We got the word yesterday that we placed second in the bidding to assume contol of the operations of the Atlantic Hotel and Solstice Restaurant. While this is not specifically a "wine" thing, it is close enough in my opinion to rate some discussion.
The winning bid came from a local multi-millionaire who owns several hotels and restaurants locally and on the Gulf Coast. He visited the property on Sunday and made his offer on Tuesday: money will help you with that. He was certainly more nimble than we were.
Two other bidders were rated below our offer. The owner's representative said that our culinary expertise rated us tops in that category, but the rich guy's money trumps expertise seven days a week.
So what did we learn?
- Be nimble.
- Have a great attorney. We had an average one.
- Have your business plan ready before the opportunity arises. Yes. I know how this sounds, but it is true.
- Have your financial "angels" line up in advance.
Bottom line: Great experience and we are sure to better next time a similiar opportunity avails itself.
Hey Brother! Sorry to hear about the one that got away. Good to see you're taking some important lessons away...I'll see if I can apply them to my life.
ReplyDeleteBJ