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Daryl Starr
Mikel Berger
Latest Blog Posts
Budgeting Beyond Legal Boundaries
One of the many oddities shared between entrepreneurs is their ability to budget beyond boundaries. They don’t make the same assumptions about where the lines must be drawn. The edges are more fluid. They see customer value and customer alternatives and they see new ways of assembling systems to deliver value at a profit regardless Read more about Budgeting Beyond Legal Boundaries[…]
Given This
Most business owners succumb to reasoning errors over time. I fall prey myself. I ask myself: “given this asset, what more could be done with it?” Just this morning I began wondering about utilization of a warehouse and forklifts that are used only seasonally within our seed businesses. Given the seasonality of their use, what Read more about Given This[…]
From Imagination
It’s better to imagine the future and work backwards, down through the aspects that must be true for that imagined future to become real rather than observing the past and incrementally adjusting a view of the future. The most influential utilize both practices. They ask: What is unchangeable? What is malleable? Yet, they begin by Read more about From Imagination[…]
Questions About Estate Planning
Within the last few months I have received more questions about estate plans than the sum of my entire life prior. My default response is “I don’t know.” Perhaps I ought to leave it there? (my usual response.) Instead, I started reading and began writing… mostly trying to form some coherent thoughts. Disclosure: I still Read more about Questions About Estate Planning[…]
Learn broadly by reading specifically
Alex Bridgeman recently asked what niche publications his followers find most interesting. I replied with one of my favorites that we receive at the office. And a snarky comment. It is Twitter, after all. We talk about books we’ve read quite a bit. We’ve even talked about old academic papers. Niche trade publications are also Read more about Learn broadly by reading specifically[…]
What Multiples Are You Seeing? What Are You Using?
These two questions are asked on a regular basis. Depending on who is asking, they want me to reply, I’m seeing low numbers but we’re paying higher (for yours); or they’d like me to say, I’m seeing high numbers but we’re paying low (for ours.) I enjoy my work too much to make this my Read more about What Multiples Are You Seeing? What Are You Using?[…]
Relationship Business
Are you in a relationship business? I had lunch the other week with a commercial banker friend. He mentioned how important relationships are to his business. A few days later I had coffee with an insurance brokerage friend. He mentioned how important relationships are to his business. When each guy said it, the thought in Read more about Relationship Business[…]
The Market is a Profound Conversation
After completing Robert G. Hagstrom’s “Investing: The Last Liberal Art” I began to re-read my margin notes. His book has over one hundred bibliography entries and is a fantastic introduction to the multidisciplinary worldview of the market. One of my pencil scratches suggested that the market is a profound conversation. Hagstrom uses the word “puzzle” Read more about The Market is a Profound Conversation[…]
2021 Annual Meeting
The partners of Little Engine Ventures are invited to gather. We will confront our progress and blunders over the last 12 months and try to explain how our thinking has evolved since launch and where that may take us on our journey ahead. No questions are off limits. Come early. Stay late. Enjoy our city Read more about 2021 Annual Meeting[…]
The Appropriate Depth: A Leader’s Guide to Excellence in Small Business Ownership
Running a small business is challenging. I would argue that it is more challenging than running a larger organization. There are usually fewer resources (common excuse), but more importantly, there are fewer established procedures; or worse, there are well-established poor procedures. I like to look on the bright side and tend toward assigning a positive Read more about The Appropriate Depth: A Leader’s Guide to Excellence in Small Business Ownership[…]