The one sure way to make money in Memphis, Tennessee, has always been through real estate, but the kinds of people who became millionaires this way defied a single, simple description. Consider five people who became millionaires within a few years of each other. All were in their early 30s when they struck it rich, but otherwise, they were a very varied group.
For example, Abe was the local 'do it right- guy. He went to college, got his start in real estate working for a successful firm (he was one of the few African Americans in the local industry who specialized in commercial real estate), and built a nest egg. He left the firm after about five years to start his own, and he kept up his conscientious ways. He made a profit in his first year of operations through frugality and careful money management. He studied the market, the competition, and how and where the city was growing. He negotiated tirelessly but fairly to get the best price on land, and he developed it for the commercial market because that was where the money was.
Cal was the promoter. He was college-educated but seemed to have majored in partying. He was always talking up one big deal or another, developing major projects for tourists. More than anyone else in town, he sold visions of a future Memphis. He built his deals from the downtown out, looking for opportunities near the Mississippi River, which he saw as Memphis's key tourist attraction. He was always putting together consortia, but often forgot or failed to cover key details. His relationships with people were emotional roller coaster rides, and he likewise led a life of financial feast or famine, depending on where he and his latest project was. Just after his 30th birthday, one of his projects 'came in; and he became a millionaire. Lee went to college in engineering and joined her father's construction company right after graduation. She knew business as well as engineering and made the family firm a major force in home construction. She had a keen eye for where new subdivisions should go and was able to get the best work out of local architects and subcontractors. She was considered not only sharp, but kind to people and careful about the details of her homes and her firm. She prospered because her subdivisions were the best in town.
Frank also lived on the outskirts of town. Never graduating from high school, he apprenticed himself to a gas station owner as a teen. When the company needed to open a gas station just outside of Memphis, Frank agreed to do it, and the company financed his purchase of the gas station. At his gas station, Frank mostly sat outside in a rocking chair by the gas pump. He became a millionaire when gravel was discovered on his land and was mined by local gravel and building companies. Armed with serious money, Frank always said he was looking for his next deal, but he never found one.
In terms of the five types of entrepreneurial personalities mentioned in the chapter, do any of them fit the description of the Memphis real estate tycoons?