Poll: Would you sell out?

The term "selling out" in this context implies a negative tone which I suggest is misplaced. The owners of a private business have an absolute right to dispose of it in any manner that conforms with their own financial affairs and estate planning. They are certainly under no obligation to me irrespective of my opinion.

 

Maybe? It depends on a lot of things. How old am I? Do I have somebody I trust to continue on my vision when I can't continue managing the company? Just how much money is being offered?

I'd lean towards no, but at some point a certain amount of money would have me thinking. Not that money is everything in life, but what that money would allow me to do for my family and myself.

And what restrictions would there be on selling and starting something new?

 

Everyone wants to say no. It's easy to say no when you're sitting in front of a computer enjoying a beer.

 

Depends on how successful the business I built has become, combined with the amount of time I have put in since I started the business. If we're talking GI, Lagunitas, or Ballast Point levels of success, I would absolutely sell to the highest bidder. Why, you might ask? Because if I can ensure my family's financial well-being for at least a couple of generations, after putting in 50,000+ hours (based on a 40hr work week, equates to ~24 years) and who know how much money, why the hell would I not take the money and run after putting so much effort into growing a successful business. All the bitching and moaning that seems to be taking place on this site seems to be coming from people who don't understand how economics works.

 

Just because I voted yes doesn't mean I'm not saddened when others do it.

 

Interestingly at this point in time the majority have been saying "Yes."

(We'll see what emerges after the poll has been up for a while. :-))

 

I think the point being made is that numerous folks said they wouldn't sell out in the previous sell-out threads, and failed to substantiate their claims there. That implication of how they'd handle a hypothetical decision is rather hard to believe considering it evoked no emotion, and very little effort to type that up.

Clicking a "yes" or "no" doesn't do us much good either. It's interesting, and trivial at best to see how folks respond, but as I emphasized in the thread where this was brought up - it still doesn't prove anything beyond perhaps the honesty of some people. The emotion of selling something you branded and worked tirelessly to grow is much, much different then responding to a poll in an anonymous, online setting.

 

I am actually rather surprised by the current poll situation.

So far we have 21 votes:
- 19 votes are "yes"
- 3 votes are "no"

I'm curious how this poll will play out, but more so - I'd like to hear the reasons why people would or would not sell out.

 

I can't really say yes or no - it depends on a lot of things.
The business itself, what projections look to be, how old am I, would I want to pass it to family or to a partner, employee and so forth,
It would depend on if I had achieved what I wanted to with the company.
And of course, the money involved. If I had a little 25,000 barrel brewery and someone waved 9 or 10 digits to the left of the decimal, it would be really hard to turn it down. Also that would start depending on the sales contract itself, and if there was non-competes involved and so forth.

 

Huh?

 

To play along more than my initial response... I currently am working at a brewery that has no intention of getting larger than the distribution cap allowed for self distribution in Arizona. We value our quality of lives and quality of beer very highly. It appears that we will be profitable in year one, we are having a blast, and when we reach our production cap, I'll still have a great quality of life. I'm the only person that touches the beer and equipment from brewday to packaging and then we have taproom employees and a delivery driver. I can brew the amount of beer allowed for our cap and still have plenty of time with my wife, dogs, and time spent in the Arizona outdoors. I would not want to sell this brewery as this is my dream job exactly as it is. I couldn't be possibly be happier here.

My last brewery, we were brewing way more, I was working over 60 hours a week on average (and frequently working over 80 hours per week) in a hot warehouse, everything was manual, it took it's toll on my personal life, and it was stressful... I still loved the brewery, the owners, and my employees, but that was not what I wanted to get out of my career when I started in the industry. If a big brewery were to make an offer, I would have been 100% in favor of a sale.

 

Compared with the emotion of selling your company, brand, name, etc.

Whether or not emotion should play a roll in large business decisions, it still does to some degree for various leaders. I have a hard time believing at least a majority of the folks saying they wouldn't sell out have considered the point of view of the owner of the brewery facing this decision, the emotions, the financial changes, the opportunity for growth beyond a small distribution ring, etc. If that owner's goal was to make beer on the east coast, and sell it all the way on the west coast, the opportunity to distribute through ready channels may evoke some emotion since they're finally realizing their dreams. Then again, it may go vehemently against their beliefs as an owner to be pulled ahead by someone else, and cause a clash in their emotions and a cause to pause before selling.

Quick edit: breweries selling out strikes an emotional chord with a lot of readers and posters here, so my wording may have not been the most ideal. My point is folks tend to overlook the emotion and perspective of the owner of the company, and instead only reflect their own personal emotion. Perhaps they did consider the other side and still said what they thought, but I didn't read many posts that included that info in their response.

 

I think what bothers a lot of people (myself included) is not the "selling out" but the disingenuous reasons given by many brewers who do so. Jacob from Modern Times has already written an excellent essay on this (http://moderntimesbeer.com/blog/what-selling-out), which I won't try to paraphrase. What would be refreshing is someone just admitting, "I did it for the money," a highly defensible reason, rather than claiming the benefits of greater distro, improved quality, etc.

 

I'd sell out in a heartbeat because the thought of creating and operating a business doesn't appeal to me.

And since the thought of creating and operating a business doesn't appeal to me, I'll never get the chance to sell out.

 

If I could be guaranteed that my current clientele would remain loyal for the next 5-20 years, then perhaps I could safely say no, I wouldn't sell out. Beer geeks are notoriously not brand-loyal, however, so who is to say if what is hot now will remain that way. Heck, Sierra Nevada is still family-owned as as sustainable and ethical as they come, but they are losing market share and revenue as beer geeks move on to the next latest, greatest thing.