Episode 352: Building Multi-Million Dollar Businesses with Skip Thaler, Part V

Episode Notes

In my fifth conversation with Skip Thaler, we discuss change. The kind of change we initiate and the type of change forced upon us. Skip describes a problem he had to recognize before selling 25 rental properties. A hard truth to face when he and Jill, his wife, were adding their 25^th and last property to a portfolio that took 20 years to acquire, beautify, rent, and manage.

Skip’s eyes opened up to the government not protecting property rights during the covid-19 pandemic, riots in Minneapolis and St. Paul, rising expenses, and the inability to pass on the increased costs to renters. The confluence of events led to the new opportunity Skip pursued. He has a lifetime of turning lemons into lemonade. Skip believes that “unsolved opportunities opened his eyes to another opportunity.”

A peer gave him some good advice as Skip worked through the emotional side of this life-changing decision. One of Skip’s fellow landlords told him they were only stewards of the properties for a certain period of time. That statement helped Skip let go.

In preparing to talk with me, Skip was talking over with Jill their life changes since 2020. Jill summed up their life perspective succinctly. She said, “We always have to be prepared to pivot.” And pivot they did.

Skip goes into the details of what it took to work through 50 real estate and investment transactions. All were completed in zoom meetings. The life of the entrepreneur is learning while on fire. Skip needed to determine whom to sell to and be present at 25 real estate closings. Once he sold the rental properties over nine months, he needed to research and invest the proceeds quickly for tax purposes. I love how he and Jill went about exploring new opportunities. The research led to new opportunities to invest in private REITs and move their residence.

Florida is a tax-friendly state that does not impose an income tax on individuals and has a 6% sales tax. According to Investopedia, corporations that do business in Florida are subject to a 5.5% income tax. You are exempt from paying state income tax if you are an LLC, sole proprietorship, or S-Corporation. Based on their research, Skip and Jill decided to sell their Lakeville, Minnesota home to one of their sons and move to Florida.

On the investment side, Skip discusses purchasing private REITs and how you can and cannot evaluate warehouses in Macon, Georgia, that Amazon owns, and Lowe’s warehouses. “Private REITs are not traded on a national stock exchange or registered with the SEC. As a result, private REITs are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as stock exchange-listed or public non-listed REITs.” Skip, and Jill are willing to take the risks that accompany the purchase of private REITS, even though their access to information is limited.

In this conversation, I learned the profound resiliency of Jill and Skip Thaler. It is essential to pivot to land on your feet, which Skip and Jill have a track record of doing. Assess the opportunity. Collect the data, analyze the facts, work through fear, and then apply your intuition to discover what is important. Taking charge of your journey, whether initiating change or change is forced upon us, is part of living a prosperous entrepreneurial life. Whatever the circumstances, choosing to be a hero or heroine in our lives allows us to be active participants in creating a more fulfilling future—an alternative to becoming a victim of one’s circumstances.

Skips three big lessons:

Lead by example.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Successes and failures. The key is to learn from your failures and keep moving forward.

Rise, people. Our work is not complete until it is our soul’s turn to leave our bodies. Keep your light flickering and explore your next opportunity. With Skip and Jill in Florida, they are exploring more time with their grandchildren and expanding their philanthropic work at Chippewa County Community Foundation, Chippewa Falls, WI. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” It is never too late to change your life and how you lead. DOWNLOAD

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NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.

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Episode Resources

Chippewa County Community Foundation

Chippewa County Community Foundation

Private and Public REITs

Guide to Private REIT Investing | Nareit

Guide to Public Non-Listed REIT (PNLR) Investing | Nareit

Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring

After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities:

Take this risk or do this adventurous task: Write down everything important to you. Include what you would like to accomplish this year.

Apply Self-Compassion: Sit with your list of what is important to you and what you would like to accomplish this year. Next, write down how you will feel next to each item if you do not achieve it. Doing this exercise will help you consciously manifest and complete what is most important to you. Give yourself a big hug before setting out to do the work to achieve your dreams.

Welcome Appreciation: My appreciation toward Skip and Jill expanded as I learned the depth of their courage. Conscientiousness, authenticity, and generosity come to mind as I appreciate them. I appreciate the attention to detail and how each venture was met with financial astuteness. I appreciate their ability to pivot and make lemonade out of lemons.

Now, it is your turn. Create your appreciation list, whatever comes to mind.

Welcome Appreciation: Say to yourself, “I am

“Most of the problems in our lives and world are caused by relational dysfunction, a dysfunction in how we relate: as social groups, as individuals, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. Therefore, developing relational literacy—the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating—is essential for personal, social, and ecological transformation.” —Melanie Joy, psychologist, author, theorist, educator

When WeMentor… your life becomes more meaningful!!! Redefine how you lead while redesigning your business. Dual Innovation Leadership WORKS.

Podcast Guest Mentor

Skip Thaler. Multi-venture entrepreneur, Skip Thaler, loves the challenge of starting and growing successful new businesses. He is hard-working, generous, and competitive. Prospecting and capitalizing on opportunities in the marketplace to create new businesses has been the lifeblood of his success.

Skip was raised in Chippewa Falls, WI, as the eldest of 4 children. His father was influential in his successful entrepreneurial journey that began in the 1960s. He married his childhood sweetheart Jill Kroll and was blessed to have raised three adult children: George, Sara, and Tim. They now have seven grandchildren.

Skip’s undergraduate degree was earned from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN in Business and Economics. His master’s degree is in International Business from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

His first job out of school was in sales with IBM. He left there to start a manufacturer rep. A business selling Fleetwood tires. And that led to the most successful Fleetwood Franchise in the United States. He created a brokerage tire business to sell discontinued and blemished tires that grew into $13M in sales per year. This financial success positioned him to merge his company with Tires Plus, combining the sales volume to $25M.

At Tires Plus, Skip worked to help grow the business to $50M, selling his ownership in 1991 to his two business partners. Semi-retirement allowed Skip to pursue his love of sailing and found an international tire wholesale business, Intercontinental Marketing Corporation (IMC), while upholding his 5-year United States non-compete agreement. IMC is the birthplace of three pledges Skip made to himself. No more hiring of W-2 employees. IMC will not carry accounts receivable. He will not own inventory.

Keeping faithful to his three promises, Skip prepared his company for George, his son, to join him in 1998 to learn the tire trading business. They diversified into motorcycle tires and used truck tires (casings) for retreaders. That business generated more than $10M in sales. Uniquely positioned in the marketplace, they kept their expenses under 8% of their gross profit, so 92 cents out of every dollar went to the bottom line.

In 2012, his other son, Tim, joined the business as Skip transitioned into a new business. The business of acquiring brownstone apartment buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Skip acquired 25 buildings with more than 400 apartment units.

2020 turned into a liquidating year instead of expanding his real estate holdings when a confluence of events came together. The coronavirus pandemic hit. Riots in Minneapolis and a growing adverse political climate towards Minneapolis businesses created an adverse environment for business property owners. Skip sold off his portfolio and diversified into fractional ownerships of companies like Walgreens, Amazon, Tractor Supply, and companies in other business-friendly states. As a result of the confluence of events, Skip and Jill have decided to build a new home and take up residency in Florida. In the photo, Skip is sailing with friends in the Virgin Islands.

In addition to enjoying time with family, Skip has traveled all seven continents. He is a member of the Lakeville Rotary and recently served on three non-profit boards. He is a gardener, skier, and avid sailor. He has sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from The Canary Islands to St. Lucia and the Mediterranean from Greece to Gibraltar. He has logged more than 40,000 miles of sailing so far with more adventures into the foreseeable future.

In the picture above, Skip is enjoying a Gopher Football Game with his buddies.

Episode 352: Building Multi-Million Dollar Businesses with Skip Thaler, Part V