Benny Marotta: The Key to a Long, Successful Career as an Entrepreneur is Diversification

Born in Italy, entrepreneur and successful businessman Benny Marotta Solmar first came to Canada in the late 1960s when he was just 19-years-old. After meeting his wife a few years later and having children, he began to get work on a bricklaying crew as a laborer. He worked his way up to full-time bricklayer but by the early 80s, he realized he wanted more. He went into business for himself, starting his own bricklaying company, before transitioning into building custom homes for customers in and around Toronto.

At first, Benny Marotta built just a few custom homes per year. Then, his company began producing single family homes. By the middle of the 1990s, he was building hundreds of homes per year. He was a star on the rise and in his estimation, it was for one reason and one reason only: Diversification.

Why Diversification Matters as an Entrepreneur

From an early age, Benny Marotta Solmar had the type of career that would last most people for the rest of their lives - several of them, in fact. He worked his way up to a full-time bricklayer. He started his own bricklaying company. He started building custom homes - the list goes on and on. Any one of them would have been enough to satisfy some people, but not Solmar.

Today, he purchases entire plots of land throughout the Niagara Region for both residential and commercial development purposes. The reason he was able to get to that point is because he diversified his entrepreneurial activities along the way.

He wasn't satisfied with being any one thing - he was several things, all at the same time. Not only that, but it's easy to see how one position led to another - a stepping stone, if you will - and how all of them ultimately combined to form an enterprise that is far more valuable than any one of these positions could have been on their own.

He used his on-the-job experience as a bricklayer to form his own company based on what he knew and what he was good at. Would Benny Marotta have been as successful at building custom houses had he not spent so much time working at his own bricklaying company? Would he have been able to expand that into building single family homes all throughout Toronto had he not gained experience with custom houses? Is it safe to say that the various types of experience that he learned throughout this journey have helped him in his current land-related activities all across Canada?

As an entrepreneur, that is what diversification is all about. It's also invaluable because it protects you against factors in the industry that are beyond your control. If Benny Marotta were only a businessman who built single family homes throughout the early 2000s, he would have been much more vulnerable to the impact of the global housing market downturn during that time. He was protected because he had other options - and cultivating those options is something that he encourages other entrepreneurs to do on a regular basis.

Benny Marotta Announces Solmar's fastest-selling project of 2021

Solmar Development’s CEO Benny Marotta says company continues to beat expectations with low-rise development project.

GREATER TORONTO AREA, ONTARIO, December 29, 2021 -- Benny Marotta of Solmar Development recently announced success in selling 500 gorgeous, single-family homes located in the Greater Toronto Area. With an online process in place, buyers were able to explore the plans and purchase their new home without the hassle of an in-person meeting. A total of around 1,400 townhouses are expected to make up the community, along with a park in Erin Glen, when everything is completed.

Benny Marotta says the sale of 500 homes in eight days is the fastest-selling project of Solmar Development for 2021. Two other builders—Cachet Homes and Lakeview Homes—were also part of the Village of Erin project. The three companies used Ryan Design International’s proprietary Virtual Sales Event Program to sell the homes. They had over 44,000 registrants over the course of 44 days and booked over 1,200 appointments within just eight minutes. Nearly 3,000 other potential buyers are now sitting on a waiting list for consideration.

The first phase consisted of 500 homes with just over one-third of the total expected homes for the project. This first group was sold out within just eight days. Home prices ranged between $700,000 to $900,000 for most designs. Some of the larger detached homes were listed for just over $1 million. The virtual walk-through allowed potential buyers to consider layouts and see the community plans. The platform also offers a way to keep buyers updated on the project's progress.

The low-rise development project is located at the headwaters of the Credit and Grand Rivers. A beautiful tree-lined downtown area with historic buildings makes up an ideal community downtown. The picturesque strip includes handcrafted coffee and gourmet chocolate, as well as other places for food and shopping. Everything is located near the local schools, community center, skate park, Elora Cataract Trailway and arena for an ideal family living area.

As CEO of Solmar Development, Benny Marotta says he believes in the project and is excited about the promising outcome. “For over 30 years, I’ve been in this business,” he notes. “This is one of the fastest-selling projects we’ve ever had, and the excitement is contagious. We’ve really been able to showcase our vision with the online tools. People see what we are going to do, and they want to be part of that. I certainly can’t blame them—it’s going to be incredible.”

Within the Village of Erin, Solmar Development is offering freehold townhomes and semi-detached homes. The family-owned and operated group has more than three decades of experience in development projects within the GTA, including high-rise projects, community low-rise developments, commercial buildings and industrial parks. With a customer-centric approach, the development firm designs each project with the purchaser in mind.

Solmar Development paired up with two experienced partners to ensure the success of the Village. Lakeview Homes has 40 years of experience in building over 15,000 homes. Cachet Homes has 30 years of experience and developed over 4,000 homes. Together, these powerhouse developers are committed to creating a beautiful community that is ideal for growing families.

Benny Marotta: The Key to a Long, Successful Career as an Entrepreneur is Diversification

Born in Italy, entrepreneur and successful businessman Benny Marotta first came to Canada in the late 1960s when he was just 19 years old. After meeting his wife a few years later and having children, he began to get work on a bricklaying crew as a laborer. He worked his way up to full-time bricklayer, but by the early 80s, he realized he wanted more. He went into business for himself, starting his own bricklaying company, before transitioning into building custom homes for customers in and around Toronto.

At first, Benny Marotta built just a few custom homes per year. Then, his company began producing single-family homes. By the middle of the 1990s, he was building hundreds of homes per year. He was a star on the rise, and in his estimation, it was for one reason and one reason only:

Diversification.

Why Diversification Matters as an Entrepreneur

From an early age, Marotta had the career that would last most people for the rest of their lives - several of them, in fact. He worked his way up to a full-time bricklayer. He started his own bricklaying company. He started building custom homes - the list goes on and on. None of them would have been enough to satisfy some people, but not Marotta.

Today, he purchases entire plots of land throughout the Niagara Region for both residential and commercial development purposes. He was able to get to that point because he diversified his entrepreneurial activities along the way.

He wasn't satisfied with being any one thing - he was several things, all simultaneously. Not only that, but it's easy to see how one position led to another - a stepping stone, if you will - and how all of them ultimately combined to form an enterprise that is far more valuable than any of these positions been on their own.

He used his on-the-job experience as a bricklayer to form his own company based on what he knew and what he was good at. Would Marotta have been as successful at building custom houses had he not spent so much time working at his own bricklaying company? Would he have been able to expand that into building single-family homes all throughout Toronto had he not gained experience with custom houses? Is it safe to say that the various types of experience that he learned throughout this journey have helped him in his current land-related activities all across Canada?

As an entrepreneur, that is what diversification is all about. It's also invaluable because it protects you against factors in the industry that are beyond your control. If Benny Marotta were only a businessman who built single-family homes throughout the early 2000s, he would have been much more vulnerable to the global housing market downturn. He was protected because he had other options - cultivating those options is something he encourages other entrepreneurs to do regularly.