How I led a tough negotiation to buy my business

And how did you react to that?

Look, it was early days, and I can be a bit of a fiery character, and some choice words were spoken. It was just beyond our control, really. You can go into something thinking you’ve got the best plan in the world, and then things like this can happen.

We’ve always approached our business like a game of chess, two or three moves in advance, and this was just something that came up.

So you just left the deal, then.

Yeah, the deal fell over, and we went on our merry way. But it was about a month later when I got a phone call, 10.30pm, and it was this same guy, basically grovelling after another deal went through. They asked if the deal was still on the table.

What do you say to someone in a situation like that?

After a few more choice words, I said the deal wasn’t on the table. Instead, I offered a figure which I could have paid on the credit card, and said he could keep the tax debt. I wanted the staff, entitlements, customers, and said they could have the business. I just wanted the assets.

How much time did you give him to think?

I gave him five minutes.

That’s not a lot!

Sometimes you do have to be ruthless and have the belief you’re making a good long-term decision. And to be honest, I was in a position where I had some power. They decided to take the offer.

What was the situation like when you took the business over?

The next day we went down, handed over the money. At that point, we had no external debt; we had a customer base, and a little bit of revenue. It wasn’t huge, but it was enough to start with, and it gave me three staff members – two of whom are still with me, and the other individual just retired earlier this year.

They were the major asset. Revenue was nice, but the best asset was the staff and employees which enabled us to get to where we are today. They’re a crucial part of our team here.

How do you even start to approach managing a business in that situation?

The thing is, people say never hold a grudge, but you do. You have to understand that things haven’t gone your way. I mean, we went from talking about a purchase of over $200,000 to in the mid-teens. You have to spot the opportunity there.

The other problem was that we had some tension with former suppliers with regard to agreements. We took over the business, but a lot of the suppliers didn’t see everything in the same way.

Do you think that’s the major lesson from the whole situation?

When you’re acquiring a business, you just have to be careful about that. That doesn’t mean the suppliers won’t be on your side, but you just have to go in with an open book. Just say, this is what happened, and we’re prepared to keep working. Suppliers just have to understand how you work.