Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
Beth Ewen:
Upsize
be***@*******ag.com
upsizemag.com
worth saving
by Beth Ewen
NEVER HAS MY green plastic purse looked so tacky than during an interview and tour with Jen Guarino. Her company, J.W. Hulme Co. in St. Paul, makes gorgeous, timeless handbags and luggage out of hefty, aromatic leather.
As she showed me their most popular line, American Heritage luggage inspired by customers who want their bags to look as though they’ve been used for decades, I wished I had left my made-in-China trendy tote back at the office.
The company and its made-in-America products are worth saving, she insists, and she found many who agree when a Wall Street Journal article detailing the company’s woes appeared in January. Dozens of e-mails and phone calls poured in, along with handwritten letters from clients. One sent an $1,800 order and a wish that the company makes it through its ordeal.
Guarino and business partner Chuck Bidwell are doing whatever it takes to survive-selling his classic cars and commercial properties, working without pay.
They’re converting family and friends who lent them money into shareholders, always an excruciating conversation to have, and asking vendors if they can pay $50 a week for awhile.
When you’re in survival mode, you have to get over the shame, Guarino says.
She’s like most business owners I know, doing everything they can to survive today’s economic slump. Upsize presents this print edition to help, along with highlights from our newest online resource, the Small-Business Survival Guide and available in full to subscribers at dev.divistack.com.
Both are full of tips, inspiration and ideas from CEOs who have made it through tough times before, including the Great Depression. Our goal is to help every business owner come out stronger when these tough times inevitably end, and to ensure them they’re not alone in their battle.
What are business owners doing? At Upsize, we’re launching four online editions this year and six print editions, to serve readers while trimming our production expenses. At Hub Hobby Centers, they’re sticking to their usual buying patterns and steadfastly ignoring bad economic news, something they learned to do after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. At Creative Lighting, they’re putting all their products for sale online, which is far less costly than opening up new stores.
Others are cutting bonuses, holding onto paychecks until cash flow improves, stringing out invoices for 90, then 120 days, maxing credit cards, canceling vacations. Such desperate moves aren’t necessarily recommended, but they can make it possible for a business to remain in business.
Is it worth all the sacrifice, the struggle, the pain to keep our small businesses going? Is a J.W. Hulme handcrafted handbag more valuable than a green plastic purse?
