When to Throw in the Towel

The Spiro Podcast: Managing your Real Estate Photography & Videography Business

It's a tough market out there. Few listings. A saturated market with more real estate media companies than ever. Fierce competition. Sales are slow. Is it time to throw in the towel? Do you give up on the dream? Todd and discuss the realities of what we may be facing, and how to handle the decision on whether to continue in the real estate media/marketing business or not.

Episode Resources mentioned:

• Cheviron Coaching: https://chevironcoaching.com/
• Truth @ Work: http://truthatwork.org

Show Summary Notes:

0:00-0:29 Sneak Peek

0:30-3:18 Intro

3:19-8:03 How to handle the question of when to throw in the towel

• It’s impossible to control the market
• It’s happened before (2006-2012)
• The only thing you can control is the messaging you take in and the soundtrack you play in your mind (Todd has been reading Soundtracks by Jon Acuff)
• Start by changing your soundtrack

8:04-17:27

• You’ve hit a plateau; that’s normal
• As you grow, it’s harder to grow at large rates
• Are you focused on growth?
• What do you want to become? Take a blank piece of paper and start writing your answer.
• Revisit why you started- reconnect to the excitement about what the company could be
• Craig’s story of starting his business
• Excitement and nervousness at the beginning are normal- revisit the “dating period” of your business
• You will be in the same place in a year if you don’t change
• The pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of change

17:28-33:02 Action steps (many taken from coach Austin Cheviron)

• Change your soundtrack
• Bet on yourself- get excited about why you started and what you’re going to do in 2023
• Step 1: Evaluate whether your people feed your negative thoughts; surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed and who are betting on themselves
• Who do you need to be around less, and who do you need to be around more?
• Step 2: Upgrade your systems and skills
• What was a pain point this year?
• Documenting processes and procedures may be helpful
• Step 3: Get a guide
• Who is going to guide you? Find a Mr. Miyagi
• Coaching costs about $200-$600/hour; stop spending money on bad habits and reallocate money that can be better spent by investing in yourself
• Email Todd ([e-mail]) with questions and learn from his mistakes
• Step 4: Invest in yourself
• Read, listen to podcasts, go to events
• “You can’t give what you don’t have”- if you’re not pouring into yourself, you can’t pour out into your company and employees
• Buying a $20 book = stealing a lifetime of information from that author
• Exercise- a lack of activity lowers good brain chemicals and aids depression and anxiety
• Are you eating clean food? Don’t buy it and you won’t eat it
• Poor health will inhibit your abilities
• You may need to go get another job to supplement your income; just don’t give up. You started your business for a reason.
• “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” Give yourself credit for taking a leap of faith and doing something hard.
• Craig recommends Truth at Work
• Don’t beat yourself up. Keep moving forward.

33:03-35:59 Conclusion

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