20 Things We Should Learn from This Economy

I first published this article in February of 2010. Things feel better today than they did then, but these truths still hold.

What are we learning in this economy that will protect us in any economy?

1. Save more than you spend.
2. Don’t expect the good times to last forever.
3. Watch for emerging opportunities that will work if the market changes.
4. Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket.
5. Be flexible and ready to change direction.
6. Have more than one exit strategy in your business.
7. History tends to repeat itself – watch for trends that have happened before.
8. Be aware of areas you can improve.
9. You have a lot of competition. Be better than your competition in something.
10. Do what you do best even better.

Investing in Real estate

1. Buy only when it’s profitable from day one – have equity and cash flow immediately so downturns won’t hurt.
2. Have multiple streams of income: rentals, flips, wholesales, notes, owner financed deals, bank financed.
3. Always be reading and studying the market, mortgage, and regulatory changes.
4. Have many ways to sell: retail sell, owner financed sell, lease-to-own, rental – make sure you can make money no matter how your investment sells.
5. Pay attention to history – most markets are cyclical.
6. How are you, or can you be, better than your competition? Get there.
7. Focus on marketing, branding, customer service. You must stand out in the crowd.
8. There aren’t many spendable dollars today. Why will people spend theirs with you?
9. Offer training and information that the public needs.
10. Find a need. Fill it.

What do you have to work with? What would you add to this list?