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January 2, 2006
Three cents daily
Over the years many people have inquired about buying my company. These calls used to be pretty exciting. Like many small businesses, we were convinced that our core problem was undercapitalization. I saw a deep-pocketed acquirer as a way to address our tight financial circumstances and light the growth rocket, so whenever one came calling I rolled out the red carpet, opened the books, and started talking numbers.
Nobody ever closed the deal, and now I know why: they were smart deep-pocketed acquirers.
Our problem wasn’t undercapitalization, it was lack of discipline. And with no deep pockets to prop us up we were forced to develop that discipline in order to survive. What a blessing it is to be undercapitalized.
Today I still get calls from people who want to buy or invest in our company. I politely explain that we are now able to fund ourselves internally. Still some insist on asking "How much to buy Logos?"
I never know what to say, since I don't want to sell. But now I have found a century old quotation that provides some guidance. When William Randolph Hearst inquired about the cost of buying of James Bennett’s New York Herald, the reply was a telegram:
"Price of Herald three cents daily. Five cents Sunday. Bennett."
Posted by Bob Pritchett at January 2, 2006 6:00 AM
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