Thursday, December 18, 2008

Appreciation

"You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want!"

-Zig Ziglar

With the holiday season approaching, I made my rounds this week with the park managers/owners of my favorite parks (aka the parks I like to work in) distributing goodies and gifts.

My holiday cheer was very much welcomed and appreciated by all. It really brought a smile and put everyone in a good mood. We chatted and talked about plans for the holidays, shopping and the like. It was nice. People really appreciate when I take the time to visit and catch up with them - they feel appreciated.

And guess, what? Since I took the time to care and appreciate these very valuable people in my network, they expressed their gratitude and desire to work with me more in the future. I have been labeled as their favorite person to work with :)

The secret of my success has been directly a result of my network and the relationships I have built. So many people think in terms of money and themselves - what's in it for them? This is why the term "investor" gets a bad name. It's true - most investors are really out there for themselves, greedy and even worse - dishonest. Though, these people never last - it is short term.

Since I am here for the long haul, I make sure my relationships are built with integrity and trust. I am not in it for the overnight success like most people are. I have made a commitment to make this a long term business - I intend to keep it that way.

Speaking of commitment, I'm not going to sugarcoat it - this business takes work. Success does not happen overnight. I have had to put in the hours required to make this business work. Many people I know do not see the benefits - they think I work too hard.

I'll be honest - I've had to give up some things for this business including having a social life. It's true. Some of my friends think I need to be more social and do things normal people my age are doing such as going to events and parties. I guess it just boils down to priorities.

For me, it's not a priority to go out and meet people on a social level. I have a business to run and this takes priority over social events. I do try to make time to be social once in a while. I admit, sometimes it is difficult to interact with others who do not understand. Ah, the life of an entrepreneur!

I respect people's opinions. I think everyone has their own path in life. My path just so happens to be more different than others.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Pets!



Here's the latest deal. I had a whirlwind of drama with this one. We closed on the home but the seller needed some time after the closing to move out. So, I had to use my gut on this one - paid a portion of the funds to the seller at closing and the rest upon move out.

Here's the problem. The seller's car had some issues - it would not start. So, we had to wait a few days for the part. The part came in and the car still wouldn't start. The seller was stressed and told me he couldn't leave without his car. Told me he would have to have a mechanic take a look so it would be a few more days.

At this point, I was getting at the end of my patience. The seller had already breached the agreement - it had already been a couple days after he was supposed to vacate. So, what did I do? I told the seller the park manager was going to file for eviction soon if he did not leave. (By the way, I got the ok from the park manager to be the "bad guy" - he was cool with it).

So, the seller was in a panic. He called up one of his buddies who loaned him a truck. Then, we had one more snag - his cat. The seller was planning to go to a hotel, but asked me how about the cat? Where would his cat stay? The cat may not be allowed to stay in the hotel. None of his family or friends would allow the cat to stay with them. He told me he couldn't leave without his cat not having a place to stay.

Ok, I was at my wits end with this deal - I knew I needed to have the seller vacate asap. I looked into a few "pet resorts," they call them here where you can leave pets overnight. They were booked up. Called a few animal hospitals - they only accommodated existing clients.

I dialed and dialed and dialed. Finally, I found a veterinary clinic. Talked to them - they told me usually they only accept existing clients for boarding overnight. I used my last breath of energy on them, "Well, I could be a potential client." They accepted and I made a reservation for the seller's cat for overnight lodging. Cost the seller $9 per night, but that was good enough. Both the seller and the cat now had a place to stay - they vacated that day. Problem solved, case closed.

Stolen!

Today, I went to meet the electrician at one of the trailers to check out the wiring. To my surprise, all of the window units were gone! In addition, the outside a/c unit was also gone. I knew who it was, I just couldn't prove it. You see, the owner of the trailer who sold the house to the seller (who in turn sold to me) told me the owner gave her all those a/c units. And, before we closed she told me he would also take out the outside a/c unit since it was no longer working. So, it's a surprise that the outside a/c unit and all the window units are gone? Problem is, I can't prove it was him. I tried calling him but to my surprise - he can't receive incoming phone calls! He has a few trailers in the same park as well and it's just a coincidence that one of his he's working on now just so happens to have a new window unit sitting outside. Ugh!

So, I called the park manager and told him I was really mad. The park manager apologized and told me he will look into it and let the maintenance man know to keep an eye out. He suggested I could file a police report but I'm not sure what good that will do since they are already gone.

At this point, I learned a valuable lesson. Secure the house and all it's belongings at all costs. Though there are also window units in this park, anyone at any time can come around and pull it out of the window - that's what happened in this case. This is a lesson learned - a lesson I won't forget.