Keep chopping wood

We basically do the same deal over and over again. We find some screwed-up building in an improving neighborhood, we figure out how to renovate it, and then we lease and manage it.

Because the deals are so similar, it’s easy to start to get bored. After all, smart people generally appreciate novelty, learning, etc. So banging out the same renovation a million times can get old.

But that’s a feeling to guard against.

Why? Well, in business, success is contingent. Things that have worked (eg created profits) for years suddenly turn unprofitable due to market conditions, regulation, etc. Look at what happened to Kodak, Radio Shack, Country-Wide, etc.

Once you get bumped out of a profitable groove, it can be very difficult to find another one.

So, if you’ve got something that really, truly works, it’s not a bad idea to keep chopping wood until it stops working.