Developing Your 90-Day Plan The more laser-like your focus, the better the chance your business will survive this pandemic. View the forced downtime triggered by the pandemic as an opportunity to work on potentially neglected aspects of your business. Summed up another way, now is the time for dynamic and focused action. In this article, we’ll address what you can do to help your business survive this unusual time period. Reevaluating Your Business This is the time to: - step back and look at every aspect of your business, including your processes. - find new ways of doing things. - make your business more efficient, more effective, and more competitive. Scott Bushkie, Founder and President of Cornerstone Business Services, recommended that business owners create 90-day plans where they look for ways to innovate. This strategic plan should focus on what they are going to do and what they want to accomplish. It is critical that there is an actual plan that … [Read more...]
6 Tips and 90 Days to Protect Your Business
The April 2020 COVID-19 centered article, by Inc. contributor Brian Hamilton, “6 Actions to Take in the Next 90 Days to Save Your Business,” isn’t pulling any punches. Hamilton believes that the next 90-days could be make or break days for business owners looking to navigate the choppy waters of the COVID-19 pandemic. His article provides readers with 6 actions they should take now to survive the economic fallout of the pandemic. Tip #1 Vigorously Control What You Can Hamilton’s first tip is to “Vigorously control what you can. Vigorously ignore what you can’t control.” As Hamilton points out, you can’t control the economy; instead, you need to focus on what you can control. His view is that there has never been a more important time to focus, “More than ever, you’ll need to go to war with things within your control.” Now is the time to exercise control. Tip #2 Guard Morale During tough economic times, employee morale can be a real issue. This brings us to … [Read more...]
Tips for Telework
Rajshree Agarwal, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland, explores how to get the most out of telework in her April 20th, 2020 Forbes article “Three Keys to Engaged, Productive Telework Teams”. This timely article covers some very important territory for many companies dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore Agarwal’s key points so that you can help your team get the most out of telework. Agarwal notes that people may shy away from sharing personal information and feelings while in the office. But via video conferencing, the story can be different. This is one reasons it is necessary for employers to keep in mind that the dynamic between you and your employees is often different when using video conferencing. This will also be the case when your employees speak with one another. She prudently cautions business owners against taking a “business-as-usual” approach to the COVID-19 situation, as it can make them look both unnecessarily … [Read more...]
The Benefit of Failure – How to Learn from It Instead of Fearing It
Failure is rarely fun. But it is also a key ingredient in success. While failure can be painful, there is no doubt that the lessons that come from failure can be powerful teachers that provide life-long lessons and even life-trajectory altering results. Summed up another way, failure hurts. But on occasion, not failing could hurt more, especially in the long run. In her Inc. article, “Why Tons of Failure Is the Key to Success, According to Seth Godin,” author Sonia Thompson points out that most people “avoid failure like the plague.” Instead, they spend their time trying to achieve perfection. When adopting this approach, people miss all kinds of opportunities because they are afraid of damaging their egos. Embracing failure is a way to experience many “transformational benefits,” which would never be experienced without the lessons of failure. Thompson points to the work of 18-time best-selling author Seth Godin who has written about how entrepreneurs who fail more often … [Read more...]
How to Connect During a Crisis
Small business owners face new challenges during this crisis. Communicating with customers requires more focus and depth than ever before. In Mat Zuker’s latest article for Forbes Magazine, he cites Jay Mandel who runs The Collective NYC, a marketing consulting team focusing on a customer’s experience, who underlines the importance of businesses to understand their mission statement and values in order to re-enforce marketing strategies. Information is Crucial. Each customer visiting your website needs to understand your hours of operation, any limitations to service and what is being done to ensure cleanliness. Providing this information establishes to your customer your seriousness of precautions which will be appreciated during this time. Connect with your community. Focus on your employees, donate to charities and offer discounted or free products, as far as your financial situation allows. Provide Utility for your Customers. Now, more than ever, it is important to … [Read more...]
Great Tips for Selling Your Business
It takes preparation and focus to sell most businesses. The reality of the situation is that it can take years to achieve this goal. Partnering with a business broker or M&A Advisor is a smart step towards selling any business, as these pros know the very best tips. In that spirit, let’s take a look at some great tips for selling your business. Getting your business ready to sell means carefully evaluating the foundation. Any significant problem can send buyers “running for the hills,” so be sure that you work out any problems well before placing your business on the market. If you have any litigation or environmental issues, you most definitely want to address those issues before it is time to sell. Nothing will scare away prospective buyers quicker than pending litigation or the specter of a potentially costly environmental clean-up. A second key issue you’ll want to address is determining who exactly has the legal … [Read more...]
It’s Time to Exit. Are you Ready?
Thinking about whether or not you are ready to exit is an important question. It’s something that every business owner will have to address at some point. Importantly, you don’t want to wait until the 11th hour to prepare to sell your business. There are far too many pieces in this particular puzzle to wait until the last minute. You’ll want to begin the process sooner by asking yourself some key questions. Determining Value First, you’ll need to determine the actual value of your business. It is a harsh truth, but what you think your business is worth and what the market feels that it is worth may be two very different things. This point serves to underscore the importance of working with a business broker or M&A advisor early in the process. An experienced broker knows how to go about determining a price that will generate interest and seem fair. Remember that at the end of the day, it will be the … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know About the Golden Age of Business Acquisitions
Business acquisitions are red hot, and all kinds of businesses are being snapped up. Some people are under the impression that only large businesses are being acquired, but this is far from the reality of the situation. It would surprise many to learn that so much of the “action” is, in fact, small businesses buying other small businesses. In his Forbes article, “Take Advantage of the Golden Age of Business Acquisitions,” author Christopher Hurn explores the true state of the “acquisitions game.” His conclusions are quite interesting. In Hurn’s opinion, there has never been a more active time in the realm of business acquisitions. If you own a business and are looking to grow, then you may want to consider acquiring a competitor in order to consolidate the market. As Hurn points out, there are many reasons that you might want to consider acquiring a business in addition to consolidating the market. … [Read more...]
Determining the Right Time to Sell
Determining when it’s finally the right time to sell can be a tricky proposition. If you are thinking about selling your business, one of the best steps you can take is to contact a business broker. A good business broker will have years, or even decades, of proven experience under his or her belt. He or she will be able to guide you through the process of determining what you need to do in order to get your business ready to sell. One major reason you should contact a business broker long before you think you might want to sell is that you never know when the right time to sell may arise. Market forces may change, unexpected events like a large competitor entering your area, or a range of other factors could all lead you to the conclusion that now, and not later, is the time to sell. In a recent The Tokenist article, “When is the Best Time to Sell a Business?”, author Tim Fries covers a variety of factors in determining when is the best time … [Read more...]
Should You Sell Your Family Business?
When the complicating variable of family is added to the equation of selling a business, the situation can get rather messy. Family usually complicates everything and businesses are, of course, no exception. Ken McCracken’s recent article “Family business: to sell or not to sell?” 6 questions to help you make the right decision,” seeks to decode the complexities so often associated with family businesses. Consider the Market The foundation of determining whether or not now is the right time to sell must begin with market forces. Determining how much your business is worth is a key variable in any decision to sell. The best way to determine the worth of your business is to have an outside party, such as a business broker, evaluate your business. What you believe your business to be worth and what the market dictates could be very different. You may discover that your business does not have the value that you hoped for. If this is the situation, then selling simply may not be an … [Read more...]