But I swallowed that sometimes bitter pill and used it to learn how to do better next time.

Just saying..Mistakes is part of this journey some more than others, what you do with mistakes is up to you - learn to be better with costly mistakes rather than get the right education first  or be bitter(many end up here, jaded because of misplaced righteousness and own undoing)?

With this latest post it sounds like you have two bitter sides, and a "team" of partners that have cut ties and for some reason things are coming back around after the fact.I stand by this... if you were 100% truthful to doing the job "at cost" and run a successful business (as it seems you do), then proving $275k was truly at cost would be easy.

Sacrificing something you love to do for the sake of economic efficiency will create bitterness over time. 

Resentment, bitterness, self-loathing, spite, rage.No better angels here.

This time, to pay CPS pension debt.http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/7/71/...You have to wonder what level of school dysfunction and property tax hikes will finally motivate Gen X and Millennials with kids start pulling up the stakes  Once the water cooler chit chat turns from "you can make CPS work for your kids" to "you absolutely need to move to the suburbs to properly educate your kids," the City will be on the path to instability, larger wealth disparity and higher taxes (to pay the debt bomb) on those taxpayers willing to stick around to the bitter end.

As hard as that may be to hear, your friends are more than likely bitter about the fact that your committed to grow and take action when they are not.

@Christian BorsI doubt Fannie Mae is driving by, but you can bet one of the other bidders is bitter and could be out to get OP. 

I can clearly see you are bitter so why don’t you call me directly and I will see if I can help you fix your problems. 

You will always have people that are bitter or have a bad taste in their mouth for whatever reasons, but living in Asheville offers opportunities that is not offered anywhere in the world.