Yeah, well the great ones perhaps have a different understanding of just what is capital. Because in the 70s, with the advent of spreadsheets and the enormous population increase in MBAs and bankers, everyone had to have this new thing, ‘a business plan’, because for funding or a bank loan for business, a startup or a new product line, one had to be fluent in this language, which at the time was relatively unused at this smaller - under $3 million level. So suddenly - and of course it’s not unimportant - entrepreneurship, got taken over by corporate speak. Entrepreneurs are OF COURSE in love with gettin’ money, makin’ money and so on; but it is not a direct line from excel projections to ROI. Yet we thought it was important to gain the affect of trained seals, and that’s why now we only talk about capital and yield. It is possible to steer people towards understanding and unlocking their capital, and transforming it into cash. I had a few great mentors - one of whom was the advertising guy that the insane gnostic ad guy in the old TV show, ‘Thirtysomething’ was based on [and he was much more wild and wealthy in reality than on the TEEVEE], and another amazing mentor in an accountant from my old tough neighborhood, a real tough guy who went on to eventually run a giant foundation; BOTH of them suggested that the key to success in business was to be found through psychotherapy or psychoanalysis, and for sure every. single. client. of mine who went through the rigorous quick problem solving courses i’d indicated, came out well ahead [and i cast neither aspersions nor diagnoses in the direction of Rivendell & co]. Just my peculiar formula for how to turn businesses around. Improve the fish at the head.
On Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at 5:23:41 PM UTC-5, Patrick Moore wrote: > > That's very interesting. I have written some top-level marketing executive > resumes, and none of them have even remotely considered, afaik, this sort > of capital; the very idea was, per all the data I got from them, entirely > alien to their mindsets. But of course, for this sort of capital, you have > to believe in something more than "success." > > And, after spouting onlist, I got around to reading Grant's recent post, > and per that, thing's aren't as bad as the thread on that other list might > have made things seem. He said, it's not a Hail Mary situation. So that's > good. But I just placed an order anyway. > > On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 1:19 PM M G <mgst...@gmail.com <javascript:>> > wrote: > >> Hi Patrick - my business was not dissimilar to Riv - was in >> non-essential / luxury consumer materials for interior design use; one of >> the first 'green materials' companies in that niche. >> >> I had / am suggesting less a positive attitude, though that's a way to >> put it (and i'm gloomy like Grant, so that's even a hard word for me) - >> than a neutral realistic one, not that the sky is falling, but that it is >> NOT a crunch; not to use credit or borrowing or consumer requests blindly, >> but to give it an upside, to use them as tools. The financial tools >> available, for parsing one's actual inventory value and projections etc, >> are now so much greater on a year over year basis; the granularity of it is >> astounding; one doesn't need a passel of MBAs and excel anymore. I think >> that Riv has been well on track with their 'presale pricing' eg, 'this will >> sell for X when landed, pre-sale price is .8X' as they did with several >> frames and models in recent years. I'm speculating, because of course i've >> never seen a balance sheet, though i've [idly] done the numbers when they >> report their sales of Y amount of frames, Clems, etc / plus seeing the >> personnel roster. And i'm sure there are factors unseen: investors, >> leveraged houses and so on. BUT - all that exists with every business. >> What doesn't exist with every business is the incredible and singular >> product of Riv; the zealous customer loyalty of Riv; and most importantly, >> the depth of knowledge and market understanding at the top of the company >> [which i believe is being shared and taught within the staff, so that is >> likewise excellent]. BUT - some of that excellence is being squandered >> with fearfulness, and i can only project my own similar experiences before >> i had my sea change; and likewise, the experiences of people who have >> called me in when they are holding their heads in their hands [some i have >> said: yes, you're right, wrap this up; but most i have said, it's not as >> dire as you believe, here's how to steer out; and NONE of them have the >> assets [i dont mean cash value] of Riv; but the huge intellectual capital >> and client love. It has to start at the top though. With a deep breath / >> the world is not going to end the way we all project [but if i may quote a >> questionable source, it's gonna be when a madman named Albert Shanker gets >> his hands on a nuclear weapon] [cf Sleeper] >> >> >> On Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at 10:35:39 AM UTC-5, Patrick Moore wrote: >>> >>> That is very interesting. What was your business? >>> >>> And, as a marketing consultant who thinks Rivendell's marketing skill >>> and model is a huge asset, what would you recommend to Rivendell for >>> getting through the crunch (besides the positive attitude)? >>> >>> On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 7:36 AM M G <mgst...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> I’m a Riv owner since the early 00s, and currently have a custom >>>> painted Glorious and a HHH tandem, both bought from Riv. And i sold my >>>> Saluki, #1 it might have been, which i bought from the list around 2006. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Here are my thoughts re what from the exterior seems the wrong way to >>>> get the Riv customer support message across. >>>> >>>> >>>> I was in the same boat as Grant P & Riv...I had a quirky company with >>>> considerably different product type from the norm in a small mostly >>>> homogeneous industry. I had similar fears to Grant and the same wet >>>> blankets of communication doom (until i learned to redirect). >>>> >>>> >>>> The best thing i did for my company, staff, and clients [which was >>>> acquired in 2001] was learning how to ameliorate those fears. At our >>>> peak, i had 40 staff, sales agents throughout the world, slim margins, and >>>> lots of nights waking up and thinking, ‘tomorrow is the last day’. And >>>> then i realized - with help - how wrong wrong wrong that was. That we had >>>> a completely loyal customer base; that while we didn’t have a lot of >>>> capital in currency, we had huge intellectual capital; that we had an >>>> order >>>> backlog, even if i didn’t see it in our ‘booked orders’; that we were an >>>> amazing staff who believed in our product and mission, and when there were >>>> downturns, we could all pull together, including financially if need be >>>> (and a few times it WAS needed]; that if i refocused my irrational fears i >>>> would have a lot more energy and will to push things hard where they >>>> needed >>>> pushing. As a high school and college drop out, i didn’t have the >>>> ‘business courses’, ‘financial backgrounds’ etc, to fully understand how >>>> to >>>> use credit, how to use accounting and accruals, depreciation, write downs, >>>> how to negotiate so that my factories were in my corner and supporting me >>>> financially as their halo ‘private label / designed’ line; so many ways to >>>> make incremental change, all of which add up to a massive flip in cash >>>> flow >>>> and profit, real profit. But bigger than the lack of business education >>>> was the gloomy worldview which saturated everything, so of course cash >>>> flow...the most stressful piece = the worst parts of that stress and gloom >>>> being put forth. I learned to make friends with that stress, to turn it >>>> around; the biggest piece is internal. >>>> >>>> >>>> I’m a few years younger than Grant (i’m 56 now) and i had these >>>> conversations with a few people at Riv 10 years back [and also briefly >>>> Grant] when there were similar emails going out. Grant is a lot of >>>> things >>>> i am/ was not - he’s truly singular (i was synthetic, ie i constructed my >>>> singularity); he’s a great writer, with a lot of insight into human >>>> behavior and luxury goods (which these bikes, most bikes are). Riv has a >>>> FANATIC following, not just this email list (and how many people just read >>>> it VS post regularly, or like me USED to but then chose to put our efforts >>>> elsewhere in the world); the ‘marketing’ of Riv is the f*cking best of any >>>> i’ve seen out there, because it is so true (PS - since my company was >>>> acquired in 2001, i’ve spent the last 17 years as an enormous fee’d >>>> marketing consultant - just for fun) / all of the Grant / Riv capital can >>>> be turned around, but like the old joke goes - ‘the lightbulb has to want >>>> to change’. Not ‘victim blaming’ here, but Riv is not a victim, and it is >>>> hard to recognize how to get through this invisible passage. How to even >>>> FIND where the threshold is. But the first part is desire, and not the >>>> comfortable feeling of gloom. There is a lot of unrecognized satisfaction >>>> in eking things along. Riv will continue to go along as it has, OR the >>>> fish >>>> at the head can learn to leap different. >>>> >>>> On Monday, December 31, 2018 at 5:13:01 PM UTC-5, Steve Palincsar wrote: >>>>> >>>>> A few days ago over on the Paceline forum, in response to a recent Riv >>>>> email about a slow holiday season they've restarted the "Riv Saved For >>>>> Now" >>>>> discussion. >>>>> https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=218496&page=4 >>>>> starting at post no. 51 >>>>> >>>>> I'm a bit surprised there's been no discussion of the subject here. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Steve Palincsar >>>>> Alexandria, Virginia >>>>> USA >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> *------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> *Still 'round the corner there may waitA new road or a secret gate,And >>> though we pass them by today,Tomorrow we may come this wayAnd take the >>> hidden paths that runTowards the Moon or to the Sun.* >>> --- J.R.R. Tolkien >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews >>> By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching >>> Other professional writing services >>> Expensive! But good. >>> http://www.resumespecialties.com/ >>> Patrick Moore >>> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>> *Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?* >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com >> <javascript:>. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > -- > > > > > *------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* > > > > > > *Still 'round the corner there may waitA new road or a secret gate,And > though we pass them by today,Tomorrow we may come this wayAnd take the > hidden paths that runTowards the Moon or to the Sun.* > --- J.R.R. Tolkien > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews > By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching > Other professional writing services > Expensive! But good. > http://www.resumespecialties.com/ > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?* > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
