Holding cash for market corrections

[Adam Tafel]

Curious how other investors are planning for a possible housing/economic downturn. I'm quick to voice my opinion whenever I hear a potential investor say they're "waiting for things to cool down", because I know there are always deals to be found. It's quite hard to successfully time any market-I could easily wait 5 years for a 10% drop and watch 4%/year appreciation tick by and be no better off. 

I am not actively looking for a purchase, and I'm holding enough cash to expose myself to substantial inflation loss over the next few years. I've chosen to focus on my clients, grow my management base, and optimize my current portfolio, letting the cash sit for a rainy day, although I obviously won't pass up a great deal if it falls in my lap. 

I know I'll get answers all over the map, as we are all in different classes/tax brackets. 

To make things relative, my ratio of income : equity : cash is about 1 : 1 : 1 

Not sure if thats helpful or not but it makes sense to me. Looking forward to hearing how others are preparing themselves for economic opportunities!