Know Your Niche Michael H. Godwin, and his former partner William J. Rea started Ambling Cos. Inc. as an affordable housing company. They wanted to take advantage of the opportunities that the Tax Act of 1987 brought to affordable housing developers. “I recognized that it would be a new and upcoming business, plus it was a nice niche that I thought we would be able to capitalize on,” says Godwin, president of the company.
The company also went the niche route because it didn’t want to compete with real estate investment trusts, explains R. Ryan Holmes, executive vice president and secretary of Ambling. In the beginning it only provided fee development and construction services. Eventually the company started owning and managing its own assets.
Eight years later, the company now specializes in student, affordable, senior, military, and resort-style single-family housing. The vertically integrated company thought it was important to be diversified. “Diversification means we continue to add different product lines that capitalize on the vertical integration model and that mitigate the risk of being in a single-purpose business,” explains Godwin.
So, when the company was looking to expand into other markets, it realized it had a level of expertise that was required to be successful in each product type it entered.
“Our focus is to try to be the best in each of the niches that we focus on,” says Godwin. And to do that, he believes in hiring good quality people, mentoring them properly, and giving them the tools to be successful. “Everyone in these divisions has a person that is a champion of that division,” he says. “That person is whom I regard as the expert in that particular arena. So, my job is to give them the right tools so they can be successful, listen to their expertise when they make a decision, and ensure the company capitalizes on their expertise.”