The only thing we ask in return is that the source of supply, i.e. our name, be kept confidential. We choose our clients. They do not choose us. In order to maintain that relationship we remain as anonymous as possible. We have no intention of offering our services to the public, be that any individual or firm, not of our own choosing.
In order to help your business grow, I will send you in a few days time, a questionnaire about the future plans for your company. If you wish to complete the questionnaire you may do so but please understand that you are under no obligation to extend this relationship. Before answering the questionnaire I suggest you take a bit of time to dream. This exercise is not intended to be one hundred percent practical. It is more intended to determine the direction of your endeavors in a perfect (or almost perfect) world, where expansion is based more on desire and ability than it is on cash flow.
I guarantee that your reply will be analyzed and kept confidential. Beyond that I make no promises. I promise absolutely nothing. Not even future correspondence. We are highly selective and do not respond to replies from individuals who we do not choose to do further business with.
Sincerely,
Your Mentor
“What kind of a crazy scheme is this?” thought Wendell.
Nevertheless, over the next few days he did dream. His business of building custom homes was moving along well but he had always wanted to build on his own land, where he maintained a higher level of control over the finished product and could profit from both the construction of the building and the land. But that required money. In the meantime, he was forced to deal with too many dumb, indecisive customers who had impractical imaginings and with too many architects who overbuilt their pet ideas and milked the rest of the project by constantly making change orders.
When the questionnaire arrived in his inbox, he spent three hours answering questions and drafting replies. The exercise itself seemed to have a mental cleansing effect on him. Writing out his responses clarified his goals and regardless of whether or not he ever heard from Mentor Corporation again, he knew he had done something in those three hours that he had never done before. Long range, goal oriented planning.
A week later he had received no reply and assumed that his portrayal of his goals had not been well received. He refused to admit that he was disappointed, but deep inside he felt that he had done a good job of explaining a “perfect world” scenario and truly did feel rejected by the lack of response.
Two weeks later he received a thick envelope from a law firm in Charleston, South Carolina describing a small parcel of land on Topsail Island that was being offered for sale. The property was described and supporting data such as surveys and building requirements were presented in detail. The price was attractive and the terms were exceptional. They included a vendor take-back mortgage that could be paid off in balloon payments with each lot sale. This was an ideal scenario.
Subdivision of land always included inherent risk. Local municipalities could shut down a proposal on a whim. They could always justify their refusal by hiding behind some weird environmental issue or some piece of legalese in their bylaws that expensive, high powered lawyers might take years, often interrupted by elections and the introduction of new people, to resolve. But in this case, the vendor had already obtained an agreement in principle from the local council. That meant that the local municipal government was in favor of development.
The next few pages outlined all the requirements that town council would demand including a budget and timetable. If the project was put on the fast track, the subdivision approval and building permits could be obtained within approximately one year, assuming environmental and engineering reports came back as expected. The soft costs were estimated at a quarter of a million dollars. On top of that, building the road and roughing in the services would cost something not far shy of a million. It was estimated that between twelve and fifteen lots could be developed. Working on the basis of one hundred thousand dollars per lot for development costs, plus the price of the raw land, Wendell could anticipate a profit of roughly one million dollars on the land itself. Of course, he could also anticipate profits on the construction of the homes.
“I could do this,” Wendell said softly to himself.
Immediately his more conservative side began its own battle of negativity. It would take all of his savings to make the small down payment and pay the initial soft costs.
“Today, I am debt free and have a quarter million in the bank, plus work in progress. A year from now I would have no money. Sure, I would own a decent piece of land but I would have a massive mortgage to worry about. How good a deal is that?” argued his inner man.
“Shit!”
“At least look at the land,” encouraged the entrepreneur inside him.
His conservative side spoke almost with distain. “Don’t be an impetuous fool.”
The inner battle continued for three nights before Wendell decided there was no way to resolve the issue without at least looking at the land. He left Florida on the Friday morning and told his foreman he would be back on Monday night.
He headed north on I 95 and turned east toward Wilmington and then north again on Hwy 17. As he crossed the swing bridge over the Intra-Coastal Waterway, he entered Surf City on Topsail Island and his stomach was already gurgling with excitement. His development was just a few miles away. The conservative side of his personality tried to subdue the emotion of ownership of a subdivision, even a small one, but as he inhaled the sea air, with every breath his adventurous side grew stronger. It had already convinced him that this was his ticket. This purchase could springboard him toward a life of prosperity. It was his big chance. If he quit now, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He would end up another wannabe, always saying “should o’, could o’, would o’.
When he saw the actual property he didn’t see the scrub brush on the infertile sand. He saw a gate, green lawns and flower beds in raised gardens. Trellises, swimming pools and luxurious homes. The ocean on the front at one end of the property and the inland waterway at the back.
“Oh yes. This … I can do!” he muttered out loud.
Wendell was not lacking a good head on his shoulders. He was good with numbers as well as being good with people. He constantly argued with himself, his conservative side versus his entrepreneurial nature. The resulting balance had always worked for him. He knew he had a chance … a good chance … of making this work. If this had been his third or fourth project, he could have said with certainty that this project was doable with a decent margin of profit. Yet he knew a half a dozen contractors who had overreached their abilities and bank accounts and had failed. To absolutely predict big profits on his first development project may have been naïve, but it was not impossible.
Wendell drove the length of Topsail Island and stopped to pick up any real estate advertising magazines he could find. Half way through the day, having already driven past the property three times he pulled into a sand parking lot that butted up against a ten foot high dune, sparsely covered with patches of course grass. He opened his briefcase, dug out the info package and scanned through it looking for the phone number that had been listed under “contact number.” Wendell was preparing to leave a message when a voice answered.
“Sorry to bother you on a Saturday,” began Wendell.
“No bother at all. This is my cell number. To be honest, I’m out fishing and I haven’t had a nibble, so you aren’t interrupting much of anything. How can I help you?”
Wendell explained who he was and that he had looked at the property that had been described to him. He wanted some additional information.
“No