By Heather

You don't know how many times I hear people told me that they can't do this like I did because "my partner and I had each other". I understand why many of you think that I had it made because "we had each other". Yes, that team support is important, but we both came to the table with a "failure is not an option" mindset. Neither of us waited for the other to tell us what to do or how to do it. We got out there and made mistakes. The only difference is that we made them together.

What that means, if a deal goes bad, there are two people that feel the effects. And having said that, keep in mind that nothing is perfect. And there is a lot of caution to be taken when you are looking at forming partnerships with people in business, especially your closest friends. We are very lucky to had one another and we certainly don't take that for granted. Because of that, we are working on developing our training programs to give that support to others just getting started.

First, let me tell you that I absolutely would not be where I am without Stacy today because she gave me the confidence and the belief in myself and vice versa when we were getting started out. If I was slightly nervous on a deal, she said "Let's go for it" and if she was on the fence, I pushed her off!!!

Stacy handles the details on our deals. She makes sure the insurance is ordered, the houses had electricity, the contractors do estimates, all those things that I forget or hate to do! And I do things that she doesn't like or remember. On that note, we balance each other out and I agree with you there.

Additionally, it is great to had that support when things seem like they are falling apart or when one of us is caught up in personal things.

It is very rare that we both hit a wall at the same time. But it happens and it's not pretty when it does. We had been friends for over eight years and had a lot at stake beyond our buildings. We vowed never to quit or give up on each other when we started this together. When you are working day in and day out with your friends, it can be hard to separate business and personal relationships. It can be hard to detach yourself from external factors.

We had had our share of disagreements, and if we didn't had a solid friendship, we may not had gotten this far together. We are able to stop, take a step back and get through the issues. Sometimes it may take some time and a lot of venting, but we muddle through it. Each time, we end up stronger with more focus on our goals and better equipped to solve problems that arise in the future.

We also had a lot of fun together and really enjoy building this business because of the people. And through the people that we had met, we had learned and been exposed to a variety of situations. Our motivation has a great deal to do with the people we are able to help, both investors and people in trouble with their homes.

We are absolutely fortunate to had one another and never once take it for granted, but we also put a lot of work into the partnership and individually into our business. It is not something that just happened! It takes work and commitment to ourselves and our business. And it isn't certainly isn't easier JUST BECAUSE WE had EACH OTHER, though it is more fun that way!!!