Billionaire Growth Strategies
How Marcus Plans to Grow Queens Vibe (formerly “Artistic Stitch Sports Complex”)
Well this episode was a bit of a roller coaster ride with some serious plummets that could have killed the deal. It also has some interesting deal-making aspects.
Background:
The Artistic Stitch Sports Complex is an odd collection of businesses all operating under one roof in Queens. The two owners, Sal and Nic, are friends who have been in business 18 years to date. Their bread and butter businesses are embroidery, silk screening, (and sign making*). However, they were able to get a deal on an old 28K sq. ft. warehouse a while back which had far more room than they actually needed. So to justify taking over the entire building they came up with some pretty weak secondary businesses. These include a restaurant and a sports complex where people can play basketball or get in some batting practice. These add-on businesses appear to take up 80%, if not 90%, of the floor space, with the profitable ones “shoved into a corner,” as Marcus put it. Walking around the place, he described it as the “world’s weirdest mini-mall.”
How Marcus Turned Around Courage b.
I have to confess to thinking that I wouldn’t like this episode because not only is it about a retail operation but about one selling women’s fashions. These are two things I have no interest in. Boy, was I wrong. This episode turned out to be one of the best to date in terms of both the business lessons and the emotional healing that took place.
Well done, Marcus.
James Ling on How to Transition From a Dull Industry to a Sexy One the Fast Way
If you should conclude that you are in the wrong industry and need to switch, there are two basic ways to make the transition. One is to start from scratch and go the startup route. The downside here is that it’s typically the long slow way to a payback on your investment. The odds are also against you as they are with most startups. The other way to achieve a transition is to buy your way in by acquiring an existing business which then serves as your beachhead in the new industry. You then focus on expanding the beachhead and moving inland. Think of the D-Day Landings as a good analogy for this growth strategy.
Donna Johnson Sues Stein Meats
You hate to see this kind of thing happen.
The deal between Marcus and Stein Meats fell through. Frankly speaking I am not surprised as the company had dug too deep a hole for itself. Apparently the boys weren’t too forthcoming with Marcus in terms of promised cooperation.
If you follow business news this company has been making headline news over the past few weeks. Last week the media was covering its war with ride sharing competitor Lyft. This is why people talk about business as warfare. It’s been a while since we have witnessed such fierce competitiveness.
Recent Comments