She could barely hold back the tears. Wanda (not her real name) was telling me how her grandfather started the business after World War II. Her dad took it over in 1974 when her grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Wanda started in 2002, and her dad poured his heart and soul into training her to take over the company. Unfortunately, he had a rare heart disease and died in 2007. “I wasn’t ready to take Read More
The Risk of Waiting
“At the rate I am growing, shouldn’t I wait a couple of years to sell my business? I’m bound to sell it for more if I wait.” Colin (not his real name) owns a fantastic business. He bought it 17 years ago with no idea it would become as successful as it is today. “I was just tired of my job in an office building, I didn’t become an entrepreneur to get rich,” he said as he told me how he got into the business. But Read More
Walking a Tightrope Blindfolded
"We were on track for our best Q1 ever, but two weeks ago, it came to a screeching halt. Do you think we should continue with our plan to sell the business this year?” Vince (not his real name) retained me six weeks ago to sell his company. He wanted to have the deal done by the end of the year so he and his wife could relocate to Arkansas to be closer to their children and grandchildren. For the first time in my Read More
What I Had to Unlearn From Harvard Business School
A few weeks ago I was visiting the campus of Harvard Business School. I was there to participate in the second-year MBA class, Entrepreneurship through Acquisition. I had written the case study being discussed that day. Incidentally, the case study was about an actual client of mine, and he was even brave enough to come to the class with me. Though I graduated from HBS over three decades ago, I still feel at home Read More
When Family Legacy is a Boat Anchor to Business Decision Making
She could barely hold back the tears. Wanda (not her real name) was telling me how her grandfather started the business after World War II. Her dad took it over in 1974 when her grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Wanda started in 2002, and her dad poured his heart and soul into training her to take over the company. Unfortunately, he had a rare heart disease and died in 2007. “I wasn’t ready to take Read More
Beware the Too Good to Be True Offer
“Danny, their offer is 21% above your asking price and they want to close in 45 days.” Immediately after receiving the offer, I had called Danny (not his real name) to tell him the great news. After I described the basic terms, Danny said, “Jim, this is almost too good to be true, I couldn’t be more pleased with the job you have done.” I hastened to remind Danny of the adage “a deal isn’t a deal until it’s done,” Read More
Private Equity, What Kind of Offers Are in Those Expensive Briefcases?
The room was full of men and women wearing expensive suits, carrying brand-name leather briefcases and purses. You could land from Mars and guess you were at a conference of private equity professionals. I was invited, along with about fifty other investment bankers/business brokers, to meet with dozens of private equity firms from around the country to brainstorm and network over pending and future deals. Over the Read More
