Entries by Paul Wildrick

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CAUTION: DO NOT POKE THE GIANT

On June 1, 2011, both Floyd’s Coffee Shops in Portland, Oregon were busier than usual. The regulars were elbowed out of the way by new customers visiting the store for the first time to redeem their coupon and get $10 worth of coffee for $3. This tempting offer was made because Floyd’s had been picked […]

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Is Now the Time To Sell Your Business?

Have you been thinking about selling your business but just can’t decide if now is the best time?  Do you find yourself repeatedly analyzing the economic situation and wishing you had a crystal ball? There are positive signs and there are negative signs…. If you’re still up in the air and can’t quite decide whether […]

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Prevention is Better Than Cure

To grow a valuable business – one you can sell – you need to set up your company so that it is no longer reliant on you. This can be easier said than done, especially when, like a PR consultant or plumber, what you are selling is your expertise. To scale up a knowledge-based business, […]

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Four Ways to Protect Your Turf

Warren Buffett famously invests in businesses that have what he calls a protective “moat” around them – one that inoculates them from competition and allows them to control their pricing. Big companies lock out their competitors by out-slugging them in capital infrastructure investments, but smaller businesses have to be smarter about how they defend their […]

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Where to Start, When Your Growth Stops

Why would two companies in the same industry, with the same financial performance, command vastly different valuations? The answer often comes down to how much each business is likely to grow in the future.  The problem is that a lot of successful businesses reach a point where their growth starts to slow as the company matures. […]