First and foremost I want to thank the organizers and the friendly participants of the recent bootcamp: Mr.and Mrs. Steve Case, Messrs.Corey and Blake Donaldson, Fred Balke, Bo Shomansuroff, Miss Erica, and anybody whose name I may have forgotten. Also, I want to thank the other students for their generous and encouraging support. The bootcamp gave me a view of the great opportunities available in the real world for anybody, regardless of age. At the bootcamp, I set myself a goal of completing three (3) “Lonnie Deals” during the next twelve months and to find a mobile home park based on the business criteria we learned from our teachers. I might add that learning about the M/H business is substantially more interesting and rewarding than studying physics, classical literature and Latin. I wish my dad would let me quit school so that I could start a practical apprenticeship with an experienced man like Mr. Fred Balke. Again, I would like to thank everybody who contributed so much for my benefit at the bootcamp. I would really like to accompany my dad in Nov. to the MOM conference at Troy, Alabama, but he feels that I am missing too many school days. With a little bit of luck, I could manage to miss a couple days of school.
My best advice to you is to STAY IN SCHOOL! Although you might not think what you are taking in school today applies to life, it does. Your Dad is a smart man by not allowing you to miss too many days. This is what your job currently is - going to school. If you skip out on it now, it is indicative of what you will do on a lifelong basis.
You might be surprised to know that many of the people involved in this business have gotten where they are by attending all of those boring classes and more. Steve Case has an MBA. Most of the investors that I spend time with have degrees, some B.S., some M.S., at least one Ph.D. This shows their ability to “jump through the hoops”, so to speak, as you must do now. To give you one example, although Steve Case is involved in this business up to his eyeballs and more, I can make a bet that he expects his son and daughter to not only finish high school but to become college graduates.
I am impressed that your father took you to bootcamp. The things that you learned there may help to make you financially wealthy. The things that you learn in formal education will assist you in thinking on more than one level.
Please post when you get your first lonnie deal done. You have a whole lot of us rooting for you and your future.
Your enthusiasm for this business is admirable but Ellen is right. Be a full time student and part time investor. I was raised in this business and I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in the MHP biz. Busted water lines at 3:00 am, septic problems on Christmas, and irate/threatening tenants, begging for your money when due. Its a tough business but rewarding if done right. My point is with your degree in hand if you want to pursue this business you can but with no degree your choices will be limited. My Dad wanted me to get a degree so bad that when I thought I had learned all I needed I made the mistake of asking him could I quit; his reply “Your going to finish your college if I have to pick you up and tote you to every class”. I knew he meant it. I finished and glad of it.
It was great to meet you at the bootcamp. I am always excited to see a motivated young man looking forward to his future. I too took Latin along with German and Spanish. I agree that a “practical apprenticeship” is valuable in any student’s education. However, it is not a substitute for formal education but a supplement. EVERYONE should have the opportunity for both kinds of education.
You would be surprised how often I use my Latin (which I did not like at the time) to help me decipher the meaning of English words. You might also be surprised how often I use Algebra to figure out a little issue I’m working on. I use physics almost every day in figuring out how things should be fixed. I use my chemistry, physics and biology background to understand the world around me and answer my 9 & 13 y.o. sons’ questions on why things are the way they are. I use my theology, history and psychology background to help understand the people around me. I use my English classes and a ton of experience writing papers in grad school to write a decent response to your post.
Alexander, as it turns out, most of what you are learning will be built upon later and lead to practical application. Completing educational hurdles e.g. 8th grade, High School, College and maybe more, shows you can weather the tough times and see it through to the end. This is terribly important in the "real world’. A formal education also forces you to open your mind to other ideas so that when you are on your own, you can “think outside the box” for solutions to problems.
So, stick with it and learn all you can in addition to your formal education but do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.