The Rock Star’s Gambit
One addiction I got into while on tour (don’t worry about the many others) was an obsession with gambling. Every night in the bus we’d get a poker game going with the boys in the band and the roadies, with the driver and security joining in once we reached the hotel for the night. I can still remember the thrill of victory during a night drive from San Francisco to Tucson as I finally took the pot, only to realize a split second later that we had played up until we were a half hour away from the venue and I hadn’t slept in 32 hours.
That night’s show was frantic, to say the least.
As my other addictions were, ahem, taken care of over the years and I got older, the desire to gamble has always stayed with me, lurking beneath the shadows, ready to raise its pernicious head whenever the opportunity presented itself. Instead of kicking it with more yoga like everything else, however, I realized I could use this particular impulse for some constructive use in my post-retirement life.
That constructive use? Buying businesses for cheap, turning them around, and then selling them again for a healthy profit. Don’t worry, I’m not one of those skeevy dudes who buys otherwise healthy businesses, guts them to improve accounting profits then sells them to a competitor. I’m way too vain to not leave the company way better than when I found it.
That being said, even at a discount, a lot of these businesses don’t come cheap, and every single one of them is a major gamble I take with what income I get from the residuals from my touring days. The thrill of making the purchase, seeing what mess I’ve brought upon myself, and laying out a plan to turn the company around scratches the same itch I get from playing the tables at Morongo or Caesar’s. I just have the added benefit of really helping some of the employees I inherit.
There is one risk I never, ever take when buying one of these enterprises, however – not buying business insurance. I have very little stomach for lawyers, and even less for the litigious morons our society seems to spit out at an ever-increasing rate, so ensuring every company I take on is one of the primary first steps I take once I’m in control.
During a search for insurance providers for my most recent acquisition, I came into contact with a local star who really put the other agents I’ve worked with to shame with his attentiveness and solid workmanlike spirit – Byron Galindo. His Venice Beach-based insurance firm knocked it out of the park during our initial discussions about the nature of the business and how they could serve our specific needs.
As a natural gambler, if there’s any risk I would advise any young man never to entertain, its going through life without some insurance where you can get it. So much of life is random happenstance, and if you voluntarily invite greater risk than normal, its best to have a way to mitigate it at least on some fronts.
For that, I recommend insurance. If you’re in the Venice Beach area, I’d further recommend looking into Galindo Insurance.
Byron Galindo Insurance
(310) 823-5073
214 Pier Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90405-5423
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