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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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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. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Tag Archives: entrepreneurship
Can Franchising Survive The Baby Boomers?
As a consultant to business owners, this is a column I’ve hesitated to write for a long time. There are over 800,000 franchised businesses in the United States, and I’m not going out of my way to make that many owners mad … Continue reading
One Response to Can Franchising Survive The Baby Boomers?
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Can Your Small Business Survive Disaster?
Memorial Day weekend served up numerous reminders of the vulnerability of small businesses to disasters. Boardwalk vendors were reopening on the Jersey Shore and Coney Island. San Antonio was underwater, and a large portion of Moore, Oklahoma was swept away … Continue reading
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Three Rules for Small Business
A few days ago a discussion on LinkedIn’s “Small Business Accelerator” group asked “What are the three things a small business owner should focus on?” As challenging as any business is, the basics remain the same for everyone. We provide goods or services, … Continue reading
One Response to Three Rules for Small Business
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John, The beauty of this article is its simplicity. Rule #3 is of particular interest to me because I recommend another simple tactic that helps in identifying the priority of actions to improve the generation of profit. I am referring to the 80/20 Pareto Principle that approximates to “80% of your profit comes from 20% of your customers” or “80% of your costs come from 20% of your operations.” This is an oversimplification but applying the thought process across a company does reveal where to apply resources. Richard Koch’s book The 80/20 Principle is the reference work on the subject.
Another comment is more controversial. I like to see business owners measure the value that they are creating in their company and track its change year over year. This is preparation for the day when they will depart, but it is also a check on the health of the company and the industry it is in. The measurement includes a standardized process of a three year forward projection and calculation of the Net Present Value of the cash flow, plus a simple terminal valuation at the end of the third year, discounted to the present. If this valuation is growing, the owner has added comfort in his/her commitment to the company and supports making suitable investments. If it is declining, it is time for a serious look at future plans.
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Does Technology Help or Threaten Small Businesses?
A small computer service company wants to sell Microsoft software licenses to its customers. They send an employee to become certified in licensing. (Microsoft offers some 600 variants.). As soon as they purchase a license, however, Microsoft begins soliciting that customer … Continue reading
2 Responses to Does Technology Help or Threaten Small Businesses?
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I agree with the well stated information about how big business is encroaching on small business and stealing market share. I also agree with the need for small business to exploit its potential advantage of face to face contact and potential relationship building.
I feel, however, additional articles ought to deal with what local business people need to do with those opportunities for face to face contact. Too many businesses make the contact with meaningless, and time wasting efforts instead of those which can add value. -
Digital “relationships” are rapidly replacing face-to-face interaction. We’ve heard all the excuses… plane tickets are so expensive… it’s so easy to just sit at my desk and send an e-mail… with social media I make them come to me, etc… I addressed this subject recently in a blog.
http://bigskyassociates.com/2013/03/look-me-in-the-eye-and-say-that/
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Happy Ostara: Owner Infallability
The origins of Easter are lost to history. I don’t mean the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, or even the Jewish holiday of Passover which it matches on the calendar. In fact, the name Easter is a derivative … Continue reading
2 Responses to Happy Ostara: Owner Infallability
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I’ve been following your blog for close to a year and this is my favorite post. Glad you decided to re-run it because I missed it the first time around.
This is a WAKE UP CALL. I had never thought about the vulnerability of the franchise industry to the demise of the boomer generation. I have to sit back and think about this. My focus has been on the impact that the boomers will have on the succession plans for independent financial planners, wealth manager and insurance agents. Just like your food and hotel franchise examples, these individuals poured their lives into building profitable practices and it is unlikely that the next generation has the motivation to continue the growth of the industry. For more than a year we have been in conversations with large corporations that provide regulatory compliance and package insurance products to support these aging entrepreneurs. The companies are finally recognizing the imapact of the loss of their top producers. I will use this franchise analogy to paint the picture for them. Thank you.