Welcome: Plan for the future
by Clair Urbain
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
That’s a quote I heard from marketing gurus early on in my career, and over the years, I have seen it play out several times. In some cases, the planning upfront secured success, whereas the seat-of-the-pants operators often ended up on the red side of the balance sheet.
One gentleman I worked with would often exclaim, “Of all the rotten luck!” when things went south, often because he didn’t look ahead. I’d bite my tongue as events played out that spelled trouble and decreased sales and future business prospects. Hindsight showed repeatedly that the failure to look forward -- and backward -- often lead to these ill-fated steps.
In this issue’s Rental Center feature about Burris Equipment, we share how this fourth-generation equipment sales, service and rental center completed its due diligence in planning its succession from the third to fourth generation. It turns out that partnering with a larger entity, Alta Equipment, which has 80 locations in 15 states and three Canadian provinces, was the best option. Burris Equipment has a very strong brand name in the Chicago metro area and will continue to operate under that name.
Burris Equipment carefully evaluated its options and came up with a win-win proposition that ensures it has the horsepower and financial backing to help it compete in the increasingly competitive Chicago area. Management’s planning and tenacity assured a soft landing for the third-generation owners and a great future for the fourth generation of managers.
This article first appeared in the March-April 2024 issue of Pro Contractor Rentals magazine. ©2024 Urbain Communications LLC. All rights reserved.
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