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Cal Bowers, Alliance Venture Mortgage
By Barbara L. Roose |
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Cal
was a four-year starter at BGSU and team captain his
senior year. He knew that professional football wasn’t
in his future and decided to become an athletic director.
Cal
remembers that people were often surprised by his
youth in the early days. Their initial reluctance
didn’t faze Cal; in fact, he saw it as an opportunity
to gain their trust.
 Cal
Bowers is a competitor. As partner of Alliance Venture
Mortgage, he has to be a competitor in the current
real estate market. But Cal doesn’t mind the
competition. In fact, the former Bowling Green State
University football captain thrives on it.
Self-described as a nerd during his younger years,
Cal lived with his parents and brother, Aaron, in
the Hoosier State. Cal’s mother is German, and
his parents met while his father was stationed in
Germany. Although Cal was born 12 years after his
brother, Cal’s size trumped their respective
birthdates. “When I was 12 years old, I was
bigger than my brother,” laughs Cal. “My
mother used to give Aaron my hand-me-downs.”
Cal grew up in a rural community and went to DeKalb
High School. He competed in the shot-put during high
school, winning the state high school championship
his senior year. Cal realized, however, that track
scholarships would be hard to come by, so he concentrated
his efforts on winning a football scholarship.
It was in the pursuit of a football scholarship that
Cal learned the basics of networking. He would attend
summer camps and showcase events where coaches would
observe his skills. Cal would network with the coaches
to keep his name fresh on their list. “I wanted
to go to Indiana University, Ball State or Purdue,
but that didn’t work out. I was recruited by
Gary Blackney at BGSU. I went out for my recruiting
visit and was offered a scholarship during that visit.
It felt great to be wanted. To this day, I remember
my dad crying when they offered me the scholarship.”
Cal was a four-year starter at BGSU and team captain
his senior year. He knew that professional football
wasn’t in his future and decided to become an
athletic director. The day after graduating from Bowling
Green, Cal moved to Ohio University to begin his master’s
degree in sports administration.
After graduating from OU, Cal went to work in Peoria,
Illinois in marketing. He jokes now that he was a
glorified intern. “I liked the people, but I
hated the job, but I thought the money was good. However,
the job wasn’t right for me.”
Cal decided that he wanted to go into sales, but wasn’t
able to connect with the right opportunities. At 24
years old, Cal questioned the familiar Catch-22: “How
do I get experience without the opportunity to get
experience?”
While playing football at BGSU, Cal leveraged his
position on the team to network with some of the well-known
members of the college community. He contacted one
of those individuals for some advice as to how to
break into sales. In December 1997, Cal reached out
to BGSU trustee Jack Laskey, owner of Port Lawrence
Title and Trust, for some help. “I drove to
Toledo to meet with Jack,” remembers Cal. “I
wasn’t looking for a job, only some advice.
During our conversation, Jack revealed that he wanted
to begin a new business and needed some workhorses
to run the company for him. He asked me if I wanted
to do it. I called my friend Greg Cepek, and we both
agreed to do it.”
After training and obtaining the needed licenses,
partners Cal and Greg opened Alliance Venture Mortgage
in May 1998. “We hit the streets running,”
commented Cal, with a smile.
Cal remembers that people were often surprised by
his youth in the early days. Their initial reluctance
didn’t faze Cal; in fact, he saw it as an opportunity
to gain their trust. “During my training, I
realized that I was good at working with people and
getting them to trust me. I had a knack for it. Once
I had their attention and customers saw what I was
doing, then they were okay.”
These days, Cal focuses his attention on the same
things that he has always done throughout the last
10 years. The mortgage market might be slower, but
Cal is still actively generating new business, following
up on leads and checking on the status of the loans
that are in process. “We must continue to be
professional, and we must continue to earn people’s
trust. We have to remain positive about our business–there
is no room for doom and gloom. This is still a great
market for the buyers that are ready to go into it.”
Continuing to meet and exceed their company’s
standard for excellence is more important than ever
to Cal. He is quick to compliment his processor, Robyn,
and his assistant, Melissa, for helping make sure
their files are “clean” before heading
out to the bank for approval. “Lenders always
compliment us on our clean files. It might be basic,
but not everyone is as careful as we are. It’s
one thing to get the business in; it’s another
thing to get it out.”
One way that Cal believes he is able to help his business
continue to grow in a slow market is to think outside
of the box on his customer’s behalf. Like other
mortgage brokers, Cal admits that it is stressful
trying to help people who are facing difficult real
estate issues. “It’s up to me to find
ways to close the loan. I like to find three or four
different options and let the customers choose.”
Cal, however, is quick to point out that creativity
isn’t the same as unscrupulousness. “There
are a lot of bad people in my business. It’s
frustrating because I try to put my clients in the
right type of loan. Too many people have pushed buyers
into loans they never should have had.”
Ten years later, Cal’s best days are still when
he has the chance to sit in a closing when someone
is buying a new home. Eight years ago, Cal was helping
a young woman named Jenny with the purchase of her
new home. Jenny didn’t live there long, however,
because two years later, Jenny and Cal married. Spending
time with his family, including children Claire and
Mason, helps let go of the stress associated with
his business. He also believes that his faith in God
helps him to meet the challenges associated with the
present business environment. “I’ve been
praying a lot more–looking to God for guidance
and help.”
While the real estate business is in transition, Cal
is prepared to meet the challenge with confidence.
“I still love watching people buy new homes
and I get paid to do it. I am very good at what I
do. Based on numbers, I am one of the best loan officers
in Northwest Ohio, and that means I’ve been
able to help a lot of people. Even more, God put me
in the position to meet my wife, Jenny.”
ALLIANCE VENTURE MORTGAGE
Calvin C.M. Bowers
Partner/Lending Consultant
6546 Weatherfield Court, Building B, Suite 1
Maumee, Ohio 43537
Phone: 419-930-5663
Website: www.allianceventuremortgage.com
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