Monthly Archives: December 2016

How do I work with this new group of Millennials?



Jack Mencini from Maximum Value Partners on the radioIt could be a dilemma for every tenured business owner in every industry. As an owner you look to hire talent that is young, energetic and committed to being a team member in building your business. Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter co-hosts of Dirt Secrets of Small Business and business owners themselves with Maximum Value Partners (www.maximumvp.com) are often faced with this HOW question from their clients: How do I work with this new group of Millennials? They are bright, talented and eager but they come with a new attitude to the day-to-day routine of work. With this group, there comes change.

There are new ways to communicate between the baby boomers and the Millennials who would rather text or email than walk down the hall to have a face-to-face.

We encourage the business owner to take a look at their business and how technology has affected the workplace… your workplace. Maybe you really don’t need every single employee to be physically located in your headquarters. Don’t think that just because you can’t see your younger employee at your office doesn’t mean that he or she isn’t working. Research and analysis have shown that with many Millennials productivity and the volume of work accomplished is higher when done remotely.

According to an article on Forbes.com “Remote workers — overwhelmingly — feel they’re more productive: According to the survey, 91% of remote workers believe they “get more work done when working remotely,” compared to only 9% who feel they don’t.  While it’s worth noting this is an employee self-assessment (as opposed to managers’ assessments), the large margin here does seem significant.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2016/05/02/are-remote-workers-happier-and-more-productive-new-survey-offers-answers/#41098fc3455c

In addition to the work location, millenniums want to be involved in the goal setting of the business.

A great way to have good communications with Millennials is to have open communications. Share with them the financials, the P&L statements, your vision, your balance sheet, inventory and vendor challenges. The more open you are with them, the more engaged they will be to be part of the sustainability, profitability and success of your business. It also helps to have a strategy that centers on the criteria of Plan, Direct and Control for effective leadership and collaboration with all of your team.

To get the inside scoop on how to be an effective business leader with Millennials, listen to the entire podcast. Access the podcasts on iTunes or at http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/

Do you have any How Questions of your own to email to Jack and Adam? Do it by sending your questions to radio@maximumvp.com or submit a question on their web site at http://maximumvp.com/how/. Many of the How Questions can also filter back into the 7 Keys to Success to help you deal with these questions http://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/

If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or call (radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670). You can also call in during the show each week at noon (EST) – 1:00 pm on WINT 1330 AM, call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches!

The post How do I work with this new group of Millennials? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

The post How do I work with this new group of Millennials? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.


How do I start my own business?



Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter co-hosts of Dirt Secrets of Small Business and business owners themselves with Maximum Value Partners (MVP) (www.maximumvp.com) tackle the difficult HOW question this week of: How do I start my own business?

Jack was recently at a family event when one of his relatives, who is a licensed massotherapist shared with him that she was thinking of starting her own business and wanted insight on how to do this. She is currently working for someone else and is trying to get advice from many different sources including family members. (Spoiler alert – many family members may not have a clue on how to go about starting a business.) Talking to Jack was a good first step, but not a short conversation that could provide a solution while the chip dip is being passed.

A good first step, which Jack advised is to get a good definition of what her products and services will be. As simple as that sounds, most people don’t do this well, especially early on. This type of definition quickly leads into the types of people who would want that type of product or service, also known as the target market. Jack also suggested that she look at Maximum Value Partners 7 Keys to Success to get her on the mindset of what are the fundamentals to developing a good business which includes creating a good Marketing Plan http://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/

Adam also offered a key insight to have Jenny ask herself, “Is my product or service good enough that I can give it away and people will want it?” The premise being that if you can’t even give it away, you might not have the right product or service to start a business.

Jack’s relative was also considering something that is another common mistake, going into business with a friend. In this case, the friend is also a massotherapist who doesn’t know anything about business. Partners can be good when they each bring different things to the partnership. What typically happens in a case like this is that they’ve now doubled the number of mouths they need to feed and will ultimately lead to stress on the business and the friendship. We encourage folks who are just starting out to focus hard on getting their first customers. If you can’t get people to pay for your product or service, it doesn’t make sense to take the plunge and get into that business.

For more insights on this HOW question of starting a business and additional insights on running a small business, listen to the entire podcast. Access the podcasts on iTunes or at http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/

Do you have any How Questions of your own to email to Jack and Adam? Do it by sending your questions to radio@maximumvp.com or submit a question on their web site at http://maximumvp.com/how/. Many of the How Questions can also filter back into the 7 Keys to Success to help you deal with these questions http://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/

 

If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or call (radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670). You can also call in during the show each week at noon (EST) – 1:00 pm on WINT 1330 AM, call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches!

The post How do I start my own business? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

The post How do I start my own business? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.


How do I handle all my emails and negotiations?



Small business coaches on the radioEvery business owner has endless How Questions. The answers to these How Questions become the keys to success for small business owners trying to navigate their future and profitability. Maximum Value Partners (MVP) www.maximumvp.com focuses on getting business owners unstuck from this state of HOW by offering solutions to the puzzles wrapped around the HOW questions.

Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter are the coaches of MVP and the hosts of the weekly podcast Dirty Secrets of Small Business. In this week’s show, they ponder the questions of: How do I handle all my emails and how do I know when I can negotiate?

In today’s world, few things can be as disruptive and intrusive as email. In fact, for many business owners emails have taken over their lives. It doesn’t have to be that way. Jack suggests that simply ignoring the emails until you are ready to address them is healthier for you and your business. Jack and Adam also offer the idea that you set up a schedule to respond to emails on a set timetable throughout the day (e.g. first thing in the morning and once in the afternoon/evening). The job of the small business owner isn’t to respond immediately to every email coming through. How can you get anything done if that is how you operate? Who is running the business at that point? Not you!

“If the email isn’t like a building burning down, you can answer it in 24 hours,” recommends Jack. “This will help you to focus on what is really important and not eat up your day trying to manage the ever exploding inbox.”

Another How Question discussed this week, was: How do I know when I can negotiate?

To get the inside scoop on how to be an effective negotiator and to listen to the entire podcast, access the podcasts on iTunes or at http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/

Do you have any How Questions of your own to email to Jack and Adam? Do it by sending your questions to radio@maximumvp.com or submit a question on their web site at http://maximumvp.com/how/. Many of the How Questions can also filter back into the 7 Keys to Success to help you deal with these questions http://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/

If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or call (radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670). You can also call in during the show each week at noon (EST) – 1:00 pm on WINT 1330 AM, call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches!

The post How do I handle all my emails and negotiations? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

The post How do I handle all my emails and negotiations? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.


How to Collect Money?



img_2156On the Dirty Secrets of Small Business radio show, co-hosts Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, who are also the coaches of their business, Maximum Value Partners (MVP) www.maximumvp.com decided to mix it up a bit and offer something a little different for this week’s show. Rather than the usual 4 segments that have been part of each one-hour broadcast, Jack and Adam are now concentrating on the state of How? Every business owner has the endless How Questions, which are integral to every small business owner trying to figure things out. MVP tries to get business owners unstuck from this mindset and provide the answers to these questions.

“How questions are the basis for everything that is on an owner’s mind,” said Jack. “How do I find the right people? How do I get more clients? How do I negotiate a deal when looking to buy a company? How do I fire my brother who is no longer an asset to our company?”

Do you have any How Questions of your own to email to Jack and Adam? Do it by sending your questions to radio@maximumvp.com or submit a question on their web site at http://maximumvp.com/how/. Many of the How Questions can also filter back into the 7 Keys to Success to help you deal with these questions. http://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/

For today’s show/podcast, the topic started with the example from one of their MVP clients who asked How do I become more approachable?

The owner of this company was a pretty big guy physically and he could be imposing and loud when he talked. His wife asked MVP how he could be more approachable so his employees would feel more comfortable discussing work issues and opportunities with him. He cared about his employees, but recently, two employees were looking to leave almost back-to-back. The two employees had talked to his wife who was part of the business rather than go to him. The owner knew he had a challenge, but didn’t know how to solve it.

The employees did not feel comfortable going to him because of his imposing stature. The owner wanted to solve this problem (he was actually a teddy bear at heart) and asked Jack and Adam what he should do?

Some practical tips the MVP coaches gave him were: smile more often and be more self-deprecating. Make it a genuine smile though and practice it if you have to so that it is relaxed and natural. Show that you enjoy what you are doing. Being self-deprecating brings out the human side. Try using the phrase “I’m confused.” Stay humble.

Another How Question they cover in today’s show was How To Collect Money? Jack and Adam give tips and insights in how to get the invoices paid that are due to you!

For more information and to listen to the entire podcast, access the podcasts on iTunes or at http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/

If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or call (radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670). You can also call into during the show each week at noon (EST) – 1:00 pm on WINT 1330 AM, call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches!

The post How to Collect Money? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

The post How to Collect Money? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.