My wife and I have spent much of the last two months preparing our house for sale and looking for a house to buy. Our goal is to be closer to our boys’ school and UCSD, where my wife works. During the process, I was reminded of an important business lesson: It’s much better to sell something in high demand, than to buy something in high demand. According to one realtor I spoke with, San Diego has the lowest real estate inventory of any city in America. I am not sure if that is true, but there is definitely more demand than supply. When we sold our house, it was easy. We cleaned it up, put it on the market, and had two offers above list price in two days. And through the whole closing process, we have been in the driver’s seat. It was a pleasant experience overall. Buying a house was a completely different story. We went to look at houses that sold before we could even put in an offer the same day. Prices were high and people were still offering over list price. In the end, we are buying a house with a great location but is smaller than we were originally looking for. We figure we can add on to it. Which side of demand vs. supply is your business on? If you have more supply than demand, what are you doing to create more demand? That is what marketing and lead generation is designed to do for your business. You develop a system for finding new, qualified clients. When you have a consistent flow of new leads, you are able to choose which clients you want to work with and set you own prices. The best way to do that is to figure out what is already working for you and build on it. For example, does most of your business come from referrals? If so, how can you make it easier for clients to refer business to you? If you get business through advertising, how can you expand that flow in a cost effective manner? Whatever path you choose, make 2016 the year that you move toward having more supply than demand. It will make a world of difference for your business. And if I can be of any assistance, please contact me.