Blog
The Business Owner’s Balancing Act: Growth vs. Burnout
For most business owners, growth is good. But there are situations where growth can position the business to fail and business owners to burn out. Let’s look at a fictional but representative example of when growth can get out of control and why it’s so...
Inflation, Costs, and Fear of Rising Prices
External events, like supply shortages and inflation, make running a successful business even more challenging. In today’s inflation market, business owners can be forced to make decisions they’re uncomfortable with, especially in terms of raising...
Good Intentions, Empty Promises
As a business owner, your employees put added stock into the things you say, how you say them, and when you say them. This is why it’s extremely important to avoid making empty promises based on good intentions. Let’s look at some ways that you can...
Dealing With Complex Co-Ownership Setups
Co-owned businesses come with numerous complexities. One of the biggest challenges for co-owners is determining how to approach the exit of another co-owner, especially when that co-owner cannot or will not exit gracefully. Let’s look at a...
Business Value Is More Than a Measuring Stick
Is it possible for a $5 million business to be more valuable than a $15 million business? Let’s look at a fictional but representative story to show how a larger valuation doesn’t always mean that the company is in the right position for you...
Nepo Baby Business Planning
The sense of pride in building a business and keeping it in the family can be a huge motivator for business owners. But transferring a business to children for its own sake can have consequential risks for your future, your business, and your legacy. If one of...
What Does Your Exit Map Look Like?
Most business owners have never exited their businesses before. Just like taking a big trip to a new place requires good planning to truly enjoy it, so too does a successful business exit. While the details will certainly differ based on your unique...
Logic vs. Legacy in Exit Planning
When planning for your eventual business exit, achieving financial security is the most important goal. But what happens when the emotional side of planning an exit—namely, ensuring your legacy—conflicts with that most important goal? Let’s look at a fictional but...
Which Calculated Risks Should You Consider?
Minimizing risks is a goal that many business owners have. But sometimes, there are instances where taking calculated risks becomes a necessity, especially when you are planning for your eventual business exit. Let’s look at three calculated risks that you may...
Pursuing Trends Vs. Using Fundamentals
Differentiating your business is an important element of growing it successfully. But how should you draw the line between pursuing the newest trends and sticking with the fundamentals? Let’s walk through a process that can help...
Don’t Be a Pest: Exiting With Grace
Letting go of the business you own may be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do. A key goal of Exit Planning is positioning you to exit on your terms. But even when an exit goes perfectly, some business owners remain drawn to...
The Power of The Sea
Standing at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Maine recently, I was reminded again of the ocean’s power, and that it doesn’t pause for our little lives, our successes or our failures. John Masefield wrote about the sea: “Sea-Fever” I must go down to the seas again, to...
How Involved Should You Be in Exit Planning?
A big hurdle that business owners struggle to get over when creating an Exit Plan is, “I don’t have enough time to do all that.” On its surface, it’s an intuitive argument. Planning for a business exit is indeed a lot of...
No Exit Plan? What’s the Worst That Can Happen?
When you’re running a successful business, creating a plan for your eventual exit may be the last thing on your mind. “I have way too many responsibilities for that right now.” “I’ll start thinking about that when I’m closer to...
Midwestern Stillness
“You didn’t build your business by accident – don’t leave it to chance.” Midwestern Stillness There’s a scene in every classic Western – the typical gunfight I remember from the movies about places like Abilene, Dodge City, and Tombstone, featuring gunfighters like...
David vs. Goliath
“Rocky Mountain High” (with apologies to John Denver). The Colorado Fourteeners near and around Vail, Colorado always, but always, bring amazement and unequaled beauty to those who visit. Standing at the base of those mountains, gazing up at their sheer size and...
The Missing Link: Business Continuity Instructions
Many business owners are missing a crucial link between their time as business owners and their time after owning their businesses. This missing link is called Business Continuity Instructions, and it could be the difference between the success and failure of...
What Stairs in California Taught Me About Business Planning
Climbing the Stairs While in California recently for a conference with way too many people in sweatpants thinking that climbing stairs (even on your hands) is fun, I found myself staring up the infamous Solana Beach steps, wondering if my knees were about to file a...
Defeating Boredom in Retirement
Many people have a romantic view of what retirement looks like. Beaches, cruises, road trips, sitting next to a pool with no responsibilities—in reality, many business owners struggle in retirement because they don’t know what to do with all their...
You Don’t Need to Do It Alone
There’s a mythology that business owners have all the answers all the time. Many business owners hold themselves up to this unachievable standard. Yet, nearly every business owner has moments when they say to themselves, “I have...