The Spirit of Entrepreneurship

Let’s hope Jerome M. Cole knows more about running Prudential Real Estate franchises than he does about Merrill Lynch Realty’s outright ownership approach to residential real estate offices (“Prudential’s Piece of the Rock,” Jan. 23).

Mr. Cole implied that Merrill Lynch has been less than successful because management imposes strict controls on their newly acquired “entrepreneurial people.”

Two years ago I was one of those “entrepreneurial people” acquired by Merrill Lynch. They’ve hardly imposed “strict regulations” on me. Based on my experience they’ve gone out of their way to maintain and even increase my spirit of entrepreneurship.

As for “strict regulations,” I hardly ever hear from headquarters. Possibly that’s because we’re clipping along at a sales pace of $15 million a month and recorded first-year profits of over $500,000.

I didn’t see any sales or profit figures for Prudential Real Estate affiliates in the Cole interview.

JIM WOOD

Merrill Lynch Realty

Newport Beach

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