The end of the year is almost here, and there are three questions you absolutely need to be asking yourself about your business before next year begins.

It’s time for Realtor Reflections. The year is almost over. A new year is starting, and one of the things that we should always be doing is evaluating,

“Where did we get our business last year?” What were my top three sources? Did they come from my sphere? Was it open houses? Was I doing Zillow leads? Is it pay-per-click advertising? Is it my BNI networking group? Whatever it is, we want to know what those top three sources are, so we have some insight on how we find our business.

2023 is not going to be quite as abundant in sales opportunities as 2022. Most of the pundits out there believe that there will be 25-35% less sales to be had in 2023. I’m sorry but I’m going to keep it real for a second. One of the questions you have to ask yourself is “If the market contracts by 25-35%, am I going to be all right?” Specifically, are those three lead sources going to sustain me if everything contracts a little bit? If the answer to that is anything other than “Heck yeah,” then we need to be asking ourselves right now “What additional lead source can I add and commit to, whether that commitment is money or time or a combination of two, what fourth additional lead source can I be adding to make sure my income doesn’t go backwards when the market contracts?”

Those of us that invest our time and money in our business in 2023 are going to experience a much larger crop of sales and captured market share when the real estate market rebounds.

I’ll give you one more question that you should be asking yourself going into 2023, “If the market contracts and I’m not super confident about my lead sources, what personal expenses am I incurring that I don’t necessarily need in expense structure?” We never want to cut business expenses unless we have to because business expenses drive our business and move our income forward. However, we should be asking ourselves if we need to trim personal expenses. Cut personal expenses first so that we can continue to invest in ourselves and our financial future through the growth of our business.

All that Doom and Gloom aside, for those of us that choose to level up, we’re going to have a great year in 2023. I wish you a very safe and happy New Year.