We got a double dose of blog mentions from by Mike Mueller: on his Active Rain blog and his www.AreWeConnected.com blog. Double the fun! We had a nice chuckle when we read the comments on the Active Rain blog.
If you are not familiar with real estate there’s a wild theory out there that may surprise you. Bury a statue of St. Joseph in the front of your house (upside down) and your house will sell faster. Really? Yeah, that’s the theory.
Buy into the theory or not, since most of those St. Joe statues are made of plastic and never dug up after the sale that’s not very “green”. That’s where Cindy Lin came up with a green solution.
EcoJoe is biodegradable. Sounds simple enough right? The company is also socially aware. Every quarter they’ll give part of their proceeds to a deserving charity. They do so by being part of 1% for the Planet alliance. This Quarter, it’s Friends of the Urban Forest
The centuries old practice of burying a statue of St. Joseph on real estate for sale is reputed to enlist the saint’s assistance in finding a buyer. Before Joseph became the patron saint of real estate, he was Jesus’s foster father on earth who taught Jesus the trade of carpentry. He always saw to it that Jesus was protected and well housed.
The tradition is about trust, belief and sincerity, not greedy intentions to make more money in a real estate transaction. Today, thousands of home sellers and real estate agents continue the tradition of calling upon St. Joseph to help sell their property with successful results.
I attended the EcoJoe “Launch Party” in San Francisco this last week and had a little fun with video. Here’s just a sample of what I captured. The videos are going viral now and I actually have people who were not at the party recording and submitting their own story!
What’s your EcoJoe Story? Let’s hear it! Record a short video and send it to me (myecojoestory@areweconnected.com) . I’ll get your story into the stream
RERockstar.com is indeed a rockstar in our opinion! Not only he wrote a blog post about EcoJoe, he also recorded a video!
A true fan Rockstar indeed.
Here is the text of the post:
EcoJoe – Here to help you sell your home.
Today, I was introduced to EcoJoe through my friend MikeMueller. It was a strange introduction, just a simple email that announced some video on Mike’s Facebook page. When I arrived, there were videos by some of the best and brightest in the real estate world, talking about EcoJoe. After watching some of my friends, peers, and people I admire in the real estate business wax poetic, I had to ask, “Who is EcoJoe?“
EcoJoe is based off the concept that burying a statue of Saint Joseph (upside down) in your yard or a flowerpot at your home while selling it, is said to help you get a fast sale. I’ve heard of many people who swear by it and others who say it’s complete hogwash. No matter your belief, the story of EcoJoe proves to be an interesting one. Founded by Cindy Lin the concept is simple – burying a plastic statue in your backyard isn’t good for the environment. Imagine thousands of plastic St. Joesph figures being found in thousands of years in yards across the world. Not very environmentally friendly, is it? So Cindy set out on a quest to develop a safe, bio-degradable answer to a centuries old tradition. The answer? EcoJoe.
Have your own thoughts about EcoJoe? Join the viral campaign to spread the good word. Have a video you’d like to submit for EcoJoe stories? Want to answer the question, “Who is EcoJoe?” Send Mike Mueller a message on Twitter or Facebook.
Want to learn more about EcoJoe? Visit the EcoJoe website.
Our vodka mojitos “Johito” was quite a hit so we figure we shall post the recipe and share the love!
2 oz Square One Cucumber Vodka
0.5 oz fresh lime juice + 1/4 lime
1 oz simple syrup or agave nectar
mint
club soda
Muddle mint and 1/4 lime in shaker
Add all other ingredients
Shake lightly only to blend ingredients
Pour into collins glass with ice
Top with club soda and stir
EcoJoe "Johito" vodka mojitos!
*Johito was named by the fabulous Alexandra Watkins of Eat My Words, an elite San Francisco product naming firm. This vodka mojito recipe was provided by Square One Organic Vodka founder Allison Evanow.
If you’re one of the folks who has buried a statue of St. Joseph on a property in the hopes of getting it to sell faster, here’s something to think about.
Joseph was a carpenter (the actual translation is more “builder,” which means he worked with wood, clay, stone, whatever). The point being, he’s a guy who worked with natural materials.
So a plastic statue doesn’t exactly do right by him, does it? No offense to whichever Chinese company is turning them out, but a cheap plastic toy doesn’t exactly demonstrate a full measure of devotion, does it?
Further, those plastic statues are forever. They’re unnatural. Would a man who worked with wood and clay and stone approve of something like that?
One company thinks the answer is “No,” and it’s got an alternative: The $14.95 EcoJoe — a statue of St. Joseph made of clay, part of an “eco-friendly home selling kit.” Even the packaging is “printed with soy-based ink on 100% post consumer paper.”
Much more in line with what Joseph himself would use, huh?
People ask this often and we’ve heard and found many different versions during our market research:
by the for sale sign
upside down
in the front yard
in the back yard
facing the street
facing away from the street
and a combination of couple of different things here
you have to dig him back up and place him in a prominent space in your home
Frankly, this is what we think, the tradition is really about the intention you set for selling your house. It is about setting the intention that you want to find a buyer who will be fair, quick and honest in your sale and will take care and cherish the house just as you did. So when you bury the St. Joseph statue, don’t feel so bounded by the rituals or feeling that you are doing something wrong. Just go ahead set the intention and let it go. The St. Joseph statue is just a symbol of your intention and a good luck charm.
To just show you an example, I once had a conversation from a prominent St. Joseph statue vendor telling me that the reason why he tells sellers to bury the St. Joseph statue next to the for sale sign is simply because most people forgot where they buried the statue. This way, they know where to dig when they sold the house.
So, have fun, relax and set the right intention for selling your home!
Can You Reuse a St Joesph’s Statue to Sell Another Home?.
Why yes. We don’t see why not? Plus recycle and reuse is perfect a green way to do it! EcoJoe is biodegradable, but it doesn’t mean that he will just melt away while he is hanging out underground in a short period of time. As long as your EcoJoe is still in good shape, we see it is perfectly fine to reuse him for other divine purposes.
Bay Area Home Sellers Hope For A Housing Rebound
Aug. 01, 2009, 6:57pm PST
Bay Area home sellers anticipate a busy weekend. Their properties are staged. Their real estate blogs are updated. And Sue Kwon tells us they expect an increase in foot traffic thanks to new home sales data indicating a housing rebound.
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You can also view behind the scene photos (like the one above) on our Flickr page or here below:
The centuries old practice of burying a statue of St. Joseph on real estate for sale is reputed to enlist the saint’s assistance in finding a buyer. Before Joseph became the patron saint of real estate, he was Jesus’s foster father on earth who taught Jesus the trade of carpentry. He always saw to it that Jesus was protected and well housed.
