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Warren Buffett’s Advice On Creating A Valuable Business

February 15, 2019 |  

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Turning business down can be tough for an entrepreneur, but Mitch Durfee learned the hard way that saying ‘yes’ can lead to disaster.

Warren Buffett invests in companies with a “competitive moat” which he defines as a durable competitive advantage. Most founders start with a unique idea for their business which becomes diluted as the owner chases revenue at the expense of their original vision.

Take Mitch Durfee for example. Durfee started Grunts Move Junk, a junk removal and moving company, to help his local community and provide his fellow veterans with a job upon returning from deployment.

But while the business was generating $1.4 million in annual revenue after just two years, Durfee was also losing sight of his initial vision. Durfee was trying to please his customers by offering services completely outside of his original business idea. A 7-figure revenue looked nice on paper, but Durfee was racking up $100,000 in debt, stretching his 20-employee team too thin and struggling to keep up with payroll.

To an acquirer, the business was worthless.

After hitting rock bottom, Durfee made one critical decision that completely rebuilt his company and enabled him to sell Grunts Move Junk successfully last year.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • One key decision with the power to transform your company
  • Why a fast-growing business can still be worthless
  • How you might need to scale back your business in order to boost its value

Durfee re-tooled by picking one service where he had what Warren Buffett refers to as a competitive moat. Figuring out your moat is something we’ll help you with in module two of The Value Builder System™. Get started for free right now by getting your Value Builder Score.

Check out our article on The #1 Hiring Mistake Small Business Owners Make.

Check out our full M&A Glossary

About Our Guest

Mitch Durfee is a US Army Combat Veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and several other countries around the world. While overseas, Durfee learned strategies that he incorporated into his professional career after service. These strategies allowed Mitch Durfee to create, scale and sell his company in only a few short years. More Importantly was that, by leading with service to others, he was able to significantly impact the lives of thousands through donations, community events, and other philanthropic work.

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