45 Years of Roller Coaster Real Estate Business

Forty five years ago, I obtained my real estate license. It really is hard to fathom, but here we are, looking for any advantage or tool that will keep the business growing and competitive. In that regard, I have this motto, not an original one, but one that has done well over the years. “Whatever It Takes” that’s it, with some guidelines, of course, legal and ethical, basically, “The Golden Rule” Do onto others, etc.

Today, we are somewhere in a recession. The media and politicians want to keep looking at the negative, and try to figure a way out of it. The 10% unemployment, the deficit, etc. and they need to continue their efforts, of course. That’s what you and I pay them for. Meanwhile, real estate practitioners also need to keep doing what they do and I sometimes see them being pulled down into the muck and mire of all the negativity.

What we need to do and have done before, as in the 1989–1992 recession, a rough one, is take the bull by the horn and think, speak, and work positively. Sure the issue is the 10% unemployment, but the other side of that story is there is 90% employment and there is the business we need to concentrate on. Here is what was done during that recession, with great success. We purchased pages of newspaper space, radio and TV time and outdid the negative by distributing a boatload of positive stories on real estate. Yes, it is a tough market to get deals closed, but the other option is sitting on our hands doing nothing. With every downturn in our business, we have learned the way to steer the ship and get through it.

It comes down to “Whatever It Takes”.

Bob Allen

2010 Real Estate Online Continuing Education

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