What Does 2020 Look Like?

Yesterday I attended the Idaho Business Review’s Forum on the Future panel. Some of the questions asked were:

Should we be expecting a recession in 2020?

Many of the panelists feel there may be a softening in the market nearing the end of 2020. That said, there is an optimism that it will be a slight reduction and for a short period of time where we cool off and get through unscathed for the most part.

What are the major differences between our current economic environment compared to where we were in 2006?

The major differences between where we are today and where we were in 2006 is the lack of supply in both the residential and commercial markets compared to the surplus we were seeing before the recessions. We also have more strict lending regulations today that require people and businesses to qualify for the purchases we are making today.

Is there going to be a softening in the housing market?

This one isn’t popular for someone looking to purchase a house, but it doesn’t sound like there will be a softening in the housing market in 2020. Instead it appears the lack of supply and increase in demand will cause the market to continue to grow. The positive to this is we have some of the lowest interest rates we’ve ever seen which may allow more people to qualify to purchase their home.

My thoughts are that I am more optimistic than most of the panelists about 2020. We have far more clients looking to buy and build than we do willing sellers looking to cash out. I don’t remember everything from my economics class, but when I was paying attention, I heard something about the balance of supply and demand. Right now we are very far out of balance and have a sellers’ market in both commercial and residential. As long as that continues we should continue on a path of growth.

That said, it is an election year and that can cause some people to hold off on the sidelines until there is a clear direction of where public policy will take us the next four years. This may cause some leveling off, but ultimately real estate is still seen as a very attractive asset class when there is uncertainty. I think the fundamentals of real estate in our valley are strong and we should see a good year in 2020.  

Chase Erkins
Principal
Erkins Commercial Real Estate of Lee & Associates Idaho, LLC

Tips for Small Business Success

The new year is just around the corner. It is time to begin to lay the groundwork for your upcoming success in 2020. If you own a business you probably realize the importance of planning. Here are some simple tips to help any business owner achieve greater success in 2020.

Create a Business Plan

As a business owner you should consider creating a business plan each year. This plan should be very specific and include both long, and short-term goals. When you are ready to work in and on your business, a plan will direct, and help you prioritize. When you have detailed day to day objectives determined, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals written out, you will more likely achieve the desired outcome.

Your business plan should clearly state where you are going, and what the detailed steps are to accomplish your goals. Good questions to ask are, who is responsible for each objective, and can any projects or tasks be outsourced? Many small business owners have a very general business plan. When the plan is general there is an increased probability that mistakes or derailment can happen. It is worthwhile to add as much detail into your business plan to help prioritize your days, weeks, and months. Your Business plan should be a working document that is modified and added to regularly.

Set Goals

Setting Goals is something that only a few people actually like to do. This exercise can be both exciting and daunting. The difficult part of setting goals is that you can go too high or too low. Not setting goals is a way for some to avoid accountability, however people who write their goals down are more successful. We should all be asking ourselves if our goals are measurable, clear, and concise. A few questions to ask are: How you will reach your goal? What is your plan or process? Do you actually know your goals? We will be going more in depth on goals and goal setting in January’s blog post.

Do Your Market Research

You need to know your market, your clients, who and what your competitors are doing. If you do not know this information, it is necessary to find it out immediately. In order to serve your clients, it is important that you know their needs and wants.  It is also important to know what your clients are saying on Social Media and how you rank on the web compared to your competitors. When you are active on Social Media and sharing informative posts, this will help bolster your customer base and keep you front of mind. The statistics on your customer base are easily trackable through Social Media platforms and Google.

Who is your competition, what are they doing to gain clients? Being unaware of what your competitors are doing puts you in a compromising position. You cannot compete in the market unless you know exactly what your competitors are doing and how they are gaining clients and market share. You will not have the ability to gain as many new clients, if you do not know what your competitors are doing. Knowing this information will give you a good insight on what you need to adjust to be successful. 

Create A Structure

Creating a structure sounds more difficult than it actually is. It is simply creating a process for everything you do in your business. You should create a checklist and come up with a process for everything so nothing is forgotten or neglected. This works for your own list as well as for employees. It also builds in natural accountability for others and yourself. The key is to follow through.

Outsource

What can you outsource that is taking too much of your time? There are very simple things that you may need to outsource that you may either not be good at, or perhaps there is a need to focus on other aspects of your business. For example, you could outsource accounting, and taxes, maybe human resources. Do you have a team that you can delegate projects, and outsource items that are necessary, but time consuming?

Hopefully you found these tips useful and will be able to utilize some of them for your success in 2020.

Contact us today to get paired with a commercial real estate expert who can help you determine if you should lease a space or purchase a building for your business!

Original post from Lee & Associates Idaho, LLC