Making the decision to take on and startup a Real Tour Vision providership was a very easy one to make. It all happened on a chilly October day when Susan Hintz called me up to inform me that she had just landed the opportunity of a lifetime that she could not pass up.

At this point Susan was our local virtual tour provider for Traverse City and had spent the last five years in the business building relationships and making connections through her virtual tour company. Susan averaged anywhere from 40-80 virtual tours a month depending on the time of the season and every year her business grew along with her network. Susan landed her big fish when Al Rice, a Traverse City real estate agent asked her to enter into a partnership with her. Upon acceptance Susan would instantly acquire a shared interest in all of his current listings as well as take on all of the technology roles and marketing of his local real estate business. Susan’s years of assisting local real estate agents in the marketing of their properties had finally paid off.

As soon as I hung up the phone I was very happy for Susan’s success. The fact that the owner of a virtual tour company and property marketing partner would be a top choice for one of the areas most successful real estate agents was proof that the Real Tour Vision business model was working perfectly and our providers were growing and expanding their businesses. Our providers were indeed looked upon as the local online marketing experts by the real estate agents and business owners they serviced. But now what? Now there would be a huge hole right in our own back yard. How could Real Tour Vision not have a virtual tour provider in Grand Traverse? How would that look to our competitors?

For years our virtual tours of Traverse City had been keeping the Circlepix and Obeo photographers driven out of the area. Many had tried and many had failed. What would happen now I wondered? It was at that exact moment that a light went off and the idea swept through my head. Over the last eight years I have sat behind my desk working long hours and setting up over a thousand virtual tour providers worldwide. I had walked many of our largest virtual tour providers through the process of setting up a local and sometimes regional virtual tour company. I offered up consulting to them as each of them grew their company and many of the providers looked to me for the answers to their marketing and strategic questions. Who better to get back in that saddle and push the local Traverse City virtual tour company than myself?

It had been nearly nine years since I looked through the monitor of a camera tipped on its side. The smooth click of the steel ball bearing moving from one detent of the rotator disc to the next was nearly a faded memory. I was the first virtual tour company in Traverse City that offered still image technology. I had been the virtual tour guy, as they called me back then; the Internet Cowboy who drove IPIX out of the area. Now it was time once again. It was time to saddle up and put my new theory, procedures and strategy to the real test. But how could I possibly do this and still have time for Real Tour Vision? I already worked ten to twelve hour days making sure I was leading the Real Tour Vision network down the path to victory. I was already stretched for time. To do this right, to give this a fighting chance, I would need help. I would have to find someone to run and manage my virtual tour company. And so began my quest to setup shop and find this person to run and manage my virtual tour business in Northern Michigan.

To be continued…

Jason LaVanture
BlueLaVaMedia
Traverse City Virtual Tours
www.BlueLaVaMedia.com
Order a Virtual Tour – 877-941-TOUR