Whether you're a new agent watching your expenses or a seasoned pro trying to trim costs, these free or low-cost tools can earn attention without burning your wallet.

Aside from unique safety issues, selling ranch and farmland often involves managing the emotions of many different stakeholders who may not understand the property they have on their hands. Meet the few brave pros who take on this work.

Small-business owners can use five strategies to help their companies flourish in 2023, writes Anago Cleaning Systems CEO Adam Povlitz, who stresses the need to anticipate change in the economy, listen to employees' perspectives and invest in personnel. "Traditional customer service is vital for all businesses but is paramount for small businesses," Povlitz writes.

A record-breaking 91% of businesses are using video as a marketing tool and consumers are watching 17 hours of online videos on average every week, per research from Hubspot and Wyzowl. Among research findings: Consumers are increasingly watching videos to learn something new or to hear about products, they desire authenticity and relatable content, and 52% prefer videos that run 3 minutes or less.

The age of first-time buyers has reached an all-time high, with many older Americans looking to buy a home as a hedge against rising costs during their fixed-income years. "Older buyers are often much better prepared to deal with the inevitable frustrations that come with trying to buy a home," said Todd Seward, a New Jersey-based real estate professional with RE/MAX.

Innovation needn't be painful if companies favor simple solutions to add "incremental value to the day-to-day lives of customers or employees or both," argues Avaya executive Stephen Cunningham. Examples include cloud-driven automation, analytics and artificial intelligence.

Coaching is a valuable benefit to offer to high-performing employees, but the opportunity must be presented in the right way to get their full buy-in, writes Laura Weldy, a woman's leadership coach. Weldy advises emphasizing how coaching can unlock potential, accelerate career growth and show the employee that they are being viewed as leadership potential.

The REALTORS® Relief Foundation is providing $1.6 million in grants to help disaster victims in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Valley, Ala., has a history of criminally charging Black homeowners for overdue solid waste fees, with hundreds of arrests made since 2004. The Southern Poverty Law Center says the city policy may be in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Financial assets have flowed to nonbank entities such as hedge funds and insurance companies in the years following the financial crisis, with the shift driven by low interest rates and strict oversight of traditional banks, according to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF is calling for stronger oversight of nonbanks, which now have about half of the assets in the global financial system.