Thursday, April 19, 2012

Slow, steady growth.

To me, it's pointless to read or listen to interviews with politicians -- of any stripe. They have a ready made cache of cliches and they use them mercilessly with a smile.

Same with sports figures.

Unfortunately, the same with most business leaders. There is an unwillingness to say anything beyond the obvious. I used to read these interviews hoping for an insight, for something I didn't already know. I've given up.

Why there is such a journalistic industry of such interviews is beyond me. Probably just need to fill the space and air.

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Somebody wrote an article about why good restaurants become average over time.

Most of the reasons stated could just as easily be attributed to most businesses. The owner starts to slack off, the newness wears off, and so on.

Personally, I think business is more like a cycle -- sometimes everyone will think you're great, sometimes they'll dislike you. And sometimes for the exact same reasons. A truly long lived business just hangs in there, and it all evens out in the end.

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So now it's up to me to say something that isn't obvious?

Woke up really groggy this morning. I swear the next time I think of something that contradicts the common wisdom, I'll post it.

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The usual Spring push for a housing recovery is here.

All I'll say this time is -- the fact that it isn't dropping precipitously anymore is not the same thing as a recovery...

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Usually, my business has been at the center of whatever chaos was in my life. A constant struggle to make it work.

So it's sort of strange to have the business working finally at a nice even level, and the chaos being in other parts of my life. (Not that I have that much chaos -- I'm lucky right now that things are going well. Knock wood.)

There are times of rapid growth, times of rapid decline, times of stagnation, and times like now where the business is making incremental improvements, month to month, and that is the best situation to be in. Rapid growth would seem to be even better -- except there is always a price to pay. Give me slow, steady growth any day.

11 comments:

H. Bruce Miller said...

"The usual Spring push for a housing recovery is here." Yeah. Talk about businessmen uttering banalities.

"There will be growth in the spring." -- Chance the Gardener, "Being There"

Bewert said...

HB, one of my favorite movies of all time!

Thought you all might get this: http://www.cascadebusnews.com/news-pages/e-headlines/2173-hollern-hollern-real-estate-developer-with-vision

Anonymous said...

Spewert, I thought you went away. Far, far away. Aren't you in Jewtah or something? Well why don't you keep yourself, and your comments, down there? Hmmm? Now be a good boy and run along.

Anonymous said...

Probably the best comment is the one about restaurants. Problem is the same sack of Shit kids that worn out cougars working food slut biz of Bend. What is new and for how long? Same people different place, How long before boss is snorting coke, more than working and boning 1/2 the staff, and then who works?
Basically all Bend food joints end the same, unless of course the owner is a eunch or comic store owner.

Anonymous said...

Now is an election year, the pump is primed.

2014 will be holy fucking end of the world shit.

A few predictions. End of capitals gains, end of home mtg interest deduction. End of financing. End of employment.

Return to 2007 levels of pricing in 2030.

HBM will still be in Bend waiting to sell, the day he sell's he'll drop dead, and be buried in Hawaii.

Bewert will return with man-wife to retire.

The bottom will be 2014-2016, but that bottom will be slow and painful. Fuel costs will sky-rocket, trips to Bend over from the valley SEA or PDX or EUG will only be for the rich, who already have homes in Bend, ... hotels will plummet in Bend.

Now print it bitches, ... and deal with the truth.

Anonymous said...

"spring" ... shit this is a typical HBM spring, ... fucking snow,...

Spring? Try July, ... its Bend.

But yeh, go ahead and talk spring, ... I have to admit there are now more yuppy beer bars in Bend than anything, but can you really build a culture and village around 20-40 year old alcoholics? They come over to Bend for what? Yeh, they came from CALI to open a brewery, ... seen this before.

How many poor disillusioned souls will have to lose their life savings on this horrible fucking myth of 'paradise', ... and HBM Spring say's it all. Will they sell condo's to suckers?

Feel Good, Its and OBAMA year, but next year OBAMA will fuck 'rich' and good and that means 40% that aren't on welfare.

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Today 56% of the USA public gets a check from the luv-guv, which means 43% pay the fucking bill, those 43% are about to get the biggest fucking haircut of their life savings in history. Impetus to save? The USA will become the the biggest nation of unemployed wage slaves on earth.

Anonymous said...

"HBM will still be in Bend waiting to sell, the day he sell's he'll drop dead, and be buried in Hawaii."

I laughed my ass off over this - good one! Bruce does seem to have a fascination with Bend, doesn't he?

H. Bruce Miller said...

"HBM will still be in Bend waiting to sell, the day he sell's he'll drop dead, and be buried in Hawaii."

HA! Yes, the shock of actually selling a house in Bend might well kill me.

I won't be buried in Hawaii, but I have requested that my ashes be scattered in the Pacific there.

H. Bruce Miller said...

Bewert: CBN never prints anything but "positive" news, and publishes "positive" stories in exchange for ad buys. Don't understand how it survives, except that our local businesspersons like to read fawning stories about themselves.

H. Bruce Miller said...

"end of home mtg interest deduction"

Won't happen; real estate lobby is much too powerful. The most I can see happening is elimination or reduction of the deduction for second homes.

Anonymous said...

HBM,

I really think there will be lots of change, you really don't see the magnitude and anger of the austerity, also once home-ownership drops below 50% and it will from the 2007 high of 70% then there is no reason for a mtg ded, and once capital gains goes from 15% currently to 60% as BUFFET wants,... then that will also put the nail in the coffin on real estate.

Its coming, and its a cyclic historical fact.

Real Estate will be blamed for the 2008-2030 depression, Greatest Depression in world history, .. and the lobbyists don't have a fucking chance, besides the real estate lobby is dying a slow death, most realtors I know have been eating canned beans for 5 years now, and most will be out in the next 5 years, once there are no realtors who in the fuck will there to be to lobby for mtg ded?