Barefoot Owners on the Razor’s Edge
April 6, 2009 by e-Partner · Leave a Comment
Owners are engaged in the delicate balancing act; walking on the razor’s edge, barefoot.
Slicing into Profit
The razor upon which owners must balance themselves is now slicing so deeply into revenues that profitability is now proving more and more illusive. Today’s Broker/Owners are confronted with an economy that is not rebounding fast enough to enable them to survive.
e-Partner has long held that Broker/Owners are the financial backbone of the real estate industry and that their survival should be one of the top priorities of our industry through 2010.
Our Bleeding Feet
The razor’s edge takes no prisoners and yields no concessions to owners who are struggling to meet their ever increasing general operating expenses. Trapped by the same economic factors faced by other businesses, owners are looking for ways to decrease fixed and personally guaranteed obligations.
e-Partner talks to owners from every brand and those who are independent and the story is generally the same. There are simply too few closing and too much bricks-and-mortar operating expenses. “There is just not enough transaction commission to meet the monthly demands we have,” one broker/owner told us.
Mandatory Agility
Agility, created and sustained, is the first of the Ten Commandments of the New Real Estate Economy.
Although we are not quick on our feet, the razor’s edge is sensitizing us to perils of standing still for too long in one place. Our bloated organization body weight presses down on the sharp stainless steel edge and this slices away large chunks of capital required to sustain retail models.
New principle: the razor’s edge is now an owner’s continuing reality and he/she/all of us will learn to walk on this edge nimbly and quickly or, we will be cut to pieces.
Hungry? Read more and comment…
The Third Economic Wave
April 1, 2009 by e-Partner · Leave a Comment
The real estate industry is made up three economic waves, those being the Broker-Centric Era, the Agent-Centric Era and the third we call the Consumer-Centric Era.
The Consumer Centric Era began circa 1994 with the placement of the first property listings and photos on the Internet. It is an era dominated by the open distributioin of property information to consumers that largely reject the old retail bricks and mortar interface with brokers.
More than any other era, the consumer-centric era will have the greatest impact on real estate brokerage business models and Broker/Owner profitability.
Need help with your Internet business model. Call e-Partner toll free at 1-877-380-1000 or use our contact form.
Bricks and Mortar Websites
March 31, 2009 by e-Partner · Leave a Comment
Often, our Internet business models are reflections of our bricks and mortar business models. Our websites are mirrored images of our local market models and can sometimes send the wrong message to a consumer.
Listen to this e-Partner Podcast by Founder, Donald Teel as he discusses “Bricks and Mortar Websites.”
Need help with your Internet business model. Call e-Partner toll free at 1-877-380-1000 or use our contact form.
