INDICATORS

The Sunday Republic (The main newspaper in the Metro Phoenix area) had a story on the cost of housing. Having been deeply involved with real estate for many years, I have found that real estate values are a good indicator as to the overall health of our economy.

While real estate values do go up and down, over the years real estate has always managed to rebound from a low and become even more valuable than before. Now homebuyers are competing for homes with millions of investment dollars that are purchasing homes for future appreciation.

Demand for housing both single family, condominiums and apartments has created a shortage of skilled labor, and contractors are increasing wages as they compete for skilled workmen.  Increased wages also means that there will be extra money in family incomes which will allow for more “fun spending”, thus stimulating the rest of the economy.

There are many other aspects of our economy that are seeing a growth surge. The question we have to ask ourselves is, “How can my small business take advantage of this opportunity?”

Change is the only constant in the life of a small business, and this is the time to look at your business and to take advantage of this opportunity. What benefits does your product or service provide? Most likely, your target market has more discretionary dollars than ever before, and we need to market our benefits to become the place where those dollars are invested.

Every small business has the opportunity to experience a growth surge if they focus on the benefits they offer and educates their target market. This will require an internal look at the business to make sure that the foundation is solid as well as the external aspects such as marketing and customer relations.

This is a unique time in our business lives! No one can predict with any degree of certainty how long this upward cycle will last. Your job during this “boom time” is to increase your revenues, strengthen your financial foundation, and work on building meaningful relations with your customers and target markets.

I don’t think that your values have to change, but I do believe that you have to update your marketing message and to make sure that your “promise” and your method of “delivering” that promise is in tune with the needs of the market place.

This is an exciting time for small business owners; take advantage of what is happening. Plan and implement the action items needed to grow.

“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” Warren Buffet

Tips, Information, and Advice by Nick Petra – CFP, Mentor, Founder of BizQuack and Strategic Duck.