🍺What We Can Learn from Brewing Beer.
Plus, business buyouts, stress relief, and TikTok tensions.
The Weekly from The Liquid Lunch Project, Issue No 109 | March 15, 2024
Our brand new Masterclass series kicks off NEXT WEEK! Have you signed up yet?
🚀 Get ready to skyrocket your productivity! Join us for an exclusive live training with Blaine Oelkers, America's ONLY Chief Results Officer, as he shares practical techniques to turn intentions into actions. Learn to conquer procrastination, prioritize tasks, and unleash your full potential. Plus, snag Blaine's insightful article on Eating Frogs and a FREE comprehensive list of strategies from "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy. Don't miss this chance to level up your productivity game – secure your spot now!
ON TAP THIS WEEK
👍🏽 Escape the Grind: Switch startup stress for a business buyout.
⚡From Brews to Utilities: How beer brewing can teach startups a bitter-sweet lesson in infrastructure.
🌒 SpaceX's Third Time's the Charm... hopefully.
🚫 But Who Will They Dance For? Congress clashes with China over TikTok.
🛒 The German’s (grocery stores) are Coming: ALDI is ready to dominate U.S. markets.
🛞 Don't Reinvent the Wheel: Tales from the trenches of entrepreneurship.
🌐 And from Around the Web: Feline fines, gum for stress, and small business strife.
THE CLASSROOM
Why Buying a Small Business Should Be Your Next Big Move
by Luigi Rosabianca
Dreaming of breaking free from the nine-to-five grind and charting your own path as an entrepreneur? You're not alone. But before you dive headfirst into the world of startups, consider this: purchasing an existing small business might just be the shortcut to success you've been searching for. In this guide, we'll explore why buying beats starting and provide you with a handy checklist to determine if you're ready to take the plunge into small business ownership.
**Pro tip: If you're serious about buying a business (as you should be), grab your copy of our best-selling book, "Buying the American Dream," over on Amazon. It's a comprehensive, step-by-step guide that takes you from A to Z of the business buying process!
HEARD ON THE STREET
🍻 Focus On What Makes Your Beer Taste Better
Once upon a time, European beer breweries had to rely on whatever mechanical power they could muster (watermills, windmills, elbow grease). Around the turn of the 20th century, electricity enabled these breweries to brew vastly more quantities of beer.
The first breweries, eager to benefit from this new technology, implemented their own power generators. It worked fine for a few years but was super capital-intensive. Then, the utility companies came along, and the next generation of breweries just rented the power from the utility companies, garnering huge economic advantages over the pioneer brewers.
Whoever makes your electricity has no impact on how your beer tastes. This adage can be applied to all startups by focusing on what makes your beer taste better.
There are two lessons here. One: You should focus on the attributes of your product that your customers will care about. The second: Being a utility company is an exceedingly great business; however, the manner in which the brewers utilized it could not be defensible and powerful.
If you can be a mission-critical piece of infrastructure that other companies can use, it’s a great place to be. Jeff Bezos famously used this analogy for his operations at AWS.
🚀 If at First You Don’t Succeed ….
A third launch of the most powerful rocket ever built was tentatively scheduled for yesterday, pending FAA approval. SpaceX hopes its mega-rocket accomplishes much more than prior versions during the first two test launches. In the first launch last April, the rocket was intentionally detonated four minutes into its flight. The second mission in November was more successful, although the rocket was again deliberately destroyed eight minutes into its flight following a mishap.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday issued SpaceX the launch license it needed to fly this Starship prototype after the company met all safety, environmental, policy, and financial responsibility requirements. Talk about playing it close to the vest. A few cogs got greased on this one!
NASA is relying on Starship to get humans back to the moon, so it’ll be eagerly looking for signs of progress. As exciting as these ventures are, it must be noted that maneuvering industries with high governmental regulations is difficult.
🚫 Tik Tok Tic Tac Toe
The uproar in Congress over the popular Chinese-owned social-media platform TikTok represents a steady evolution of tension between the world’s two biggest economies. The House of Representatives voted to ban TikTok in the U.S. or at least force it to sever ties with its Chinese parent, ByteDance.
The issue underscores the value of big data - not just for marketing but for national security. The concern among lawmakers is TikTok may be able to give the data harvested from its millions of users to someone else: the Chinese government. That data could then be used for nefarious purposes - spying or extortion. TikTok denies it is an agent of the Chinese state and claims it poses no greater risk to the U.S. than YouTube or Instagram - two American companies.
Is it? Anyone who’s seen an advertisement pop up on their phone for a product they might have casually talked about with friends understands how intrusive modern-day technology can be. To be fair, an app as widespread as TikTok might have become a worry for U.S. officials even if a close ally owned it, but the reason it’s a problem now is because of the emerging political rivalry with China. It’s a natural extension of then-president Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs of ‘18. That quickly moved on to semiconductors and telecom equipment.
The next flashpoint could be any area where there’s a gap between the two countries and room for one of them to play catch-up. Electric vehicles, as exemplified by the growing competition between Tesla and BYD, come to mind. So do pharmaceuticals or renewable energy. When the next front of the trade wars opens, there will surely be opportunities for all of you savvy investors.
🛒 Against The Grain
If you haven’t heard of ALDI, the big box discount grocer, that will soon change. The grocer is quietly investing $9B over the next five years to add 800 locations across the US. These 800 locations will consist of new stores and converted Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s Supermarket locations.
We have frequently reported to you nice folks about the trend away from monumental bog-box shops towards smaller, more human-sized specs for grocers and retailers. So, what do our German buddies at ALDI know that we don’t? Team ALDI is of the opinion consumers yearn for no-frills, inexpensive, eco-friendly solutions to shopping. Though the company already boasts a strong presence in the Midwest and the Northeast, ALDI said it will add about 330 new stores in those regions under the expansion plan. It is also aiming to grow its presence out West by adding more stores in Southern California and the Phoenix area, as well as introducing spots in new cities like Las Vegas.
For what it’s worth, ALDI has spread across Europe like, well - an efficient German hungry-hungry-hippo. If it can apply this same strategy to the states, Walmart and Amazon may have to put on the gloves. We love these business wars. Stay tuned…
THE MONEY MINUTE WITH MRM
Unlocking Small Business Success: Insider Tips from the Pros
with Matthew R. Meehan
Running a small business isn't easy. Entrepreneurs juggle tasks like crafting a business model, finding a location, securing funds, hiring staff, and managing sales and marketing. This article taps into the expertise of three small business owners to uncover their winning strategies for thriving in today's economy. From creating a legacy to prioritizing people over profit, these stories will inspire you to chase your dreams and thrive in the competitive landscape of small business ownership.
AROUND THE WEB
That's a Cat of a Different Color: The Worcester Public Library has taken a novel approach to late fees. In their "March Meowness" program, cat lovers and honorary cat enthusiasts alike can wipe their slate clean by submitting adorable cat pictures or drawings instead of paying their fines. If only everything could be resolved that easily. 😸
Here's Something to Chew On: Mars Wrigley's gum rebranding is like a breath of fresh air, or should we say, stress relief? Now, their gum isn't just for minty breath; it's your go-to tool for conquering life's mini meltdowns. So, next time you're feeling the pressure, pop a piece of gum and chew away your worries!
Small Biz Bust? The recent addition of 275,000 new jobs in February suggests economic growth, but new data from Intuit reveals a contrasting story for small businesses, with those employing nine or fewer workers shedding over 23,000 jobs. Small businesses face significant challenges, often overlooked by policymakers. But not by us! That's why we've launched our Happy Hour Masterclass series to help you navigate these hurdles and foster growth in a competitive landscape. First class kicks off Thursday, March 21. Click here to learn more, and thank us later.
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