do you know what the hardest thing is for me, right now?
Steven Butala:
Like tiny little centers.
Jill DeWit:
I got to tell you. The hardest thing for me right now has been I want to hug everybody. Not kidding. Just in between this show as we just … my friend walked by, and my first instinct is to run outside and hug her, and it’s like, that’s hard. I’m going to miss that. I can hug you, though.
Steven Butala:
Yeah, I don’t struggle with that.
Jill DeWit:
Oh. Anyway, today’s topic-
Steven Butala:
Today’s topic, Jill’s way of working from home. This is the meat of the show.
Jill DeWit:
We’re all goofed up.
Steven Butala:
Jill, how do you work successfully, work at home with your significant other?
Jill DeWit:
Oh boy. If you, like me, enjoy your own space, this has been very difficult. There have been times that in the past we use strategically … We both have offices here at the house. Frankly, this is Steven’s office right here. We’re sitting in it. Mine is in another room on another floor in the back of the house, which is nice. I mean, it just kind of worked out that way.
Jill DeWit:
But even as our setup is right now, we have each enjoyed days where one of us is in the office and the other one’s not. Even though we have lots of room, it’s just nice having the place to yourself, right? We all know that. Well, we’re not getting that right now. It’s weighing on us. So we have to really be … What’s the word I’m looking for? … patient and forgiving of everyone-
Steven Butala:
Or missing.
Jill DeWit:
Or missing, yeah. Or hiding. Patient, forgiving, or hiding. So, what’s my work … I’ve been just finding my work. Just ask me questions, because you wrote this topic, so I’m not sure I’m going where you want this to go, so-
Steven Butala:
Okay. It can go wherever you want it.
Jill DeWit:
Okay.
Steven Butala:
Do you wake up at the same time every day?
Jill DeWit:
Yes.
Steven Butala:
Regardless of where you work, in an office or here?
Jill DeWit:
Yes. Yes.
Steven Butala:
Do you communicate the same or differently with people on your team?
Jill DeWit:
The same.
Steven Butala:
Me too. Do you take a shower every day?
Jill DeWit:
Yes. I’m not sure about some of our people right now, but yes, I do. I don’t mean you, I mean our employees.
Steven Butala:
Do you think that you are as efficient and effective from home as you are in the office? More or less or the same?
Jill DeWit:
More at home.
Steven Butala:
So do I. Do you work off of a calendar that tells you what to do every day with meetings and all that stuff?
Jill DeWit:
Yes. I may not like it all the time, but I do.
Steven Butala:
All right, because … and I didn’t know, honestly, most of those questions, I don’t know how you’re going to answer it.
Jill DeWit:
Oh, okay.
Steven Butala:
I would have answered in the same way. I feel like I’m way more efficient at home. But I’ve been responsible for my own income since the 90s so this is no change for me. This viral thing, working from home, the only reason I ever go to work is if something really good happens and somebody on my team, they need to be a high-fived or there’s a birthday party or there’s any kind of team-building scenario, which I think is really effective. But we’re seeing now you can do that on Zoom anyway. That’s the reason that I usually go in.
Jill DeWit:
Or I go into to sign papers, sign deeds.
Steven Butala:
Yeah, sign deeds and stuff. There’s a lot of traveling in there to sign deeds and the notaries, notarization stuff right now. But I don’t think there’s any difference.
Jill DeWit:
No, not for us. We’re really, really lucky.
Steven Butala:
But I really think, everything, we’ve been doing this for two decades, Jill and I, so if this is your first week doing it, I can understand there’s a lot of distractions at home.
Jill DeWit:
I remember, do you remember? I remember when we first got together and it was first, that deal that just pushed everything over the edge and you said, “You do not go to work tomorrow because you need to quit that job because I need your help.” And I’m like, “Okay.” And I remember it was weird at first because gosh, back then, I get up at 5:00 in the morning, and to get up and go and get to the office and be dressed, and I had a long commute but still I had to plan that in there, and getting kids out the door and all of that. And then that all changed. It was like, it was weird because I used to get up extra early going, “Now what do I do? Now what should I do?” It was kind of funny.
Steven Butala:
That’s a great point. That was 2010?
Jill DeWit:
’09?
Steven Butala:
Maybe ’08 or ’09? It doesn’t matter.
Jill DeWit:
I don’t know. Yeah.
Steven Butala:
Microsoft 365 wasn’t a thing.
Jill DeWit:
Yeah.
Steven Butala:
I mean, the file sharing that we were using was a Google drive.
Jill DeWit:
Sure.
Steven Butala:
Now we can sit here on video with each other, have a conference in the drop of a hat, and then if there’s any issues that need to be addressed, just change them, and everybody knows about it. Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
Share documents at the same time. We sit there, right, we sit here on Zoom calls and we’re in this document together at the same time, inputting numbers and talking about it.
Steven Butala:
We have a lot of people that work for us full time in the Philippines, so we’ve been doing this for a really long time with them. There’s no change for them.
Jill DeWit:
That’s true.
Steven Butala:
Their income’s not changed, and that wasn’t possible back then the way that it is now.
Jill DeWit:
It’s true.
Steven Butala:
We can share documents in real time where you ask them to do some stuff and they wake up the next day and it’s done.
Jill DeWit:
Right.
Steven Butala:
So if you’ve been doing this for a while, like us, it’s just now so much easier. And if you’re brand new at it, enjoy it because it’s never been easier. It’s all positive, I think. I think that there’s a certain personality type that this will never work with, that they don’t have the interest-
Jill DeWit:
Or the self-discipline.
Steven Butala:
Yeah. They don’t have the interest to be an entrepreneur like our group does, and the adapt and overcome mentality just doesn’t apply to them. They want to punch a clock, get paid, and then have a hottie when they’re off work. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
Jill DeWit:
What I think though, working from home, if you’re just in it right now, one of the hardest things is having the people around you. Your kids aren’t used to it. Your pets aren’t used to it.
Steven Butala:
Kid thing sucks.
Jill DeWit:
They don’t know that you can’t interrupt mommy, mommy’s on a work call kind of thing. That part I think is hard for a lot of people and I get it. And I understand that. Even for us right now with some of our staff that are home, I’m thinking about people calling in Land Academy and hearing a cat in the background, or a dog barking at a bird in a tree. You know that’s going to happen. And we used to always try to hide it. At least now we can say, “Hey, this is it,” you know? And I hopefully the person on the other end, it’s … used to be thought of as a little bit unprofessional. Now it’s like, “Nope, I guess we’re all in the same boat.” So-
Steven Butala:
Still, it’s not professional.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. But sometimes you don’t have a choice. You can be in a studio. Think about people, gosh, we’re so lucky and grateful, that we are not living on top of each other and have space. But I know there’s a lot of people that, gosh, you have a couple of roommates and you maybe share a room and it’s hard to be working together. You got kind of, you know, “Let’s position your desk here and my desk here. We’ll just figure this out.”
Steven Butala:
You know how far reaching this really is this, this virus? Like, “Yeah, we were thinking about having four kids, but we’re stuck at home with this first one, so nope. Snip, snip.”
Jill DeWit:
Excuse me. That’s called an elective surgery because that’s not happening anytime soon.
Steven Butala:
All right.
Jill DeWit:
So I hope you’re taking care of that in other ways. There’s no snip, snip right now.
Steven Butala:
[inaudible 00:11:20] natural [inaudible 00:00:11:20].
Jill DeWit:
By the way. I think you can get those other things delivered. That’s hilarious. Oh, my gosh.
Steven Butala:
Oh, Jill. You just never stop.
Jill DeWit:
Well, you know, yeah, you got to get creative about a lot of things right now.
Steven Butala:
The only way it works for me, the working at home, is to get up at the same time every day and look at my calendar, because I’ve got all of my stuff planned out to do there. So if I was doing this on Mars, Italy, or at my office, or in my house, it would be the exact same thing, with the exact same stuff would get done, without the commute and the hassle and all of it. I just think that you and I work really well on our own.
Jill DeWit:
We do.
Steven Butala:
Very autonomous and we thrive in that environment and chose, actively chose it, long before any virus.
Jill DeWit:
That’s true.
Steven Butala:
And if you’re listening to this show, you’re probably one of those people too. You probably want some financial freedom and time freedom.
Jill DeWit:
I agree. Thank you. Happy you could join us today. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you can find this here on the Land Academy show. Tuesdays and Thursdays, we are right next door on the House Academy show.
Steven Butala:
Next week, join us on the Land Academy show for another interesting episode. You are not alone in your real estate ambition. Oh, wait.
Jill DeWit:
Yeah. What’s going to happen next week?
Steven Butala:
I bet you real estate prices will be cheaper because we’re going into this thing and they’re not going up, and you and I’ll probably be in less of a better mood.
Jill DeWit:
Uh-oh. Heaven forbid.
Steven Butala:
Next week, Jill and I will have spent a week’s more of time being this close to each other.
Jill DeWit:
Isn’t this special? I’m so happy. Just kidding. I am happy.
Steven Butala:
Me too.
Jill DeWit:
We got this. You got this.
Steven Butala:
It’s going to be fine.
Jill DeWit:
It’s true. The Land Academy show remains commercial-free for you, our loyal listener, so wherever you’re watching or wherever you’re listening, please subscribe and rate us there. We are Steve and Jill.
Steven Butala:
We are Steve and Jill. Information-
Jill DeWit:
And inspiration.
Jill DeWit:
… to buy undervalued property.
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