People are going to read this and think, “Oh no, poor Collin, life would be so tough cashing in on a $3 million dollar sale of the property.”
I get it…
It doesn’t seem that bad, right? It sounds kind of nice actually.
Here’s what most people that read this don’t know though…
I poured blood, sweat, and tears to get this point. “Cashing out” wasn’t sitting right and I also knew it was all worth more (but the circumstances and my burn out were causing me to give in).
Selling at this price would have covered the liabilities I had and would not have left much afterward for my family.
If I sold the property, I would be losing out on the 17 years of hard work in the scooter dealership and would be getting zero for it. (I did talk to competitors and parties that I thought might be interested in gaining the scooter business, but given their own circumstances and struggles, no one was.)
Jesus has blessed me with the honor of stewarding this commercial property for him. I’ve learned a lot through this.
EVERY SINGLE STEP has been Devine. From a competitor moving out of this space, to us moving in, to us later purchasing this property… I saw the Lord’s intentionality in every step. It’s one of the reasons I was able to hold on through the Covid-business-storm. It was hard for me to believe that the Lord was so intentional in getting me to this point to just have it all go away.
Here’s a paragraph from my prayer journal entry on Tuesday, April 6th 2021 9:21a NS4L Office…
[Half way into my journal entry…(typed out for clarity)]
Jesus, as I was writing this Jason Hurst and Dan Drotos from Colliers Gainesville called at 9:31a. They have a solid offer and some other activity, but nothing seemed too strong. The offer was $3 million, 90 days due diligence, 120 days for permitting and plan approval. It’s such a blessing that you put this property in my hands at $1.3 million, so Jesus I pray over this offer. What would you like to do here? I don’t want to be greedy and I don’t want to be prideful. I genuinely want to be a wonderful steward of what is yours. So Father, if you are willing, speak to me. Tell me what to do. Show me the direction you want me to go.
Bless this day. Bless our interactions with customers. Help us sell scooters. Allow me the time to prepare for today’s shows [talking about the podcasts I had scheduled that night]. Guide my heart.
I love you and I’m so grateful to be alive.
Collin
Final thoughts…
The hardest thing to do as a leader sometimes is to swallow pride. To swallow the perceptions of others. To focus on the Lord when feeling pressure from every angle. To deny the flesh and lean into the Holy Spirit.
“What is it that YOU want, Lord? How does all of this work into YOUR plan?”
Equally difficult, especially as a Christian business leader, is ensuring you aren’t being greedy. Ensuring you are actually putting the Lord’s will before your own. Ensuring that you aren’t idolizing money, but at the same time being the best steward you can be with that money.
To be continued…
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