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One of the magical things about Detroit is that you can do so much here with so little.
When we first came here, being our normal selves, we just couldn’t help contemplating different business opportunities. We still do that all the time and open our arms to the new adventures that come but we are also more caught up with the projects we have on hand here.
Around 2 years ago, we found ourselves in front of this pizza place on Jefferson Avenue, right in the middle of our neighborhood, and we were wondering what kind of business someone might be able to start with a storefront and apartments upstairs (where we can live in or rent out). The shop front window had a for sale sign with a phone number and a price of 80,000USD.
Out of curiosity, we called the number and arranged a meeting to view the place. A few hours later, a guy showed up in his working clothes with a semi-beat up truck. He shook our hands and we went inside to see the place. To our surprise, he told us he was the owner of the building and he had originally ran a pizza place at the shop. He explained where things needed to be fixed, how much it would cost, and how the place had been broken into before (like a lot of other places in Detroit).
“So why did you sell the place?” We asked him.
“I used to own this place and a few others, running them as a pizza chain. But now, I’m selling this to use the money to buy another building. You see the skyscraper downtown with the T-Mobile ad on top? That building is mine.” The guy said, in an enthusiastic and unassuming way.
We didn’t end up buying the place and by the way, after he sold his chain whoever ran the business did a horrible job. We went to visit one of the shops, pushed the door open, and under the neon ‘Pizza’ sign was a stone-cold slice of pizza on display in a heavily fortified acrylic case with flies buzzing around and dysfunctional blank-faced customers pathetically waiting for their pizza in silence. The place looked like a cult movie crime scene before the crime. This was the most horrible food place we’ve seen in Detroit.
But that interaction left an impression on me until today. Of course, the price was jaw dropping to a newbie Detroit transplant: The place has a store-front on one of the main streets near an affluent neighborhood and it costs less than 1/5 of the price of the tiniest apartment we could get in Hong Kong. Compared to any major cities, the affordability of Detroit really makes a lot of businesses possible that wouldn’t work in other places! You can start with nothing but a “can-do” spirit and turn your idea into reality.
Another incredible thing about Detroit is how flat the social hierarchy is in many ways. In any other major city, if you call a number to view a commercial building, I would assume you are talking to some sort of agent or employee #101. Here in Detroit, the one who picks up the phone is the successful businessman who owns food chains and skyscrapers. He shows up with his beat-up truck and working clothes, shakes your hand and tells you he is showing you his place for sale! Alex and I jokingly said it was like you call the number and Lee Ka Shing* or Donald Trump shows up! I know it’s an exaggeration here but you get my point.
So here we have another DETROIT SPECIAL and this is another reason why we love this place. No matter how much you have, if you are capable, want to make a change in your life, want to make a difference in the world and make things work, Detroit offers unprecedented opportunities to all who dare to take the adventure of a lifetime!
* For those who don’t know who Lee Ka Shing is, he’s the richest guy in HK who arguably owns at least half of Hong Kong, His foot print is dominating everything in HK from real estate, super market to telecom company.