This story has been around since the recession of the 1980s.  If you were old enough back then you will remember that people thought they were lucky to get a mortgage rate of 17%.  This story is a good reminder that we can choose not to participate in this recession.

The Hot Dog Vendor

“On the side of a road lived a man who sold hot dogs. He was an uncommon man. This man was hard of hearing and so he could not to listen to his radio. He also had difficulty with his vision so he could not read the newspaper or for that matter watch TV. But he did know how to sell….hot dogs….great hot dogs.

He set up signs about his great hot dogs and pitched them by the highway. He also stood by the side of the road and announced and asked people, ‘Hey Mister…Ms., do you want to buy great hot dogs?’

The beauty is that crowds formed just to buy from this man. So, he had to increase the meat and bun order to take care of the loads of people. Imagine he had to buy a bigger hot dog stand. Business was certainly booming.

His son even came home from college to help him out with his business. It was at this point that his son said, ‘Dad, haven’t you heard we’re in a bad economic recession. The job market is horrid, and our country is in really dire straits.’ The father was surprised but thought….’Geez, my son has been to university, and he listens to the radio, reads newspaper, and watches TV. The kid should know. ‘

So, the father then decides to cut down his meat and bun order. He traded his big hot dog stand for a smaller one, and proceeded to reduce his advertisement on the highway. Instantly sales dropped like lead. Reflecting on this situation, he turns to his son and says, ‘You’re right son. We’re definitely in the middle of a big recession.’”

In the last few months I’ve become much more careful about what I put in my head.  “You become like what you focus your eyes upon.”– Bill Johnson, pastor.  Another great quote:

If you think you can or if you think you can’t, you are right.

photo credit: {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester}

Everyone knows about the meltdown in the housing market the last few years.  The bubble burst.  A lot of people lost their homes.  It was the big story for months.  But a far bigger crisis is looming, and  it’s getting much less coverage in the media.  The commercial real estate market is in the beginning of a similar crash the housing market experienced.  To see an in-depth story on the state of the commercial real estate crisis click HERE.

I was talking to a banker this week and he gave me his perspective on this problem.  Commercial loans are usually “balloon loans” intended to come due and then roll over  every 5 years or so.  This process works as long as values are going up.  But just like homeowners, a lot of commercial properties are underwater on their loan to value.  The banks have to maintain a good loan to value ratio so they either can’t renew these loans or they require the owners to kick in a bunch more money to keep the ratios in line.  Some owners are walking away.  The resulting foreclosures further depress values perpetuating the downward spiral.

This crash is expected to last until sometime in 2013. The banks who have lost money because of the  residential  meltdown are going to continue to face losses in this one.  What this will likely mean for residential real estate is that the money supply will tighten up as banks are required to keep back more in reserve.  So financing and money supply will remain a significant factor in residential real estate.  For real estate agents who are willing to work hard to find creative solutions to problems, this market offers great opportunities.

This is my encouragement to take this Thanksgiving Day to stop and count our blessings.  Each day of life is a gift.  I’m thankful for it.

photo credit: The U.S. National Archives

The new buzz in business is how to use social media in business.  All the fuss is all about businesses trying to get more clients and customers.  I think a lot of people are caught up in the “wow factor” of  new tools such as Twitter and Facebook or Linkedin.  It seems to me that a lot of people in business are looking  for a “magic bullet” to help them solve all their problems.  Social media are the “new things” for doing this.  I’m seeing a lot of workshops popping up to help teach people about “social media”.

Bethany Spilde taught one such workshop I attended yesterday.  I was impressed that she stressed how online connections should never be used to avoid “offline” ones.  She said that business networking still needs to be done face-to-face.  Online connections should be used to enhance the personal connections and relationships in business.

She’s singing my song.  I believe it’s important to be highly connected so I can give value to both my clients and  the people in my sphere of influence.  I believe in doing business by referral.  I’m not ashamed to ask for referrals.  But I’m also committed to giving as many referrals I can.  I will work to stay as connected as I can online and off so that I can serve well the people I know.

The scam was thorough enough to be believable.  But if you adopt a policy to never wire funds to Africa you’ll probably be fine.