This is Chenmark

We typically have very full days. Our calendars are scheduled—often weeks in advance—and we have specific things we want to accomplish on a daily and weekly basis. We try to get as much rest as possible over the weekend and evenings to ensure we approach each day with the drive and energy needed to accomplish our longer term goals.

Chenmark is in the business of acquiring and operating small businesses. On the deal side, we spend our days looking at new acquisition opportunities, putting together deal models, negotiating purchase prices, securing debt financing, and reviewing legal documents. On the operational side, we spend our days hiring (and sometimes firing) talent, nurturing sales relationships, implementing new tech systems, collecting cash and paying invoices, evaluating equipment purchases, and developing marketing programs (among other things).

As parents of young children, we find ourselves reminding our children on almost a daily basis that the most powerful word in the English language is “yet”. I can’t play soccer. Yet. I can’t do math. Yet. I can’t read. Yet. I don’t have any friends. Yet. I don’t have enough princess dresses. Good news. You can grow up, get a job and buy some for yourself.

Every year, we work through budgeting at a number of companies. While occasionally we are able to forecast significant positive improvement in a single line item, more often than not, our challenge is to push for progress in areas where operations already seem to be functioning pretty well.

We recently joked that some members of our team only read books with titles like “How To Win and Lead People…from a Military Perspective…but for Business”.  Kidding aside, to follow up on last week’s military focus, we recently listened to a TB12 Keep Going podcast with former Special Forces Green Beret Kevin Flike.  For those unfamiliar, his story of overcoming challenge is inspiring and worth digging into. 

We recently took some time to re-read Admiral William McRaven’s 2017 Best-Seller, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change your Life… And Maybe the World. An easy read, the book goes into more detail on the themes outlined in McRaven’s iconic 2014 University of Texas at Austin Commencement Address.

A little over a year ago, we started listening to My First Million, a podcast hosted by entrepreneurs Shaan Puri and Sam Parr. For those unfamiliar, the podcast explores business ventures – successful and not so successful – of all varieties in a candid and understandable demeanor.

Earlier this year, we reposted an article we wrote in 2016 about the origins of averages. Spoiler alert: averages are best used with caution, and one can still drown in a pool of water that is, on average, six inches deep. Getting comfortable with deviations from the mean is where danger—and opportunity—lie, a reality we believe should be acknowledged accordingly.