In challenging economic times for luxury real estate marketing professionals, it is often discovered that your old success formulas are no longer working. For many, facing this brutal fact plus realizing that there is a pressing need for change is the toughest part of all. However, welcoming change and going through the process of re-inventing yourself can be one of life’s most exhilarating and rewarding experiences even though it can be painful at first.

Here are the steps involved in starting the process of re-inventing yourself:

  1. Look for Evidence of Good News! Champion those people who are succeeding despite the economic news. Forget being jealous. Find out what they are doing right. For example, in Beverly Hills, the famous William Morris Talent Agency buildings recently sold for a record price per square foot with foreign financing.
  2. Give Yourself an Attitude Adjustment . Be Kind to Yourself. The process begins by accepting your circumstances and even more importantly by accepting yourself, fully. You must completely factor out of the equation what other people might be thinking about you. Stop judging yourself by other’s standards. Your business is none of their business.
  3. Mind Your Own Business, Literally! Avoid the temptation to compare yourself with others. No one can really know what you are going through. Only by being kind to yourself and minding your own business can you clearly perceive the opportunities to reinvent yourself.
  4. Pick Yourself Up. Brush Yourself Off. Start All Over Again. When you were a kid and you were learning to walk, then fell that is exactly what you did. Remember?
  5. Stay Positive. Use any excuse in the book to feel good. Staying positive in difficult times IS the way out.
  6. Hang out with Upbeat, Optimistic People. Seek out positive news and positive people as much as possible.
  7. Discover Where the New Opportunities Are.  Except in extreme emergencies, business does not come to a complete standstill. Repeatedly ask yourself and others, “where are the opportunities?”
  8. Acquire Some New Skills. Take some classes. Learn more about your market. With a little bit of focused attention you can learn some new skills that can make all of the difference in the world. For, example you may want to learn about 1031 Exchanges that do not necessarily require new financing.
This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.