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BUY THEN BUILD

HOW ACQUISITION ENTREPRENEURS OUTSMART THE STARTUP GAME

A deftly written, exceedingly thorough, and highly informative business guide.

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An entrepreneur/investor delivers a solid approach to business ownership.

Early on in this impressive debut, Deibel sets up his enticing argument, advising that “the startup phase is a company killer” and proposing “a path that could bypass the startup phase altogether.” His concept, “acquisition entrepreneurship,” involves buying an existing business and growing it instead of starting from scratch. On the surface, this may not seem like much of a revelation, but the author, who has acquired seven companies, claims the idea “hasn’t penetrated the entrepreneurship community much beyond the elite universities.” For those entrepreneurs intrigued by the idea, this book is a top-notch, start-to-finish, comprehensive manual. Divided into four parts (Opportunity, Evaluation, Analysis, and Execution), this smart volume covers all the bases, offering a complete plan for exactly how to go about finding a company to buy, making an offer, purchasing the business, and transitioning ownership. Deibel uses his own experiences, supplemented by research and interviews, to present a substantive case for his entrepreneurial method. The guide is an excellent blend of strategy and how-to with liberal doses of both. For example, it explores the strategic potential of buying a company from baby boomers, who “are already selling off their established, successful small businesses at record rates.” On the tactical side, the work runs through the specifics of how to define a target company by identifying an “opportunity profile” and creating a “target statement.” In the section on analyzing a potential acquisition, the author’s strength as an investor shines through as he carefully walks readers through the basics of evaluating a business, analyzing financial statements, and valuing a company. This part of the book should help to demystify the business valuation process for many entrepreneurs. Of great benefit is a chapter that delves into the mindset of the seller. Here, the author provides several techniques for the buyer to engage in meaningful, nonthreatening conversations with the seller. There isn’t much lacking in this work; the manual wraps up with all the steps involved in executing a sale and closes with a useful three-month plan for ownership transition.

A deftly written, exceedingly thorough, and highly informative business guide.

Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5445-0113-0

Page Count: 310

Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing

Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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