March 7, 2010
Over the next few weeks, I will be talking about things you need to know before getting in to real estate, and things you need to know if you’ve recently gotten into the business.
Just to put my comments into perspective, let me tell you just a little about myself. I started in real estate in 1979 as someone that had been a stay at home Mom for 10 years. I have a high school diploma and married right out of high school. I had no business or sales experience and I was a major wimp. I got into real estate because it was something I could do while my kids were in school and the money would allow us some extras we couldn’t afford, like vacations and recreation and the opportunity to not have to eat macaroni and cheese more than 2 nights a week. Shortly after getting my license, the market crashed and my husband was laid off from his job as a housing carpenter. Now my career was the only thing we had besides unemployment. It was a very motivating set of circumstances. I sold full time for 10 years and was highly productive. Then I accepted a position as a branch manager. From there, I became the director of training for a large, corporate real estate firm. In 2002, I designed a career track training program and became the VP of Career Development for one of the biggest companies internationally.
Over the years that I’ve worked with new realtors, I was always amazed at how little information people had before they decided to get into the business.
Real estate schools won’t tell you the reality because they make their money selling the pre-licensing programs. The states won’t tell you the reality because they make money on the testing and licensing fees. Brokers work a numbers game, so they know that national statistics show 80% of all people that get their license drop out within 24 months. So, most of them will take you if you can fog a mirror. Over the years I’ve interviewed people to join my program, I’ve heard over and over again from people that have absolutely no idea what it takes to be successful in real estate. In fact, most of them think they can do this part-time while they transition from their current jobs. This idea has only a very small possibility of working under very, very special circumstances.
Let’s break this down into some basic categories you need to think about:
Costs: You are starting your own small business and when you join a firm, what you are really doing is selecting a business partner. You will have expenses that are totally yours to bear. Most firms are what we call “Realtor” firms (Realtor is a trademark of the National Association of Realtors) which means they require all of their associates to join a board of realtors. Here in northern California, the costs are similar from area to area. In Alameda County it will cost you between $1,000 and $1,400 to get started with board membership. It is a prorated figure. It will include your local board membership, state association and national association membership, MLS service and lockbox key. The annual renewal will be somewhat less. With only one exception that I know of, this will be your expense. Be careful of small brokerages that tell you that you can share their membership and lockbox key. They are violating the rules and regulations of their boards. It’s cheating. Do you want to save money by going to work for a broker that cheats his own? Remember, your reputation will be tied to your brokers reputation. You can check the associations in your area to get actual costs. You will also need to buy some for sale signs, open house signs, business cards, professional photographs and will probably want to do some personal advertising. Some firms will help you with these costs, some won’t. Each firm has some internal expenses they pass on to their agents. They range from as little as $80 per month and up to $300 or $400 per month. Some charge you up front for errors and ommissions insurance. That’s your malpractice insurance. That’s usually about $1500 per year and they will normally let you pay it monthly. (some won’t) On top of that, some of you will want to buy or upgrade any technology you are using. Laptops with wireless connections are becoming a necessity to compete. A cell phone that can be used to connect to the MLS can be a real plus. Your wardrobe might need some help. You will need some business clothes. If you are coming out of a job that doesn’t require you to “dress” the part, you will probably need a couple of suits (men & women). Your car becomes an important tool when you get into real estate. You need something clean, safe and that runs well. A 4 door is preferable, although my first car was a 2 door. (some funny stories go with that) You don’t need a Lexus or Mercedes; a basic car will work. Some firms will give you “free” training (usually somewhat less than 2 weeks) and charge you for more complete training. Some charge you up front and reimburse you if you sell something. One local training company charges $3500. On top of all of this, you have your ongoing living expenses. In my next installment, I’ll talk about how to prepare to go into the business before you take the leap. Hope this is helpful. I welcome your comments. Until next time….
March 6, 2010
We’ve talked about the hard costs of actually getting into real estate, but now we need to explore how you can plan ahead and get your affairs in order (sounds like planning for a death, doesn’t it?) before you leap into a real estate career. I’ve found most people come into this career with very little pre-planning. And, those that do plan, only plan for a maximum of 90 days.
As I stated previously, most people have no idea what to expect when they decide on a career in real estate and many think it’s something that can be done part time. From the previous post, you know that’s a pretty limited possibility. So, what you want to do is plan ahead so you can give yourself the full advantage of being able to grow your career full time.
While you are still employed at your full time position, begin readying your fiances so that you can be prepared and give yourself some breathing room during your startup. Look at your bills and start paying off everything you can. Look at your total housing costs; payment, utilities, phone, water, garbage, insurance, taxes, the whole picture. Look at your daily, weekly and monthly expenses. Don’t forget food, gas, etc. Add your total monthly expenses and you will find your “subsistence level”, what you need to just get by. This doesn’t allow for any additional costs such as entertainment, vacations or emergencies. Now multiply this number by 6 months and that’s how much money you should have in a savings account before you let go of your full time job. Add to this the start up costs from the previous post. This amount should also be in your savings account. You also need to plan for health care coverage. Some times you have an overlap period where you are covered for a short period of time when you leave a job. You may also be eligible for Cobra coverage for up to a year. As an independent contractor, you have to pay for your own medical insurance. There are group plans available through your local, state and national Realtors Association.
Without this safety net in place, you will be putting yourself under tremendous pressure and that creates desperation. Clients can smell a desperate agent from miles away. The desperation shows up in your “eyeballs”. The irises turn into little $ signs and a neon sign flashes across your forehead broadcasting how desperate you are to make a sale. As a result, the potential clients get the feeling that the information you are giving them is questionable because it’s based on your own desperate needs. Can I use the word desperate one more time in this paragraph? Clients sensing this situation will run away from you and eventually you’ll end up back at your old job. You won’t know why it didn’t work for you, only that it didn’t.
Think of it this way, you are basically starting a small business and you need capital to do it. Most small businesses fail today because they were under capitalized to start with. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row and give yourself a fighting chance.
March 5, 2010
Isn’t amazing? You’ve passed your real estate exam and now you’re being actively pursued by every real estate company in town! Doesn’t it make you feel important and powerful? Get over it, Bunky! The ugly truth is most companies will “affiliate” you based on your ability to fog a mirror. It’s been long accepted in the real estate industry that staffing an office is a numbers game. 80% of all agents that get their license will get out of the business within two years. So, brokers know they have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a few good princesses and princes for their team.
Some of this is the fault of the brokers. They don’t set up the right environment to help new agents create their success. A few new agents will make it in this business no matter where they go to work. But, most need a specific plan and environment to help them attain the success they desire. Most people are not natural born real estate salespeople. It is a skill and as such can be taught. Owning a real estate business is the only business where your assets go home every night and may not come back. That being said, it is understandable that brokers don’t want to spend a lot of money or invest a lot of time training new agents. They train them and then they get wooed to what looks like greener pastures, or they simply quit. All of the brokers’ investment in the new agent then goes down the drain.
New licensees need several things to help them succeed; Technical training, sales skills training, on-going support and learning opportunities, mentoring and coaching.
First of all let’s explore the whole training issue. In and of itself training alone will not insure success. But a lack of training will almost always result in failure or a very rough and rocky start. Most of the training you’ll find available to you will be pretty standard stuff. Many companies will offer you 7 to 10 days of training over a two week period. Usually it’s 6 to 8 hours per day of very fast introduction to all aspects of the residential resale process. Any training you want beyond that will be something you’ll have to find and pay for on your own. Many of the realtor associations will offer some sort of on going training that is low cost. Other companies will put you in a conference room with a TV and a stack of DVD’s and let you work at your own pace. Some companies do a weekly training with outside guest speakers or agents from the office talking on a variety of subjects. And then there are companies that do no class work at all and will assign you a mentor to shadow for some period of time. Regardless of what they offer, be suspicious of claims that their training guarantees your success; that they somehow possess the secret recipe for success.
You want to find a training program that will teach you the technical aspects of the business as well as how to sell and paces the program so that you have a chance to practice and use the skills you’re learning as you learn them. Knowing the paperwork and the law will do you no good if you don’t know how to prospect for new clients and how to sell.
After you complete some basic training, you’ll want to continue with more advanced training. You’ll want an environment where you can role play and dialogue practice the things you’ve learned and receive feedback and support.
A mentor is paramount to your success. Someone that you have available to you to get you ready for appointments, answer your questions, help you through your early transactions and show you the ropes in your company. A mentor should not treat you like a gofer or personal assistant. Some companies will compensate your mentor from the brokers side of your transactions. Some require you to compensate your mentor from your side of the transactions. Either way, if you don’t show your mentor that you are doing everything you can to get transactions, they will tire of mentoring you for free. Surprising enough, top producers don’t usually make good mentors because they are too busy. Branch or sales managers don’t usually make good mentors for the same reason. You want a company that has a good mentorship program. This program should also include some sort of accountability system. In the beginning, until you get used to the freedom and flexibility a real estate career affords you, you will probably need someone to help you stay accountable to your goals and commitments. The freedom and flexibility of real estate is a two edged sword and cuts both ways. When not properly put into perspective and mastered, it can also kill your chances of success.
Coaching is another aspect of training that can make a major difference between success and failure for a new agent. There are a ton of very expensive coaching programs available out there, but I don’t feel they are right for brand new agents. Look for a company that provides in-house coaching until you are on your feet and ready to pay a coach to take you to the next level.
In my opinion, joining a recognized brand name is the best way to go for a new agent. You can draw cache from your company until you have your own.
Remember in the beginning we acknowledged that any company will hire you. That is not always such a good thing. I think I would be more impressed with a company that was picky in who they hired. If they hire just anyone, you have to be a little concerned that you are going to work for a frog kisser. Ask what their expectations are of new agents. The lower the expectations, the less likely that you’ll find what you need there.
The last thing I mention is commission. Don’t get sucked into going to work for a company because they pay high splits or offer you profit sharing. Remember, 60% or 70% of nothing is still nothing. Your training costs your company money and needs to be supported some way. That’s why companies that offer good training ususally pay lower splits. High splits are an indication of little to no training.
Make sure you interview with 2 or 3 different types of business models so you understand the differences companies have. If you do all of the interviewing and all they do is try to close on you to come there, you’re probably in the wrong place.
Happy hunting!
March 4, 2010
Let me put a frame around this that will help you understand your next steps.
You’ve opened your own small business. If this business were a store or restaurant, you would have had to lease or buy a building; buy equipment; hire help; buy products or supplies; market and advertise and then open shop with your fingers crossed that people will show up. At this point, the money has all been out-go and no in-come. The cost of opening most businesses is huge and the risks are great. Going into real estate is the lowest cost, lowest risk business you can “open”. Your broker has spent all of the money necessary to provide you a “store”. Now, you have to supply the people.
In your careful choice of a company to work with, one of the most important things you were looking for was training, right? Now, take advantage of what is offered to you. Take every single class they offer, and research any other training available through other resources such as your board of realtors and programs offered by title companies. Do any homework or field assignments given to you and share your results with your trainer or mentor. Ask for feedback, practice your skills and go out and try again.
Like any new job, you’ll need to put in a full week each week; at least 40 hours or more. How do you do that when you don’t know what to do? Well, you want to start doing what experienced agents do in addition to the things your trainer or mentor will tell you to do. In my organization, on a per week basis,my students attend 9 hours of regular classes in addition to any offered by our board of realtors. They attend office meeting, office tour, marketing meeting and brokers tour for a total of about 6 hours each week. That leaves 35 hours per week for the most important thing you’ll do for the rest of your career if you want to be successful….PROSPECT for clients.
All the classes in the world will do you no good unless you spend a majority of each day PROSPECTING (looking for buyers and sellers). If someone tries to tell you their training will guarantee your success, they are selling you a bill of goods! You want to learn how to attract buyers and sellers and then go out and attract them.
There are 5 basic ways to find buyers and sellers; sphere of influence (people you know), farming (mailing, knocking on doors and calling in a neighborhood), working expired listings, working for sale by owners and open houses. Others will tell you they have sure fire websites, internet programs or marketing programs that you can use (and pay lots of money for) that will make you successful without having to do any of the things I’ve listed above. It sounds too good to be true and it is. The most successful people in the business got started working the basics.
You will need to calendar these basics into your daily schedule. They need to be put in your day planner, in ink, as an appointment. Every thing else gets scheduled around these most important activities.
As you attend your training, go out and use what you are learning as you learn it. The sooner you use what you learn, the more you will internalize it and the more likely it will work for you. You will learn how to interact with buyers and sellers through dialogues and scripts that your trainers will share with you. You will need to practice these. The best way is to meet with other agents in your program and arrange practice time with them.
You will need to build “habits”. It takes 90 days of working a program to build a habit. It takes consistent effort to get results from your prospecting activities. You must continue to work your plan even if you don’t get immediate results. You need to get your expectations in line with your activities and hang on for the long run. Nothing that can produce the kinds of success that real estate sales can is easy. It’s hard, hard work and requires a cast iron resolve and stomach to reach the potential available in this business. I liken it to riding a roller coaster; it has it’s ups and downs, curves and speed and some times makes you feel like you want to throw up. But, it’s also fun and exhilarating.
March 3, 2010
Unlike REAL jobs, in real estate you are on your own. No one tells you when to come in or go home; when to take a day off or when to work. Every day you make a series of small choices that will determine if you make a career of this or end up being another statistic.
To make this whole thing work, you need a very strong Driving Force to Succeed. Do you know what yours is? Most people have a vague, unclear idea of what they think they want. But most don’t know why they want it or why it’s important. I have found that many people that get into real estate get in by accident and continue to work by accident. You need to find your purpose so you can work on purpose.
The typical responses I get when I ask people what they want from their real estate career are “financial security”, “to make a lot of money”, “to be successful” or “to be able to work flexibly and still make a lot of money”.
My idea of what’s a lot of money, financial security or success may be very different then yours. The answers to these questions need to be specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely…what some call SMART goals.
What does “success” look like and feel like to you? How will you measure it? How will you know when you’ve gotten there? The only way will be if you’ve actually written out clearly for yourself what it means to you financially, emotionally, spiritually and physically.
What’s your idea of “working flexibly and making a lot of money”? How many hours per day, week, month and year will you commit to your career? What results do you expect for this investment of time? Are your expectations in line with your investment? Do you have any idea of how much work it will take to make the desired amount of money you want? I can tell you from my many years of experience that it will require a lot more of you than you can ever imagine. If you want to make a “lot of money” you will need to work a lot of time.
What would “financial success” mean to you? Why do you need that amount of money? What would you do with it? How would it improve your life and the life of those you love or care about? What things would it allow you to do for yourself or others that you can’t do with just a regular job?
What price are you willing to pay for success? The Driving Force to Succeed is even more powerful if you understand the penalties you will suffer if you fail.
If you have a goal of making enough money to send your gifted child to Stanford for college, do you have an idea of what that will cost by the time he or she is ready to go there? What will you tell them if you don’t make enough money to send them there? What will it mean to them if they can’t go there? How will it change their lives? How will it change the way they look at you? What college will you be able to send them to? This is an example of what I mean about being crystal clear in your Driving Force.
By focusing and thinking clearly about what is important to you and writing it down in such a way that you can see it and feel it before it ever happens, you will help yourself stay in momentum toward your desired success.
How will a successful real estate career allow you to experience significance? With the kind of money you can make in a real estate career, you can actually go from success to significance. Significance is the difference between paying your bills with some money left over, and being able to impact the lives of those around you in ways beyond day to day experiences. You will be able to provide the kind of life style you desire for yourself or your family members and contribute to those causes you believe so strongly in. You can make a difference to one or to many.
At the company I work with, we have initiatives to support everything from helping children with catastrophic illness, to breast cancer research and helping military families. Many of us give freely of our time and money to these causes and many, many more.
The best advice I can give you as you set off on your real estate career is to first spend time finding and writing down your Driving Force. Make it crystal clear. List the rewards of attaining it and the penalties of failing to attain it and then take daily action toward your desired result.
Until next time….
March 2, 2010
Some of you reading this blog have gotten your real estate license and are currently working in the business. I’d love to hear from you and have you share your experiences of your first year in the business. Was it what you expected? What has helped you most in getting your business started? What has been the hardest thing for you in being in real estate? Do you feel you got great training? Adequate training? Poor training? Describe what your training was like. If you could design a training that would work better for you, what would it look like?
March 1, 2010
I just got off the phone with someone that I trained as a new agent 12 years ago. She wanted to tell me about the experience she had today in presenting an offer on a house. She was so excited to tell me that she used everything I taught her 12 years ago and was able to get her offer accepted when there were 5 other offers on the table and some were for more than her offer. She walked me through step by step what she did to prepare the offer and how she presented it and reminded me of the lessons she learned while in my training program. The bottom line is the basics that I taught all those years ago still work today. Here are the lessons:
1. Be prepared before you write the offer. Have a good solid pre-approval letter from a mortgage broker you can count on. Provide a copy of the pre-approval and the proof of funds with your offer.
2. Present your offer in person. If there is a seller, then request an appointment to meet with him and his agent to present your offer. If it’s bank owned, request a meeting with the listing agent. Sell them on your contract and on you and the professional approach you take on your business. Provide them with information they can believe and rely on.
3. Keep your buyers handy during the presentation. Make sure they are available to meet with you quickly to reply to any response you may get from the seller.
4. Keep your mortgage broker in the loop. Find out his schedule and make sure he has time to take calls from you and the listing agent during the negotiation process.
5. Write a clean and clear contract. Use Winforms to give it that professional touch. Make sure you know how to complete the contract and explain it to both the buyer and seller. Make sure you have clearly covered the terms of the agreement and leave nothing to interpretation.
6. Be assertive, but not pushy or overbearing. Give respect to the listing agent. Make sure you have established credibility with the listing agent and remember you are both in it for the same reasons; to help the buyers buy and the sellers sell.
February 28, 2010
This last 4 weeks have been pretty surprising to me. I’ve had a huge increase of calls from people that just passed the real estate exam or are getting ready to take it. Here’s snippits of the conversations I’ve had with them:
“I’m waiting for the market to come around again before I commit full time to real estate”. FALSE Wrong thinking on so many levels. First, I don’t think we’ll see another market like the one we were in up until our current housing downturn for a VERY long time. I hope never. It was unhealthy and look at the results. I’ll settle for a normal, balanced market any day. (and I think we are a ways away from that at this point..) It’s not about the market. Real estate agents that are committed to their careers make money in all kinds of markets. It’s the amateurs that wash out. Those that come in, don’t get trained and work only opportunistically won’t make it.
“I want training, but I have limited time opportunity”. FALSE This is a new career. The more training and support you receive, the more likely you’ll make it. You must learn your trade or the people you come into contact with will know you are an amateur. I’m not saying you’ll have to work day and night (that would help by the way for your first year) but you must be willing to put in a normal work week. If you had a REAL job, you’d have to put in 40 hours a week. At least give your new career that much. Yes, most people want to be in real estate for the flexibility, but don’t let it kill your career. There is no such thing as condensed training and don’t let anyone tell you there is. These two week, 80 hour programs will only tell you what you don’t know, not actually teach you how to work. Join a broker that offers extensive training, mentoring and support. Don’t be fooled by “mentoring”. Many times your mentor will be someone doing real estate full time and they have their own ways of working. Following them around or doing their errands isn’t always the most helpful way to learn to be a real estate agent. Plus, you usually have to split your commissions with them.
“I don’t have money to pay for anything, I’m looking for the cheapest place to work”. Remember the old adage “you get what you pay for”? It couldn’t be any truer than when shopping for a real estate firm to join. If they are giving you the highest commission split and no fees, what can you possibly expect you’ll get? Be forewarned, the companies that offer the highest splits expect you to be independent immediately. See my previous post on the costs of being in the business and plan accordingly. If you want great training, expect to pay for it or receive a 50% or 55% commission to offset the cost of your training. Once you start doing business, your splits will increase.
More appointments coming this week, I’ll let you know what I’m hearing.
February 27, 2010
Believe it or not I heard this theme several times this week in speaking with Realtors. It went something like this “I need to make some money, so I don’t have time to sit in a classroom.” I asked them where they were getting their business. The most common reply “That’s the problem, it’s so competitive out there that I can’t seem to get any new clients.” Next question, how are your open houses going? Reply, “Everyone that comes in is working with a realtor or just looking.” How many listing appointments have you been on this month? “Only one and I offered to take the listing for 5%, but they said they had someone that would do it for 4%.” No matter what questions I asked, the responses were “ it’s not me it’s the market.”
Seriously???? Really, SERIOUSLY??? I have brand new agents that have opened their 3rd. escrow and they have only been in the business for 6 months. What’s the difference between them and experienced agents that are non-productive? They are in training. They go to classes 3 times a week. They do homework assignments and field assignments. They dialogue practice and role play. They receive continuous feedback and support. They brainstorm. They work a plan and plan their work.
If you are in a slump, the best use of your time is in training. Today you need skills, knowledge and a plan to succeed. You need to prospect, but you have to prospect intelligently, making the highest and best use of your time. (and money) Prospecting without skills and a plan opens you up to depending on luck. No one gets lucky often enough to sustain a successful real estate career.
If you are experiencing a slump, you need to do some soul searching and figure out what skills you need to improve and find someone to help you improve them. Also, you need to track how you’re spending your time and make sure you are following the 80/20 rule….80 percent people contact 20 percent admin work.
The reality of it is, you can spend some of your valuable time training, or you can keep doing what you’re doing and getting what you’re (not) getting.
February 26, 2010
Having ridden this Ferris wheel for so many years, I’ve come to accept the fact that some agents succeed no matter what kind of market it is. I’ve survived about 4 or 5 complete cycles of the real estate market. I am a “Real Estate Survivor”; been there, done that, sent the post cards and bought the T-shirt at least 5 times. It’s enough to make you want to PUKE! (Hope you’re not eating while you’re reading this. If so, sorry!)
The fact is, the market is the market and has very little bearing on your overall success as a real estate agent. Some one will always need to buy and some one will always need to sell.
The good news is, a lot of what would have been your competition for business, is going away. Agents are quitting by the droves! You know the segment of the real estate agent market that is quitting the fastest? Those that got into the business during the GOOD market!
Tough markets make tough agents. Good markets make wussies! In a good market, business just happens for you. In a tough market, you have to make business happen. Those that are bailing out now got in with little to no training or support, and now, when you need to be a skillful practitioner, they realize they didn’t work on developing their skills and had gotten by largely on luck. All of us can expect to be a little lucky, but the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be. No one can support themselves by depending on luck.
I was the champion of wimps back in 1979 (does it sound like your grandparents talking?) when I got started in the big world of real estate sales. I had been a stay at home Mom for almost 10 years. I had a high school diploma. I wasn’t qualified for much in the job market. My Mom tricked me into getting into real estate. In 1980, the economy tanked. Interest rates went from 10% to 17% in about 18 months. Lots of people were out of work. Housing prices fell. My Mom died and my husband got laid off. We were in a brand new house at 15.25% interest. I couldn’t quit. I wanted to!! But it was not an option; I had to keep moving forward. Surprisingly, I had a really good year. All of my clients were hard luck cases; death, divorce and disaster were the tales of the day for most of them. They needed a hard working, committed real estate agent in their troubled times. (I probably should have been committed, but to an institution.) And, I lived up to the challenge. I took every class and seminar. I worked days, nights, evenings and weekends. I followed up on every little lead until it paid off or came to a dead end. Some nights I came home and cried and carried on about how I was just not cut out for this business. The next day, I got up and did it all again.
By 1983, the market got good again. I remember being so afraid it wouldn’t last that I worked 43 straight days without a day off. I subscribed to the old realtor prayer: Dear Lord, please give me one more good market and I promise not to waste it.
And as they say on shampoo bottles; lather, rinse, repeat. It’s happened over and over again. Big wheel just keeps on turnin’. I’m still here.
I personally hated the last good market. First of all it lasted too long. It gave everyone the idea that it was so easy that any monkey could sell real estate. Houses sold so fast and the prices kept rising so fast, that as an agent I found it hard to prove my value to the sellers and felt completely impotent with my buyers. Nothing made sense. Most agents could only compete by undercutting their fees and it got to be a pretty unprofitable picture. It was a totally frustrating time for those of us that were used to putting our skills to work and competing head to head with other skilled practitioners. We competed instead with a bunch of part timers that didn’t take our business seriously.
I just realized that some of you reading this might be in that group of people that got their license during the good market and you’ve either quit or are considering quitting. I’ve probably ticked you off a little with my comments. You have the option of taking a “do over”. Go join a good company that offers good solid sales training. Go to seminars presented by Mike Ferry, Brian Buffini or any number of other top trainers. Get real with your expectations and make sure they are aligned with what you are willing to do to make this work. Prove me wrong!
Look, folks, in the words of the late, great Ray Charles “It be what it be, baby”. Learn your craft, work it and don’t give yourself the excuse to fail that “ it’s a bad market”. If you are going to fail, fly high, fly fast, make some death-defying aerobatic maneuvers and crash and burn in a spectacular explosion. At least you’ll go out with a bang instead of a whimper and the ride will have been thrilling!
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