“These Harvard students think they understand entrepreneurship, let's see if they really do.” These were my final words to Sam (not his real name) as he and I walked into a recent class at Harvard Business School. I had taken Sam to Boston to participate in a Harvard Business School class discussion based on a case study I had written on his company. As we walked into the class Sam knew he was about to get a boatload Read More
A Sad Empty Basket
As my wife Emily (her real name) was pulling the casserole out of the oven, she said, “Can you bring me the Longaberger basket that’s in the cabinet above the refrigerator?” I pulled the basket out thinking the last time I had seen it was about the same time last year. She carefully placed the hot casserole dish into the basket, and out the door we went to attend our Bible study class’ covered-dish Christmas Read More
The SMART Strategic Acquisition
“If I buy his company and combine it with mine, I will control about 45% of the Nashville market. He says he is ready to retire and sell.” Taranda (not her real name) started her company in 2005 and turned the corner of profitability right before the recession of ‘08-’09. As we had hot chocolate one night at Starbucks, Taranda explained why she called me. “I almost gave up when the market went south in 2008 but my Read More
Say What? No License Required?
“Please put that phone away, I don’t want you taking a picture of me doing this.” The locksmith didn’t seem in a good mood. He was using his considerable skills to pick the lock on my neighbor’s back door. My neighbor had left town earlier that morning. Just before he stepped onto a plane for a flight to the west coast, my neighbor realized he had inadvertently locked his back door and the housekeeper couldn’t get in Read More
Why I Might Turn Down a Perfectly Great Engagement (part 2)
Reggie thought I was crazy, at first. He knew I was walking away from a very large fee. I told Reggie I didn’t want to represent him, even though the market value of his company was about $35 million. Well, to be more exact, I told him he shouldn’t sell his company right now, at least not for the $35 million market value. It seems oxymoronic to tell a business owner their business is worth more than market value. In Read More
Why I Might Turn Down a Perfectly Good Engagement
“What do you mean you don’t want to sell my business? I thought that’s what you did for a living?” Reggie (not his real name) would have been the ideal client. His business was growing and extremely profitable, EBITDA of $3.57 million in 2017 and forecasted to be $4.25 million this year. Reggie called me a couple months ago after returning from an industry conference in Orlando where he met several private equity Read More
Buyer Beware, the Falling Knife
“All this business needs to grow is marketing. I just haven’t been able to afford it.” Though I recently heard this comment from Tom (not his real name), I have heard the same comment dozens, or maybe even hundreds, of times. Tom had called me for advice on how to sell his Nashville-based business. He was in his early 60s, not the type who looked like he was ready to retire. But Tom was tired. The business almost Read More
Counting Your Cash is Not Accounting
“So, you wanna see my accounting system? Well then, here you go!” Larry (not his real name) opened a drawer on the left side of his desk and it was loaded with cash, piles of green bills. “The only accounting system I need is right here. I count it every night.” Larry’s son had called me a few weeks earlier to help he and his Dad sell their business. Larry was dealing with a recurrence of pancreatic cancer, and his Read More
Think Like a Fireman
“I was excited when I got the letter, so I called him. I should have known better.” Linda (not her real name) was telling me a story I had heard before, actually many times before. Business owners are inundated with letters from business brokers claiming they have a client who has identified the owner’s business and would like to talk with him/her about buying it. Though true on rare occasion, more times than not, Read More
Never Use a Business Broker
“I would never use a business broker, even if I was giving my business away.” Harold (not his real name) did not know I was a business broker. I met him going through the buffet line at a recent civic club meeting in Nashville. Once we got our food, we sat down to eat. We had about 15 minutes to chat before the program was scheduled to start. The discussion eventually turned to that obvious question, “So, tell me, Read More
