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While I’m not a surfer, I think surfing is a great analogy for land development timing. Catching the right wave for buying or selling land in this business involves a lot of factors. I think persistence is a critical element in helping a developer find success. For each of my most successful land projects, I can point to different points in the process where I had to choose to persist and push through. Keeping at the process – day in and day out – matters. My wife likes to quote Thomas Edison: “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” I’ve definitely experienced my share of perspiration in this job, so I agree with Edison! In all seriousness, though, Edison makes a good point. Being inspired by a land project only takes me so far; there’s a lot of hard work needed to reach completion.
Starting my day early is one of the ways I choose persistence. With so much of the land development process involving incremental tasks, I find I accomplish so much more when I get an early start. I also try to think through the tasks the night before and write them out so I’m less likely to get sidetracked the next morning.
Just like some beaches have better surfing opportunities, land development opportunities are not the same everywhere. Often, this has required me to be willing to start a project in a different region than my home base. However, unfamiliar government and business environments can increase the risk of a project, which usually requires me to educate myself.
I also try to remind myself there’s always another wave, although I’m like a lot of developers who can vividly recall every detail of their land deal that got away! There are a lot of opportunities for success in this business (and for failure, too, but that’s another blog post topic!). Identifying the NEXT opportunity (and being ready to take prompt action) has often required me to stay focused and not ruminate over the deal I just missed. Otherwise, I’m likely to miss the next opportunity that comes along (and the one after that).