Tag: Business Reality

  • You Don’t Get Something for Nothing

    You Don’t Get Something for Nothing

    You’d have to be blind not to notice how much gambling and daily fantasy sports have exploded. Sports leagues used to go out of their way to avoid any association with gambling. Now they’re running straight into its arms because of the money involved.

    It’s not like gambling wasn’t happening before. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with it. My brother and I play daily fantasy sports at a very cheap level, purely for entertainment. We don’t think we’re ever going to win any real money. I suppose it could happen, but it probably won’t.

    I’ve never withdrawn money from my account, so I guess I’ve never really won anything. I’m just happy I haven’t had to deposit money to keep playing in over a year.

    The problem with gambling is how a lot of people think about it. They treat it like the lottery. A way to get something for nothing. That’s not how it works.

    If you don’t put anything in, you don’t get anything out. If you don’t pay, you don’t get paid. You get what you pay for.

    A good rule of thumb is this: if someone thinks they can make actual money gambling, as opposed to just having a little fun, you should avoid getting tied to them financially. It’s usually not a question of if they run into a problem later. It’s when.

    So what does that have to do with real estate?

    A lot, actually.

    There are plenty of people who want top-end service and real expertise, but don’t want to pay for it. One thing real estate has going for it, from a customer’s perspective, is that you generally don’t pay anything until something actually happens. You’re not paying upfront for a result that may never come. When it works, you know what you’re getting.

    Even so, people ask me all the time if I can discount my fee.

    The answer is no.

    I don’t do business with people who want something for nothing. In my experience, those are exactly the people who end up causing the most trouble later.

    Or look at it this way. If I can’t defend my fee structure with you, am I really the person you want negotiating on your behalf?

    That doesn’t mean nothing is free, though.

    I offer a free, no-obligation analysis of any acreage or lot property. You get real data showing relevant sales, plus other information that affects the value and desirability of your property. I’ll also update it for free later if you ask.

    There are no upfront costs to list, either. You can get pretty far down the road for “free,” even with me.

    When it sells, it’s at the customary fee I charge. That part isn’t negotiable.

    By then, you understand that the peace of mind of working with a real professional, and the possibility that you may come out ahead compared to using a discount broker, more than outweighs any so-called discount.

    You can get your free report below:

  • If the Paying Customers Leave, You’re Already Done

    If the Paying Customers Leave, You’re Already Done

    I’ve been reading articles in the Dallas Morning News lately that feel even more unhinged from reality than they used to.

    Part of the problem is obvious. They don’t seem to employ enough editors. I read something a while back that more or less admitted they don’t review a surprising percentage of what gets posted online.

    What they do seem to employ is a lot of young people who think they’re there to save the world, without the life experience to realize they’re repeating feel-good ideas that don’t work in the real world.

    When you talk to people about this, they’ll usually say, “That’s why newspapers are going out of business. They’re not serving their audience.”

    That’s not really true.

    Newspapers were never truly in the news business. They were in the advertising business.

    More accurately, the eyeballs business.

    The reporting existed to attract an audience. The audience’s attention was the product. Advertisers bought classified and print ads to access it. That’s where the money was. Always was.

    It’s the same model Facebook and other online businesses use today. Anytime something is free or very cheap, you’re probably the product, not the customer.

    Even back then, plenty of reporters thought they were saving the world. From a business standpoint, journalism was a loss leader. It supported the real business, which was ads.

    At the time, those ads were a cash machine. Big enough that management could afford to indulge that delusion.

    Now the ads are gone.

    Nobody buys classifieds anymore. Circulation is down, so print ads don’t matter. The economic engine that supported the whole thing is dead.

    What’s left is a shell. And the people still inside it are often the ones who never really understood what business they were in.

    If there’s a lesson here, it’s simple. You have to know what business you’re actually in. And if that business no longer exists, you don’t fix it by pretending harder.

    You get into a different one.

    Real estate brokerage is what I do, but it isn’t my main business. I’m in the trust business. And I’m in the marketing business.

    When the market is roaring, anyone can look competent. Most of those people disappear when things get tough.

    But when you’ve built trust over decades with repeat clients, you can withstand market swings.

    You may not be looking to sell today. You may think you’re never going to sell.

    A surprising number of people who say that eventually do.

    The time to prepare for a big decision is when you’re not under pressure. It may never happen. But if it does, you don’t want to start from zero.

    I offer a free, no-obligation analysis on any non-residential property. It includes real sales relevant to your property, market trends, and nearby development information when applicable.

    It’s updated for free anytime you ask.

    And it comes from someone who does what he says, doesn’t exaggerate to get listings, and will still be in business if things change later.

    Would it hurt anything to take a look?