Trish Higgins

This week, we speak with Trish Higgins, who, along with her husband and brother-in-law, left Wall Street and set up Chenmark Capital in Portland, Maine. Chenmark is focused on the acquisition and long-term ownership of small businesses. In this excellent episode, Trish explains how 3 Wall St. professionals found their way into SMB acquisitions, their current platform companies and portfolio construction, how they utilise free cash flow to fund future acquisitions, and their approach to developing in-house talent to run their portfolio companies. Enjoy!

My guests this week are Trish and James Higgins, who run Chenmark Capital Management.  In this episode we continue to explore a style of investing I call Permanent Equity.  Returns in permanent equity come first from the ongoing cash flows of portfolio companies, not from reselling businesses down the line.  The partners are Chenmark are pioneering this style of small business investing and share their experience with us thus far.   For comprehensive show notes on this episode go to http://investorfieldguide.com/chenmark For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.  Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag

Trish Higgins, the most downloaded guest on the podcast, returns for a second episode. They discuss her recent move to the operating side, how Chenmark has evolved over the years, and briefly touch on landscaping. Chenmark is recruiting future operators and has a weekly newsletter. They also explore the challenges and improvements of running Chenmark, elements of a successful landscaping deal, and the evolution of their playbook and software systems. The speaker discusses the challenges and priorities for the next five years, including building a talent pipeline.

Trish Higgins of Chenmark Capital discusses their permanent equity model, their unique approach to acquiring slow growing businesses, capital allocation within portfolio companies, and the current state of the small business acquisition market. They also explore strategies for making a business more appealing to potential buyers and the decision-making process for investing extra cash in a business.

Trish Higgins, co-founder of Chenmark, dives into the fascinating world of small business acquisitions. She explains why they chose to buy a seasonal boat tour company, Cap'n Fish Cruises, despite its challenges. Trish discusses the unique holdco model, its difference from traditional finance careers, and why it isn’t widely taught in schools. She shares insights on managing seasonal cash flow and the quirky 'bait-and-tackle' investment approach. Plus, hear about the lessons learned while transitioning ownership and the beauty of taking risks in unexpected industries.