Sometimes as business owners its easy to get caught up in the day to day dramas. Here is a list of big picture items every business owner (especially real estate agents and brokers) should be on top of.

1. Have a Clear Focus

It lets everyone in your business know who you are and what you stand for. Know where you want to be in 1 month, 1 year, 5 years time, what do you want to achieve?

Let everyone in your business know. Once you know what you want to be and do, decisions on everything become much easier, you will be able to filter out opportunities that wont take you towards your goal.

Once you internalize what you do, positioning to the market becomes much easier.

Say your an agent pitching someone on selling their waterfront condo, are you the agent that represents anyone and everyone OR are you the waterfront condo specialist thats sold 12 already this year.

“If you dont know where you are going, any road will get you there.” -Lewis Carroll

2. Systemize Everything

You dont have a business if you dont have systems. What happens when you dont feel like working or when you get sick? Do you just run around all day chasing clients and doing weird side projects.

Do you have a repeatable system to get new clients and keep the business profitable? Even if you are just one person you should be building systems.

The best book on the subject is the E-Myth, you can find a summary here .

3. Continuously Improve

We come across far to many people that have the attitude of I have 15 years experience in business, this internet thing doesnt affect me.

Righttt.most of these people actually have 1 years experience in business repeated 15 times.

You need to be continuously improving, especially in real estate if your standing still your actually going backwards. Continue learning and making your systems more efficient.

4. Leverage Technology

Too few businesses have any kind of automation or cloud based services at all.

Now is an amazing time,  more efficient online tools are available too you at super low cost if not free. Google Apps (cloud based word, excel, email etc) is free! WordPress the most popular website platform in the world is free!

You can learn just about anything via videos on Youtube .

5. Listen to your Customers

Its not your competitors you should be scared of its your customers, they are the ones that pay you!

Listen to them, they have all the answers. No-one knows it all, reach out and ask people what they want, then deliver it.

Too many businesses start (and fail) by making something that they think will be awesome but that no-one wants to buy. Do business with people you like (its way more fun).

6. Track Key Metrics & Be Accountable

Tracking the right things is the first step to improving. Most small businesses dont know how much money they made last week, if leads are up this month or down. This stuff is not just important it is critical, dont deal in opinions, use actual data.

Dont keep these figures to yourself, share them with your partner, friends or employees. When everyone knows what the situation is, everyone can pitch in to help. Dont keep people in the dark, you dont have to carry it all on your own shoulders.

7. Balance Work with Play

We believe that you can get it done in 8 hours or less a day. If you work more you are likely highly inefficient. Everyone has 24 hours in a day, you, me, Oprah, everyone! It is one of the few common characteristics everyone on this planet shares.

Too many business owners slave away all day and night, we get it you want to succeed really really bad.

Maybe you are willing to sacrifice everything just to make it. We believe success is achieved through momentum from all parts of your life, maybe the areas of your life you are neglecting are exactly what is holding you back.

Success is a marathon not a sprint, with work/play balance you get the persistence you need to make it.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

-Calvin Coolidge