As a small business owner, you probably have a team of advisors that include a CPA, insurance agent, lawyer, banker and perhaps a marketing guru.  Some of these advisors are a necessity in the United States economic environment where regulatory laws demand that you run your small business legally and adhere to compliance regulations (e.g. pay taxes).

Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, coaches to small business owners, and as owners themselves with Maximum Value Partners, www.maximumvp.com, tackle this somewhat perplexing How Question this week on: How do I know if I have good advisors?

In this week’s June 21 episode of Dirty Secrets of Small Business aired at 7:30pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 AM and 101.5 FM, the business coaches get fired up on how to determine if you have good advisors or are just putting up with them because you have to. The podcast is available on iTunes or http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/

Jack states his opinion that many advisors, especially lawyers have what he has defined as a “misallocated arrogance.”  It’s almost like they are doing you a huge favor by even answering your phone call or taking the time 5 days later to return your call.  Adam also has a short fuse for any advisor who can’t return a client’s call within 24 hours. “In this day and age of cell phones, texting, etc., why is it that some advisors ignore their clients for days on end. There is really no excuse for this lack of responsiveness,” said Adam.

In trying to determine if you have good advisors for your small business, consider these five areas to rate them:

1. How responsive and available are your advisors? Do they get back to you quickly or at least in 24 hours?
2. Do they look out for your best interest?

Adam shared the story of one client who went to his banker asking for an additional business loan. You won’t believe what this banker did for our client who wasn’t a customer of his!  Get the full story on the podcast.

3. Are your advisors honest with you?

Most business owners are surrounded by too many “yes people” who never tell the owner the way things really are for fear of upsetting the person who signs their check.  This “yes person” disease can often infect advisors as well.  If your advisors haven’t upset you recently, chances are they might not be the right advisors for you.

4. Does your advisor present you with solutions or problems?

As a business owner, chances are you have enough people in your world who present you with problems.  Advisors shouldn’t be one of those people.

5. Do they really listen to you?

When’s the last time one of your advisors presented a solution that didn’t involve their services or a financial benefit to them?

If you find yourself not giving a very high rating to your advisors after going through these five points, maybe it’s time to give Jack and Adam a call.  They are well connected to many of the advisors you need who will have your best interest at heart. From coaching small business owners for over 15 years and having had dozens of their own businesses and advisors, the Maximum Value Partners are in tune with introducing you to advisors who will really be your partners on your journey of continued sustainable profits and success. In many instances, Jack and Adam become your most trusted advisors in being there for you 24/7 with sound advice and great solutions to all your How Questions.

For more info on small business challenges tune into past podcasts of Dirty Secrets of Small Business on iTunes or http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/   or call Jack or Adam for help with your small business challenges at 877-849-0670.

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/

If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or contact Jack and Adam directly at radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670.

You can also call in during the show each week when you are listening on Wednesdays at prime time 7:30pm (EST) on WINT 1330 AM and 101.5 FM. Or call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches or tweet your question to @MaximumVP.

The post How do I know if I have good advisors? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

The post How do I know if I have good advisors? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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It’s a challenge for any business owner when you have an employee who isn’t quite doing the job that they should or it just seems like this individual just doesn’t seem to fit into performing and meeting the responsibilities of the position. There is a huge added level of challenge in what needs to be done to come up with a solution when the person who doesn’t fit anymore is a family member who has been working in your business.

Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, coaches to small business owners, and as owners themselves with Maximum Value Partners, www.maximumvp.com, tackle this How Question:  How do you deal with a family member who doesn’t quite fit into your business? In this week’s June 14 episode of Dirty Secrets of Small Business aired at 7:30pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 AM and 101.5 FM. The podcast is available on iTunes or http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/

The show and their business are aimed at an audience who either owns a small business or someone who is thinking of starting their own small business. Jack and Adam help these entrepreneurs on a path to fun and success. They define success as growing sustainable profits.

In discussing this week’s dilemma of a family member who doesn’t quite fit in, Adam offers 2 things not to do and 3 things to do to deal with the situation.  First what not to do:

1. Keep things as is or in a “status quo” position. This is often referred to as imitating an ostrich with your head in the sand and pretending that the situation isn’t that bad or somehow will miraculously fix itself.
2. Let someone else decide for you. As we jokingly tell all of our business owner clients, that is why you get paid the big bucks!  To have difficult discussions like this.  Don‘t pawn them off on someone else, especially when you‘re the one who can fix this problem..

The 3 things you can do would be to center on removing the person from the work environment (without having to fire them).

1. Pay them to stay home and not come to work. As silly as this might sound, it is a proven strategy we have seen work for all kinds of family situations. The business owner has to view this as addition by subtraction and doing what is best for the company. In these situations, there is little doubt that the individual needing to leave has significantly affected the culture and productivity of his/her co-workers. As the owner, are you willing to see your talented employees, who are helping the business be successful, start to leave because they can no longer deal with the relative who is bringing everyone down?
2. Make the relative quit. This is a strategic move on the owner’s part to do this in such a way that the decision comes from the relative and does not look punitive. Remember, you may still be passing the turkey platter to this person over Thanksgiving.  One way to make this happen is bring someone else in to manage that relative so they no longer report to you.
3. Find somewhere else for the person to work by using your professional network or through one of your contacts. This is probably the best of all possible options if this family member has marketable skills in other areas, but just didn’t work out for your business. It becomes a win-win situation for everyone and helps maintain both a professional relationship and family cohesiveness where no one feels like the victim.

Jack and Adam also discuss the topic of how they will always strongly caution new businesses on wanting to bring on family members to fill the positions.  It has been their experience that more often than not, working with spouses, siblings, cousins, children, aunts and/or uncles, etc., in a professional setting causes tremendous stress for the family unit. Knowing how to hire good talent is one of the many areas that these business coaches can help small business owners make the right decision to avoid having to fire employees when they realize that person was not a good fit…thus avoiding having to deal with the current how question!

For more info on small business challenges tune into past podcasts of Dirty Secrets of Small Business on iTunes or http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/   or call Jack or Adam for help with your small business challenges at 877-849-0670.

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/

If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or contact Jack and Adam directly at radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670.

You can also call in during the show each week when you are listening on Wednesdays at prime time 7:30pm (EST) on WINT 1330 AM and 101.5 FM. Or call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches or tweet your question to @MaximumVP.

The post How do you deal with a family member who doesn’t quite fit into your business? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

The post How do you deal with a family member who doesn’t quite fit into your business? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter would like to rid the business world of the word:  Budget. The budget mind set creates a vision of Jack Nicholson in a straightjacket when he starred in the movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Just like Jack Nicholson’s straightjacket, these small business coaches for Maximum Value Partners (www.maximumvp.com) feel that a budget binds you and is an old, dusty accounting term that has so many negative connotations.  They like the word: PROFIT Plan.  Isn’t profit so much more exciting to think about than spending (or not spending) money?

In this week’s episode of Dirty Secrets of Small Business at 7:30pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 AM and 101.5 FM every Wednesday, the cohosts of the show, Jack and Adam tackle this How Question How do I get rid of a budget mind set?

As an example, Adam tells the story about one of their clients, “Bill,” who before owning his own business worked at a government agency. Bill was really excited one day when he went to his boss with the great news that he found a way to save his department $70,000 dollars in their budget.  Bill had outlined his research and due diligence for how to go about saving the $70K and had all the info in a file folder he handed to his boss. Rather than being overjoyed with this news, his boss pushed the folder away and told him that he should find a way to not only spend the $70K in savings he found, but find an additional $100,000 to spend, otherwise they would lose the money for the next budget.  Bill couldn’t believe his ears, but he did as he was told and it wasn’t too long after that when he decided the politics of dealing with budgets was not for him and went on to launch his own business to concentrate on a Profit Plan.

Having a profit mindset means that you don’t spend yourself out of business. Profit means looking for ways to make more money. Profit makes everything go to keep the lights on, meet payroll, keep inventory, create sustainability for the company and support the community.

Jack gives the overview that you have to have a plan to make money on purpose. If you start doing things differently with no plan in place, the small business owner won’t know what to do. Pulling together the first draft of your Profit Plan begins with answering 2 questions:

1. What do I want my company’s sales to be for the coming year?
2. How much do I want in profit/net income/the bottom line?

If you start with putting these two stakes in the ground, you can then go about the business of filling in the details in between which consists of all your expenses.  Our business coaching clients are often amazed at how quickly they can pull together their first Profit Plan.  They almost get giddy when they present it to us. Dedicate your plan to figuring out how your company is going to make money on purpose not solely on how to squeeze your expenses even lower which is the budget mindset.  Your Profit Plan can be very exciting in having an “Abundance Mindset” rather than being straightjacketed by the “B” word.

Jack and Adam also discuss the topic of how to bring on a new hire and having to add to the salary pool and additional payroll. Will this person, over time and in the future, be part of the profit structure in bringing in more sales, more business and more cash? Having a plan and a profit mindset will open up the opportunity to bring on the talent to have your business be profitable.

For more info on small business challenges tune into this week’s June 7 podcast on iTunes or http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/   or call Jack or Adam for help with your small business challenges at 877-849-0670.

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/

If you have a success story or a question you would like to share, email or contact Jack and Adam directly at radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670.

You can also call in during the show each week when you are listening on Wednesdays at prime time 7:30pm (EST) on WINT 1330 AM and 101.5 FM. Or call 440-946-9468 to ask your question to the Maximum Value Partners’ coaches or tweet your question to @MaximumVP.

The post How do I get rid of a budget mind set? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

The post How do I get rid of a budget mind set? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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Are you living the dream of having your own business?  Or are you thinking of taking the leap and starting your own business?  You probably have a tremendous amount of How Questions:  How do I get funding? How do I hire good employees?  How do I get clients and keep clients?  Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, the “Unstuckers” and the small business coaches from Maximum Value Partners (www.maximumvp.com) get owners unstuck from the state of HOW! (How questions are those questions that perplex small business owners day in and day out.)

In this week’s episode of Dirty Secrets of Small Business at 7:30pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 AM and 101.5 FM every Wednesday, the cohosts of the show, Jack and Adam tackle another How Question:  How do I stay focused when my personal life is in a state of flux?

Back in the day when you probably had a job for a company who made the rules, told you what to do or gave your expectations of what they wanted you to do on your job, the 24-hour day was probably 8 hours at work, 8 hours relaxation or at home and perhaps, 8 hours of sleep.  If you are a small business owner, the lines between these three segments are often blurred and you will find yourself thinking non-stop about business during your 16 hours of wakefulness, and you might even be having dreams or nightmares about your business when you are sleeping.

“Don’t feel guilty if you are thinking about your business or doing your business all the time,” said Jack. “Your family or friends are probably looking for the switch on your body to have you turn off always thinking or talking about the business. There isn’t the switch to turn off your thoughts and good business owners probably wouldn’t want to because that is what makes you successful.”

There are times throughout your life as a small business owner that you need to keep that focus sharp even if your personal life is having challenges.  Adam offers some insights on how to get back on track:

• Take a day off to be with your kids or your significant other by going for a walk or hike or even just sitting down and catching up with them to see what has been going on in their world.
• Look around your office and have a morning, afternoon or even a whole day just to purge the old files or reorganize the piles of magazines and books that date back three years. You will be surprised on how good you will feel if you have made a clean sweep of all the stuff that has been piled on that office chair no one can sit on.
• Hit the gym or get on the bike and exercise until you build up a good sweat. You will be amazed how that will clear your head and even give you more energy to be focused.
• If the personal issue doesn’t seem to have a resolution from you just battling it in your head, reach out to a good friend or mentor and over coffee ask for their advice. Another viewpoint from someone you trust might help you see a solution you hadn’t even considered.
• Change your routine of taking the same route to your office. How many times have you ended up at work or even going back home and it was almost like you were on autopilot and in another zone unaware of how you got to your destination. If you take another route, you are training your brain to be more focused and be open to new answers.
• While you are taking that new route home, try listening to a podcast on a topic you are interested in or by someone motivational that you find interesting.

In addition to this How Question, Jack and Adam give insights into how to deal with a difficult person who seems to suck the oxygen out of the room the minute they enter with their negativity and the “in-your-face” attitude.

For more info on small business challenges tune into this week’s May 31 podcast on iTunes or http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/   or call Jack or Adam for help with your small business challenges at 877-849-0670.

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

The post How do I stay focused on my business when my personal life is in a state of flux? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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