Take Your Business To New Heights In 2016

It is absolutely vital that you keep your business moving forward at all times. Regardless of where you are or what you accomplished last year, there is always room for improvement. The minute you start resting on your laurels and start patting yourself on the back is when you will see your business start to slip. With 2016 officially underway, it is a good time to think about where you want to be one year from now. If you want to get the most out of your business this year, you need to start planning. Here are a couple of ideas you can use to help grow your business in 2016, or even learn how to start your own business:

1. Team building: To get to where you want to go, you need a good team around you. One of the hardest steps for any growing real estate investor is learning to let go. Sure, you can probably do all the tasks you need done. You can probably do them for less, and may even like handling them. That doesn’t mean you should do everything yourself. Your time is a valuable asset. Getting bogged down dealing with tasks that others can do is not the best allocation of your skill-set. Think about bringing on some help to do these items for you. Whatever it costs, there is a good chance you will earn it back with increased productivity in other areas. Don’t fight against yourself by thinking short term. You may have to make some sacrifices to pay for this help, but it will be the best thing you do moving forward. Don’t think of where your business will be next week or next month, think about where it will be a year from now. Building a team around you will make this transition that much easier

2. Ramp up marketing: You are only as good as the real estate lead generation ideas you bring to fruition. Taking the next step in any business is about good marketing. You don’t necessarily need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on marketing, but you need to do something. Take a look at what you have done up to this point. Stick with what has worked, and try to tweak what hasn’t. You should also write down a list of a half dozen marketing ideas that you haven’t tried yet. This could be anything from bandit signs to advertising on social media. Make the commitment to try one different item a month for three months. It is OK to think outside the box and try your own thing as well. There is no limit to how you can market your business. A portion of every deal you close should be allocated to increasing your marketing. Don’t give up on something if you don’t have immediate results. Some of the best marketing takes time.

3. Focus on important tasks: As an entrepreneur, you are already spread thin. Running a real estate business is no different. You wear many different hats that can leave you scrambling. While you are in the midst of all the chaos around you, it is important to take a deep breath and focus on what is really important. Before you do anything else, learn how to write a business plan.

If you are already well on your way to running a company, you should focus on other areas. Every night before you go to bed you should write down one thing you want to accomplish the next day. Before you get sidetracked with other tasks focus on what you want to get done. This exercise will allow you to finish the most important item before you deal with everything else. Without this, you will end up wondering where your day went and be disappointed with your results. Multitasking is great, but only if you actually work on multiple things at once. Starting and stopping tasks is actually counterproductive. Start focusing on the most important tasks in 2016.

4. Commit to networking: Along with marketing, the best way to grow your business is by networking. Nothing will help your business more than positive word of mouth. To achieve this, you need to get yourself and your business out there. You may spend some time networking, but you need to commit to it. Simply showing up at meetings, having a cup of coffee and leaving is not really networking. You should make it a goal to make one new contact every other week. This should be in your mind with every meeting or club you attend. Positive word of mouth can spread quicker than ever with the advent of technology, so don’t be afraid to harness its power. Don’t just network in 2016, make a commitment to build your business from it.

Self-evaluation is not always the easiest thing to do, but is important for any business. To get to where you want to go, you need to know where you are now. Take inventory of what has worked, what hasn’t and what you need to do better. Often times, changing work habits or even just changing your mindset can make a big difference. There is really not much that separates a good investor from a great one. Think about where you want your business to go, and – more importantly – how you are going to get there. By focusing on these four tasks, you will see sharp improvement in your business this year.