God Guides Me Into a Career as a Homebuilder

It Was Time to Make a Career Change

I spent about three years working as an on-site sales agent. While I enjoyed helping young couples get into their first home, I was beginning to think that it was time for me to move on.  I admit that it was also obvious that the other on-site sales agents were still resentful of my success, and they gave me the cold shoulder.

It has always been difficult for me to understand this resentment directed toward me for my success.  It happened to me in many of the jobs I worked.  I was so blessed to have a relationship with God, Who guided and directed me in all of the jobs I worked.  I tried to tell my co-workers how to tap into God’s blessings, but they didn’t want to hear it.

I Concluded I Needed to Work for Myself

So while I was sitting in my model home pondering this situation, I concluded that I needed to work for myself, but what could I do?  I turned to God for guidance, thanking Him for steering me into a new career path.  It’s amazing how quickly God works when you put your faith in Him and open yourself up to possibilities.

A Dear Friend Offers Me a New Career

As I was pondering what kind of business I could start, a land developer I knew from my previous job with a homebuilder, with whom I had become good friends, stopped by to say hello. He said that he had been thinking about me, and he thought I should consider becoming a homebuilder.

He Suggested I Become a Homebuilder

What?  Me become a homebuilder.  I had to laugh, and I said, “Mr. Clary, I don’t know anything about being a builder! What makes you think I can do that?”

Mr. Clary said, “Kathy, you know more about building than most builders. When you were with ABC Builders, you got all the development loans, you got all the construction loans, you purchased all the building permits, water meter permits, sewer taps, you handled the advertising, reviewed and signed all sales contracts, scheduled the closings, attended all the closings…in other words, Kathy, you did everything except supervise construction of the houses. And you don’t need to know how to do that.

“All you need is a Construction Supervisor. I know a retired building inspector who would be interested in handling that for you. Just pay him $1,500 for each house he supervises. You won’t have to pay him until the loan closes.” 

 He Offered to Help Me Get Started

And he continued, “I tell you what I’ll do. If you’re interested, I’ll let you build in my new subdivision. I’ll give you the lots and you won’t have to pay me until you sell and close the house.”

What could I say? He had everything covered. I still resisted. “It will take months to build and close a house. What am I supposed to live on until that time?”

And then he said, “Well, you know FHA and VA new construction loan guidelines better than anyone in this city.  I do FHA and VA inspections for most of the large builders in Atlanta. I know I could talk to them about using you as a consultant. That’ll give you some money to live on until your houses start closing.”

I Asked God for Guidance

There you go. I was trapped. I said, “I promise you I’ll give it serious consideration. Give me a little time.”  After he left, I asked God, “Well, Lord, is this the diversion I was praying for? Is this the right thing for me to do?  If it is, please give me a sign.”

So the VERY NEXT DAY I received a call from my Sales Manager asking me to come to his office. I drove from my model home to his office, went in and sat down. He got up and shut the door. When he sat down, I could see that he felt uncomfortable about what he had to say, so he took a deep breath and began.

 “The Home Office wants to make some changes. Apparently, your commissions have been substantially higher than they’re used to paying (WELL YEAH, I GUESS SO!  I SOLD MORE HOMES FOR THEM THAN ANYONE IN THE COUNTRY!). They are changing your commission structure.”

I Had My Confirmation

And that’s all I needed to hear. My company was cutting my commissions, even though I sold more homes for them than anybody in the country. While he continued talking, I tuned him out. Well, well, well…if ever there was a sign that it was time for me to move on, this was it!

So when he finished talking, I said, “I quit. I’ll give you one month’s notice. I’ve been thinking about it anyway. Mr. Clary has offered to get me started as a builder and I think I’ll go for it.”

He Laughed at Me Becoming a Homebuilder

He wasn’t surprised that I would quit. He thought the whole thing stunk and he couldn’t believe they were doing this to me, but this idea of becoming a builder? Was I nuts? What did I know about building?  He could get me a job as an on-site sales agent with another builder, wouldn’t that be better for me than this crazy idea about becoming a builder?

But despite all his attempts to dissuade me, my mind was made up. I was going to become a builder. I called Mr. Clary and told him I was ready to take the plunge. I had one month left with this company; could he call some of those builders for me about consulting work?

Everyone Laughed at Me Becoming a Builder

 Mr. Clary was as good as his word. He put me in touch with some of the largest homebuilders in Atlanta and I began doing consulting work for them all the time working toward establishing my building company.

And when I told the builders I was doing consulting work for that I was becoming a builder, they laughed at me! You a builder? What do you know about homebuilding?   I also ran into the builder I worked for previously at a Homebuilders Meeting and told him Mr. Clary was helping me become a homebuilder. He laughed his head off! Kathy a builder? What an absurd idea!

I Began to Panic

So, there I was, three weeks into my one-month notice, lying in bed one night unable to sleep. What in the world had I done?  I quit my job, and I’m going to become a homebuilder? Was I crazy?  Whatever made me think I could do this? I was becoming dizzy from a panic attack.

When I finally calmed down, I started talking to God. “Well, Lord, I must tell You that I’m terrified of what I’m doing here.  But I also believe from everything that happened to bring me to this point, that I asked for Your guidance, and You gave it. I have to believe that I’m doing the right thing. So I tell You, Lord, I’m giving all of my fear to You and I thank You for guiding and directing me.”

I Decided to Read the Bible

So I decided to pick up my Bible and read a little bit of Psalms, as it always seemed to calm me. I just flipped the book open at random to Psalms and started at the top of the page. What I read stunned me!  It was Psalms 118, Verses 22-23: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

I started laughing! Wow! Could God possibly have given me a more perfect verse to let me know that I was on the right track? What did I care what those other builders thought of my new career? The Lord was doing this for me!

Psalms 118:22-23 Gives Me Confirmation

I said, “Oh Lord, You are so good to me! Thank You so much for giving me that confirmation! I’ll never worry about it again!”  I kept thinking about that word, “capstone.” Since I felt very strongly that God had led me to that verse, I decided to use the name for my building company – Capstone Construction. When I opened my mortgage training institute a few years later I used this name again – Capstone Institute of Mortgage Finance.

And this name has served as a wonderful witness to other people who ask me, “Where did the name of ‘Capstone’ come from?” It allows me to share with them how God worked so wonderfully in my life!