Hmm, so I buy properties at foreclosure, repair them, and sell them. I may hire some vendors, but the vendors cannot hire or fire me. When I buy the property, that is a raw material, and in most cases, the bank is not making money off me ... they are at foreclosure for a reason. There may be a couple of charges for processing the transaction, but they are trivial for the most part. When flipping the property, I determine what I am going to do, where I will buy my materials, who I will use as contractors, if any, and negotiate the prices. When I sell the property, I may pay a real estate commission, but again, I can hire and fire my agent, chose the escrow company, etc. Nobody is profiting more off my deal than I am, and they only profit off of my deal if I allow them to. Nobody has the ability to “replace” me. Period. However, I can replace them. Once I buy the property, it is mine to do with as I see fit. I am not beholden to making money for anyone other than myself.
If you don’t do a good job repairing them you ain’t gonna sell them, so yes people can “replace” you by buying from somebody else. And remember who’s REALLY making the money when houses get bought: the BANK.
Somebody else ALWAYS profits from your labor. It’s the nature of life. Even if you’re the boss. Anthony Bourdain was talking about a conversation he had with Emeril asking why he kept growing the brand, at what point was it big enough, when had he made enough money. Emeril’s answer was “do you know how many people lose their jobs if I don’t keep this thing growing”. Since nobody exists in a vacuum it is not possible for you to be the only one profiting from your labors.