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John F. Dini CMBA, CExP, CBI
President, MPN Incorporated
I live with the ups, the downs, the peaks, the valleys, and the gratification and occasionally the sheer numbing terror of being a business owner; and I experience all of it, EVERY SINGLE DAY!
As a coach, facilitator and consultant to hundreds of entrepreneurs, the operator of a dozen peer groups and a business owner myself, I spend almost every waking moment discussing the challenges and rewards of owning a business. I eat, sleep and breathe business ownership. I don’t hunt. I don’t fish. I don’t even play golf. Business ownership is both my vocation and my recreation. I think owning a business is the most interesting thing anyone can do.
View John's full profile and don't forget to check out his baby boomer business owner exit planning seminar:
"BEATING THE BOOMER BUST"
A unique seminar combining the iconic moments of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s with a statistical look at the social, economic, and business impacts that Baby Boomers made on each decade. More info...
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. If we were, we'd be working for someone else! If you lie awake at 2 AM because you are worried about your business, or just because you are excited about what you will be doing when the rest of the world wakes up, then this is the place for you!
Category Archives: John’s Opinions
Thanks for Everything
A British friend was commenting to me on how “odd” he found the American celebration of Thanksgiving. “There is no equivalent holiday in Europe, or anywhere else in the world.” he said. “You have an entire day devoted to conspicuous … Continue reading
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When is the Right Time to Sell?
In the last few weeks I’ve had several conversations with owners about selling their companies. In one case a professional firm with whom I’ve worked for the last 4 years completed a merger with a large national company. That was … Continue reading
One Response to When is the Right Time to Sell?
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Can Startup America revive US small business?
A couple of weeks ago in my opinion blog “Awake at 3 o’clock” I pointed out that politicians pronouncing small business owners as the saviors of the economy is a misplaced strategy. (“SMB isn’t the cure for the economy“) Most SMB … Continue reading
Posted in Business Perspectives, Entrepreneurship, John's Opinions, Politics and Regulation
Tagged new business, startups
1 Comment
One Response to Can Startup America revive US small business?
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Tom Morton says:
Thanks John — a very interesting and thoughtful piece. On our side of the Pond we also have a continuing series of Government initiatives to stimulate small business, and they also suffer from the same constraints you identify.
Your last sentence, however, is key (and to many other fields as well)
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It’s Time for the Boomers to Step Up
Why I Need to Say This Three years ago I wrote an open letter titled “Last Chance to Save America” and sent it to my entire email list. It went viral, and I received almost a thousand emails in reply. … Continue reading
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Who are the Real Business Performers?
A business owner told me a story the other day… “After I was in business a few years, a large corporation made me a terrific offer to come work for them. I left my company in the hands of my … Continue reading
Posted in John's Opinions, Leadership
Tagged business ownership, entrepreneurship, leadership
1 Comment
One Response to Who are the Real Business Performers?
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John, well stated. You have captured the blueprint of most large corporations who hire managers with advanced degrees and book knowledge, who then manage teams of support staff or support suppliers that do the work. Change for the sake of change in support staff and suppliers is the largest erosion of corporate success which continues plague our American corporations.
The right time is NOT when you are down because the business is down. Case in point: a few years ago Mr. X was suffering through a low point in the business because of poor market conditions. He was so affected by it that was seriously thinking about selling (obviously at a very low price because of the down turn in the business). I knew the business had a lot of potential and that the down cycle would be reversed, so I wanted to change his mind. Rather than trying to convince him I decided to talk with his wife who was also very active in the business. I asked her: “What would you and Mr. X do after you sell?” She replied: “I guess we would start another business”. So I asked her: “Tell me, how were the beginnings of this company?” She said: “Oh my God, they were terribly challenging and not much fun”. I said: “So, do you really want to go through all that again?”. She looked at me with puzzled eyes and said: “I never thought about it that way; you are right I don’t want us to have to go through that again”. So they decided to keep the company and work to return it to its rightful place. Today the company is four times the size and they get unsolicited offers for many times the price they would have had to sell at the low point. The moral of the story then is: sell when business is doing well, never when it is down.
I cover this subject in detail in my book “Its Lonely at the Top”; “A Practical Guide to Help You Become a Better Leader of Your Small Company”.