…And why the real problem wasn’t the zoning.
Today, I want to share a horrifying story that starts with a sneaky zoning change… but ends with a hard truth about business ownership that way too many entrepreneurs ignore. https://youtu.be/lwORvoJ_xeY
The Zoning Nightmare
I got a call from a guy who owns a small manufacturing business. He’s been at the same location for over 30 years. Back then? His shop was in the country.
Today? Residential neighborhoods have grown all around him.
One day, he finds out the city quietly changed the zoning on his property—from industrial to residential—without ever notifying him.
Now that he needs a mortgage to unlock capital from his building, the bank refuses. Why? Because if anything happens—like he sells or the bank forecloses—the property can’t legally be used for industrial purposes anymore.
He’s furious. He calls me to vent.
But Then the Questions Start…
As always, I ask:
“Why do you need the loan?”
To buy inventory in bulk and improve margins.
“What were your sales last year?”
“I don’t know.”
“How much do you take out of the business?”
“Well, I will reinvest everything.”
🚩Red flags everywhere.
Let me be blunt: Business owners who don’t know their numbers are usually avoiding them. And in my experience, that avoidance is almost always masking a bigger issue.
The Sad Truth Unfolds
I dig deeper. His business sells only to governments.
Every job is awarded by tender. It’s always about being the lowest bidder.
He’s trapped in a race to the bottom.
And he thinks he’s “building his business” by leaving all the money in… except the business now can’t afford to pay him, and it’s not worth anything to anyone else either.
When I asked what made the business valuable, his answer?
“I own the building.”
Guess what? That building just lost its core utility. And no, it's not valuable if it can’t legally support the use it was built for.
The Real Problem Wasn’t the City…
It’s not about zoning.
It’s about running a business that can’t pay its owner.
And here’s the brutal truth I gave him:
“They actually did you a favor. If your business made real money, you’d move it or sell the land. But you can’t—because the business doesn’t work.”
He thought he was building wealth.
In reality, he’d created a job that didn’t pay, while the city and taxpayers got cheap products on his dime.
Lesson: Know What You’re Building
A business is not a piggy bank.
It's not a retirement plan.
It's not a hobby disguised as hard work.
It’s a system to combine people + place + capital into one thing:
👉 Cash flow for you.
If it’s not producing cash for you today?
It’s time to fix it—or kill it.
💥 Key Takeaways
✅ Just because you own a building doesn’t mean you own value.
✅ Your business must pay you today—or it’s a hobby.
✅ Avoiding your numbers is a warning sign.
✅ Leverage cheap money, don’t worship being debt-free.
✅ "I'm reinvesting everything" is often code for "I'm afraid to look at the truth."
Don’t Be That Guy
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– David C. Barnett
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