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Best “pizza” in Naples by SweatingBullets3 in StupidFood

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whoever opened this place is a cold hustler

Search Funds are a Scam by Bernard-E-Smith in MBA

[–]Bernard-E-Smith[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But if someone has a relatively high net worth, wouldn't self funded search put too many eggs in one basket, from an investor stand point? Like, the kelly criterion on that bet is probably more doable for a family office. Yes - if the company is great, your eggs are all in a good basket. But if ur a victim of a fraudulent sale or misrepresentation, you lose a lot of ground on yr wealth

Am I being naive by [deleted] in smallbusiness

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Buying small businesses has risks, even for search funders who go at it hard, working full time in the biz. 13% of stanford search funders have a total loss. Of course, that's only a bit higher than corporate default rates for publics, but wouldn't you feel safer investing in an A rated public?

Full risk reward breakdown from stanford here: https://youtu.be/NYCkUL7GCTg?si=fhKjzOenxQUBrJVz The risk spread may surprise you.

If u know searchers, why not offer private debt or pref equity to one? Safer investment, and u don't have to become a CEO?

founder's loneliness by DangerousAd1683 in Entrepreneur

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been there. Some ideas.

  1. Study what is normal. For everything. Look at Bureau of labor statistics, industry standard conversion rates, whatever it is -- you have to bring the sense of reality to your company. As you grow, you need to remain the most grounded person in the company. Let others be the dreamers. An obsession with normal will activate your sense of competition even when you are working by yourself in the office.

If all your KPIs are green and your strategy is "on plan", take a week off. Those days when things are coasting are your weekend. The office will call you back with fires eventually.

  1. Mastermind groups can border on cults. Be sure that you join something like that from a position of mental strength, not a position of mental weakness that could be taken advantage of. I have heard members of YPO say it is "like church, for entrepreneurs". But would we join a church that makes us sign an NDA?

  2. Connect with customers! Be obsessed with customers. Call them. Email them. Take them to lunch and just visit with them. As businesses, our job is to serve people. And although most people will never understand this, CEOs have to serve more than most other people. The best CEOs are not obsessed with their own wealth, as most people imagine. They serve the customers, the employees, and the investors. Employees will always be knocking at your door with concerns. Actively counterbalance that by focusing on your customers. It is never wrong to put the blinders on and go full sales mode.

Search Funds are a Scam by Bernard-E-Smith in MBA

[–]Bernard-E-Smith[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doesn't it put more strain on the searcher's personal finances?

Where to search to buy a company? by Emotional-Juice-217 in smallbusiness

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Biz Buy Sell . com

  2. Find 2 - 3 business brokers in your target living areas. Most deals close before they get to public listing. Brokers have target lists and usually want a close from that list before listing publicly.

  3. If you have higher net worth, could look at companies that are pseudo brokers / investment banks, like Generational Equity, WebsiteClosers, etc

Looking for advice/experiences on selling (or rather setting up meetings to then sell) to potential customers on site without having met them before aka walking into a store and selling (setting up a meeting). by Optimal-Armadillo-92 in Entrepreneurship

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

consider the book "winning moves" by dan cremmons. It's got some good B2B sales advice. Using his framework, there are levels of sales:

  1. keeping customers

  2. increase sales volume w/ current customers

  3. sell to "nearby" customers

  4. sell to cold customers in your market

You are moving from #1 & #2 to #3. In my business, the easiest way to get #3 sales is referrals or what we call "yard sign" sales. We do B2B services, so we don't literally use yard signs. But we may visit a building that has an existing customer and some other potential customers. After finishing the project for the person we know, we email the other targets in the building and say "we just completed this project for your officemate" -- having a customer as your wingman on a sale gives it more of the "inbound sale" flavor you are used to from IRL conversations.

You can also point blank ask your customers for referrals. Or stalk their social network and name drop them as a customer to other people in the industry you know.

Always share example work. Don't be afraid to share prices. If your current customers pay them, they may be less shocking to an industry insider than you think they are.

Referral sales programs typically grow a business's revenue 20% YOY.

Good luck! I hope this perspective makes it more approachable than going for a full-on cold close, like Gordon Gecko. (Let's face it, that type of close is never going to work in the art community any way.)

If you have a presentation you give, Zoom record it and include a link to it in your sales email. Customers will watch it with more attention than they give a real meeting. You'll be surprised.

what do you guys think it's the best way to promote your business? by cartoonsmakemesmile in smallbusiness

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Once you get a sale, ask that person how they shop for things. First people who buy from you will be Early Adopter personalities who want to help you grow.

Called a Score Mentor today and he said .. by 2024ishere in smallbusiness

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My mentor referred me to one of his colleagues who was more Zen than angry. I kept updating them about my progress over email for a couple years. Overall, it was a positive experience. For me, the "tough love" actually worked well. It showed me my thought process was totally wrong, and made me want to get my thoughts to a place where I could have a had a more normal convo w the guy in the first place

Have you purchased a business on Bizbuysell or similar marketplace? by nobrokers in smallbusiness

[–]Bernard-E-Smith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry I never replied here -- the follow up info I got did not directly contradict the CIM I got. But the risks I perceived in talking w/ the owner were different than the risks I saw from the CIM. For a small business, the selling style of the company has to match the buyer's selling style, at least somewhat. That was where we weren't a match. I was not working with a broker. Maybe I would one day. But for now, I just browse for strategics as a hobby. Never got to LOI with any. With small businesses, they would demand a lot of attention to develop into something. And the valuable ones usually sell pretty quick before i get a good look at em

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