Matt and Garrett are particularly excited about today’s podcast because they are going to talk all about expenses. They have been asked numerous times about what normal expenses in running a Ninja business are, and they have realized that there are a lot of variables around this question, so that’s what they are bringing to you all today.   In this episode’s discussion about expenses and scalability in the real estate business, Matt explores in detail the value of hiring a good assistant as your business scales and Garrett speaks of how the best assistants are integral to the real estate business and are seen as partners, not just subordinates. The two go on to share how having a great assistant is pivotal to your business, even if it means paying more. Matt delves into how investing in each person in your database creates exponential growth and recommends spending $3 per person in the database. A case in point is Tami Spaulding spending $30,000 a year sending postcards to people in her database and making $700,000.  In essence, today, the hosts show how investing one's expenses in maintaining and building quality relationships trumps lead generation tools in creating referrals, and offer their valuable advice about how you can achieve this in your business.   Join the Ninja Selling Podcast group on Facebook at Ninja Selling Podcast Facebook where you share ideas, ask questions, and connect with other Ninjas. You can also leave a voicemail with your direct feedback at 208 MY-NINJA. And visit Ninja Selling Events for more information about upcoming open installations. Or if you're interested in taking your goals a step further, visit Ninja Coaching to check out all of our amazing coaches.   Episode Highlights:     What percentage of income should be spent on expenses in business   Why hiring a good assistant is a good idea, even if it means paying more   A case in point of a great expense is Tami Spaulding spending $30,000 a year in postcards and making $700,000.   Though not easily measured, maintaining and building long-term business relationships creates exponential growth.   Expenses to invest in for a long-term return on investment   Understanding the value you offer   You can look at each component of your expense as business partners even though they may be services or products and not people   Investing in each person in your database spirals into exponential growth   Quotes   "Let's say your expenses are 5% of your total revenue, which gives you a gross margin of 95%, which is crazy, right? But you might also be working your butt off. You may not be taking a vacation. The hours of work might be absolutely astronomical, whereas somebody else running 20% expenses has more time."   "You have to figure out what you value and where you are and where that marries together."   "The best assistant I've seen is when the agent looks at the assistant, and instead of being like, ‘This is my assistant below me,’ he's like, ‘This is an integral business partner that I have that is specialized in taking care of this part of my world and this part of my business.’"   "If a component is making your business run more efficiently over the course of a year and making you more money and more life at the end of the year, then that was a great investment. If not, you need to rethink that."   "Exponential, that's the thing a lot of people don't understand.  Every single person you add in adds an exponential growth."   "If you invest your expenses into things that help you maintain and build quality relationships, it's going to be very hard to measure the ROI, but you're going to see the results in revenue growth from that entirety of the investment."   "It's nice to know those numbers.  That's comforting. But it's also not as scalable because you can't all of a sudden invest more into that lead generation tool and have those leads that are generated create referrals for you.”   "The real return, which is very difficult to measure, comes fr