Well, kinda.
The only business book I ever found that I thought was worth reading was Growing a Business, by Paul Hawken, who started a little gardening store.
Which grew into a giant gardening store, apparently.
From KeyPoint Partner's Retail Roundup:
"Smith & Hawken will call in the liquidators for its 56 stores unless the corporate parent of the premium gardening chain and catalog company reaches a last-minute deal with potential buyers, according to sources close to the negotiations."
Looks like Mr. Hawken cashed out long ago, however, since it's owned by conglomerate, Scotts.
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Interesting to me how much my business parallels both motel room tax receipts and airport debarking.
I first noticed this during the 9/11 aftermath when my store dropped almost exactly the same as the Redmond airport.
According to this mornings Bulletin: "Bend room-tax collections fell 19.5 percent below May 2008..." "For the fiscal year to date, from July 1, 2008 through May, collections are off 14.8 percent..."
I'll be willing to bet that if you took July and August and September out of those numbers, it would be closer to 20% than 15%, which is almost exactly my results.
Makes sense -- you can't make money from people who never showed up....
**********
Still too early for someone to make the statement, "I believe it's flattened -- it won't recover tomorrow -- but it won't get any worse as far as real estate pricing..." Scott Baklenko, co-founder and managering director of Castle Advisors.
I'd advise him to come down out of his ivory 'Castle' and look around.
Or just go to Bend Economy Bulletin Board and check the daily listings of price changes. Pretty much universally downward, still.
He gives himself a five year timeline, which MIGHT be enough, but it'll be close.
On the other hand, he did buy Tuscany Pines for $2.75, down just.....a tad...just a bit from the 11.4 million that original owners paid. (I'm unclear if that 11.4 million was before or after development.)
Just a little bit, you know....something like 75%. But as I always say to myself when ordering at the store, it doesn't matter how cheap something is if no one buys it.
Somebody took a shave cut that took off most of the top of their head. Hell, it took their head and half their trunk. Why do I keep hearing the name Umpqua Bank in these money losing deals....?
I don't know, somehow their "boutique" bank at Northwest Crossing offended my puritan leanings.
The only business book I ever found that I thought was worth reading was Growing a Business, by Paul Hawken, who started a little gardening store.
Which grew into a giant gardening store, apparently.
From KeyPoint Partner's Retail Roundup:
"Smith & Hawken will call in the liquidators for its 56 stores unless the corporate parent of the premium gardening chain and catalog company reaches a last-minute deal with potential buyers, according to sources close to the negotiations."
Looks like Mr. Hawken cashed out long ago, however, since it's owned by conglomerate, Scotts.
**********
Interesting to me how much my business parallels both motel room tax receipts and airport debarking.
I first noticed this during the 9/11 aftermath when my store dropped almost exactly the same as the Redmond airport.
According to this mornings Bulletin: "Bend room-tax collections fell 19.5 percent below May 2008..." "For the fiscal year to date, from July 1, 2008 through May, collections are off 14.8 percent..."
I'll be willing to bet that if you took July and August and September out of those numbers, it would be closer to 20% than 15%, which is almost exactly my results.
Makes sense -- you can't make money from people who never showed up....
**********
Still too early for someone to make the statement, "I believe it's flattened -- it won't recover tomorrow -- but it won't get any worse as far as real estate pricing..." Scott Baklenko, co-founder and managering director of Castle Advisors.
I'd advise him to come down out of his ivory 'Castle' and look around.
Or just go to Bend Economy Bulletin Board and check the daily listings of price changes. Pretty much universally downward, still.
He gives himself a five year timeline, which MIGHT be enough, but it'll be close.
On the other hand, he did buy Tuscany Pines for $2.75, down just.....a tad...just a bit from the 11.4 million that original owners paid. (I'm unclear if that 11.4 million was before or after development.)
Just a little bit, you know....something like 75%. But as I always say to myself when ordering at the store, it doesn't matter how cheap something is if no one buys it.
Somebody took a shave cut that took off most of the top of their head. Hell, it took their head and half their trunk. Why do I keep hearing the name Umpqua Bank in these money losing deals....?
I don't know, somehow their "boutique" bank at Northwest Crossing offended my puritan leanings.