How to Pivot Your Business in a Crisis with Don Costa

August 11, 2021 melissa Real Estate Comments Off on How to Pivot Your Business in a Crisis with Don Costa

How to Pivot Your Business in a Crisis with Don Costa

It’s normal for any business to go through changes. Growth comes from adjusting and adapting to the trends and demands of the current time. But what if the change is so massive and sudden such as the COVID-19 global pandemic? Would you be able to pivot during such a crisis?

The points below are from the eleventh episode of the Real Estate JAM, where Don Costa talks about prioritizing the health of your business, acting fast during a crisis, and making tough calls when it’s necessary. He shares some smart and practical inputs on successfully pivoting your business amidst a changing and uncertain market. If you’re interested, you can listen to it on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.


 

Losing and Learning

Don Costa is a natural entrepreneur – he wasn’t afraid of taking risks. But this confidence can sometimes turn into overconfidence, leading to bad calls that can result in terrible loss.

In the crash of 2008, Don lost everything. It’s fine to grieve over pain and loss, but afterwards, we have to look at the silver lining. The good thing about failure is that it teaches us lessons. It’s up to us whether we will use it to our advantage. And that’s exactly what Don did. After all the dust settled, he went on to rebuild his business from the ground up. Fast forward 12 years, he’s rocking a high-volume real estate empire, doing rehabs and wholesaling. What a comeback!

But then, just like de ja vu… COVID-19 happened.

 

Act Fast or Regret It

The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt the global economy in ways that no expert could have ever prepared for. When you see big companies like Disney World and Waffle House stop their operations, you know things are going to get ugly.

So, what did Don do? He took action. Fast.

You just have to act fast when you’re in a crisis. While other entrepreneurs were stuck in disbelief, Don started making the necessary adjustments to ensure his company stays afloat no matter what. He dialed back on some areas of his business that are not yielding considerable returns and focused on those that have consistently delivered good results instead.

 

Fact vs. Fear

When you’re faced with problems as enormous as COVID-19, the last thing you want to do is make decisions out of fear. When you let panic and emotion call the shots, that’s when you lose control of where your business (and even life!) is going.

How can you avoid falling into that trap? Fight your fear with facts. While there are things that may be out of your control, there are also things that are within your abilities. For instance, you can consider downsizing your team if it’s really necessary. It is a tough call to make, but as Don pointed out, “My responsibility right now is not to bleed, it’s not to cut my wrist and bleed for my team, it’s to make sure that my team has a place to come back to and that means that you have to make some hard decisions…”

 So, whether you’re reading this during or after COVID-19, we hope that this can help you make those crucial decisions.

 

Want to learn more from Don Costa? Listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

 

Outline of the Episode:

  • [03:21] Rebuilding your business and learning from past mistakes and bad calls.
  • [06:40] The advantage of acting fast in times of crisis and making decisions based on facts instead of fear.
  • [08:10] Downsizing your team when necessary. Who do you keep and who do you let go?
  • [10:34] Taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously. It’s not a hoax!
  • [13:19] How to keep the marketing momentum going based on your financial situation.
  • [15:33] Calculating for your ARV (After Repair Value) during the pandemic. Or should it be AVV (“After Virus Value”)?
  • [19:43] Why you should communicate with your private money lenders more often.
  • [21:46] Dealing with changes in lender fees.
  • [26:18] When should you say no to a deal? Don’t let sellers bully you!
  • [29:46] The challenges in managing a team remotely. How do you measure productivity?
  • [32:48] Why it’s important to have a good mastermind or network of people during tough times.
  • [39:39] Getting to know more about the Inner Circle Elite community.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

Connect with JD, Annabel, and Melissa!