Real estate leaders, it’s time for a course correction

Changing Course

Having started my first residential brokerage business in Marin County, California in 2006, I enjoyed 20 months of hyper-growth as a start up only to get slammed by the September 2008 meltdown of the equities markets – The Great Recession!

Now is the time for brokerage leaders to change course.

I had small, boutique offices, a highly qualified and nimble professional staff and all were striving to make our real estate professionals as successful as possible. We also had a fiscal discipline required by a start up without venture capital funding. In Q4 2008, revenues [GCI] fell by 40% and stayed there until March 2009.

We developed a weekly fiscal focus that proved successful for the next decade. Every Friday at 5 p.m., I received a report on new listings, new escrows, closings, and a rolling 90-day cashflow forecast. We had no choice but to manage the survival of the business.