Question for Toburen..

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
113,083
Location
The High Chapperal
Did you know or suspect that the guy who bought your biz was gonna flop?

If you knew was there any guilt felt?






Was there anyone else interested at the time?
 

Steve Toburen

Supportive Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
1,912
Location
Durango, Colorado/Santiago, Dominican Republic
Name
Steve Toburen
I'm with JB, Mike. WHERE DO YOU COME UP WITH THIS STUFF? (You haven't been hitting that Cab/Merlot Yellowtail with the butyl finish again, have you?)

1. Did I suspect that the person who bought my business was going to flop? During the sales process/ negotiation- no. After all, the company was totally systematized and I had four key people who had been running their positions for years with little or no input from me.

2. Did I have any guilt? See #1 above.

3. Was there anyone else interested? Yes, we actually had three different individuals bidding on the business. I went with the offer that gave 97% cash up front.

Thanks for your interest,

Island Boy

PS To anticipate your next question: Would I do it again knowing that eventually the deal would go south? I don't know. Maybe not since the other two prospective buyers were extremely well qualified, just with not as much cash up front.
 

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
113,083
Location
The High Chapperal
I think the world of you Steven and am bitterly disappointed that you chose to go miniature golfing in Cuba instead of attending MF08.


Seriously, you are one of my very faves in this industry of ours.

You have my utmost respect and I would have gotten baptized if you hadn't sold out to a Broke Dick...
 

Shorty

RIP
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
5,111
Location
Cairns
Name
Shorty Glanville
How many times have a lot of us seen this very same thing happen.

Someone puts all their effort into creating a system that makes a business work well, then sells that business.

The new owner/s know better than the previous owner and decide to do things "their way"

Before you know it, that business is not worth anything.

Case in point, a different type of business, but it happens in all businesses.

My all time favourite fish chip shop where we had been going for at least five years was sold about 6 months ago.

Prior to this, there were always cars parked out front, and people in the shop.

This place buzzed continually.

Most people would phone their orders through rather than have to wait 20 - 30 minutes, that how good this place was.

Now, since the new owners changed the recipes, added more variety and a new range of food, the place is like it's deserted.

I went back 3 times hoping they would fix the problems and go back to the original way of cooking, now I don't even bother going there.

I have seen the same happen in the cleaning supply section where a business is sold and the new owners know better than the last owner.

Sales drop due to their indifference to customers, their attitude and a host of other reasons.

If a person sells a business in all good faith, and that business is performing well, it's no good blaming the previous owner for any problems that happen down the track, especially due to their own incompetence or the fact that they changed a proven system.









PS ::: We used to have a saying down under that went something like this..........

How do you make a very successful business go bankrupt ????????


Sell it to a Kiwi and let him take it from there. :oops: :lol: :oops: :lol:




Not that I, would ever say anything like that, especially with "friends" like...

John

&

Ekka

&

Roro

& all those other big blokes that I'm bound to run into at some time in the near future, such as the cold ghost in April :twisted:
 

The Preacher

Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
3,401
Mikeys tired of seeing the same burds, so he's gonna sell and move south. kinda like his version of migrating!!!

PS (since this is an IB DAP) bring that V to Tallahassee and i'll be your hose puller. i'll only be availible every other week though!!! :shock:
 

hogjowl

Idiot™
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
48,153
Location
Prattville, Alabama
Ummmm .... danny ... I don't think anyone from this board is going to get too excited about the possibility of having YOU pull their hose.

Unless it's Todd.
 

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
113,083
Location
The High Chapperal
I would suggest to Steve that he prepare a Special Report for all of these cleaners he has helped to one day sell their businesses who may have to deal with the same feelings of regret, disappointment, shame and anger that I'm sure he went through.

That was a top notch, highly respected company in a small town that was ruined. I'm positive a great guy like IB is not letting on just how much sleep he lost over it.
 

Fon Johnson

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
1,066
I don't really see where regret would come into play. Steve sold a business that could run on it's own, and he knew that. The only true way to crash it would be to start making changes and monkeying with the systems that had it running like a well oiled machine. Once you sell something, it is not your fault if they muck it up, the economy crashes, they stop making carpet, etc.

I once sold a fast car. Just about 2 or 3 months later I saw it all smashed up. The guy seemed to have hit a tree with it. Do I regret it? No, he is the one who could not drive. I DO regret that my baby got all smacked up, but I sold her so..
 

Mikey P

Administrator
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
113,083
Location
The High Chapperal
I'm sure that Steve, like myself had plenty of long term personal relationships with many of his clients.

How could he not feel regret?


or guilt?
 

Fon Johnson

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
1,066
At that point in time, the relationships of the customers should have been with the people working in the business, and no so-much Steve as the owner. I'm sure it would be somewhat painful to see it crashed into a tree, but it was not his fault. I guess it depends on your point of view: that of an O/O who has lots of one on one relationships, or that of a business owner who has the goal of eventually selling the business or passing it down within the family.
 

Jimmy L

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
15,180
Location
Ne
Name
Jimmy L
You must have the mind set of "Closing the door" behind you and never looking back.

You will have plenty of time to think about memories on your death bed.
 

Fon Johnson

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
1,066
No, Jimmy. I don't close doors. I try to learn from mistakes, and not repeat them. I try to live every day in a such as manner as to not have regrets. When something bad happens, I try to learn from it, but then you have to move on with your life. If you agonize over every little mistake, accident, and bad thing from your past you will go insane.

As for the death bed, we don't know we will be on one. You might die slowly of cancer in your 80's, or you might get instantly killed by a truck you never even see coming. If I am on a death bed, I will just be looking forward to going to another place..
 

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
Steve
You had to wonder what kind of manager he would be when he scrapped all the invoices you had just printed up. Was it like $10,000 in invoices?


I sorry once she's sold she's gone, I never think about my ex-wife....at least without a few choice words coming to mind!
:shock:
 
F

FB7777

Guest
Regret? Guilt?

You build your business on relationships and service with the ultimate goal of providing a solid income for you and your family and retirement plan and then cash out.

Your customers call to have their cleaning needs fulfilled for them and their family

No one is irreplaceable, when you sell, your former customers stay or move on, you didn't "do" anything to them that should make you feel guilty.

You don't owe them anything nor do they owe you in the future.

If any of us go out of business, the customer calls someone else, a free market economy has a very efficient way of fulling service needs faster than water fills a void.
 
V

vegijohn

Guest
Hey there's an idea-- Because of all this ADA stuff in SF maybe I'll sell my business and move to a foreign country-- Or turn in my resume to Heidi Fliess--- If you didn't know, she runs a male brothel for females in LV.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom