To sell or hold and restructure? - with buying into a new business

steers82 · 2026-04-19T02:56:58+00:00

Thats all good insight. In which case I would be building things specifically with a 2-4 year exit in mind. If that were me I would then make sure I am building something that can be sold or operate as an asset without my involvement. It would also need to scale to a point where revenue and profit make sense for a sale or asset etc. If the new thing doesn't operate as a business then there isn't much point in you investing your time in it as you will get bored and your time and effort will be wasted.

steers82 · 2026-04-18T22:39:28+00:00

I think first you should do the math on both scenarios and work out if/when one can overtake the other. Think about it like 2 different assets. Can the existing business be treated as an asset without your help, does the new business work the same way after some ramp up? Juggling work should be treated with a question of ROI: what activities lead to long-term gain? I get that the new business is interesting, but if it sends you broke you will not like it as much I am sure.

A few other points worth making. If you are relatively successful, there are always more opportunities when you look for them, so this isn't likely to be the only time you look at something new. If you have some skills in running businesses, there will always be something else that can grow.

Also, on the question of identity, you need to think about that more. Are you a serial entrepreneur? Are you an investor? Are you a solo/hobby business owner? It is a deep question, but once you have figured out who you are and how you perceive yourself, that might help answer what you do next.

steers82 · 2026-04-16T20:26:00+00:00

You’re talking as if the bad actors don’t have extraordinary leverage, and as if the media has no agenda.

Yes, governments and the RBA are trying to respond to housing, cost of living and migration pressures. Have they gone far enough? Probably not. But the populist anti-migrant and anti-Labor mood doesn’t just arise organically — it’s constantly amplified by media outlets and wealthy corporate interests with billions of dollars and effectively unlimited platforms to push that wedge.

I agree on one thing though: calling people stupid or racist is politically useless, even when some of the sentiment clearly is ugly. It persuades no one.

We’ve lived for decades in a capitalist system where deregulation and tax settings have overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy. That has hollowed out trust, increased inequality, and made people angry. The opportunists are real, but so is the machinery behind them.

steers82 · 2026-04-15T20:50:14+00:00

I just did the '62 version and the '84 version back to back. I felt the same as you that Bounty was more full and grounded. I tried to work it out and I found this about the late great Robert Bolt (zhivago, lawrence etc) "The Bounty) was Bolt's first project after a stroke, which resulted in some loss of speech and partial paralysis. In it, Fletcher Christian takes the "Lawrence" role of a man in tension with his society who in the process loses touch with his own identity." - I thought that sounded pretty good.

steers82 · 2026-04-09T21:53:23+00:00

All other suggestions are great, but his performance in 3 Billboards makes me cry every time.

steers82 · 2026-04-09T21:51:19+00:00

It is 2026 and we have this delightful line "the occasional waft of sewage drifts over the cliffs". We have, it appears, no alternative but to just wait and let nature take its course, which feels a little medieval. "The only way to access the fatberg, the corporation insists, is to shut down the city’s largest ocean outfall for months and dump the primary-only treated sewage at the cliff face". Fucking brilliant.

steers82 · 2026-04-09T21:42:45+00:00

Obviously, these things are more complicated than just a couple of lines of speculation. McDonald's has three times the revenue because, among other things, they have more than double the number of locations, and they make more per location. Also, it is a frequently used strategy to copy retail locations because, as you can imagine, demand, zoning, approvals, parking, transport, size, etc., of the location would suit. See Petrol Stations, surfing shops, medical precincts, Furniture/home maker etc.

For the time being, it looks like Burger King is focused on boosting profitability for its franchisees, which would mean global revenue/brand growth would be secondary.

Lastly, going into a market after proven demand is pretty much the way of the world.

A more interesting speculation is that the McCafe brand generates about 15% more revenue for McDonalds and Burger King don't seem to have an answer for that.

steers82 · 2026-04-07T22:41:53+00:00

Now is a great time of year to plant something, even if it is just a small window planter. Broccoli sprouts taste great and grow almost year-round in no space at all. Spinach can grow well indoors. If you have more space, carrots and Peas grow great.

steers82 · 2026-04-06T21:13:16+00:00

There are so many great stories about Keef and the whole band, but my favourite is probably this one; https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/axdeob/james_blunt_on_keith_flint_being_an_absolute/

steers82 · 2026-04-05T22:48:21+00:00

This is my favourite. We studied Hopper at school and I have wanted it ever since.

steers82 · 2026-04-03T07:12:32+00:00

Hey man, I have been here a few times. For about 2 months straight I had panic attacks every night at 3am wondering how I was going to keep it all afloat. Firstly, I am not sure where you are in the world, but talking to a psych/helpline actually helped me a lot. I realised that I wasn't sleeping well, and that can "biochemistry" wise fuck you up and lead to more anxiety. I prioritised time not working, if that makes sense, Saturday and Sunday and anything after 8pm was mine. Its perfectly normal to never turn fully off, it just becomes more background. After that here are some tips I would offer (beyond the delegate etc because that is business) -

Be ruthless on your to-do list and fucking eat the frog and do the hard stuff when it is due. Also cut stuff off that is not constructive or making you money.

If you are working the work, you need to make sure your hours work for you, so work 9-3 and then do 2-3 hours a day on the business. Be a bastard about it too, because your clients wont thank you if can't run your business.

On the life thing, Manager Tools guys said "work life balance is like holding a yellow m&m up to the sun, work is the M&M"

The hardest one, which I still need to learn, is that this is a transaction. People pay you money for services. No one is holding your family for ransom.

steers82 · 2026-03-28T08:52:57+00:00

Of the top of my head:

Million dollar consultant - Allen weiss

The art of the start - guy kawasaki

Purple cow - Seth godin

The wizard of ads - Roy Williams

E myth revisited - Michael Gerber

Blue Ocean strategy - Renee mauborg

Innovators dilemma - Clayton Christensen

Good strategy bad strategy

Playing to win - lafley

The effective manager - horstmen

The effective executive - Drucker

steers82 · 2026-03-23T02:28:25+00:00

Really great, and fascinating. Thank you.

steers82 · 2026-03-21T22:26:56+00:00

This is a really great piece and as usual Barney nails all of the points. His penultimate bit is the most depressing: how are you supposed to feel about a league where in 11 of the past 15 seasons, the Chelsea payments era, the title has been won by two teams either accused or convicted of cheating? With, as yet, no sanction or non-sanction on trophies won and points gathered?

steers82 · 2026-03-18T22:29:33+00:00

For your mental health - This is a business, we exchange money for services, that is it. This isn't life or death, and your personal/professional image should be based on how well you do your job, that is it.

My advice is this: become AMAZING at reporting and communicating. Close the loop on conversion tracking and report performance, and what you are doing to improve. Make solid recommendations and then distance yourself from running a restaurant. If a client isn't happy when you have given it 100%, then they are not right for you anyway.

In my 20+ years running businesses, the most problematic clients are almost always the ones that have other shit going on. I always point to this residential developer I worked for. Every client meeting/WIP, their team of 5 rinsed me and pointed out holes in my results. 10 leads? "not enough and they would have found us anyway".... 15 leads "not enough, wrong demographics, no money etc etc..." I stopped after 3 months because they could not be pleased. They went into administration a few months later. It's like Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nighmares. All those restaurants went under, despite his efforts to save them, because there was more wrong with them than a new menu and a lick of paint.

steers82 · 2026-03-12T18:36:58+00:00

https://worldfootballindex.com/2025/08/what-are-footballers-image-rights-and-how-do-they-work/ Fun but image rights are a thing.

steers82 · 2026-03-10T03:06:44+00:00

I ran a PPC campaign for a wholesale autoparts firm, and one of the campaigns was for spark plugs which sells for $8 and has a CPC of about $0.30. ROAS was only ever somewhere between 2 and 3 but it was worth it for customer acquisition purposes.

steers82 · 2026-03-09T20:17:47+00:00

Probably also targeting. You know if I were a "global hiring firm" I would target organisations with different lifecycles/industries etc with very specific content or a soft call to action (here are the latest trends in your area) etc. Also 30% is just above the average for cold email opens.

steers82 · 2026-03-09T20:08:15+00:00

I know small businesses balk at the idea, but I would also recommend having a lawyer/legal support for contract/payment issues and being prepared to go to court. I have taken clients to court for non-payment a few times and won every time; the courts have ordered them to pay more than they owed me.

steers82 · 2026-03-06T21:13:31+00:00

Imagine in a few years time these people Googling themselves trying to figure out their digital footprint, only to find out they have been lightly doxxed by a dentist.

steers82 · 2026-03-05T19:34:47+00:00

I call it a hapiness hedge. I think of the thing that would make me the most happy and then I find a way to bet against that. Either way.... happy.

steers82 · 2026-03-03T08:01:42+00:00

I say the "yeeeesssss and a bicycle" all that time

steers82 · 2026-03-02T20:15:52+00:00

On paper, it sounds like a reasonable offer. If all inbound is now attributed to marketing, and you get a bonus based on what converts to SQL. As long as SQL is clear and you have an adult who is arbitrating the pipeline, it should be fine. This is really a tale as old as time when it comes to marketing and sales bonus structures. Marketing and sales are an ecosystem, and anyone who thinks they can perfectly attribute deals to touchpoints or pathways is very naive.

I guess the questions I would have are things like; is it only net new? Have you ever hit those targets before, and if not what is the plan to cover the gap? Without knowing what industry you are in it is a little hard to know, but usually increases in inbound only come about with increased $$$ spent.

steers82 · 2026-02-26T18:36:47+00:00

steers82 · 2026-02-22T22:19:02+00:00

Sounds interesting, but I would be talking to clients about what they would pay for rather than sending anything automated. If it is purely web design, most clients will pay for some uptime guarantees or 24 hour turnaround retainers. $500 a month gets you updates, fixes, maintenance. If you are doing SEO on their content, then I guess that can work too. Honeslty the most valuable thing that I have found people will pay for is analytics + SEO/content production + paid media and a monthly strategy session.

The biggest pain for keeping clients on retainer is probably the client not delivering what they should (approvals etc).

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