We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bob Spurlock a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Bob, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
Life is full of adventures, also coming to that proverbial fork in the road moments. Don’t be afraid to take that chance.
That happened to me when during working for a fortune 100 company in the corporate world. During that last year, the company decided to go through a corporate restructuring. I was presented with several options. Door #1 – Stay with the company and move to the corporate headquarters in New Jersey (I lived in Dallas, Texas). Door #2 – Move to another area of the United States and oversea a regional office. I then asked “What is behind Door #3?” That door was an offer to take a severance package with benefits. At that time, I decided to think, well, what do you want to do? I was a former collegiate golfer who had some success as an amateur, so I thought, what about moving to Florida and pursuing a playing career in golf or another occupation in the golf industry. As I was contemplating that possible move, as fate would have it, a former client of mine from the corporate word, contacted me about selling their company. After thinking about that for a few days, I decided to launch my own merger and acquisition firm, The Spurlock Group here in Dallas, Texas. No benefits, no one matching your 401K, just reaping what you sew so to speak. Now here we are 25 years later and still choosing to do what we want.
Being self employed also allowed my the opportunity to start my own charitable foundation with a couple former high school classmates and my former high school golf coach. The foundation called the Mascoutah Alumni and Friends Scholarship, who’s main purpose is raising resources/funds to help graduating students of Mascoutah High School in Mascoutah, Illinois. Our main fundraiser is a golf event held each year during the towns homecoming festivities. To date we have been able the award almost $200K to 125+ students wanting to further their education by attending a college, university, trade school or enlist in the United States Military. I am very proud of this foundation!
Which leads us to the next question……………..
Bob, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
The Cerveza Bros! A real leap of faith! The biggest risk I have taken to date. The idea for this brand started with a thought and putting a few words together and next thing I know…….here we go and let’s have some fun! It started with spending a year creating a logo which in turn led to higher end (better) custom caps, t-shirts, performance apparel, golf polo’s, straw hats, multi-purpose towels and all types of related accessories.
Getting into an industry I knew nothing about has been quite eye opening and challenging. I learn something new every day. Probably the best thing that has happened has been all of the amazing and beautiful people I have met and continue to meet! From festivals, trade shows, random vacations, expo’s, you name it, that is what makes this journey so cool and fun! That is were I meet people. Our Cerveza Bros family. They are loyal, passionate and I could not be more thankful for each and every one of them. This brand continues to grow as fast as WE want it to.
I do believe one of the things that sets us apart from most lifestyle brands is that we definitely think outside the box. We do not do what everyone else does and we use our creativity to come up with designs that are unique to our brand. Our attention to detail is second to none. We are also fabric “snobs”. LOL. No $10 t-shirts or caps here! All of our fabrics are personally selected, hand touched and we value any and all feedback from our Cerveza Bros fam. We want our partners (people who purchase our products and who we source with) to feel and know they are part of the process. Part of who we are.
Our brand reflects a very carefree and laid back lifestyle. Just like our main man, Bob Spurlock. A mix of island, Mexico and California vibes to go along with his passion for music and the outdoor life with with an influence of Texas, Colorado and all the other unique and cool places around the world. If you can see, feel and imagine it, we can take you there! If you have ever met the Cerveza Bros and hung out with us you will know what we are talking about. You can feel the energy and the vibe! IYKYK!
Another of the very cool things that happens from our Cerveza Bros fam is that we will randomly be sent pictures of them wear our swag, using our branded koozies and when they put up or see our decals all over the world! I have personally been to place and out of the blue see a Cerveza Bros decal there! Famous bars like Foxy’s, the Soggy Dollar and Ivan’s Stress Free on Jost Van Dyke and Willy T’s on Norman Island all in the BVI’s and Maho Crossroads on St. John, USVI to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the Bahamas, Key West, Florida and Texas oldest operating dance hall, the legendary Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas. There are many, many other places as well. So if you see one of our decals somewhere, please send us a pic!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One of the things that I believe has helped build our reputation is that our customer (our Cerveza Bros family) knows we are genuine. We don’t just want to make a sale to you, we want you to be part of who we are. We want to hear your story, your life and what makes you you. That is what makes doing this so rewarding. It is the people you meet. Sharing their life experiences with you and yours with them. We truly care about everyone who is part of the Cerveza Bros process. Our vendors, our customers, our friends and family, everyone.
We love to spread positive vibes, energy and mojo!
As I mentioned earlier, we are very particular about the quality of our products and we stand 100% each and every item you purchase. If you have an issue or problem, we will replace it and make it right.
We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.
Interestingly that is what my merger and acquisition business, The Spurlock Group, does. It provides consulting and representation services on how to sell and value your company.
Even if you think you’re many years away from selling, you should consider what your heirs or successors would have to do if you died unexpectedly. If you don’t have a workable exit strategy in place, you (or your heirs) may have no choice but to liquidate the business and sell off the assets piecemeal, getting nothing for the goodwill you’ve built up over the course of the years.
Here are the few high level things you should think about when it’s time to sell your business:
– Are my books and records in order? This is the single the most important thing to have are clean books when selling your business. Whatever you spent on accounting to have accurate financials, you will get back at least twofold
– Valuations of your business: How does the market put a price on a business, and what can you do to maximize your own business’ value?
– Finding a buyer: How do you market your business and how do you find qualified buyers?
– Structuring the deal: What are your options as to terms, paying attention to the tax implications of various alternatives? Are you open to seller or third-party financing
– After the sale: What do I do know and how do I enjoy this new found freedom?
There are many other items on your “checklist” but this is a good head start to get you thinking about the process.
If you need any additional information or representation, please feel free to contact through our website – thespurlockgroup.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cervezabros.com
- Instagram: @cervezabros
- Facebook: @Cervezabrothers
- Twitter: @CervezaBros
