Business PerspectivesPodcast - Money Chasing Businesses On Jim Blasingame’s “Small Business Advocate” show, Jim asked me about the flood of professional money chasing mid-market businesses. I thought you might like to listen to this segment. Two Factors Driving Business Sales.Read More » Baby Boomer Elevator Music When did Rock and Roll transition from the anthem of rebels to elevator music? I’ve been traveling for the last few weeks. Whether on business or vacation, “classic rock” is the background sound in airports, supermarkets and shopping malls. Restaurants … Read More » Business isn't Zero Sum In any negotiation, you can assume a win-win solution or a zero sum outcome. “Win-win” is defined as when both parties come out ahead or achieve what they seek. “Zero sum” is when the premise behind negotiation is that whatever one … Read More » |
Exit PlanningThe Exit Planning Coach Handbook is Out! So excited to announce The Exit Planning Coach Handbook. This represents the assembling of experience in over 12,000 hours of coaching business owners. It was written for advisors but would be useful for anyone who sells to or works with … Read More » Prepared for 2023 - Is This the Year to Exit? What does being prepared for 2023 mean for business owners who are approaching, at, or already beyond normal retirement age? It’s become fashionable to pontificate about the “inevitable” recession in the coming year. There is an argument for not talking … Read More » Exit Strategy – Harvest or Grow? In every internal transfer, whether to family or employees, the owner/seller has to make the harvest or grow decision. We’ll presume that your business has already reached a point where its value meets or exceeds your financial objectives as the … Read More » |
Managing EmployeesThe Missing Employees Are you missing employees? Where did they go? I just got off the phone with a restaurant owner who temporarily closed one of his locations so that he could redistribute the staff to the other three. I’ve also heard or … Read More » Are Remote Employees Value Killers? Remote employees can have a dramatic impact on the value of your business. If your exit strategy is to sell to a third party, take some time to think about the areas where offsite workers could have an impact. Curb … Read More » The Downside of Remote Work I came in this morning planning to write about the downside of remote work. It isn’t for everyone. In fact, it creates new long-term problems for businesses and will continue to do so. (For a related topic, see my previous … Read More » |
Marketing and Sales"Congratulations -- You are the Low Bidder!" The sentence that titles this post could be defined as the epitome of mixed emotions for a business owner. You won the business, but only because you are willing to work for less than everyone else. Perhaps you deliberately cut … Read More » The Quest for Recurring Revenue Recurring revenue is the current Holy Grail of business. Barriers to Entry, a traditional way of assessing your differentiation against competition, have been replaced by Barriers to Exit, how to make it at least inconvenient or at most excruciatingly painful for … Read More » When a Customer Outgrows You There is nothing that quite matches the excitement of landing your first really big customer. It often brings with it the confidence that comes with knowing, really knowing, that you can compete in the big leagues. There could be the added security of … Read More » |