-
Helping business owners grow their companies and transition with confidence, added value and complete control.
Category Archives: Strategy and Planning
Should a Small Business Have a Budget?
“I know that my company is doing OK,” the old joke goes. “I still have checks in my checkbook.” Many small businesses run on a version of checkbook accounting, where anything that isn’t paid out at the end of the … Continue Reading
Posted in Strategy and Planning
Tagged business ownership, business planning, financial, management, small business advice
4 Comments
Lots of Jobs – Where are the Workers?
The South Texas region has an unemployment rate of somewhere between 5.2% and 5.8%, depending on exactly where you are located. Employment in certain highly desirable professional technology occupations is officially over 100%. Finding entry-level employees in South Texas is … Continue Reading
“We’ll Just Agree to Disagree”
A CEO was having a discussion with one of his top executives a few weeks ago. He felt strongly that the executive needed to take a certain course of action as soon as possible. The Vice President explained that the … Continue Reading
Turning a Competitive Advantage into an Entitlement
The Affordable Care Act is here to stay. Although Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare dozens of times, the “debate” over its implementation has taken on a sense of theatre. The Federal behemoth continues to chug along. Cancelled policies, the … Continue Reading
After the Goal
Why do employees have to “rest” after accomplishing a goal? When most human accomplishment required manual labor, taking time to recuperate after a final push, whether it was harvesting a crop or completing a building, was a natural way to physically recharge before starting another project. Today, most … Continue Reading
Can You Outgrow Customers?
When you start a company, it’s like shopping at the supermarket when you are very hungry. Everything looks good. Any suspect might be a prospect. Any prospect is worth pursuing, and your ideal customer is anyone who is willing to pay you for … Continue Reading
What is Your Company Worth?
A business owner hires a financial planner to help him with his retirement options. They review the owner’s current assets, his house, stock portfolio and other investments. They go over his insurance coverage. Then the planner asks, “What about your company? How … Continue Reading
Who Owns the Portal?
We are 30 years into the computer revolution, which I am arbitrarily marking as beginning in the mid-1980’s, when Apple II and IBM compatible (286) computers began to show up on the desks of people who weren’t in the “computer room.” … Continue Reading
Wrestling with Ethics
The head of a rep firm approaches the owner of a small manufacturing company for whom they sell. One of his salespeople has an opportunity for a huge order with a multinational company, but the purchasing manager has indicated that the … Continue Reading
Ready…Set…Exit! Part II
Last week we discussed the tsunami of Baby Boomer retirement, and how we will reach a peak of nearly 500 unsold businesses a day within the next 5 years. The statistics are immutable. The birthrates of the last century are … Continue Reading
Posted in Economic Trends, Entrepreneurship, Exit Planning, Exit Strategies, Selling a business, Strategy and Planning
Tagged Baby Boomers, Boomer Bust, business ownership, business planning, business strategy, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, exit planning, selling a business, small business advice
Leave a comment
Ready…Set…Exit! Part I
For the last six years I’ve been writing and speaking around the country to business owners about the coming tsunami of retiring Baby Boomer business owners. My e-book “Beating the Boomer Bust” details the statistics (For a free download, go here … Continue Reading