I have no doubt you've heard the saying by Benjamin Franklin: "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." I heard it growing up and vaguely remember thinking, "That's obvious; that makes sense." It really is a great message, but as adults, we know it is not always 100% true.

In the last few years, a lot of people in this industry have succeeded, and done enough to survive, without a plan at all. For a time, if you could fog a mirror and show up, you could make it in this business. That time in this industry was an anomaly, and it may not ever happen again.

I can tell you this with certainty:

1. No one has ever been ALL they can be without a proven and repeatable plan.
           2. In 2023, you cannot leave it up to chance! You cannot risk winging it!
    

Are you achieving everything you hoped to achieve? Are you putting in your absolute best effort? Could you have done more? Do you want to do more? Have you mapped out the path you are going to follow this year?

Larry Kendall, the lead Ninja, says your real estate year should begin in November or December each year. This is 30 to 60 days before Q1 begins (typical sales cycle). If you want to have a great first quarter in 2023, you need to start today. So, if you have not created your plan already, do it now!

- Just get started: To a lot of us, this feels like a daunting task; it's not. Getting started is the hardest part by far. If you need help, your Broker has access to the Ninja Business Plan. It's simple, complete and easily the best real estate business plan I've ever seen. Reach out to us; don't be shy.

- Be honest: Start with what you did last year, analyze it and learn from your past. What were your sources of business? What was your Seller/Buyer ratio? Average sales price? Daily activities? What can you do better? What do you need to do less of and more of?

- Don't shoot for the Moon: While it is "possible" to increase your production 300%, it's not likely. Goals need to be attainable. Don't make them too easy either, definitely make yourself stretch out of your comfort zone. Studies show, goals that are too lofty, and therefore never met, leave us feeling down and less likely to make a plan again even if we improved on our last year.

- Take small bites:  Start with the big stuff - volume, GCI and transaction goals. But, you have to break it down into smaller actions. You need to know what you must do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. What tasks must you accomplish every single day to get where you want to be? If you don't chunk it down into small bites it becomes overbearing, heavy and too big deal with.

- Schedule time: In this "everything is an emergency" industry you have to schedule some time for your essential actions. If you don't time block a small fraction of your time to focus on proven actions for success, then you'll never know where your next paycheck is coming from in this business. Nationwide studies show, the highest producing full-time agents time block to focus on their action plan.

- Review it often: Do you want to be an On-Purpose Realtor or an On-Accident Realtor? If you don't have a written plan, and you don't review it regularly for adjustments, you are on not working On-Purpose. A quick weekly review of your plan gives you the ability to "course correct" as you go. This will keep you from continuing in directions that are counterproductive.

- Share it: Not only is creating a business plan essential to being all you can be in Real Estate; it is also important to share your plan with someone. Getting together in a small group is always best. There is an almost magical energy and synergy to business planning as a group. Whatever you do, DO share it with your Broker.

If you focus on productive activities, sales production takes care of itself.