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View Full Version : The story of Alltrans, Inc.....



Donziweasel
03-20-2008, 07:50 AM
On the car dealer thread I was asked about the sale of Alltrans, Inc. and gave a condensed version which I guess was not very exciting. Since I have already told Madpoodle most of it, I guess I will throw out what really happened.

After a year and a half of having it out there for sale, my real estate agent had pretty much burned through all my buyers except 2. About a month ago, the first buyer said he was putting in an offer that afternoon and the next day said he was not interested and disappeared. What the hell? SO, we are down to one buyer. His family are billionaires and buy and sell businesses like eating M&M's. About a week later, same thing, said he was putting in a bid and then the next day said he was not interested anymore and disappeared. WHat the hell?

This was around the time of the Boyd Coddington thread when I flipped. Now you know the real reason I was so upset, it wasn't getting neg rep points, it was losing the deal. Anyway, after sulking for a few days, I got pissed again and decided to call the buyers agent directly. I asked why the buyer left the table and he said my agent had really upset him. I was already thinking that after burning through so many buyers, perhaps my agent was doing something wrong. He wouldn't elaborate out of professionalism, and I didn't push it. I told him I had no idea and would the buyer work directly with me. More happened, but let's just say I got humble and catered to his ego.

I finally got on offer out of him 2 weeks ago. When all was said and done (commissions, taxes, debt...) I would have walked with about 1.5 million. I told him I needed a few days to crunch numbers and think about it. I spent all weekend crunching numbers, talking with Boo Boo, and my father. He is a senior VP at Wachovia and a stock broker. Although we are very different people, he has always given me sound financial advice. It is funny how things hit you. I was in turmoil about what to do, not sleeping, not eating, and decided to take a hot tub, and while relaxing looking at the deer in my yard, it suddenly hit me. Keep it! It felt like the weight of the world came off my shoulders. I knew what to do. Here are the reasons I kept it-

1. Boo Boo- She sold her business last fall and started working at Alltrans, Inc. this winter. She is young, technologically savy and aggresive. She has been a breath of fresh air and is already incorporating new technology and systems that are far more efficient that previous systems.

2. Jackson might be one of the hottest destinations in the country right now, and with the weak dollar, many people are going to travel domestically this summer. Our summer advanced reservations are up 25% over last summer at this time, including many weddings and corporate incentive groups, where the big money is.

3. This winter has been me best winter ever. You could probably ask 10 different tourists why they came here this winter and get 10 different answers, but in reallity, a record snow year with a soft winter last year is probably the most dominant reason.

4. We get our tram back next year. I know this sounds like a hokey reason, but two years ago, the last year of our old tram, was a record year. I have spoken with some hotel owners and they have told me they are already booking next winter so heavily that it is insane. No one has ever seen advanced reservations go off like this 8 months prior to a season.

5. Land- In 7 more years the land Alltrans, Inc. sits on and that I own, will be paid off. It is appreciating at 1 1/4% monthly. It is already worth millions. Going to double my efforts to pay it down or off in the next few years.

6. Jackson is growing and has been through housing crunches and recessions before without a damn thing affecting it. It seems bullit proof to a soft economy. More houses and hotels are being built now than ever before and more people are coming to visit than ever.

7. Finally- The offer was not enough to retire on. I would have to go back to work in a couple of years. I have done this for 13 years and I am damn good at it. I took a small 13 vehicle company on the verge on bankruptcy and turned it into the largest transportation company in Wyoming. I also made it a profitable multi-million dollar company. I make a good living, take a lot of time off and can accomplish my immediate goals (the Lazy P) as the owner. Although it drives me crazy from time to time, it has gotten much better as Boo Boo runs blocker now for much of the stuff that pissed me off.

Well, thats it. It has been two weeks since I turned down the offer and have never felt better. I am digging in my heals, expanding my company, and when I can get what I need to retire, I will throw it our there again. I figure it will take me 2-3 more years. The next 12 months are going to be epic and I only see a bright future for me, my family and Alltrans, Inc./Gray Line of Jackson Hole!

chappy
03-20-2008, 08:04 AM
That's a good story John, sounds like you made the correct decision, and the future looks bright.:yes:

Donziweasel
03-20-2008, 08:08 AM
Thanks Chappy, I do need to here that every once in a while. The only person who does not support my decision is my banker, who thinks I am crazy. I have found that banks seem to deal in the here and now and do not like to speculate very much, especially in a soft recession with a weak dollar. It is actually the banker doing the Lazy P deal, not the ones who handle my business accounts. Oh well.....

I am going to have to tighten the belt some. Biggest loss- no new 18 Classic this spring. OH well, the 16, with the help of many on the boards, is running great.

Carl C
03-20-2008, 08:25 AM
I would have walked with about 1.5 million.

7. Finally- The offer was not enough to retire on. :confused::confused: I could retire nicely with a mil and a half. Maybe I am not as high maintenance. No problem since I have been semi-retired since 1993 anyway.

Donziweasel
03-20-2008, 08:37 AM
Carl, trust me, walking away from 1.5 million was not easy. The reason I could not retire is what the Lazy P will cost and the cost of living in JH. It is very expensive to live here. Plus, all the things the business pays for, insurance, fuel, etc... would be on my tab now.

gcarter
03-20-2008, 11:02 AM
Elaine and I received an offer on our business several years ago. It was funny in a way because every time things get tough we would talk between our selves about how good it would be to have a buyer. So, this guy comes along and wants to buy us out. He seemed to have a deadline, the end of the year...about six away, to do it. Maybe it was for tax reasons.
Anyway, we felt a little rushed, so we asked for two weeks to think about it. We finally came to the same conclusion you did, although I was already 60 years old. It wasn't enough to retire on (it cost a LOT to retire), I was too young to retire, we'd have to keep working, etc.
The following year, we wondered if we'd made the right decision as things got even more challenging w/personnel problems, etc.
Eventually, we came to a decision we owned a gold mine, we just needed to manage it differently. We started looking for key personnel to run the business for us so that we could back off a bit and enjoy the fruits of 20 years of effort.
So far, we are making a lot of progress hiring and training those people.
If you're interested in what our inspiration was, we heard about a book titled "E Myth"....actually there are several books in a series about entrepreneurism. How most business owners aren't entrepreneurs, but craftsmen in a particular trade, but they take on the tasks of running a business. And how they usually aren't very good at it. Because a true entrepreneur doesn't get bogged in the day to day operations of making sure every detail is done.
Pretty interesting ideas there. Check it out.

Donziweasel
03-20-2008, 11:52 AM
Thanks for the words of encouragement George. Glad to know you think I did the right thing. Will definetly try and find that book.

I am not sure what happened today, but after posting this thread, my real estate agent called. Haven't spoken to him since before the last buyer bolted. An old buyer, who I actually liked, is back. Told my agent that I had pretty much resigned myself to keeping it and had ordered a bunch of equipment. I also told him I would entertain any offer, but don't even bother unless I can walk with 2.5. What the hell? Decide to keep it, and bang, buyer. Oh well!

Wonder if he reads Donzi.net?

mjw930
03-20-2008, 12:27 PM
Thanks for the words of encouragement George. Glad to know you think I did the right thing. Will definetly try and find that book.

I am not sure what happened today, but after posting this thread, my real estate agent called. Haven't spoken to him since before the last buyer bolted. An old buyer, who I actually liked, is back. Told my agent that I had pretty much resigned myself to keeping it and had ordered a bunch of equipment. I also told him I would entertain any offer, but don't even bother unless I can walk with 2.5. What the hell? Decide to keep it, and bang, buyer. Oh well!

Wonder if he reads Donzi.net?

DW,

It's karma throwing you a curve ball to make sure you are comfortable with your decision. :angel:

Personally, I think you are doing the right thing. If you have the business to support buying a new coach as well as the other equipment then there's still a lot of room for growth and you should reap those rewards, not a new buyer off the street. Alltrans will probably never be worth less than it is today so even if you work in another 2 or 3 years and sell it for what you were offered today you are still ahead of the game. Regardless, unless you screw it up it should be worth substantially more down the road.

As George said, don't be afraid to bring in the right help to grow the business. People who start something up are rarely equipped or even interested in the day to day maintenance of the business, nor should they be because it's not their strong suit.

Barry Eller
03-20-2008, 12:29 PM
If you ever sell your business, you should consider becoming a Car Dealer!:wink:

Donziweasel
03-20-2008, 12:45 PM
Barry, the funny thing is, that I actaully thought about that, or Real Estate. Then I realized that in business, I have too much of a temper and would probably not sell much!:wink::smash: I would hate it if I had to punch out a customer!:wink::wink::wink:

wrussellw
03-21-2008, 11:36 AM
Why do you have a Real Estate broker handling the sale of your business?

Donziweasel
03-21-2008, 11:52 AM
There are no Business Brokers in JH. There is only one in the entire state and he is 500 miles away. Real Estate of Jackson Hole is part of Christie's (auction house) and offers commercial services.

Though about being a business broker if I sold as well!

Marlin275
03-21-2008, 04:01 PM
You are lucky you didn't sell your business.
I just saw on TV today (CNBC?) that there are only three states in the whole country with job growth.

Texas
North Carolina
Wyoming

And Wyoming is growing with transportation services.
You are in the right business
in the right place
at the right time!

Donziweasel
03-21-2008, 04:47 PM
Thanks Marlin, still think about what I gave up sometimes. As far as growth in Wyoming, I would like to think it is the tourism industry, but it is probably the oil and gas industry. I was just talking today with Buiz on the phone about how it has exploded in the past four years. Still, nice to know my State is doing ok.