There was a recent news story about a Seattle area law enforcement officer suing for about $11 million because of a health condition caused by vaping (a CBD product and something else to relieve his stress and pain). Am I missing something?
He heated a chemical concoction, inhaled it, and figured all was good? He couldn’t imagine burning chemicals could cause bodily damage.
I also see a lot of naivety in business and in the buy-sell world. A lot of it reminds me of some old sayings like:
- “Build a better mousetrap” (and the world will come to you).
- “If we build it, they will come” (Field of Dreams).
- “Our product is the best on the market” (but the competition markets better).
In the buy-sell world what I see the most is:
- It’s easy to find a good buyer (they’ll all be standing in line for my business).
- Finding a mature, profitable, and fairly priced business is easy (it’s the mature, profitable, and fairly priced part that adds the complication as there’s no shortage of lousy and/or overpriced businesses).
- I (buyer) can fix this business (turnarounds make headlines for a reason, they’re rare).
- There’s a lot of discretionary cash to cover my debt (are your mortgage, car, tuition, utility payments discretionary? To cover debt you need “real” cash flow after a fair market salary).
- Our competitive advantage is we’re the cheapest so pay us a lot for the business (someone will figure out a way to undercut you; value is when people pay more for a great product and service).
Don’t vape yourself into trouble in your business, the one you buy, or the deal you want when you sell.
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Andy Warhol
