Knowing When To Quit

Quit Hey Moguls, JD Esajian here…

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “Winners never quit.” Well, that, friends, is wrong. Winners do quit, and quitters do win. What do I mean?

Think about this… any new project venture starts out fun, and you’re all excited and motivated, then that newness wears off and all the sudden, it seems incredibly difficult and not much fun. You hit a low point. You’re tired. You feel like giving up. And then you find yourself asking if you are going to ever succeed even if you push through. You wonder:

Is this a temporary setback or do I just suck?!

Look, sometimes being a smart and savvy business owner means knowing when it’s time to call it quits. And today I am going to share with you some great insight about that and what I learned from reading The Dip by Seth Godin. We’re going to talk about what really sets superstars apart from everyone else.

Be like Kenny: Know When to Hold ‘Em and When To Fold ‘Em

Seth says it so well...

Great entrepreneurs have “the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts. Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip—they get to the moment of truth and then give up—or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.”

So, let’s talk about when to call it quits when it comes to real estate. Whether you have been in the business for a while or if you are just getting started, you're going to come across this situation sooner or later…

For example, let’s say you have a property that you bought (and you thought it was going to sell in no time), but it sits on the market way longer than it should. You ended up spending too much time, energy, emotion and resources on a listing that's been on the market too long.

For me, personally, I want to stick to my guns, hang on to the property and try to get as much money as possible for it (or at least I did when I got into the business). And, in quick-turn real estate, that's what we do. It's about turning properties over.

The very simple lesson for everyone today is to realize this: Sometimes we buy a property that we think is going to sell in no time and give us a nice profit, but sometimes it just doesn’t pan out. Don’t get attached. If the property (i) is on the MLS and available to Realtors and (ii) months go by with no activity, then it is probably time to…

CALL. IT. QUITS.

Be like Elsa: Let it Go

Yep, that’s right. You heard me. Let it go.

congratsulations If you finally get some low-price offer that either has you breaking even or even paying a couple bucks to get out of it; be like Elsa and let it go. You gotta sell that puppy.

The truth of the matter is, on a deal like that, sometimes breaking even is the absolute best thing you can do for your business. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it's just true. When you have something that is on your books for a long time, it’ll just drain all your resources – even emotionally.

The Blunt Learning

If all your focus and energy are going into that one property, then what happens?

You don't do any more marketing. You're not out there networking. You're not finding new deals, you’re not growing your business and instead, you’ll spend all your time on that one property trying to get it sold while losing months of opportunity to create new deals.

So it's a very important thing that you recognize, learn and really take note. Sometimes it is best to call a day and move on.

Did this resonate with you? If so, check out my other inspiring previous lessons.