The evolution of a business plan

The business plan itself is important, but will quickly become irrelevant if agents do not update it regularly. Expenses will change, as will earnings. Agents will need to keep pace with the market and adjust their business plan accordingly.

“Agents should be revisiting their business plan at minimum once a week,” says Miller. “And when they start planning for the upcoming year, they should do it early. If I’m planning for 2017, I should start doing it in Sept. 2016.”

It’s a piece of advice Hajdu wishes she had received earlier in her career. If she had started out knowing the importance of writing and subsequently updating a business plan, she says she would be years ahead of where she is now – having recently doubled her business from last year and started her own team, though, she seems to be doing just fine. But Hajdu is thankful to be able to pass on that advice to younger agents.

“The real estate business has the immense potential to give agents unbelievable freedom and opportunity,” she says, “but only when they have vision, determination and a written plan.”

EXPERT SOURCES

Stephen Engel
Managing Broker, Baird & Warner
630.699.8133
[email protected]

Nicole Hajdu
Agent, Dream Town Realty
773.727.2199
[email protected]

Jim Miller
Managing Broker, Jameson Sotheby’s
773.617.6638
[email protected]