http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
d-bar-j hat co throws its hat in the ring
Fifty percent of all small businesses in the United States are owned by someone age 50 or older. The wave of aging business owners is predicted to increase the supply of businesses for sale, which is an opportunity for students to become business owners through acquisition. The case presents the facts of a business for sale and invites students to consider the unique perspectives of both the seller, and three primary types of buyers: (1) lifestyle or owner-operator acquirer, (2) the acquirer entrepreneur, and (3) strategic acquirer. David Johnson, the owner of the storied maker of cowboy hats, D-Bar-J Hat, is aging, and his health is declining. The business has been listed on the website bizbuysell.com since 2018, and the facts presented in the case are all garnered from publicly available sources. The case offers opportunities for discussions around how, when, and if entrepreneurs can envision the two finish lines of ownership: their own end and the business. This also opens the opportunity for either broad or deep conversations about where students can find businesses for sale, what adds to and detracts from the value of the business, including barriers to entry and potential for disruption, substitutions, location, and what each type of buyer looks for in an acquisition. Students will be asked to evaluate the complexities that arise for the retiring owner through adopting the different perspectives (presented as avatars) of small business acquirers. In deciding if B-Bar-J Hat is a sound acquisition target, students will analyze a mature industry and evaluate opportunities to apply a fresh business model to a long-standing business.