Mark,

First, you should be commended for your "can-do" spirit and will to succeed.  Not many people would carry the burden you seem to be carrying.  I am sincere when I say that I am pulling for you and from now on, I will be sure to throw as much business to you as I can when we receive NJ search orders!

I must say, however, that owning a Title Company does not come without its threats and pressures.  You state in your last posting, "...maybe you would have a better understanding if it were YOU who were being trounced on by a company the size of DataTrace."

Mark, since you feel that I would have a better understanding if it were ME who was being trounced by a company the size of DataTrace, please take a few more minutes and read on.  I share this with you not for pity, not for any sort of "in-your-face" rebuttal, but a simple example of why it is VITAL TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS...a lesson I have learned over the past few years and a lesson I share with my employees, my students and my service providers every chance I get:

When Statewide Settlement, Inc. was first born, we were able to support three employees.  Myself, my partner, Kert and my mother, Nancy, who joined our team to help us with the books and file management.  We were growing, albeit slow but sure.  Our business POA and vision called for extensive service to our product.  End of story.  If we were to succeed, we needed to focus on service.  There were way too many "Statewide Settlement" in NYS to survive on product alone.

Mom kept the phones moving, files organized and books in order while Kert and myself traveled all over the state closing loans, providing search assistance, marketing and selling our SERVICE!!!!!!!  Then, the phone call we had been waiting for came.  I will never forget it.  My mother called my cell phone (which I could not afford since we were paying her more than we were paying ourselves...by the way, she was brining home $450.00 every two weeks).

I was coming home from Old Forge from a closing (about a five hour drive, one way, but we could not afford to outsource the closing.  The phone bill needed to be paid).  She called and stated that an attorney in Manhattan had called and wanted to use us for his upstate closings.  GREAT!!!!  This may actually afford us the opportunity to grow!!!!  Over the next few months, we broke our backs for him.  We closed every single loan, 24 hours per day 7 days per week.  Whenever, wherever....

Shortly after the fourth month working with this attorney, he called my cell phone and stated that we had proven ourselves worthy of additional work.  We were to be commended on our witness closing service and how impressed he was with the fact that everything we promised him and his firm, we delivered.  In fact, he stated that if we did half as good a job writing title for him as we did closing his loans, we all would benefit, especially the borrower(s).

Then the work started coming in.  Within two weeks, Kert and I were both working 20 hours per day, JUST TO WRITE THE TITLE.  Business took off.  We expanded.  Not only did we lease the two suites to the west of ours, but we added upwards of fifteen employees!  We walked very slowly.  Having lots of education in business but very little experience as a business owner at that time, I knew that departmentalization was key, yet, I could not afford high salaried employees or those who were so stuck in their ways, they could not align themselves with our NON CORPORATE AMERICAN business structure.

One year went by.  Business was great.  Certainly, this was not our only client....remember, NEVER LET ONE CLIENT MAKE OR BREAK YOUR COMPANY!  However, I will admit, by no desire or plan on our part, this particular client grew to at least 40% of our book.  Then it happened!  A National Title Company, of which I will NOT name but guarantee you know of them.  Swoosh, they came in, marketed NO TITLE SEARCH, NO TITLE EXAM and a GUARANTEED REISSUE RATE NO MATTER WHEN OR WHO WROTE THE PREVIOUS TITLE!!!!!  Mark, just imagine MY thoughts during this period of time.  It was just like watching someone slowly turn off the faucet! 

What could Statewide Settlement do?  We were not big enough to do searches for free.  We could do without title examination fees, however, re-issue rates on files closed fifteen to twenty years prior????  Come on, what was I to do to compete with this company???? 

The thoughts of layoffs.  The thoughts of paycuts.  The dreams of our own office building with other tenants OUT THE WINDOW.  Retirement contributions, medical, dental benefits, etc., etc.  I was not NEARLY as concerned for me as I was for my professional family members.  How was I going to face them???  I, much like you, wanted to quit!!!  This is what happened:

We FOUGHT!  We never once minded their business!  We never once worried or focused on what we could do to or with them.  We did not waste our time trying to decide how we could retructure our fees to "battle" them and most of all, WE NEVER ONCE, NOT ONE TIME, THOUGHT ABOUT QUITTING OR WORSE YET, JOINING THEM!!!! (Ironically, not them but other companies/title underwriters have offered buyouts to us in the past).

Mark, I share this with you to give you ONE example of how I HAVE EXPERIENCED WHAT YOU SEEM TO BE GOING THROUGH!!!!  Remember, unless you walk in anothers shoes, be careful of examples and/or assumptions. 

On another note, I also share this with you to reinforce, again, my lesson of MINDING YOUR OWN BUSINESS.  If you mind your own business and still fall short or decide to move in another direction, rest assured, you will have made a sound, rationale business decision of which you should NEVER be ashamed of or second guess.

Best of luck and as promised, you will be in our thoughts moving forward!...JT