Real Estate Business – The Dangers of Being Too Busy
One of the roadblocks and traps of launching and running a real estate business, or simply investing by yourself is just being too busy. How do you beat that?
While many get into real estate specifically to be able to enjoy more free time and a flexible schedule, many discover they are busier than ever. There may certainly be periods when we all have to put in a little more hustle and sprint to level up or take advantage of opportunities. However, if busyness becomes a habit, and the norm, it can actually be dangerous in many ways. Respect these dangers. Learn to recognize them, and what you can do to maximize the upside.
The Problem with Being Too Busy
Just some of the dangers of allowing yourself to become too frantically busy include:
- Missing out on what is most important in life
- Failing to enjoy the journey
- Alienating and losing great employees and team members
- Burning valuable vendors
- Poor decision making
- Missing good real estate deals
- Never getting started in real estate
- Stress and health issues
- Damaging personal and business brand reputation by constantly being late, or appearing rude
- Lack of focus, which can mean achieving less, even though working harder and more hours
No one intends to incur any of the above. Yet, it happens to investors and real estate CEOs, far more than is admitted. So, whether you are just looking to launch a real estate startup, get started in real estate investment, or you are already feeling the pinch from some of these things; how do you get out in front of it, and get more of what you really want?
Prioritize
One way to avoid being caught up in the frenzy, and suffering the above effects is to clearly prioritize. Know what is most important to you. Schedule in what is most important first. Don’t let others move your schedule. Once your most important tasks are done, then you can allow yourself to explore other things, if you have the free time. When setting up your calendar this might look like; blocking time for your family first, then time to think about how to grow your business, then marketing for new leads, then follow up, and everything else.
Organization
If you are not organized, you are bound to fall prey to being overly busy. Whether it is direct investment in real estate, or operating a company, there are many areas in which organization is make or break for ruling your time. This can especially apply to payroll, instructing employees and vendors, and customer service. Streamline these interactions with collaborative project management software, and smart systems. Wherever possible incorporate existing, proven systems. Even if they are not perfect or perfectly the way you’d do it from scratch – the time savings and efficiency will make all the difference. Then you’ll have the free bandwidth to improve upon them later. When doing anything new for the first time document it, and make that a part of your system. It may appear to take longer in the beginning, but you’ll almost immediately see the benefits. Group 46:10 Network is one of the fastest growing and top performing real estate brokerage teams in the US. They close more than a deal a day, and are in seven different states. The founders still find time to coach others. Why? Because their group was founded on the principal of “start as you mean to finish.” They got organized, and created systems. It paid off, and teaching those systems to Realtors has now become an additional revenue source.
Reserve Extra Free Time
One thing you’ll quickly learn in the real estate business is that many things typically take longer than you expect. That includes; designing new marketing materials, getting a website designed, rehabbing homes, driving to properties and meetings, and getting from contract to closing. If your schedule is already totally stacked, and you miss a day, or something falls behind a day in the pipeline it can be complete mayhem. It can take you months to catch up. You’ll be stressed, money will be tighter, and you can miss out on that all-important quality time with those you love. Beat this by scheduling in free time and time buffers in advance. Don’t schedule meetings back to back. Give yourself an extra 30 minutes, just in case. Allow extra days for closings when doing your math and managing cash flow. Give yourself a couple of flex hours in the work day that can absorb any additional time demands, without having to start working late or working the holidays.
Think Bigger
The main reason that busyness consumes us is that we don’t make enough per hour. You can work at that burger joint 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, without ever taking a vacation, and never make ends meet for your family. Many Realtors only average a couple hundred dollars an hour, and they have much bigger expenses. If you could get a return of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per hour you put into your real estate business, you’d need to put in far fewer hours. So, think bigger, delegate, and if you are still stuck, get the outside perspective of a coach.
