Once Upon A Time - Posted by Lonnie
Posted by Lonnie on January 02, 1999 at 16:08:07:
For one reason or another, it seems there?s always a number of folks that won?t take that first step and get started making money. You wouldn?t believe all the excuses I?ve heard over the years. The reasons are numerous…“Can?t do it where I live.” “Can?t find any cheap MH?s where I live, the prices are too high.”. “Can?t do it without having a dealer license” (Dealer license seems to be the number one hang-up.) " The paper is full of MH ads with small payments, too much competition". And the reasons go on and on.
I wrote this article some time back and kept it to run occasionally. This seems to be the appropriate time to run it again. Recognize anybody?
Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time there were two men named John and Charlie. Both men had finished school after getting a “good education” and was now working a “job”. The problem was, they both worked a job they didn?t like, that paid just enough to live on. But that “job” provided “security and good benefits”.
These two men kept hearing about how you could make a lot of money buying and selling mobile homes, so they decided they wanted to give it a try. So they both bought a book that explained exactly how to do this.
John was the type of man that was more concerned about details and paper work and making sure everything was exactly proper and right, rather than just doing a deal. And John also listened a lot to what “they said”.
When “they” told him that this mobile home business couldn?t be done where he lives, John believed them. When “they” told him he couldn?t buy cheap mobile homes where he lived, he believed them. When "they? told him that he would have all kinds of problems with licenses, paper work contracts, John believed them. When “they” told of cases where the buyers stopped paying and left the home vacant, John was terrified.
So John checked with a lawyer that charged him $500 to review his contracts and advise him what to do. (His lawyer knew nothing about mobile homes, but was willing to do all the research necessary for only $150 an hour so John wouldn?t get in trouble). Finally John decided this mobile home business was much too risky and expensive, so he decided to keep working his job. After all, he was now making $8.00 an hour and was due for another 50 cents an hour raise next year if his company was still in business. So John kept doing the same thing he had been doing, and kept getting the same results he had always gotten.
Charlie, on the other hand didn?t know he couldn?t do these mobile home deals. “They” didn?t tell him it couldn?t be done where he lives, or that he needed a lawyer, or that his buyer wouldn?t pay and all the other war stories that “they” like to tell. So being a little dumb, Charlie just started doing it. After 3 years, Charlie had bought and sold a lot of mobile homes, had created $300,000 of mobile home notes and was getting checks dropped in his mail box almost every day.
Then Charlie decided to do something totally unthinkable…he quit his job!! And all his friends and family tried to tell him what a horrible mistake he was making. How could he give up a steady paying job with good “benefits” and even a “retirement” plan when he reached 65? But Charlie was bull headed and refused to t listen to any of them. So he quit that job that he hated and was now full time in the mobile home business. Charlie was a now a man without a job. What kind of a future could he expect with no job, no guaranteed benefits and not even a retirement plan.
Then a terrible thing happened…a man from DMV called and told Charlie he couldn?t buy and sell mobile homes without a license. Charlie said, “I didn?t know that, nobody told me I needed a license. My goodness, what do I have to do to get a license”? The DMV man said, “You have to come in, fill out an application and pay $1,000.” Charlie said, “OK, I?ll be right down, after all I sure don?t want to get in trouble.” So Charlie got a license and now he can buy and sell all the mobile homes he wants without worrying about getting in trouble with that bad DMV man. And Charlie and his family lived happily ever after. (I never heard anymore about John, wonder what happened to him? Probably still working that good “job” unless he?s been “downsized”)
Best wishes,
Lonnie