Having been in both the insurance business before websites existed, and then in the real estate business when websites became the rage, I saw years ago how very effective the Internet would become for agents and businesses.

Although I didn't recognize how very significant websites would become, I bought my first website domain, a dot com. That was what everybody back then said that I wanted a .com (commercial). I was soon getting real estate customers from both my own website and the big name real estate corporation's site provided for agents.

"RELOS," or real estate relocation clients as they were called were easy sales. For the ones I received via the corporation's website, I had to pay a 20% referral fee. The clients generated by my own website cost me nothing. Soon, I had earned enough money and had the expertise to start my own real estate company. Of course, I bought a new dot com website domain and improved my new site.

My real estate business grew and prospered. I had over a dozen experienced real estate professionals working for me. Many had formerly owned their own brokerages and found working from my brokerage better for them. I did not want to hire new agents because they took too much time to train and only 5% even survive in the brutal industry beyond the second full year.

Then I got "Blindsided," hit with a dread disease that I did not anticipate