I heard an interesting fact yesterday.  In 1900 there were some 1800 carriage builders in the U.S.  Today, only one of those firms survived – Fisher – and they did so by adapting, by changing with the times.  Body by Fisher, now a  branch of General Motors (GM), became famous and wealth followed.  The horse-drawn carriage became the horseless carriage, the automobile.  Visionary Fisher brothers adapted, they changed; others in their field financially died.

I attend a fair number of meetings every year along with other industry professionals.  I can picture the faces of some who told me they are near business failure.  They often did not want things to change, but change they must, or their enterprise will fail. The compassionate thing to do is to gently and respectfully say, “We all have to change in life.  In business, if we fail to successfully adapt and change, then the business must be sold or die.”

There are thousands – perhaps a quarter million or more – vacant sites in MHCs across the country.  There are dozens – hundreds actually – of idled and near idled factories among manufactured home builders.   We have thousands of closed manufactured home retail centers.  Our population continues to grow.  We have the most affordable home product available.  Hello?  What is wrong with this picture?

Part of the problem lies with a failure to make sure that everyone involved in a transaction wins.  A deal is a truly good deal only when all the parties benefit.

Win-lose is a sure recipe for failure.  Only the short-term thinker uses a win-lose approach.  The book How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins chronicles how ego and ignoring the facts cost once-successful companies their very existence.

In a win-win approach:

• Give the customer a great experience.
• Do not over promise.
• Do not under deliver.
• Set the right expectation.
• Do all that you reasonably can to meet an expectation.

I’ve personally seen retail, community or other business locations turn around in very short order using some very simple concepts.  The ones above are among them.

We can talk about the importance of issues like the SAFE Act, Dodd-Frank, the looming issues from the yet-to-birth Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CGPB) or many others.  We can talk about a lack of financing, but the reality is until we protect both consumers and lenders – to make sure they are set up to win, and not lose – we are kidding ourselves.  In a recent Industry related meeting, the statement was made that captive finance can work because there is no lender ‘to screw.’   No temptation to phony a down payment, or a document, or fail to properly service a customer.  We can’t expect Washington to give us an FHA Title I (or any other program) that is set up for losses, so our Industry can sell more homes.  That dog won’t hunt anymore.

Here are the cold, hard facts.  The HUD Code Manufactured Housing Industry is able to reverse course just as soon as people are willing to change and adapt.  Manufactured homes will take off again in the market when we make sure that customers, lenders, and all involved parties properly benefit.

Happy customers, profitable stakeholders, there is your simple, long term, recipe for success!

For those who are ready to change and succeed, please attend one or more of the following events:

• Tunica seminars
• 2011 Great Southwest Home Show in Tulsa OK
• MHI Congress in Las Vegas NV
• HOMExpo 2011 in York PA

We will be presenting and exhibiting at all of the first three events.  We look forward to seeing hundreds of you at one of these events

Thanks to the factories, exhibitors and associations who make it possible, most retailers, community operators and others can attend Tunica, The Great Southwest Home Show and HOMExpo 2011 for free. You can see the fees for attending MHI’s Congress on their page on our site.  See each of their respective links for more information.

Change or die.  That sounds cold, but it is the truth. # #