Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. Death stands at your elbow. Be good for something while you live and it is in your power. –Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Building a successful business likely took you years of deliberate … [Read more...]
Protecting what you care about: business, family and employees
As a business owner, you’re likely the most important person in your business. You’re probably the breadwinner for your family. Your employees rely on your leadership and success for their livelihood. A lot of people depend on you. What would … [Read more...]
Maintaining control, minimizing risk and rewarding your best employees
For many small-to-mid-market business owners, there are few things more important than maintaining control of the company, minimizing risks for the company, and rewarding the employees that make the company successful. Ownership transfers to the … [Read more...]
Whether you sell your business or not, the planning is the same
There are many things for you to consider as you think about the future of your business ownership: When is the right time to move on? How much money will I need? How do I even sell this business? These questions dovetail into an important decision … [Read more...]
Three things that can build future business value
Building business value is a core reason you wake up and run your business every day. As your business grows in value, it can position you to find new clients; keep current clients happy; support your employees financially and intellectually; and … [Read more...]
Why make your business more valuable without you?
Businesses that rely on their owners as the primary source of success are common. They’re also the most dangerous kind of business to own when you want to plan for the future of your ownership interest. Unless your goal for the future of your … [Read more...]
Is your business worth as much as you think?
As a successful business owner, you know that your business has value. It likely supports the lifestyle you and your family live. It provides a paycheck and perhaps benefits to the people you employ. The products or services you provide are … [Read more...]
Working backward: Three questions to ask about your planning
Do you remember trying to solve a complex maze as a child? You’d start at the beginning, trace a line toward what you thought was the correct path to the end, only to run headlong into a wall. So, you’d start again, only to run into a different wall. … [Read more...]
Incentivizing your best employees to stay
When thinking about business planning, one aspect you may be tempted to overlook is the contributions of your key employees. Key employees are the lifeblood of well-run businesses, and they play an important role when owners begin to plan for their … [Read more...]
3 things to remember about third-party sales
As a business owner, you’re likely used to having as much control over how the business functions as possible. You’re the go-to person for big decisions and you own the consequences of those decisions, whether they’re good or bad. This attitude is … [Read more...]