Kit Campbell is a business man, real estate developer, sailor, traveler, and property lender.

Born in Ft Worth 11/22/1943. After graduating from Southern Methodist University with a BBA in Econ and Banking in 1966 I moved on to the Officer Canidate School for the U.S. Navy.

Lt. Kit Campbell was a supply officer on the USS Nereus (AS-17 submarine tender) from 1966-69 — leading two divisions (the stewards & the computer divisions). We had a Univac with 16K of memory and 4 tape drives with a teletype. (WOW)

(and the big box right behind me reads the punch cards)

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I have been self-employed for 45 years. My business career working for others was quite limited. I started with EDS as systems engineer after the Navy and ended as National Sales Manager with a small 50 man consulting company — “Tres Utilities” — selling Customer Information Systems to the utility industry.

I was traveling all over the United States as each city only had 1 to 2 private utilities and was gone almost 5 days every week. My kids were young and I wanted to spend more time with them and my wife, so I needed to change careers. Every airplane ride I took out my yellow note pad and wrote the goals of my new business. A couple of the major things were:

1. Travel only when I wanted to — (and mostly on vacation.)
2. Unlimited income — only limited by the amount of work I did.
3. Did not require a lot of start-up capital, because I didn’t have much capital.
4. I want to be self employed. — be my own boss
5. High prestige – I didn’t want my kids thinking I was a promoter (con man) or used car salesman.

The list of goals was really two full pages of requirements (maybe 50 requirements) and then I would think of a job and then see how well it fit with my goals. It is very important to have goals defined and written down — how else do you know where you are going?

I had enough money to buy a lot and start one spec with a business partner — and I did not need the profits to live, so that money went back into the next house. The day the first house it was complete two couples came in with their check book in hand — at almost the same time. I sold the house and contracted for a build-to-suit for the second couple. By the time I finished that house, I had 7 build-to-suits contracted and needed to quit my real job. I had enjoyed the sales education, and the people I worked with, but it was time to accomplish my goals. There is only one thing you really need to start a business and that is sales — and I had that — now all I needed to do was deliver.

In 1973 (30 years old) I started my home building company in Dallas Texas. I had a personal experience with aluminum wiring that almost burned my house down and did not want to cut corners like my builder did. I did not know much about construction but knew I wanted quality and was willing to pay for it. The aluminum wiring my builder used saved him $75/house and if the fire had broken out at night, when we were asleep my family might have died.

I had never worked in construction so I mostly read plans, to find what I would like and wrote checks, and sold great quality houses. However the Navy leadership training helped me manage and motivate my contractors to put out their best work.

I moved to commercial development when I was 40 years old, doing office/warehouse, office & apartments. I am currently in self-storage and rural land development & financing.

I live on Lake Palestine with my beautiful wife of almost 30 years — with 6 adult kids and 13 grand-kids.