Brett Banter

The New York Times painted a gloom and doom picture of the housing market this morning. Their not-so-new news is that the era of Americans turning mortgages into personal money machines is over. It's a sad tale that was fueled by greed and a lack of common sense. People bought houses they couldn't afford thinking they would double in value within a few years. What were they thinking? They were thinking they had seen it happen elsewhere? They read national stories about it. They watched television "reality" shows that promoted this idea.

It was a fallacy. A bad public relations move that has only gotten worse. One of the little talked about tales in the housing debacle is that the real estate market is not national. What plays in Peoria doesn't always play in Kalamazoo.

The Times again trumpeted this fallacy by talking about expected national housing numbers would not be up to par. Of course they won't people. There was too much housing construction in places that didn't need it. The glut is there. Not everywhere.

A good friend asked me during lunch last week what I thought about the local newspaper decision to charge for online content. They like many in the community have not been thrilled with the idea even though they already get the newspaper. They think the newspaper is being hurt by losing all of those free readers.

I look at it a different way. If a real estate company owned a prime piece of property that was vacant, would they let someone work there for free? What if that person brought their friends in and started spray painting stuff on the walls? What if when someone came by to actually look at the building to rent, the freeloader hollered out the window to head down the street for a better purchase? The same goes for restaurants, retail stores, barbershops and the like. No smart businessperson would agree to such nonsense.

But that is what free newspaper websites have become. People would go on there using an assumed name (and not really a clever one), write horribly spelled and vile comments and often complain about a newspaper's coverage. The comments section have almost dried up in the local newspaper because the freeloaders have gone, but what good were they doing?

The paper still faces a public relations battle, but this was a good step.

Brett recently moved its offices back to downtown Greenville. Okay, it was three months ago, but that seems like recently when you are looking for something that you know should be around here somewhere. That is the problem with moving. Things get stuffed into a closet and storage in a hurry and then forgotten about.

This happens in every business, and not just in moving. We tend to stuff things into the closets and back corners of our minds. What good does it do there? Nothing. That is why we need to get things in order. It is wise to get organized and start thinking about ways to make your business start growing.

Or maybe that is too much for you, and you need help. Give Brett a call. We will get your company organized.

The big announcement that we have been working on for weeks is finally here. Woodlands is now a Life Care retirement community. This puts the Woodlands essentially in an entirely new world when it comes to providing services for its residents.

Get more here. You will be amazed.

Don't look now, but the U.S. is inching its way above the recession line. The Associated Press reported this morning that retail sales climbed higher than expected last month nationwide. That means despite staggering unemployment across the country that people are consuming again. In theory, that will lead to companies begining to expand again. In addition, JP Morgan posted a profit last quarter and is now all rosy and happy about the economy.

The question is how does this affect the average business owner and worker? Are they going to see an upswing in their own lives? Are we heading into a boom? Or is this a blip on the radar?

At Brett, we are asking you to think about how this affects you and are you ready for a turnaround? Let us know if you are.