Mind Your Own Business!

Mind Your Own Business!

Most Realtors® believe that because they earn a license that they have simultaneously become a Real Estate Business owner. They have confused having a business with being a part of an industry. Dave Ramsey often says that if you are running a business that is not profitable, you don't own a business . . . you have a really expensive hobby.

Here are some indicators that will help you determine whether you are truly running a business:

Mindset and Attitude: Your mindset predetermines your responses to situations. It is the filter through which you see life. If you are a Realtor®, yet you refuse to exercise self control and mastery over time and task management and lead generation and conversion, you are fooling yourself.

Commitment: Business owners are committed to their business. They continually make investments in that business. They have dedicated office space, state of the art tools, and they are at the cutting edge of industry techniques. They have a course of action that they have charted, and they stick to it.

Focus: Undivided focus and attention to your goals. How well do you know your numbers? How close are you to achieving the goals you set at the beginning of the year? Do you focus on dollar productive activities? Is your business prospecting based and marketing enhanced, or are you one of the bazillion agents who are praying that your phone will ring?

Business Plan: Goals without a timeline and a plan are a wish! If you are a full-fledged business owner, you should have a business plan that contains objectives, budgets, staff/leverage, lead sources, targeted marketing strategies, educational needs, proven systems and models and action plans.

Capital: Legitimate businesses have capital accounts and budgets. They spend by design, not by default. And, they have a rainy day fund. Most Realtors® do not. That is why there was a mass exodus from the industry at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. Companies and agents did not have capital set aside to fund them through the market shift.

Models & Systems: Economic Models (how much money they need to make, and how they will make it), Lead Generation (to help them generate the leads and convert them into dollars), Budget (expenditures that they will have to make to support the budget) and organizational (staffing and leverage to support the tasks necessary to power the other models).

Scorecards / Goal Boards: It is imperative to track your progress DAILY so that you know how far off track you are. Visually define your goals so that tracking is easy! Be able to reconcile every activity with associated results. If actions are not producing results STOP doing them!

Accountability: If you are not holding yourself accountable for results, you are not running a business. Do you do it? Do you own it? No excuses!

Coaching/Consulting: The most successful athletes and businesses hire unbiased, knowledgeable coaches or consultants who will hold them accountable to focusing on dollar productive activities and achieving results. Their mantra is: efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. Coaches help you become more effective!

Do you own a business? If so, continue to improve it! If not, do you want to? If so, become learning-based, study proven real estate business models, and take the appropriate actions based on where you are today. It will be worth it!

For a complimentary business evaluation, contact me at 615-431-4701 or by email at paulamosley@kw.com or visit my website: rockstarsdothemodels.com.