Hitting the Wall....

Earlier this year I was at a point where I felt as if the infill of the park would never be completed, in other words we would never complete filling the park with homes and we would never sell what we had on hand. Things in general just seemed over whelming, you wear many different hats as an entrepreneur, sometimes you're spread so thin you don't know which way to go first. The project is so large in scope that you begin to feel as though it will never be completed. One thing I have noticed in my fellow entrepreneurs and owners of turn around parks is that intellectually we know it's a let's say in my case a 4 or 5 year project to bring it to completion but our pride in our abilities clouds the truth and soon we have convinced ourselves we can have the project done in 2 years which causes us frustration as we near the 2 year time frame.

With the limited resources available which includes time, money and labor all of which have their limits we must find ways to keep ourselves motivated and moving forward, sometimes that means working on projects that require less money until you accumulate the funds for that project or waiting until you have enough time to start and finish a project, but at the end of the day my responsibility as the entrepreneur is to keep the project moving forward and find ways to motivate myself and those that work with me to get these things done.

There were several ways I have been able to keep myself grounded, one is to pull out the photo albums of the park, flipping back to the beginning pictures always helps me to see the huge amount of progress that we have made, another is the business partner I have been blessed with and the ability to openly lay out my feelings and frustrations so I can receive some feedback and support from someone who has been there and experienced it themselves.

Another is the ability to remove myself from the project for a few days or a week which being in your own business allows you to do, such as getting away to spend time with my children and grand children which always energizes me and makes the world right again, and last but not least is to take my burdens to the lord and lean on his strength and guidance in all things.

I would also be missing a very important point if I did not speak to the importance of having the right people on your team working with you day in and day out, I am a huge believer in treating the people who work with and for you with respect, I also believe in training them in what kind of conduct you require of them and what your expectations are related to their job performance. I must say in this area I have once again been blessed by having my right hand man Richard Walls as my rehab man and so much more, Rick and I are on the same page 99 percent of the time and he truly helps me move this project forward day after day. By creating a good team of people to work with, you can support one another knowing you will each have your days which each of us does from time to time.

I realize the point where you hit the wall may not be the same for you as it was for me but I'm sure you will experience a taste of it working your own turn around project, don't let the challenges get the better of you, find your own ways to keep moving things forward toward the goal of completing your project.

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