Ridgecrest makes investments in a variety of ways. For example, we may decide to purchase a company or real estate; create a branch office for a current company; expand the product line of one of our companies; or build out space in one of our buildings. When we are making an investment decision, we have a short list of important questions.
Who is going to manage the project or business?
Our home office staff oversees and advises our businesses, but we do not run them. We won’t make a significant investment unless we are certain we’ve identified an experienced general manager who will own the business’s results.
Does the venture have a sustainable business model?
We want to understand with whom we will compete and why potential customers will choose our solution. And we don’t want to be surprised by a new entrant who cloned our business model or a imported a product from China at half of our selling price.
How does this venture fit with our current investments?
We understand our present businesses and get much more excited about a new venture that extends their strengths than one in which we limited experience. Expanding the geographical reach of a current business is always at the top of our list.
How close is the venture to Hagerstown, Maryland?
We’ve all lived and worked in this region for most of our lives. This familiarity is a significant advantage that we would lose if we were to invest in a less well known territory. And we like to come home for dinner with our families.
Is our manager comfortable with Ridgecrest controlling the venture?
We do not make minority investments in any venture, and we are quite proactive in our approach to decision-making, goal-setting, investing, cash management and similar project administrative functions.
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