Think-Realty-Magazine-September-2020

plined people, and disciplined action. It’s more important than ever in the post-COVID world. When you have a strong, united team, you’re more prepared to overcome issues and challenges together. According to a Harvard Business Review report, strong company culture boosts team engagement, resulting in an average earnings growth of 28%. Similarly, a Universi- ty of Warwick study found that engaged, happy employees are 12% more productive. Without discipline, your operations and therefore your strategy will falter—even during boom times. In the post- COVID world, it’s even more important to have the best possible operations and personnel in place. Establish a sustainable business model of success in the post-COVID world Just as we should employ a more conservative in- vestment approach, real estate investors should take additional precautions with how they manage personnel and operations. You have to adjust resources to focus on long-term sustainability. If you don’t, the market could swallow you. As Paul Moore, a commercial real estate investor, attests, a primary reason real estate entrepreneurs fail is because they fail to understand and act according to cycles. During the end of cycles, they fail to see the warn- ing signs, take on too much risk, and end up paying for it when the market drops. Nobody could’ve predicted COVID-19 back in late 2019. But you still should’ve been preparing to protect yourself from a downturn. Seeing that the market is in flux now, you should take steps to manage the continuing uncertainty. You may be thinking that you’ll just white-knuckle it until things stabilize. But nobody can predict with 100% accuracy how the post-COVID world will turn. As a survey of real estate experts from Attom Data, First American Financial Corporation, Redfin, and others, shows, there isn’t a consensus on whether a V-shaped or W-shaped recovery will happen, nor agreement on how long that recovery will take. So, what can you do to ensure your survival? Well, you can take steps to seize opportunities. Because they do exist. In the months ahead, you may see less inventory and fewer flips. However, good investors won’t have prob - lems finding deals because there’s more volatility, more distress, and less competition. Remember: As investors, we buy deals, not markets. There are always deals, especially in volatile markets. For instance, look at how mortgage delinquencies shot up along with the unemployment in the early days of the pandemic. Certainly, this could result in distressed in-

ventory hitting the market. That means good deals will be available to those investors who are prepared.

Now, the question is: How do you get yourself ready to get these deals? It centers on having these four quadrants: • Disciplined people • Disciplined operations • Disciplined strategy • Disciplined acceleration These four quadrants are known as the Elite Execution System (EES). Let’s get into detail about what this busi - ness model of success looks like 1. Have a clear strategy At DLP Real Estate Capital, we use what we call the DLP Elite Compass. The Elite Compass directs our path. It’s a tool for mapping out our growth, building our strategy, and ultimately getting on the right path to achieving our vision. The Compass sets the path to where we are going. It ensures the whole company is aligned and we’re all working towards the same goals. These aren’t ‘pie-in- the-sky’ goals, but realistic plans that can be executed and achieved. Simply put, having a clear strategy, like the Compass, allows you to consistently execute and stay on track. It’s a tool that can enable you to reach and exceed your goals. 2. Set clear goals Your goals must be S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely). 3. Knowyour KeyNumbers Know your numbers so you can analyze successes and

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