So, I’ve just finished writing my first book. Well…the initial draft is complete and we’re moving into the editing phase.

I’ve appeared in 10 business books so far, but have never written my own. I consider this a Big Deal…at least for me. My business book’s purpose is to benefit small business owners as well as our business here at Mercantile. Yes, we will try to sell it online and in bookstores, but we will also encourage our closest referral sources to give away the book as a teaching tool (read: qualifying tool for them and for us). Later this year, we will offer the book near our cost to some of our key referral partners to get more copies of the book into the hands of the people who need to read it the most.

My book is about small business owners creating wealth for themselves through the ownership of their commercial property. Once I’ve drilled-in that initial theme, the next, main educational theme is about them doing this in the smartest way possible (i.e. financing with us…). Now, I’m not quite that overt in the book — I talk about the loan program we specialize in and believe to be the best one for small business owners — but you get the idea.

So what would I like your assistance with? I need to come up with the book’s title ASAP so my publisher can begin to promote the book (this is actually an almost nine-month process, which means the book won’t be available in bookstores and online until about September). But we need a title very soon so they can begin pitching it. Hey, I didn’t invent this process — it’s just the way it is.

Below are the two titles I’ve come up with so far (though I’m open to your other suggestions). I’d like you to vote for one of them and/or suggest something else. That’s it. That’s the favor. Fairly simple, I hope. Just respond back to this email and say, “I like option one,” or “I like option two,” or “I think they both suck, so why not try [fill in the blank].”

Be honest — I can take it. And before I sign-off…I want you to know that I truly appreciate your help with this. So here are the two options:

Option One:

Ultimate ROI: How the Smartest Business Owners Build their Fortunes through Real Estate

Option Two:

The Entrepreneur’s Secret to Creating Wealth: How the Smartest Business Owners Build their Fortunes through Real Estate

Thanks again, and take care.

Chris

UPDATE (2/3/12): I want to thank everyone for their great response and suggestions to this post! In addition to the comments posted below, we’ve gotten several hundred emails as well. We’re still sorting through all the comments and messages, and I’ll keep you posted on our decision-making process. Thanks again!

-Chris

Well…without any further ado, I present to you our second video blog this week:

Thanks for watching and sharing with others. If you ever have any questions about commercial property financing or the small business community in general, don’t hesitate to call us at 1-866-622-4504, email info@mercantilecc.com or leave a comment here on this blog. As we get closer to the presidential election over the next several months, you can count on us to keep you in the know about what matters to small business owners and their advisors.

Dedicated to Your Continued Success,

Chris

P.P.S. Enjoy your weekend!

Watch the short video below to get some more details about this shindig straight from the horse’s mouth (proverbially speaking).

If you remember our old tradition of hosting an annual Mardi Gras bash (the last was in 2008, which you can see here, here and here), or when we hosted some of Florida’s Congressional candidates in 2010 (here, here and here), you know we like to have a good time.

Our 2012 Open House won’t be quite as grand as those Mardi Gras parties of years past, but our new offices are much more interesting than our old ones. We’re in an historic building that was built in the 1920s, right in the heart of Downtown Orlando…long before the Mouse came town. We’ll have complimentary drinks (beer and wine, along with soft drinks) and finger foods to snack on, and you’ll get to meet members of our Mercantile Family face-to-face (or catch up, if you just haven’t seen us in a while).

I know parking in Downtown Orlando can be tedious, so we’ve made arrangements for you to park in the garage attached to the Regions building (“The Copper Whopper” for you “old-timers”) at Washington Street and Orange Avenue. You’ll get a ticket from the automated machine on the way in and we’ll validate it for you — it won’t cost you a dime. We’re just a short walk from the parking garage on Court Avenue, which runs parallel to Orange Avenue and dead-ends into the garage.

To RSVP for our 2012 Open House, call Ken at 407-786-5040 (or 1-866-622-4504 if you’re coming from out of town) or email ChrisHurn@MercantileCC.com.

We’re looking forward to seeing everybody next Thursday!

Dedicated to Your Continued Success,

Chris

P.S. Oh, and I think you know by now who to contact for smarter small business commercial property financing (both for you and those you know).

The following press release is a year-end recap of our 2011. It was a good year for us, especially given the ongoing economic sluggishness, and it’s an indication that things are looking up for America’s small businesses.

News Release

Mercantile Capital Corporation Reports Record-Breaking 2011

ORLANDO, Fla. — Mercantile Capital Corporation, which recently opened new offices in the Old Florida National Bank building on Court Avenue in Downtown Orlando, reported it had a record-breaking year in 2011.

Chris Hurn, chief executive officer at Mercantile Capital Corporation, said the eight year old firm closed 57 commercial loans in 15 states in 2011 to finance commercial real estate projects valued at more than $174.4 million, a 24 percent increase over 2010.

Most important, Hurn said, the loans helped create 1,132 new jobs.

Mercantile Capital Corporation is one of the nation’s largest providers of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for small business owners who want to acquire, develop, or refinance their own facilities.

SBA 504 loans typically require only 10 percent down and offer below market rates and very favorable terms, Hurn said.

In December, Mercantile Capital closed five loans to finance projects valued at $18.4 million, including a $4 million loan to a West Virginia hotelier. It was Mercantile Capital’s first loan to a West Virginia company, Hurn added.

In the past eight years Mercantile Capital has closed over $744.8 million worth of commercial loans in 36 states that helped create 5,081 jobs.

Hurn said he expects loan volume — and job creation — to increase dramatically in 2012.

“The SBA 504 loan program was developed to stimulate small business growth, create new jobs, and generate wealth for entrepreneurs,” Hurn said. “Today, the SBA 504 ranks as one of the nation’s most efficient economic stimulus efforts and one of the best job generators.”

Recent changes in SBA rules now allow SBA 504 financing for a wider range of business expenses, including refinancing of current commercial mortgages.

Hurn said Mercantile Capital’s largest single loan in December 2011 financed a $6.7 million self-storage facility in Tallahassee.

* * *

For my first blog post in this New Year, I’ve recorded a video that I’d like you watch for two reasons. The first is that I recap how Mercantile did in 2011. We had a really good year, but I don’t mean to “toot our own horn” by any means. Though our Mercantile Family works extremely hard to be the best at what we do, we could never be such a success without ALL the people we work with along the way, and we’re very thankful to them. The second reason to watch the video below is that we’re having an Open House to celebrate moving into our new offices (and the New Year…and because we just enjoy throwing a party every once in a while). Watch this to get all the details…

Again, we’re beyond thankful for those who have referred friends, family and clients to us, and also for the amazing business owners who work with us for their commercial real estate financing. If you can’t tell, I’m a bit paranoid about trumpeting our success when I know that 2011 was a very tough year for a lot of people (and it definitely wasn’t a cake-walk for us either — I’m blessed to work with a team of truly outstanding and hard-working people and WE work with truly outstanding and hard-working small business owners and their advisors each and every day).

But I truly believe that our productivity is Good News for everyone. If we have a good year, that means lots of other small businesses had a good year, too — they’ve purchased, constructed or expanded their commercial property and are ready for future growth. We know that our success is tied directly to the health of America’s small businesses, and we’re humbled to be able to help these entrepreneurs grow, create jobs, and do the good work they set out to do. If you know of a business owner who’s interested in owning (or refinancing) their commercial property in 2012, we’d really appreciate an introduction.

With regard to the Open House, you can email me directly at ChrisHurn@MercantileCC.com to RSVP or leave a comment below (it’ll be helpful to know how many people to plan for). Thanks and once again, Happy New Year to you and yours!

Dedicated to Your Continued Success,

Chris

I simply want to sincerely wish you a Happy New Year and a relaxing holiday weekend. You deserve it.

It’s been one heck of a year, and I want you to know that the work you put into your business matters. It’s important. YOU’RE important. Your business fuels your personal economy, provides value to others, and maybe even employs people.

YOU are the backbone of our economy, working hard to keep the lights on day-in and day-out, year-in and year-out.

YOU are the one making it happen, making sure things get done right.

You don’t hear this enough from everyone else, so hear it from me: THANK YOU.

The Mercantile Capital Corporation Family is thankful for the small business owners we’ve worked with this past year, the small business advisors who’ve introduced us to their clients, and everyone who’s read this blog or opened an email from us. We truly appreciate the opportunity to interact with you and hopefully provide some valuable help when it comes to smarter commercial real estate financing.

Here’s to a wonderfully Happy New Year. See you in 2012!

Dedicated to Your Continued Success,

Chris

P.S. Remember the “moving sale” we had last month? Well, we were able to sell nearly every bit of miscellaneous marketing paraphernalia in our storage room, and we put the proceeds toward our annual holiday giving fund. Instead of sending corporate holiday cards or gifts, our tradition is to make a donation (corporately and individually) to a worthy charitable cause. This year, with the money raised by our moving sale and additional contributions from members of our Mercantile Family, we made a sizeable four-figure donation to Families in Transition. This program was established in 2003 to serve the educational needs of children in the Seminole County (Florida) school system who are considered homeless. We hope that our contribution to Families in Transition helps give these students a “hand-up” — providing an adequate educational experience that will set them up for future success (maybe even an adventure in entrepreneurship).

P.P.S. If you know someone who’s worked hard this year and could use a little encouragement as we head into 2012, please share this with them. We need all the positive-thinking, hard-working entrepreneurs we can get!

I was reading an article about the recent white Coke cans — the ones with polar bears on them. Coke abruptly discontinued them after lots of people mistook them for Diet Coke and complained (they were all surprised by how good the Diet Coke tasted!).

Anyway, this article stated that it was silly for Coke to abandon their traditional red-and-white can colors because, after all, their advertising was responsible for establishing Santa’s red-and-white getup. This is something I wasn’t aware of, so I did a little research.

It turns out that this idea is false. Santa began appearing in his red-and-white suit in commercial advertising at the start of the 20th century. Though Santa’s appearance was popularized by Haddon Sundblom’s depiction of him for Coke’s advertising in the ’30s (some great artwork), Coke certainly didn’t “invent” it for their commercial purposes. It’s fascinating to me how advertising and branding can have such an impact on how we view even ancient things, like the celebration of Christmas.

So what does all this have to do with Mercantile and smarter small business financing? Not much. We won’t try to depict Santa in “Mercantile Blue” — just doesn’t seem right. I just wanted to share a bit of Christmas trivia that I thought you might find interesting.

The Holiday Season makes me look back over this year and years past (I can be a bit sentimental at times), and think about all the great people we’ve worked with…who’ve had a hand in our success. I want to say “Thanks!” to all our Clients, past and present, and to those who’ve introduced us to new Clients.

The Mercantile Family and I are looking forward to a Wonderful New Year, and we want to wish you the absolute best. Merry Christmas!

Dedicated to Your Continued Success and a Wonderful Holiday Season,

Chris

P.S. And if you DO happen to know a business owner looking to purchase or refinance commercial property…well, you know who would really appreciate an introduction!

We have some footage here of us packing up our old office and getting moved into our new space, so watch the video below to see some of that craziness.

Again, I can’t emphasize enough how thankful I am for everyone who reads this blog and watches our videos, and we’re all truly honored to work with small business owners and their advisors who are actively building wealth by owning their commercial property (and doing their part to create jobs and grow our nation’s economy).

If you know of a business owner who should own their commercial real estate, introduce us to them right away so we can help them take their next right step when it comes to their commercial property situation. The New Year is right around the corner, and it’s going to be a big one for small business lending — mark my words. (Seriously, read what I have to say about it here in the December issue of Scotsman Guide.)

Thanks again for your participation on this blog and in our business!

Dedicated to Your Continued Success now and in the New Year,

Chris

As promised, we videotaped the entire conference because we knew not everyone would be able to make it there in person (and frankly, the quality is even better than what you see above). For a limited time (a Holiday Special), you can get a bundle of SBA University Resources that includes:

- Edited DVDs of the entire conference

- Edited Audio CDs of the entire conference

- Transcripts of all the presentations

- PowerPoint slides from all the presentations

Here’s a short list of what’s revealed in these exclusive resources:

- The foundation upon which ALL marketing should be built;

- The 5 key ingredients of a powerful marketing message;

- How to establish and implement systems that will make you more efficient;

- The 4 most common “time vampires”;

- Nine (9) time management techniques that are actually worth using;

- How to avoid being commoditized (you NEVER want to be commoditized);

- How to effectively handle tough questions and objections from your clients in 2 simple steps;

- The 12 steps to a great sales force and how to put them into action;

- The 5 most common myths about the SBA and how to defeat/neutralize them;

- And countless other useful strategies, tactics, tips, ideas and best practices that will generate more closed loans in 2012 than you ever thought possible.

If you order before December 31st, 2011, you can get all this for only $795. That’s a big discount off the price others will have to pay in 2012. And, ordering is quite simple: just go to www.SBAUniversity.com and follow the instructions there. I know you’re probably busy with lots of time-consuming Holiday “goings on” — decorating, shopping, partying, etc. — but you really ought to jump on this right now.

If you put off ordering until January or later, the cost will go up to $995, and you won’t have access to the PowerPoint slides. If you’re skeptical of the true value of these resources, you ought to watch the video again to hear what some of the attendees had to say about being there (and these are only a handful of the folks who came to Orlando earlier this week).

I hope you’re able to take advantage of this short-term, discounted Holiday Special…to put you on the road to your best year ever in 2012. If you have any questions, leave a comment below and I’ll respond as soon as possible.

Dedicated to Your Continued Success,

Chris