Pat Burks

I Can Do That!

Pat Burks says she's always been nosey, asking questions like "What are you doing?" and "Why are you doing that?" That's how she learned the skills required for real estate rehabilitation. Plumbing, electric, heating and cooling? She can do it.

Burks works 40 hours a week as a Geographic Information Systems technician, but gutted and rehabilitated her mother's house in her spare time, and her rehab of the house she lives in is an ongoing project. That's why, when she was contemplating ways to enhance her retirement, her sons suggested she do what she's always been doing, but as a business.

The seed was planted in her mind. When walking in the neighborhood near her church, she noticed empty houses that just needed a little love. And she knew there were plenty of people who needed a house to love. The seed was germinating. Then one day while she was surfing the Web, she noticed a blurb for the Business Ownership Initiative of Indiana and its Business Beginnings course, and the idea took root.

In less than a year, Burks had completed the BOI course, started her new company, Inittowin (In-it-to-win) and begun her first project. She credits BOI for preparing her to own her own business. "The Business Beginning course - the topics, speakers and presentations - all were most excellent," Burks says. With the information and resources provided by BOI, faith in herself and networking contacts, she told herself, "I can do that!"

Burks credits God for putting BOI in her path, and if she can use her business to help others, she'd like to do it. When working with potential buyers who lack a sufficient credit history to acquire a conventional mortgage, she has been known to hold their mortgage herself until their credit is established.

Burks' two adult sons help her with some of the rehab projects. She'd like to bring them in as partners as she becomes more established. She'd also like to offer inexpensive classes for women to learn home- and car-maintenance skills so that they can be more self-sufficient. And in a year or so, she'd like to go back to school and maybe get a degree in real estate law.

With Burks' natural curiosity, her ability to make a plan and work it diligently, and her continuing faith in herself, there seems to be no question that she can do that too!