I have utilized a business coach in a previous career and I found it very helpful. I’d like to really take things to the next level in this business and I think that involves bringing in a neutral third party to help with coaching and mentoring.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Feel free to send me a private message if you don’t feel comfortable listing here. Thank you.
Perhaps you could work something with Frank and Dave?
Not the worst idea in the world. 
For what its worth here is my take. Specific to the MH space. Today it all hinges on the deal availability. If you see the thread where someone posted about their off market list, there are a million and one responses. If you can get the deal , that is your springboard for wherever you go next.
I like to just check in with other operators from time to time just to see what their thoughts are about something, see what people are doing ( whose opinions i value) . And thats how I write the narrative for my investment thesis.
I know money is out there and available ( you dont have to go further from the forum to see that).
Management , this is going to be a variable … You can try to scale with 3rd party mgmt, maybe it works , maybe not. But i would spend the time on building my back end mgmt structure as i get more properties , learn do things better. Unless you have an operations partner who wants to do all that. So thats just logistics that needs to be figured out.
Back to the deal. Frank and Dave i think have a great foundation for what many hear have learned. Granted a 100 space park in todays market 100 under market lot rents, in fill, booming metro , city utilities, isn’t going to exist on a 10 cap. And there are probably 10 x more people looking for it. I am not in that space. I would like to be but when you back into the numbers, for me personally, im trying to build equity and look for better opportunities. I am in the sub 50 space, not because i cant get the money together for larger deals , but i feel the better probability for squeaking out returns is here for me. Lately im a lot more involved in mgmt as well, partly for trying to figure out how to operate things better. And i like my market a lot. Counter intuitive for what Frank and Dave teach , im just trying to stay in the same area .
Figure out where there is opportunity that others aren’t. Say you found a great metro thats all mom and pops, maybe thats where you really want to push . Or if you have a market and can aggregate smaller properties to build a portfolio , thats a strategy. Or there are some operators i have seen that will buy anything and everything in a market ( small or big ) .
Just be careful on what you execute , in terms of strategy. Make sure you have an exit and bounce it off others to see if you are overlooking any component of risk.
From Day 1 Frank talked about the limited window… a lot of parks are getting gobbled up. You are competing with a different animal and have to know what to do . Get yourself a competitive advantage ( ie building your owner relationships for off market) , looking at development (different animal ) , Mixed use parks, niche operation parks .
And i think the issue with trying to get a coach or mentor is that i dont know there is one one right path. See where you can stack the odds in your favor what competitive advantage you bring to the table and do it. Mgmt for parks sucks sometimes. Maybe you build out the mgmt infrastructure , operate parks , and thats a door way into potential future acquisitions.
I think the key in todays market is going where others are not ( and this generally speaking can be where you outperform as an investor ) and you have to be able to see opportunity that others dont but always know your risk/exposure.
@Jim_Johnson Not sure if Jim offers consulting services but i thought i read at one point he may have had something so maybe worth reaching out. He pops into bigger pockets from time to time also.
If you had the right deal , you can call 10 operators of which whom you could probably dictate the right path in todays market.
@Deleted_User_ME thank you for the concise reply Jack. I definitely agree with a lot of your points. And I’m starting to realize the sub 50 space is not a bad thing at all.
I do have a pretty interesting project that would certainly be a competitive advantage, but this project is the reason I’m looking for a coach.
Just like apartments right, people trade quads all day long. But dare you say a 25 space park, many will scoff. Sure i would 10x rather have a 250 space park but you just have to weight it .
And i caveat that with market and everything else to make sense. I like those in a higher lot rent market. 300x25 lots . Thats something that can spit off 54k annually post expenses (stabilized) not including debt service.
The big hurdles will be to figure out your mgmt to operate them with some level of efficiency and you might not be able to get wall street debt. Im guessing some large operators in this market will take a 30 space park within mgmt distance from their 100 lot park. And i know this from actuality on doing assignments. When those become a target , then same thing, they will get eaten up less competition.
As a side note, even out by me, have single lot mobile home parks. And while not desirable, it all comes down to per pad cost , management . But you get something like that in a great market , and the big thing is the acknowledgment that it CAN replace an MH freely. Then you get someone to move in a new mobile home, do a 400-500 lot rent. See if there are good prospects for market growth. See if you can 10 of those. That can be a few k of NOI monthly. And i think the exit on some of those individual lots to owner occupants, maybe you can sell 80k . When you back that gain into an IRR you can do some crazy returns. Not the park model but just one other way to look at it. And i would not go into something like this unless it looked like very large spreads.
On the smaller stuff, i personally would shy away from private utilities.
And also, hidden value, extra land that you might be able to expand on . Subdividing alt assets on the parcel. When you catch those anomalies you can really hit if out of the park.
Take the park you already have, make sure you know e very other park owner in your market ( assuming you like it) . Get on a personal relationship with them. I feel like thats an edge already being in a local market and might give you first crack at other deals.
Sorry for More rambling haa!
Ok back to some work for me 
I’ve never had a mentor, but have seen from other mentor / mentee relationships how powerful the results can be from such a relationship. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find a mentor. Usually, one finds you. It’s takes a willingness on the part of both parties.
With regard to MHP ownership, firsthand experience is the most valuable thing. The role of owner / operator is two parts problem solver and one part strategic / critical thinker. So, while I think a mentor would help, there is enough guidance available on this forum and a community of owners that are more than willing to share their knowledge to bridge the gap where having a mentor is a nice to have and not a necessity.
@Ippo yeah I agree. Many of the most successful people I know had mentors. Or dad owned the law firm or whatever. Basically the same thing.
I’m surprised more people on here have not pursued this type of arrangement. I’ll be successful either way, but it would be nice to have a very successful person on speed dial.
I spend at least an hour each day mentoring a wide variety of people on their specific deals, or answering questions on operations. I do most of this while driving between our properties. I do this for free and feel that it’s a win/win as I get to help people while at the same time keeping myself awake at the wheel on what are often 12 hour continuous drives.
One problem I have seen in the real estate sector are unhealthy mentorship arrangements in which the person being mentored spends thousands of dollars (I’ve heard of $30,000+ in some cases) while the mentor actually has no real experience and is “mentoring” as a full-time job. The problem is (besides the sheer lack of morality that the person being mentored is spending the capital they need as a down payment on a property, and the person they are relying on as their mentor is clueless and actually gets them into more trouble based on their advice.
If you’re going to use a mentor be 100% sure that they have a successful track record.
@frankrolfe I appreciate the response. I remember you mentioning during a boot camp that you still took those calls while driving.
And I am definitely going to be diligent if I pick a paid business coach/mentor. I found one guy charged $42,000 upfront (you read that number correctly) and then $250 per month thereafter. To be fair, he does have quite a track record, but I think there are plenty of people out there who are just professional coaches and are not active in the industry. With the MHP community being relatively small, it probably won’t be an easy task to find someone that would fit the right criteria.
I agree that Frank is a wonderful resource. Im not sure if the weekly calls are still going on but i listened to all those until you got to the point where you know the answer to almost every question because its often the same things over and over ( with the occasional odd ball coming up ).
I also have a habit of reaching out to park owners just out of sheer curiosity or valuing their opinions. Several on this forum. So many of them are generous with their time.
I have had the chance to either exchange messages on the forum or have calls from some of the members. Many who have large portfolios or much more experience. Also this would be true for industry events. If you aren’t going to those , its a great time to put names with faces. Meet new people in the space etc. Grab lunches with other park owners.
I have learned a ton from them. While none of them are paid coaches, the info is just as valuable as anything i could obtain elsewhere. Im not bugging them regularly but if i have a question that is at “their level” im sure some would take the time to respond.
And i will say, im not just a needy nancy. On the flip side, i try to make a practice of not asking people for things , just more a genuine interest in how they are running their show, what they see as risks, what they see as opportunities. Thats whats of interest to me. I always think is there anything i know about in my world or anything i can share that might be of value to them ? Often times not but just to let people know that i really appreciate them. Or even to my local park owners who might be more mom and pop, im happy to share anything i might know about on dealing with particular issues, or a vendor that might serve them well.
Thats one of the reasons i like to post on the forum here. Not so much because i know a lot , but because some of the things you learn with time and so many have done the same for me. I used to have a different profile when i started on MHU but i posted a deal review for frank and while i knew it was a deal , his acknowledgment gives you that confidence you need.
And make sure you know peoples intentions as well. If i stand to make a buck off you so you aren’t getting taken for a ride. So many across my MH journey have been nothing but wonderful to me. Such a great space to be in . Many deal with the same issues and its not dog eat dog . Keep that in mind as for me, its been probably my best source of personal growth in the space ( aside from personal hands on experience) and none of it was a paid relationship but the value received thus far has been priceless.
A list of links some historical great posts would be a great start to the kind of information you want to find. Try filtering for “top” posts for various periods, and don’t forget to try different sort categories (top responses, top likes, top read, e.g.). This isn’t really mentoring but it does help get a leg up because you’re doing your research/homework.
Frank has answered every one of my questions by phone on deals.
I dont know how he still stands with all that he does.
In addition to the sharing on this forum, I count Frank & Brandon as my go to people for the MHP portion of my investing business.