Boring Businesses are Reliable Businesses
Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on June 29th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.
Too much Toy Story? Maybe. But I get the temptation, read on comrade’s.
Did you know that around 80% of all ice cream sold in the UK is one flavour?
Sherlock Holmes isn’t needed for this one.
You’ve guessed it, soldier.
It’s Vanilla.
Even for a bloke who makes ice cream, vanilla is still our family’s favourite.
Another family favourite is Toy Story.
This weekend we went to see the latest instalment in Disney’s never-ending money-making machine.
Truth be told, I’ve enjoyed most of the sequels over the years, as have my bambinos. Toy Story is a staple in Casa Sinclair.
But after watching this latest version, Mrs S and I both came to the same conclusion.
“It was alright.”
Nothing more.
In fact, I was probably more impressed by the cinema snacks than the film itself.
Toy Story has been done. Again and again.
The trouble is, the characters and voices feel so familiar that the temptation for Disney’s board to keep cashing in is like an ant colony discovering a dropped ice lolly on the pavement. They simply can’t help themselves.
And why would they?
That familiarity got us into the cinema and lined Disney’s pockets once again.
It’s the same with Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and countless other franchises.
History sells. Familiarity sells. Tried and tested sells.
Ultimately there’s a hungry audience for it and hungry audiences buy.
It’s one of the most powerful forms of leverage in business because human beings are naturally drawn to what they already know and trust.
Disney understands that multi-generational brands are incredibly valuable.
Parents introduce their children. Those children grow up and introduce theirs. The cycle repeats.
Is it exciting? Not always. Is it predictable? Absolutely.
It’s vanilla ice cream, it always sells..
And vanilla works, I know, I sell millions of pounds worth of vanilla ice cream each year, it’s my “Toy Story”, try as I may to create weird and wonderful flavours to tempt people in with a marketing blitz they quickly go back to the staple.
We’ve discussed it tons of the years, but boring businesses with a hungry audience are the money makers.
That’s one of the reasons I buy old hotels, self-storage parks, commercial warehouses, visitor attractions and day nurseries.
Hungry audiences ready to buy now. It’s easy to sell vanilla ice cream to a hungry audience. Not so easy to sell matcha infused with cinnamon. (all through there is riches in niches too)
They’re my version of the Toy Story businesses.
Predictable and Proven.
If, or rather when, Disney announces Toy Story 6, or Indiana Jones and the Lost Underpants, my interest will probably be piqued.
Not because it’s groundbreaking.
Because I know what I’m getting.
The same applies to businesses.
If you want excitement, chase the next shiny object. If you want dependable wealth, learn to appreciate boring.
There are opportunities everywhere to acquire solid, predictable businesses and quietly build a portfolio that compounds year after year.
If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, you can invest alongside me through Sinclair Capital, where we currently pay an 8% annual return on investments from £50,000.
Or, if you’d rather learn how to buy these businesses yourself, come along to my Buying Businesses Masterclass.
All the details are on my website.
After all, vanilla might not be the most exciting flavour.
But it’s been the bestseller for a reason.
I popped into my local pet shop this week to buy some bees.
The owner asked, “How many would you like?”
“Seven,” I replied.
He handed me a bag containing eight bees.
“Why the extra one?” I asked.
He smiled and said, “That’s a freebee!”
To your continued success,
James
P.S. Today, I’m hosting a free one-hour Business Growth Workshop, and I’d like you to join me. Register here and I will see you later.