In real estate, to be successful, you have to wear three hats. You're the CEO, the COO, and the CFO. As the CEO you have to make sure your business is out there connecting with new clients, staying in the forefront of your contacts' minds, so when they or their family and friends are ready to buy or sell real estate, you're the one they think of as their agent. The most important activity you must engage in is keeping a constantly growing database, the heart of your business.
As COO, your primary responsibility is customer service. Your clients expect transactions to go as smoothly as possible, which means being there when they need you, and sometimes being there even when they don't expect you to be. This part of the business can be so time consuming that it's easy to get lost in being the COO and forget about doing what you need to do as the CEO to keep your business humming.
The third hat is the CFO, which means you have to keep an eye on what you earn and how you spend that hard-earned money.
Most real estate agents are independent contractors who can determine what their days look like, which is why it's important to understand the three roles and the amount of time necessary for each role in order to have a successful business. The CEO is the one who works the hardest. Keeping the database up is five times more important than the other two; as the heart of your business, if it isn't pumping, you don't have much of a life!
By the way, those of you who are reading this need to be apprised of the fact that this information is closely allied with the philosophy and training methodology of Brian Buffini, well-known real estate guru who has been training agents for over 15 years, including yours truly. In case Brian himself is reading this (or his lawyers), this is my attempt to give credit where credit is due, sort of like the bibliography in a master's dissertation. Brian was born and raised in Ireland. He came to the US, settled in San Diego, and became one of the most successful real estate agents in the country.
Back to the title of this blog entry, or actually to it for the first time, Santa Cruz real estate is in many ways unique. Though not immune from the debacles in the financial industries which caused the real estate meltdown, this little county nestled close to Silicon Valley is in a position to rebound more quickly than most of the rest of the country. The amount of value lost hovers around 30%, depending on the property of course. Some of the San Lorenzo Valley properties lost more because they tended to be less desirable than, say, the Westside, which has fared better because that's where people want to live. It's all about inventory, supply and demand.
Being close to Silicon Valley, which is recovering faster that most other areas of the nation, has a beneficial effect on our real estate. While Santa Clara Valley is not a bad place to live, it's still a lot of traffic and a lot of people to contend with. Compare it with the splendor of the Santa Cruz mountains and the beauty of Monterey Bay, and despite the traffic on Highway 1 at 4 PM, you just can't beat the allure of Santa Cruz. There's something about a beach town that is special.
Santa Cruz has had a slow-growth policy for the last 40 years. I know from experience, as I built my family home on five acres outside of Soquel in the 70's and added on in the late 80's, and the building regulations were not easy to deal with either time.
For real estate, this has been a two-edged sword. With less inventory, there's less to sell. On the other hand, that's why values didn't fall as much in the downturn. Also, when you have people from out of the area looking for vacation or seaside investment properties, or workers from Silicon Valley looking for a home on the coast, the fact that the supply is never quite as large as the demand makes real estate in the area more desirable.
So, as CEO of my own business, I'm interested in asking you a question. If you or your family or friends are interested in buying or selling Santa Cruz real estate, I would love to be your agent. Just give me a call or repond to this blog, and you'll get the best personal service ever.
