Keep Pulling The String

Greetings. A little programming note before I begin. After 13 podcast episodes, I decided to change the pacing going forward. Just like I do with my newsletter, I want to put out a short business life lesson only when I feel I have something that is worth your valuable time. So when I do, I'll release a new episode and post it on my social channel so you can check it out.

Now, as they say, on with the show. I want you to think about these words from Turkish author, playwright and thinker Mehmet Murat Ildan. All the roads you regret for not going to the end represent the alternative lives you have missed. Today, I want to tell you a little story from my past that I hope will convince you of the importance of going down the paths life presents you, especially when you think they may lead to nowhere. I'm Howard Mann, and this is the Business Brickyard Podcast.

As the perfectly bound book slid out of the envelope, I noticed stamped in silver foil right on the cover, the name of the prestigious investment bank that had sent it to me. I remember thinking, wow, this is the real deal and what the hell am I doing? Just days earlier, that same investment bank had mailed me a cryptic letter explaining that they were representing a smaller niche competitor of mine that was looking to be acquired and based on not much more information than that, would I be interested in signing a confidentiality agreement so they could send me the book they had prepared. Curiosity fully peaked, I signed away. Now that book was here, a 100 plus pages all about a company that would cost 5 to $6,000,000 to acquire.

Now, for some of you, that may not seem like a large number, but at that moment in time, almost twenty two years ago, my business was losing money, was surviving on a large bank credit line and had exactly $0 to put towards an acquisition of any size. As I flip through the pages, a story unfolded of a company that was an incredible match for the short and long term strategy of my business. Their offices all overlapped where I had offices and there were many other exciting synergies. But 5 to $6,000,000, who was I kidding? Whether it was youth, naivete, stupidity or a healthy combination of all of it, I decided to take the next step.

There was a tiny thread here that intrigued me so I decided to keep pulling on it until the business gods or my bank forced me to stop. I flew out to Los Angeles and met with the investment bankers and the owner. We hit it off. Step one, check. I spoke on the phone with their main investor.

Step two, check. I spent a week flying around The US meeting one on one with all of their key executives. Step three, check. We agreed on a price of just over $5,000,000.2000000 of which had to be paid at closing. If you've been paying attention, you know that I didn't have $20,000 much less $2,000,000 to pay to anyone.

But the string I was pulling was getting pretty long now. I could not stop myself from continuing to pull it. So I created my own little book to tell my story to potential investors. A concise narrative and a set of spreadsheets that showed what the combined companies would look like at closing and over the five years after that. I asked some friends in the investment banking space if they knew of someone to talk to who might lend or invest the money.

I had no right to raise this much money but why not just see what happens if I tried? The first banker that I met with told me they only do deals of $10,000,000 and over but gave me two people that I should call that might be a better fit. Then this next batch said it was too big for them or too small but gave me two more people to call. Meeting after meeting covering more than 40 Goldilocks too hot or too cold moments came and went. Each time I refined my pitch and my numbers.

I got better at learning how the entire system and game works. Finally, one of these generous referrals paid off. I had found a small investment bank that had a fund that was looking for deals exactly like mine. Our poor balance sheet did not scare them away and they loved or at least were comfortable with my short and long term plans. Victory!

With the $2,000,000 secured, we forged ahead to drafting documents and working on a transition plan. To my daily amazement, this looked like this deal was actually going to happen. A deal that would flip us into profitability and transform our position in the market. Two weeks before closing, the owner of the company invited me to come to his vacation home for lunch. Off I went, excited to be able to discuss our future together, world domination, etcetera, etcetera.

It turned out, he actually wanted me to come there just so he could tell me that he'd gotten cold feet and decided he did not want to sell the business to anyone. Defeat, total defeat. Wait, I hear you. What the fuck? Howard, why did you just spend the past five minutes telling me all about an epic business loss?

Great question. I want you to hear it because it was one of my most memorable business experiences and lessons. I see it as one of my biggest victories after the week or ten of total heartbreak and sadness of course. While I did not make the acquisition, I gained something that turned out to be far more valuable. A real life experience, knowledge, contacts and new skills that I could have not learned any other way.

But the biggest lesson of all has been this, keep pulling the string. Time and again, my clients explain to me various opportunities they are presented with and before taking any action decide how each opportunity will end and why they have no business pursuing it. Time and again they can explain to me the future they wish they could have for their business and their life and in the same breath explain to me all the reasons it will never happen for them. Somehow we magically know the outcome of our business even though we cannot possibly know anything more than the next quarter or year. This pandemic should have proved this to you.

Twenty two years ago, I knew very little about acquisitions, raising capital and the legal aspects of these types of larger deals. Somehow, maybe from desperation, I decided to pull on the string that started as nothing more than a simple cryptic letter. Every time I pulled that thread a little bit more, I got a crash course in raising money, acquiring businesses and dealing with the many, many bumps along the deal making road. Investment bankers were generous in sharing feedback on my pitch and even more generous in sharing their contacts. I learned how to manage the many moments where deals look like they will fall apart and the ways to get the deals back on track.

I built a network of bankers that I would work with and refer others to for years. These bankers now knew I was looking to acquire businesses and started to send me more deals. I completed five other acquisitions after this one bombed and have helped countless clients acquire or sell their businesses using bits and pieces of what I learned from this one failed deal. None of it would have happened if I did not push myself to pull that first small thread. So now I ask you, where have there been threads that you have decided not to pull because you thought you knew where that particular thread would end?

In the words of English actor Jim Broadbent, we've all got a little black book of missed opportunities. Lots of people talk about missed opportunities. Looking back, they usually were missed because we decided upfront where that opportunity would lead even though we have absolutely no idea. If I am honest with myself, I have missed opportunities because I was worried about trying and failing, of having an outcome that would have hurt my pride, of seeming foolish or convincing myself it would be a big waste of time. Some of these reasons even make sense as I say them out loud.

But if they were true, why would missed opportunities be so connected with regret? Here is a challenge for you, take out a piece of paper and start to write down past opportunities where you decided they would not work out before you even took a teeny tiny step forward. Is there a common theme to them? Is there a common fear to them? How could you rewrite that theme or counter that fear so it would work better for you?

Write that down too. What would have been the real harm if you had decided to pull the string a bit and see where it would have led you? Write that down too. I pulled a string, was left at the business wedding altar and because I saw the opportunity all the way through to the end, I have no regrets. The next time an opportunity that seems out of reach appears before you, I hope you may see it as a tiny thread that could unravel into an incredible experience and then give that string its first little pull.

Let me know where it takes you. Until next time. Hey there, Just a few quick notes before you get back to work. My goal is to make this podcast as useful as it can be for entrepreneurs who are not fulfilled by the businesses that they own. Your feedback, questions, and comments are not just welcome, they're encouraged.

So please feel free to email me at h@howardMann.com. Also, be sure to jump over to howard Mann dot com and join my mailing list. When you do, you will get a PDF of my book, Your Business Brickyard, for free and will be first in line when I launch new coaching groups and special events. You can also follow me, Howard Mann, on all of the various social channels. If you enjoyed this or any other episode of the Business Brickyard Podcast, please consider subscribing and leaving a review.

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