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This week on the Pete the Planner Show, Pete and Damian discuss what could be the biggest business FAIL of all time!
No time to listen? Here’s a preview of what happened and when:
Show Notes:
WAS THIS THE BIGGEST BUSINESS FAIL OF ALL TIME?: [3:28]
- Zillow has reported that they are unloading 7000 homes very quickly because of the hundreds of millions of dollars of losses they’ve generated in attempt to buy a bunch of homes and resell them. They got into the home flipping business at mass scale and now had to lay off 25% of their workforce. That seems like a bad business decision.
- DAMIAN: You wouldn’t think that a company built on selling real estate and tracking real estate prices could be this bad at estimating what houses would be worth if they bought them at the right price.
- PETE: In the 3rd quarter of 2021, Zillow bought 9,700 homes and booked a $304 million write-down on inventory owned at the end of the period.
- DAMIAN: This is a massive screw-up in the implementation of their business idea.
DOES BEING DEPENDABLE MAKE YOU FINANCIALLY STABLE?: [15:38]
- My theory is this: if you think about others you deem to be dependable, the quality you see in them is the resourcefulness they have and how they use those resources in helping you achieve what you need from them. You like how they handle assisting you with what you need. When you consider your own level of dependability, I think it’s also an evaluation of your resourcefulness, right?
- DAMIAN: Interesting concept. It’s also a rating of coming through on a percentage of times needed.
- PETE: It’s not about wealth. Who is the most dependable person you know and what is it about them that makes them dependable? My guess tells me that they are also financially stable because they know how to use resources effectively (ie., time and money).
- DAMIAN: Many of us would default to our spouse or partner.
- PETE: “It’s not that s/he’d be there if I needed anything, it’s that if I ever needed anything s/he’d be there. Kind of a weird flip.”
Admittedly, this one’s heady. But we think it’s worth thinking over for yourself. Really; try it. Who is the most dependable person you know? Now think, do you regard that person as financially stable, you think?
Play the rest of the show for more! Check it out in the full show! — click PLAY below.
SIDE NOTE:
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Peter Dunn a.k.a. Pete the Planner® is an award-winning financial mind and a former comedian. He’s a USA TODAY columnist, author of ten books, and is the host of the popular radio show and podcast, The Pete the Planner Show. Pete is considered one of the foremost experts on financial wellness in the world, but he’s just as likely to talk your ear off about bass fishing.