From an early age, Marc Merrill’s summers were filled with painting the building in his Grandfather's shopping center in Coldwater, Michigan, earning a premium wage of $1.00 per hour. The eight units included a Burger Dairy, Sherwin Williams Paints, a body shop, beauty salon, finance company, video rental, bakery and gun shop. After graduating from pharmacy school in 1979, he was commissioned by his Grandfather to manage the family business "in his spare time". Here, under watchful yet aging eyes, Marc advertised, authorized repairs, drafted leases, handled complaints and paid the bills for him. His grandfather’s death in 1983 at the age of 89 ended an era of real estate instruction for Marc.

At 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon in August, 1984, Marc walked into Kraft Pharmacy in Mishawaka. By 4:00, and with a handshake, he had purchased and financed a pharmacy, doctor's office and five apartments. Realizing that in Indiana it is necessary to have a realtor's license to manage more than 5 properties, he enrolled in and passed the realtor's class and state exam. He teamed his license with Anchor Realty, which soon became Coldwell Banker, a relationship that has endured through today.