When things are going bad with the market and there is not a lot of hope on the horizon it can be easy to fall into a pessimistic state. You can very easily see the bad in everything. You attitude turns to one where you start to stop planning for the future and begin to believe that things will never look up.

If you want to continue growing your business and make it through this rough patch then you have to change how you think right now. You have to get rid of the pessimistic attitude and start adopting an optimistic attitude instead.

Start by changing how you think. Instead of jumping on negative things, try to find something positive in everything. Look for positive news or something positive to focus on everyday so you can start to ignore the feelings and thoughts that are negative. It takes focus, but after a while you will find yourself going to the positive instead of the negative.

Make a plan that allows for set backs. Set goals. Try to set yourself for success instead of failure. Give yourself steps to reach your goals that will be easy to reach. Do not set goals that will be too hard to reach. Don’t set yourself up for failure. This is common in people who take a pessimistic view.

Changing from being a pessimist to an optimist is not easy, but it is worth it. When you start seeking out the positive, you will see a big change. You will be happier, more productive and better able to cope when problems do occur.

As a business owner you probably know that time management is essential to keeping your business running smoothly. However, good time management does more than just help your business run properly. Here are some more rewards you get from proper management of your time:

- Boost in self confidence. This is a side effect of things running good and of knowing that you have everything handled. When you are organized and have time management mastered you just feel better about yourself and that will show through in every aspect of your life.

- Balance between work and personal life. When you have time management skills you can balance things at home and work without feeling as if you are being pulled in a million different directions.

- Less stress. When you have things together and everything is running as it should be you are less likely to be stressed.

- Better relationships. When you manage your time you include time to allow you to build up and nurture relationships, both personal and professional.

- Better perspective. Your planning and managing will allow you to not get overwhelmed and you will be able to really see what is happening. This will lead to being able to ensure your business is on track and let you catch problems early.

Time management is about more than just making sure things get done. It is something that will effect you in every aspect of your life. It can make your life easier and help you to run your business better. If you are not using time management well in your business then right now is the time to start.

It is common for a business owner to get themselves overwhelmed with work. You try to do everything because you want it done right and you don’t trust anyone else to do it. You have a lot riding on the success of your business so you throw yourself into it, completely. Is this really helping?

The answer is no. You cannot let your business run you. You are supposed to be running your business. Don’t get so wrapped up in the business that you lose yourself.

Sometimes all you need to do is take a step back. Look at what is happening. Are you able to really live your life or are you always working? Is it worth the pay off? Are you sacrificing important things in life for your business?

Owning a business does involve sacrifice, but you should never lose yourself. You still need to live. After all, you started your business so you could have a better life, right? Sometimes you have to know when it is too much.

If your business is running you then get help. Hire assistants. Outsource tasks. Do what you have to so you are in charge again. You can be a success without living for your business. It is a part of your life. It should not be your life.

Do you ever feel like you are losing focus? Are more days overwhelming than not? Do you wake up wishing the day was over already? It may just be time for a day off.

Don’t’ be so shocked. Even top agents take a day off. Everyone needs a break now and then. Working yourself to death won’t do you, your clients or your business any good. One day without you is nothing.

Think about it. When you are only half there are you really doing a good job? Not likely. That is why you have to take a day here and there to recharge. Once you do, you can get right back to work with confidence and energy.

You have to take time off. You cannot work day in and day out. It is bad for everyone. You won’t be able to give your clients the best service and your business will end up suffering.

Don’t fear a vacation either. Sometimes one day won’t cut it. Take a week. Just rest up and refresh so that when you come back you are able to jump back in and tackle everything that comes your way with a healthy energy and passion.

Nothing kills a business quicker than an overworked owner. Don’t let your business suffer. Take some “me time” and don’t feel bad about it. You’re doing it for everyone.

You may think that you are doing an amazing job with handling your clients. Your people skills may be great and your ability to communicate may be second to none. You might also be missing something about how you interact with clients.

There are two main ways to approach client interactions. You can either connect with your clients or impress your clients. Connecting with clients means that you are forming a real relationship with them. You are friendly and show an interest in them.

When you are simply out to impress clients, you are more focused on you. You are sales oriented and you try to show off your knowledge and skills. Clients see this as being pushy or being disconnected and only interested in making money.

Every good real estate agent knows that to be successful, you have to stop trying to impress clients and focus on connecting with them. Only then can you really build that bond that will keep them loyal to you and that will give them the ability to trust you.

How you deal with a crisis is important in business. As a business owner you probably face crises everyday. Some may be small and some may be very serious. No matter the extent of the crisis, you must know how to handle it properly and not let yourself freak out in the face of an issue.

Here are 5 simple steps you should take to handle any crisis that comes your way:

Step 1: Face the crisis head on. Many people often feel the need to avoid the crisis or put off handling it. This usually only makes matters worse. Step up to it and face it right away instead of running or ignoring it.

Step 2: Clarify the crisis. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed and make things out to be much worse than they are. Simply take a look at the facts. Separate out the fiction and stick with the facts. Get to the heart of what is happening so you are better equipped to handle it.

Step 3: Take emotions out of the situation. When you get too emotional about something it clouds your mind and takes away your ability to reason. You need to push emotions aside and look at the crisis with a clear head.

Step 4: Come up with a solution. Now that you know what is happening and you have a clear head, you can begin to formulate a solution. This can take time, but you should be able to clear up any crisis if you just focus on finding the best solution.

Step 5: Solve the crisis. Once you have your solution all that is left to do is put it to work and solve the crisis.

These 5 steps may seem simple, but all too often when faced with a crisis, people get too worked up. By taking a step by step approach, you can be a master at handling any crisis that comes your way.

You probably know that getting feedback is a good way to monitor your sales efforts and ensure that your business is on track. Feedback allows you to find out what people think about your service and if they think there are things that you can improve upon. You need to get feedback from anyone you work with. That includes those selling homes, as well as those buying homes.

Seller feedback can help you to lower stress and make clients happier. It will help you to learn about what things you did that really stood out. You can find out if they would do business with you again and why or why not.

Feedback should be collected on a regular basis. It is not something to let slide. If you must, hire someone to handle feedback. This not only includes gathering it, but also addressing concerns and making you aware of what the feedback has been about all aspects of your business.

By getting feedback and using it you can make your business better. When you improve your business, you improve your profits, so it is something that you definitely want to keep a handle on.

Halloween makes for an amazing marketing opportunity. It is a fun holiday that allows you to be real creative with your marketing and try some out of the ordinary things. Take advantage of Halloween and kick your marketing efforts into high gear during the month of October.

A fun marketing idea that is sure to draw a large crowd is staging a Ghoul street. This is great f you have several listings in one neighborhood. Have the homes decorated in different homes. Make it a fun time by sending out a public invitation. Everyone comes and tours the decorated homes, enjoy a few treats and possibly even help you make a sale.

Another idea, if you are not into house decorating is using postcard marketing. Instead of the typical ho-hum postcard mailing, dress it up for Halloween. Try an eerie headline, a creepy design or even make the postcard an invite to a Halloween party.

Halloween is a very unique time of year. It is fun and a great theme for your marketing efforts. Don’t let the month of October pass you by without taking time to plan at least one big Halloween marketing event.

Part of being a top agent is knowing what is happening in the market. One day you may be focused on sellers and the next day you may need to switch to focus on buyers. You just never know where the market will lead you. You have to stay on your toes and keep up with the trends if you want to be on top.

In the current market there has been a lot of focus on REO and short sales. Maybe you have been focusing your efforts in this market. There has been a temporary drop in volume in REOs and this has proven to be hurting many agents who have not adjusted their sales methods to accommodate this change.

Another thing to watch for is the coming wave in REO and foreclosure. This is anticipated to be a nice wave, but what you may not know is that it is likely to be much bigger than what we just saw. You should be working towards moving efforts that direction so you can capitalize on it.

You also should be aware that with the current trends in real estate, some markets may never fully recover. Homeowners have been hit hard by the economic conditions and that has led to a rapid change in many markets across the country. These changes may mean some markets may never regain their value.

These are just a few things that are happening and that may happen in the near future. You have to stay sharp and know what is going on if you want to reach top agent status. Keep up with trends and do your research so you are not wasting time focusing in on markets or segments that are not profitable.

Setting goals is the easiest part of achieving your dreams. It is reaching the goals that can be difficult. Many people feel overwhelmed and just do not know where to start on the path to reaching their goals. The best way to go about it is to take small steps.

When you take small steps it breaks down the long process and makes it easier. It makes your goals much more attainable. You no longer feel like you are trying to accomplish so big that it is impossible.

You may think that by taking small steps you will never reach your goals, but the truth is that when you try to accomplish too much too soon it can hold you back. When you try small steps you will be working at a pace that you can keep up with. You will not be trying to do more than you handle.

Here is a video that talks about reaching goals through small steps. This video focuses on MLM, but what he says really would be applicable to any business. The main idea is all about how to take small steps to make big things happen.



When you set a goal try to break it down into small stesp. Once you get started you will see that you can make amazing changes rather quickly just by moving in small steps.