Check out Boomerang Business Owners Sell Shop, Then Buy It Back

Sell the Store, The Buy It Back

by Emily Maltby
Wall Street Journal / WSJ.com Small Business Online
November 11, 2010

Call them "boomerang" business owners.

A handful of entrepreneurs who sold during flush times are repurchasing their old companies for cheaper prices, hoping they can resuscitate the now ailing businesses.

Dave McCarthy, who says he was tired of the day-to-day stress of running his own hand-crafted furniture business, Eldred Wheeler in Hanover, Mass., decided six years ago to sell the shop for between $5 million and $10 million in cash.

But he regretted the decision almost immediately, he says. "I should have gone on vacation rather than selling."

Then Mr McCarthy, who had since bought a candy company that he still runs, noticed last year that the economy had taken a toll on Eldred Wheeler, forcing its owners to severely cut staff and operations. He decided the opportunity was ripe, and bought back his old company for less than $1 million.

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Check out this interesting marketing technique...

WEB REVIEW: With Groupon and its ilk, daily deals drive demand
By Jim Cota
IBJ.com
October 30, 2010

A few months ago, something interesting happened.

A small company in Chicago called Groupon sent out an e-mail offering to sell a Gap gift card with a $50 value for $25. It was part of a marketing campaign - fully endorsed by Gap, by the way - to test the waters with a national campaign of this type. With no prior frame of reference, neither Groupon nor Gap had any idea what to expect, but I think it's fair to assume the results exceeded their wildest aspirations...

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