ceo 365 Issue 7 | Quarterly Edition 1
LIZ REESE
R E E S E S Q U A R E D M O R T G A G E
M A K I N G O U T
T H E
O F
H O M E
S O C I A L G O I N G
M O S T
Y O U R
S T U D I O
M E D I A
F O R W A R D
2 Editor's Note 3 ReeseSquared Mortgage 5 Home Studio Tips 6 Top BOSS GIRL Podcasts 7 The Future of Social Media 8 5 Habits of Highly Successful People
ceo 3 65 Note from our EditorA CEO 365 is in control of his or her business at all times. They lead by example, and never ask their team to do work they aren’t willing to do themself. A CEO 365 is an example: always works the hardest, takes all the blame, but none of the credit. A CEO shows up even in the toughest times, period!
Ben Anderson
CEO of Ben Anderson 365 Editor of CEO 365
EDITORIAL OFFICE Editor Creative Director Writer
Ben Anderson Shannon Barker Brandan Schneider
9920 Research Drive, Irvine, California 92618 800-874-5134 | info@ba365.live www.benanderson365.com
CEO 365
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Liz Reese ReeseSquared Mortgage What is your story? How did you get into the loan industry? What was your journey like? I was a stay-at-home mom for 12 years. I have 3 kids - Anna, Carson, and Jackson. I am very grateful for the time that I got to take to spend with them during their early years of life! My husband, Rob, is also a Loan Originator, which provided me the opportunity to be a notary on the side. I would go to peoples homes for the final loan document signings that had to happen in person. I loved that job; it was a nice break from Momlife, but I also liked meeting new people and seeing the end results of the lending process. When my youngest went into his last year of preschool I decided it was time to figure out how to make some “extra money”. Since I was doing the loan signings I was seeing the income potential that lending could provide and knew that it would be a great way to maximize my time. Being able to work from home and being available to my kids was the key factor! I wanted to be able to earn some money and also be able to volunteer in the kids classroom and go on field trips. What I originally thought would just be extra money for kids activities and vacations turned into being something that I loved doing and was really good at. My husband stopped working on the team he was on and the two of us just focused on our own business. After 4 years of being a Loan Officer for a small brokerage in Walnut Creek, California I got my Brokers license. At the end of 2019 we started our own Mortgage company called ReeseSquared Mortgage. While it is my face you see on our social media accounts, so much credit needs to go to Rob. He takes care of all the behind-the-scenes that is needed when running your own company! I love the relationships and saving people money, and he’s good at crossing all the t’s and dotting all the i’s - I guess that makes us a good team! Tell us about your behind the scenes and home life. Rob and I are blessed to both be able to work from home. Yay no commute! We get up in the morning, get the kids off to school, and begin our day. Because we work from home, we are able to chop up our day and availability. Kids activities can take up time during the day, but we are available for “after-hours” phone calls and meetings if needed. I’ve helped a few police officers who I think every conversation we had was at 10:00 P.M. I think having both parents so accessible has been a great thing for our kids. What drives you to be a top loan officer? There are a couple things. I grew up with a single mom who raised 3 kids. She worked so hard to support us. I was always anxious about money and how much things cost and if my mom was going to have a job. I remember my mom waking me up really early one morning because she had something she needed to tell all of us. I straight out of bed and ran downstairs in a panic that my mom had lost her job. It ended up not being that, but that fear and shot worry did leave an impression on me. Being a Top Loan Officer means that I can provide the things for my family that we need (and want) and that my kids are not anxious about how we will be able to afford something. Also, Mortgage and finance is still a fairly male-centric business. Most of the conferences that I go to are filled with men whether they are the speakers or just the attendees - I like the example that I am setting for my daughter (and my sons) of being a woman who is killing it in this industry.
CEO 365
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What problem does your business solve and how are you different from others in your industry? I like to look at my clients whole financial story and goals. I’m not interested in just pushing a deal through and moving onto the next. I like to find out what their long-term goals are, so we can decide if paying points and fees even makes sense. The lowest rate is not always the best rate; everything is very customized. My clients have financial advisors to manage their investments, and I like to be the advisor of managing the biggest debt they’ll ever take on. I also like to keep people in budget and get a good deal, it’s just who I am! My rates are very competitive in the marketplace, and because I am a Broker, I have a lot of options where I can shop around and find the right lender with the right product at the right price. I track my clients rates with what the market is doing as well. If we can lower their payment for no points and no fees, I’ll reach out to them. They can keep making their same payment and not change anything and get their house paid off faster! I also have resources for other savings as well, for example, if their home insurance cost seems high, I have fantastic referral partners who can offer other options and perhaps save them money that way too! I don’t get a referral fee or commission from connecting people together, I just like to save people money any way that I can! I know what $50 a month savings can mean for families and the difference it can make. Describe what type of products you sell best? My product suite covers a large array because I am a Broker. We do conventional lending, government loans - like FHA and VA, nontraditional lending for investors and self employed borrowers and even reverse mortgages. I don’t know if I could choose just one type of transaction as my favorite. Each loan has something unique and helpful that can be great for an individual family. I love helping people who think they can’t qualify to buy a house and to find a way to make it happen for them!
What have you done differently that has made you so successful?
@loanladyliz
I will talk to anybody about what I do. Everyone lives some where and is paying a mortgage, whether it is their own mortgage or their landlords. I like to help people see their potential in home ownership. It’s also so important to me that people deal with an honest person who is looking out for them, as if it was their own loan. There are loan officers out there who like to take advantage of people, especially during a generally confusing process. I feel so happy and proud when someone trusts me to help them and their family through this process.
CEO 365
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MAKING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HOME STUDIO AND ON THE GO CONTENT You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to make high quality content from home. Make small changes and utilize what we all have access to and you can make high quality content that people will enjoy. Utilize Natural Light If it is possible, get outside! Natural lighting is the best for pictures and videos. Shortly before sunrise and shortly after sunset is known as Magic Hour or Golden Hour, the sunlight is softer than it is when it is high in the sky and makes for beautiful natural lighting. If you cant make it outside during this window, you can still use natural light by standing near a window in your home or office and opening up the blinds. You want to avoid direct, bright sunlight, dont be afraid to try different angles to see what works best for you. Use a PopSocket or Phone Tripod Investing $20 or less by buying a cell phone tripod or PopSockets can help you be a one man video team. You want to avoid shooting videos with your camera propped up at an angle either downward or upward. These arent the most flattering angles for anyone and they more difficult enjoy. MOVE! You can create content indoors of course, sitting at your desk or dinner table. But dont be afraid to go for a walk around the neighborhood and speak on anything that comes to mind. Do your best to speak clearly while moving, it will take practice but it makes for engaging content. Have Fun Dont forget to be yourself, when making content from home or on the go, have fun with it, let your personality shine and the value you provide will be that much more fun to watch!
CEO 365
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TOP GIRL BOSS PODCASTS This issue we are highlighting Women in Business Podcasts. Being Boss: Mindset, Habits, Tactics, and Lifestyle for Creative Entrepreneurs Being Boss is a podcast for creative entrepreneurs, freelancers, and sidehustlers, whether you're wanting to quit your day job or have been your own boss for a while now. Authors and "business besties" Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon dig into the mindset, habits, routines, boundaries, branding, marketing tactics, business strategies, systems, and processes that help you make money doing what you love.
So Money with Farnoosh Torabi Host Farnoosh Torabi is an award-winning financial strategist, TV host and bestselling author. So Money brings inspiring money strategies and stories straight from today's top business minds, authors and influencers. What was their financial journey and how do they master their money today? Hear from inspiring individuals and learn about their financial philosophies, wins, failures and habits. Plus, their secret guilty pleasures.
Switch, Pivot or Quit with Anyihana Angel An intimate look at navigating career transitions on your own terms for the woman seeking encouragement, inspiration + change in a life filled with demands on who she should be. Sharing stories of women who have learned best practices through personal and professional development resulting in practical advice and actionable tips. Leading the conversations is Host Ahyiana Angel, who successfully switched careers from a sports entertainment publicist to a published author.
Girlboss Radio with Sophia Amoruso Each week on Girlboss Radio, you'll hear honest conversations with trailblazing women. These women go deep on what it takes to build a successful career or grow a business with staying power—while living life on their own terms and navigating personal and professional curveballs. Expect hilarious, vulnerable, ~useful~ conversations that humanize the known, champion the unknown, and laugh a little at the absurdity of life. Hosted by Sophia Amoruso, CEO and founder of Girlboss and Neha Gandhi, editor in chief and COO of Girlboss.
The Goal Digger Podcast with Jenna Kutcher How do I build my dream job? How do I make money online? Am I ready to leave my 9 to 5? How can I create passive income? How can I grow my Instagram following? And the biggest question of all, can I *really* turn my passion into profits?Welcome to the Goal Digger Podcast where we will answer ALL of these questions and so much more! Week after week, host Jenna Kutcher brings you the the productivity tips, social media strategies, business hacks,, and inspirational stories that can help YOU design your dream career. Jenna shares tangible tips and hacks that she used to become a self-made millionaire in photography, online courses, Instagram sponsorships, and navigating the world of being a #girlboss social media influencer. CEO 365
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TRENDS
THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA by Carly Guisness
Social media is constantly and rapidly changing. New apps, platforms, and trends come and go in the blink of an eye. And to keep your brand or business relevant and growing, it is important to see where the future of social media will go. When social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram first emerged, images and text-based posts were the primary content shared, but that has since moved in a different direction. We are now seeing videos being the primary content shared on social media platforms. And we have seen this with the rise of TikTok, a video-sharing social networking service, which now has 800 million active users. Similarly, to video content, we will also see a rise in ephemeral content. Ephemeral content is something that is only available for a short duration and disappears afterwards, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat Stories. This has grown increasingly popular because people’s attention spans have become so short and this sort of content is easy to consume. Users can spend hours scrolling through one Story after another because of its short, engaging, and addictive nature. This is the future of social media. We will continue to see video and ephemeral content dominating and it is important stay with these trends to keep your brand and business growing.
CEO 365
BA365 Social Media Manager Carly Guisness
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Do you ever wonder why productive people are so successful, and how they make it look so easy while doing it all? Here is a trick, successful people create habits that simplify their lives. Here are 5 habits of highly productive people that you should try! Focus on most important tasks first. Laura Ernest of Whole Life Productivity has this to say about the importance of prioritization as a productivity habit: "Let me say that I distinguish between efficient and effective, but that both are needed for peak productivity. Efficient is doing things right and effective is doing the right things. So the most productive people work on the high value tasks, making sure that how they are doing those tasks is the best way."
Use The 80/20 Rule The 80-20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, is an aphorism which asserts that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of all causes for any given event. In business, a goal of the 80-20 rule is to identify inputs that are potentially the most productive and make them a priority.
Eliminate Inefficient Communication
Any disruption or failure in the process can create ineffective communication. If you as a sender speak a language that the receiver does not understand, then communication fails. We must eliminate all inefficient communication if we plan to have successful relationships.
Don't Multitask
Smart people don't multitask. Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully. So just don't do it!
Recharge!
Recharging isn't just for cell phones. Your mind and body need to recharge in order to continue to be productive. Take time to de-stress; talk a walk, read a book, get lots of rest!
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"CEO 365 has the guts to go for it  ."
BEN ANDERSON CEO of Ben Anderson 365 Editor of CEO 365
CEO 365 | ISSUE 7