I have always admired Warren Buffett. No, not just because he’s a mega-billionaire. I’ve always been fascinated by his approach to investing and business building. Mr. Buffett is not just an investor but an owner of many many businesses.

I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Buffett in a very small gathering and spend about 10 minutes speaking one-on-one directly with him. That was a profound 10 minutes indeed.

When I decided to create TriClare Business Holdings, Inc. I wanted to “do my own thing” in the “Warren Buffett Way”.

So, what is Buffettology? Well it’s actually both a business philosophy and a best-selling book. The book was written by Mary Buffett, Warren Buffett’s former daughter-in-law. It’s the best book I’ve ever read about how Warren does what he does - his business/investing philosophy.

In order for you to better understand what I do with my partners here at TriClare Business Holdings (TBH) let me draw for you the parallels between Venturepreneuring and Buffettology.

Warren Buffett invests for the long term ONLY in companies, run by management teams he respects, whose future earnings he can predict.

As venturepreneurs we "invest" (and not always with capital) in business opportunities where we understand the business, like and respect the entrepreneur(s), and believe the business is doing something interesting.

Warren Buffett looks for companies with excellent business economics. This gives the business the cash flow to either buy other businesses with excellent economics or further invest in itself thus making a good business even better.

TriClare partners with businesses with (a) good future cash flow prospects, and (b) in companies where we believe cash flow can significantly grow.

A key aspect of Buffettology is knowing the relationship between the price you pay for a stock and your ultimate return on investment. Thus Mr. Buffett looks for excellent companies whose stock is selling at a discount.

TriClare partners with privately-held businesses, so stock price is not a consideration for us. Alternatively we look for businesses with systems that are on the road to be proven. This allows for everyone’s Return on Investment to potentially increase because additional capital is not required to develop the concept.

Warren Buffett believes you should determine the types of businesses you would like to own then buy them when the price is right. This philosophy is counter to mainstream investment thinking. Many others try to “time the market” and buy as a stock goes up.

We don’t limit our horizons to specific industries. We are open to any type of business if it meets our three primary criteria - (1) we understand it, (2) we like and respect the owners, (3) it's doing something interesting. The other side of the coin is, we only partner with businesses where we can easily see how the value and talent we can add will dramatically improve a businesses upside.

So there you have it. My approach to Buffettology.

We’d love to learn more about your business to see how we might help you increase revenue, run more effectively, and grow your impact, profits, and cash flow.