It's that time of year again. Not that "fight angry shoppers for parking spots" time of year, but the time of year to write next year's business plan. A detailed, outline of day to day activities that will keep you on track to hit next year's goals. Whether it be a basic outline scribbled on a piece of paper, or an advanced program with all the bells and whistles, it is an essential tool to keep you headed in the right direction.

A few simple rules can make planning a not-so daunting task. The following steps may be of some help:

* Start by creating a detailed breakdown of what your basic living expenses are. Not the luxuries, but what it costs to keep a roof over your head, put food on the table  and pay the light bill. This will give you an income foundation to start from. You would be surprised how many of us don't know this figure.

* Decide the format you will use. Most companies have a great business planning outline already in place (Keller Williams has an amazing 81 page plan).

* Gather last years production numbers, including gross income, source of business, number of transactions, average sales price and commission percentage, and as detailed of an expense breakdown as possible. If this is your first year in real estate, ask for help with these figures from someone who has been in the business for a while (a rough estimate is better than none at all).

* Outline what prospecting and marketing you will do to generate your leads. This is where past tracking will be helpful. Be sure to support your production goals with enough prospecting/marketing to achieve your volume goals.

* Schedule all of your planned activities into your year's calendar. Start with the monthly activities and get as close to daily activities as possible. A good prospecting balance is roughly 25-30% of your over-all work week.

* Track your progress and revise regularly. Quarterly revisions are ideal in keeping you on track for your year's goals.

When complete, you will have a daily/weekly/monthly list of activities that will act as a road map to your goals. If you are not already doing so, this is a great time to start tracking the figures you used to build this plan. Next year's business planning will be a snap if you can just plug your production numbers in.

Happy planning!

I was recently lucky enough to be participating in a mastermind group with Dave Jenks as the moderator (if you haven't had the chance to hear him speak, I suggest you make it a priority). Dave is the co-author of "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent", which in my opinion, is one of the best books ever written about our industry.

When someone in the room brought up the buyer objection, so common to us all in this market, "I want to wait for the market to hit bottom before I  buy", Dave rattled off the following: The next time you are with a buyer, ask him or her, what kind of market they think we are in. When they answer "a buyer's market" (and they will), agree with them that we are in fact in a buyer's market, and remind them that it is not called a "waiter's" market for a reason. Isn't a buyer's market when a buyer should be buying? Waiting for that absolute rock bottom will most likely land a buyer in a seller's market (or at least the start of one) before they realize it.

Here are a few pretty solid points to consider:

• Interest rates are still at historical lows.

• Sellers everywhere are paying buyers closing costs and participating in rate buy downs.

• The "best buys" today (the ones that are selling within a day or two of hitting the market) are priced where all the "not so good buys" are going to be priced in the future. The best buys today, are the best buys period!

• Selling a property and buying another in this market, is a huge opportunity. Even if you sell below market, a below market (move-up) buy is potential for a greater equity gain as properties start to appreciate again.

So the "Duh" principal definitely applied here for me. Waiting is playing with fire, or just leaving money on the table. So now it is up to us to educate our buyers and sellers of the same.