Going for the First Down!

Not long ago, I had a Client who informed me of their desire to acquire more land. I asked them if they were ready for it. “Of course we are!” was their immediate response. “Are you sure?” I asked. “Absolutely! No question about it,” they replied, “and it will only cost us $1,000,000 to buy it.”

I then asked them if they were ready to pay $350,000 in the form of a down payment. Of course, they wanted to borrow the whole $1,000,000 purchase price. Unfortunately, that was not an option, since they did not have enough equity built up in their other property. As a result, their bank would require them to front the 35% down payment, allowing them to only borrow $650,000 of the total price. 

Needless to say, they were not thrilled with this concept of having to come up with the first 35% and naturally asked how they could do that. I suggested some budget trimming and, more significantly, establishing a plan to reach the $350,000 milestone. There were several items that I suggested they could use for this saving plan.

On their dairy site, I suggested they save the cash from the sale of bull calves and all cull cows, or at least as much as possible. “Whoa, but that’s our spending money,” they exclaimed. “Yes, and most people who buy homes and other real estate also save their spending money,” was my response. 

I also suggested that they take any miscellaneous revenue, as well as any government program payments they received and put them away. This amounted to at least $165,000 per year on their dairy operation, beef ranch and cropping operations. While I realize that this would require some sacrifice on their part, I also knew that they would not have any regrets if they actually reached their goal. 

Business success, as well as life in general, is a series of tradeoffs. There’s no such thing as a “free lunch,” but that does not mean you cannot achieve your objectives if you work toward them. Sometimes that requires difficult sacrifices, but I happen to be of the opinion that these are the price we have to pay to achieve what we’d like to. 

I realize that saving money in our country seems to have gone out of style. We need look no further than our own federal government for a perfect example of this. I’d elaborate on that point, but it would require more text than I can include in a blog post. 

Ironically, this Client opted not to save their funds and make any more land acquisitions. I guess they felt it was too much of a sacrifice. However, after I suggested this to another Client, they started right away and in nine months had saved enough to add a new maternity area and transition barn for their fresh cows. As a result, their milk production is up by four pounds per cow per day. Their reward will continue indefinitely. 

That sounds like a solid return for their sacrifice! If you would like to learn more about ways to save money, either in your business or personally, check out my website at www.success-strategies.com or take a look at my latest book Saving for a Sunny Day at https://www.createspace.com/4588708. I hope you find it helpful to you!