Page 4 - NBIZ December 2023

To Be

or Not to Be

By Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S.

hakespeare's play Hamlet has a line in Act 1
Scene 3, one of the most famously quoted
Slines of all time.

These five words are very relative to each business
and bring forth a multitude of questions such as:
• To be or not to be aware?
• To be or not to be economically informed?
• To be or not to be competitive?
• To be or not to be reflective?
• To be or not to be responsive?
• And this list of questions could go on.

For me, these five words are about making
a choice. One can either decide to be something
different or to remain, to be, where he/she
is. In either instance, we must deal with the
consequences of our choices.
For example, in real estate there are numerous
lawsuits filed against the National Association of
®
REALTORS and various national brokerages. The
lawsuits are centered around anti-trust issues.
Those involved in this industry, including real estate
agents as well as ancillary vendors must “be” aware
of these lawsuits and more importantly the potential
impact from the results of these lawsuits. The words
reflective, responsive, and competitive all come to
mind when thinking about this current situation of
to be or not to be.

4 NBIZ ■ December 2023