Rod Guinn's Blog (115)

OK.  I’ll ask you to bear with me a bit on this one, as I’m starting well out in left field.  (Or, to really milk the analogy, somewhere behind the first violins.)

One of the things I like about The Economist -- both print and online -- is that it manages to provide deep, generally thoughtful coverage on business,…

Think of this as part two of my prior posting on legal documents ...

In two transactions recently, I’ve had the following experience.  (In each case, it was an investor and an operator, but it could just as well have been lender and investor, or lender and operator.)  As the parties drew near to the final signing of…

After many months, more than a few near-death experiences, and the usual bureaucratic hurdles and personality disorder symptoms, one of my clients is about to conclude a complete refinancing of its balance sheet -- paying off existing lenders, buying back the ownership of a departing minority shareholder, and replacing everything with new lenders, some new minority investors, and sufficient capital to continue a successful…

I recently sat through three very interesting meetings which focused, in very different ways, on the realities of control.  They pointed out, once again, a lesson which is worth understanding: one needn’t always own a majority of the stock, or equity, of a company to be able to control it, at least in key ways which influence its behavior and future prospects.  I’ll describe…

As I’ve probably mentioned lately, I’ve recently worked with several clients on debt-raise projects.  Based on that experience, as well as others over the years, I’ve begun to identify a malaise among credit providers which I’ll refer to as Lake Wobegon Syndrome.

By now,…

So last Friday, an Open Letter entitled “How Can America Win This Election?” was posted on the Starbucks Responsibility page by “Howard S”, the Chairman, President, and CEO of Starbucks.  [Here’s the link: How-can-america-win-this-election]  Already two schools of thought have developed around…

Think of a business opportunity.  Those exalted few among us who are the entrepreneurs, the builders, the creators, see the opportunity to make something new.  The operators, who make the wheels turn and the earth move, see the opportunity to make something better.  The investors, who sometimes get a bum rap (and sometimes deserve it), see the opportunity to bring their asset (capital) in order to fund the…

This is about two companies: 

One is a current client of mine, a company which has defied the odds by remaining profitable (and even growing a bit) through the Great Recession, basically by doing what it does very well despite the economic pressures.  Alas, it’s slipped a bit in recent months,…

Those of us of a certain age will recall a song of this title written by Buffy Sainte-Marie and later recorded by almost everyone -- from Elvis to Barbra Streisand to Michael Nesmith to Cher.  Obviously, given that roster, the song and its lyrics had a universal resonance, with their bittersweet subject of a romance between two people who each knew the romance was destined to end.…

I’m working on a longterm project for a fast-growing concept, with operations already scattered over four states and more to open this year.  It’s an exciting time for this company: the concept’s been refined to enable fast growth, the capital’s in hand, and performance is strong.

One of the essential controls which was recently reinforced…

For the past few years, we’ve heard industry leaders and visionaries telling us that social media was going to change the way businesses interacted with their customers, and vice versa.  Notably, most of these leaders were not from the retail, restaurant, food manufacturing, or consumer products industries, but from the various internet communities and social media hubs.  We all listened as people like Mark…

Each spring, just as spring training is wrapping up, Scottsdale is the scene of the Restaurant Leadership Conference.  It’s neither the largest, nor by most measures the most frenetic of the key restaurant conferences; the first title must go to Chicago’s NRA extravaganza, and arguably the second goes to the well-run, but adrenaline-filled, RFDC in Las Vegas (the adrenaline perhaps unavoidably due to the locale as well…

If one is exposed to commercial media this week, one can’t avoid hearing about March Madness or The Big Dance.  (Note to all who are otherwise occupied: it’s the annual NCAA College Basketball Tournament, which undermines or eliminates productivity across vast swathes of the populace for hours of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday over the next two weeks before its semifinal and final rounds March 31 and April…

Yes, I’m the finance geek here, and my blog on FohBoh is typically about the breathtaking worlds of accounting, lending, investing, budgeting, and other heartpounding subjects.  [Side note: you may be aware that over the past thirty years there’s been a decided lack of thrilling movies about accounting and lending; hence my problems getting a best-selling book published.]  However, I do have one advantage: because I get to…

At various times in my career I have worked in institutions which more or less depend on the steady flow of new business to insure their continued profitability.  Hmmm ... sounds a lot like a restaurant so far, doesn’t it?  Hold that thought -- there are some important differences, and at least the beginnings of some tools to minimize those differences.  Let’s play this idea out a…

There are two distinct, yet related, ideas in brand extensions which have been in the news recently.  I’m going to be following both with more than idle curiosity to see if they create added brand awareness, added traffic, or a negative backlash -- or all three.

First ... Friendly’s and Burger…

I’ve had some interesting encounters recently with both existing operators and aspiring entrepreneurs armed with business plans.  Today, I’ll give a brief synopsis of several (with names and other distinguishing characteristics disguised); I welcome comments on which seem likely to be successful businesses, as well as debt and/or equity investments, and perhaps we’ll have followups on a few in the coming…

Now that the presents have mostly been opened, let’s evaluate our position.  I was prompted to undertake this exercise by a recent conversation which ranged from (1) the errancy of Harold Camping’s 2011 end of the world forecast, which was surely a gift for many, to (2) the as-yet unproven accuracy of Mayan calendar predictions that Mr. Camping was only a year premature, to (3) the uniquely American apocalypse being…

‘Twas three nights before Christmas, a time to prepare

For the mad rush of diners -- a hope we all share

We’ve menus all hung by the entry with care

In hopes that…

No, I’ve never read anything by Erica Jong, and there’s nothing zipless about this column -- nor, I trust, about the attitudes of the parties who inspired it.  (For those of less than a certain age, feel free to research Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying and the cultural touchstone it provided.)…