Business futurist, award-winning author, speaker and columnist
“I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?”
This title lyric of a country song by Dierks Bentley is about a boy letting a pretty girl get him into a whole lot of trouble on their first date. Of course, there’s often no accounting for the unintended consequences of affairs of the heart.
But when those words are in the head of a small business owner, it’s due to an ill-advised decision that causes the proverbial winged sack of money to fly away.
“Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.”
Country music fans recognize this title and opening passage from the Ed and Patsy Bruce song made famous by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. If there ever was a honky-tonk anthem, this is it.
Every good anthem has a hook lyric and in this song, it goes like this: “He ain’t wrong, he’s just different, and his pride won’t make him do things to make you think that he’s right.”
Wish I had a nickel for every time someone watched an entrepreneur doing what entrepreneurs do, and asked, “What’s wrong with him?” Well, entrepreneurs are a lot like cowboys—they’re not wrong they’re just different. For example:
Continuing my series on buying a business, here are summaries of four critical factors to consider when acquiring a small business.
Old sellers are the best sellers
One of the best opportunities to acquire an existing business is when you can buy one from an owner who wants to retire from a business that’s still viable. Two good reasons are: They’re less likely to change their mind before the transaction is complete, and they’re more likely to finance a larger part of the sale price to get monthly income.
Notice I said, “still viable.” Sometimes the end of the current owner’s career coincides with the end of the life of the business. Don’t buy a business that should retire with its owner.
Recently I wrote an article on how to “Buy Your American Dream” by buying a business from someone else. Let’s continue that theme with a few more principles to employ when considering this ownership option. Thanks to my friend, Russell Brown, and his book, “Laws of the Business Buying and Selling Jungle” for the inspiration.
Buyer beware – of himself.
In the securities industry, full disclosure is the coin of the realm. But in the marketplace, caveat emptor – let the buyer beware – is the fair warning standard. If a seller misleads or misrepresents something, legal redress may be available. But business purchases that don’t work out are born more from inept buyers than from seller malfeasance.
There’s a qualified employee crisis in America today. Companies of all sizes are reporting they can’t find qualified workers to fill the good-paying jobs they have. Some research indicates the number of unfilled assignments may be as many as six million, with a new report showing one-third of that number is in the manufacturing sector. Many small businesses are reporting that they can’t take advantage of growth opportunities because they don’t have the people.
What does that mean for your business besides your own experience with this issue? It means other businesses – especially big ones – will go key-employee hunting and poach the best of the best from small businesses who can’t compete on compensation and benefits.
So how do you prepare yourself for this assault? Focus on these two areas:
Once upon a time, but not that long ago, a brand message could be successful even if it was close to a work of fiction.
Created by Madison Avenue wordsmiths, copy for an ad or brochure was crafted to manipulate and motivate using puffery, a legal term referring to acceptable marketing exaggeration. And most of the time it worked. In fact, generations of consumers allowed themselves to be manipulated by puffery that became part of the soundtrack of our lives. Here are three “Memory Lane” examples:
“Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is.”
“Put a tiger in your tank.”
“The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.”
Here’s a local example:
“Largest inventory in the tri-state area.”