Bernie Butler

Creating Places that Inspire

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Hello, everyone. September is here, and so is our annual Real Estate and Home issue of YOUR Williamson. “Historic” Franklin. We all seek to preserve the heritage of, and yet develop, thoughtfully curated, this amazing place we call home. Our "Southern Gentleman Is” leads the way in doing just that. I have the honor of calling him my friend and the privilege of sharing a conversation with Mr. Bernie Butler.

How would you describe a Southern Gentleman?

A person who tries to be consistently kind, considerate and generally grateful day to day regardless of the craziness going on around them. A person who values relationships and invests time in those people God puts in their path. Lastly, a person who doesn’t see themselves as the center of the universe but just a normal person trying to figure it out like everyone else. 

Who were the Southern Gentlemen and your role models growing up and how did they influence you?

Growing up in the Deep South, I was fortunate to be influenced by many great men ( and women, I might add ) who shared these “Southern Gentlemen” traits. People who invested in me, challenged me and held me accountable to the things that matter in life. Pastors, Scout Masters, Coaches, Music Directors and Vocal Coaches, fathers of my close friends and especially my Mom & Dad, who poured love, time and resources into me for my whole life.  Most of us are a compilation - the product, if you will - of the incredible folks God puts in our path. I’m very grateful for all of them.

Who do you attribute most your success?

Being able to create and get things done at an early age is mostly a product of just being dumb enough to not know enough about hard it was going to be or how many incredible landmines were waiting for you along the way.   Because if you did - you’d probably never start. The people around me were absolutely the reason I believed I could do anything with my life. My Mom and Dad, my grandmother who prayed for me every day she was alive, my incredible long-suffering friends, pastors, disciples and all the many wonderfully talented artisans, architects, engineers, construction guys who were able to take these thoughts and visions I’ve had and help me turn them into real places other people could enjoy. And none of this would have ever even been started or possible if my very long-suffering and loving wife Diane wasn’t so patient and supportive of me for the last forty-four years. She is the real hero of any story worth telling.

What makes Williamson County so special to you?

The beauty, the people, the history, the historic district of Franklin, the proximity to the dynamic city of Nashville, the energy of it, its people and the memories make this place one of the finest places to live and work in the world.

What got you into the development business?

I believe I was called to do this work. After graduating from Miss. State, working in DC for U.S. Senator John Stennis at the Pentagon and getting a great job and training at Xerox… I was “successful” but miserable day to day.  I loved innovating, creating and hated not trying to make things better. The thought of just living in the box or having a “normal” workday to me was mind-numbing. Fortunately, I was encouraged by different folks to think about real estate and was hired and encouraged by a very successful development guy, where I worked for a short time. A year later, I felt compelled to start a development company. I was twenty-seven. Diane was eight months pregnant with our first child. Not exactly great timing, but my first building was started within six months, and it was a 30K SF vocational school.

My second was a 55,000 Class “A” medical office tower on old apartment land across from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. So, creating new, more valuable and more relevant properties on pieces of properties that had buildings that were less than “highest and best use “was something that just made sense for me from the start. The ability to be able to “see” the potential of those opportunities is what created opportunity for me to do what I’ve done the last thirty-seven years of my work life.

What motivates you?

With one exception during the financial crisis from 2010 to 2012, when I designed and built Trinity View Farm for a wonderful baseball client. For the last twenty-four years, I’ve been completely focused on creating generational properties in the Historic District of Downtown Franklin. Places that will look as beautiful and be as relevant to the built environment for the next 250+ years. Places that will never be torn down. So, on a scale of ‘1 to 100’ of how hard it is to do something beautiful, relevant, generational, financially responsible and viable from a market standpoint... Downtown Franklin is a 100, not impossible but very, very hard to do.

When you begin a new project, what are your visions and goals for the outcome?

My goal is always to create things that elevate the existing built environment and inspire those who live, work and play there. I want those places to be hard to leave and places that you can’t wait to get back to when you’re gone.  Places that encourage you to have conversations that matter with people you care about. Places that inspire others to do the same.

What advice would you give for someone starting out in your business?

Man, it’s a tough thing to be in my business these days. When I started, I had quit my job over a business principle that was important to me. I thought I was ready to do my own thing anyway, so I went to see a friend I had from church at the bank. I told him what happened, what I thought I wanted to do and that I had no money but thought I could really do this development thing. He told me he thought I’d be great at that. I told him I thought I needed fifty thousand to get started. He said how about thirty-five? I said, thank you. So in about an hour, they had put $35,000 in a new account to start my company and said, as I walked out the door, “Come back and see me if you need some more.” Today, that kind of thing can’t happen. Budding entrepreneurs require “real” money partners who believe you and your ability to deliver on your plan. Real financial partners who can make sure you have the time/runway to really get great at something, which isn’t an easy choice. So, if I had to give someone some advice, I’d say the first thing I’d do is find a great commercial or residential developer who has a proven track record and find a way to go to work for them so you can learn and become over time someone who knows enough to have a real chance to make it on your own if that’s what they want to do. But to just launch out like I did... I think I’d take a different path today.

What advice would you give to a younger you or to the younger generation to help them be the best they can be in business and as a gentleman?

I meet and work with many young men. I tell them all the exact same thing when they ask. First, if you have three qualities: character, a strong work ethic and intellect. You can do anything you want to in life. Therefore, figure out what you love to do…that thing that gives you great joy day to day...the thing that doesn’t even seem like work and then find some way to do that thing at the highest level possible. I usually tell folks the way to do that is to find someone who is incredible at that thing you love to do and find a way to go to work for them, even if you must do it for nothing for some length of time. Then work like crazy for them and do the very best you can to learn from them and exceed expectations day after day after day and never complain...just learning. And don’t get in a hurry, you have the time to try to get great and you’ll never be a place like this where you can get by on the least amount of money to live so now is your time to learn. Then at some point one day, they’ll wake up and realize that they have their 10,000 Malchom Gladwell hours in, and they will be in a place to write their own vocational ticket, and they will never feel like they’re going to “work” for the rest of their lives.

What are your hobbies, interests and pastimes?

I love spending quality time with my bride, my friends, my family (especially my three-year-old granddaughter, Eden), watching movies (I have about 700 DVDs), watching sports, and hanging out at our Lake House on Lake Wheeler in North Alabama. And I so love learning new things about stuff I don’t know anything about or have studied before, but continue to be enlightened about it.

If you could share a conversation with any gentleman, dead or alive, who would that be and why?

The original Southern Gentleman was Jesus. I talk to Him all the time and ask His guidance and blessing. I’m very thankful for the example He gives me to live by. Quieting ourselves in our busyness so we can really listen to the wise voices around us is a critical tool of the person who aspires to be a Southern Gentleman. I enjoy listening for Jesus’ still small voice, but mostly I see him and hear him in all the many incredible people he has put in my path to remind me who I am and what my purpose is. I am very thankful for all of them.

What is one thing you don’t go a day without?

A good hug from the love of my life Diane…or a diet caffeine-free coke...HA!

Thank you, Bernie, for your time, advice, and your amazing contributions to our wonderful community. YOU are indeed a Southern Gentleman.