On this week’s show, Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, founders and co-owners of their own small business, Maximum Value Partners (MVP) address a how question that an avid listener, Jason in New York, emailed them with:  How do I know if its is time to leave my day job?

According to Adam, Jason was in a really good situation to even start thinking about leaving his day job to start his own business.  “When I talked to Jason, I found out that he was 30-years-old, planning to get married, no debt, had a good steady job and was moonlighting in a business he hoped to start himself, one day,” said Adam. “He also already had his own equipment and a truck.”

“The other part of his background, which he felt was a negative, was the he did not graduate from college.

“I told him that college was over-rated and our experience shows that of those people starting a business, one-third have some college education, one-third have graduated from college and one-third never went to college and went on to start a successful small business.”

Another curious statistic the small business coaches shared is that it is very easy to get a loan for college, but extremely difficult to get one to start a new business…  “Which is bureaucratic and ridiculous,“ said Jack.

Many individuals just like Jason, are nervous to take the leap to start their own business because they think about failure and ultimately “living under a bridge in a cardboard box.” 

If you have been successful “working for the man” or rather, working for a corporation and then start your own business and it doesn’t work out, there is no reason not to believe that you couldn’t go back to doing a job. Sometimes you have to get out of your own way to go on your own. Just do it!

For more tips and insights on starting your own business and the option of acquiring an established business to make it your own with little or no money down, listen to the August 30 episode of Dirty Secrets of Small Business. Jack and Adam also cover the concept of how to engage with people/other business owners to research the business you want to start plus how to go about taking the leap to get your business up and running.

For more insights contact Jack and Adam directly at radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670.

Plan to listen each week on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 and the new 101.5 FM, the coaches invite listeners to be a part of the show and feel free to call in (440-946-9468) or tweet your question to @MaximumVP or @JackmMVP or @AdamSonnhalter. Listeners can ask questions about their businesses and be part of the show.

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When you start a business, perhaps the very last thing on your mind is when it will be time to sell your business. To Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, hosts and business coaches who are small business owners themselves with Maximum Value Partners www.maximumvp.com and the hosts of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, there seems to come the “a ha moment” in every business owners’ life after many years of running the business when for a variety of reasons it just feels right to move on. Sometimes this epiphany comes with clarity and to others, it is filled with doubt even though their gut is telling them now is the time.

Jack and Adam know a thing or two about small business and when it is time for someone to consider taking the necessary steps to sell. They have run about two-dozen small businesses themselves. Over the last 15 years, they have coached hundreds of owners using their formula: The 7 Keys to Success http://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/

Each week on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 and the new 101.5 FM, the coaches invite listeners to be a part of the show and feel free to call in (440-946-9468). Listeners can ask questions about their businesses or even debate the examples Jack and Adam share on the trials and tribulations of their clients and the dirty secrets of small business.

On this week’s episode of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, the business coaches give an overview of How Do I Know It’s Time To Sell My Business? The podcast is available on iTunes or http://maximumvp.com/dirty-secrets-small-business-radio-show-podcast/

Jack and Adam share thoughts on the reasons why business owners make the decision to sell their businesses.  It could be:

1. Health reasons… I don’t have the energy anymore or it could be a more serious health issue
2. The realization that my kids don’t want to take over the business or that they do and they want me out
3. The Fed UP Syndrome… It has been a grind for 24/7 for too many years, which I was enjoying and it’s not fun anymore

Along with the topic of how to go about exiting from the business and either selling it to an outsider, selling it to the competition (Yes, this is a viable solution) or transitioning it to your son, daughter or another family member, there is the conundrum of really having the owner exit and break away.  Too many times, Jack and Adam have coached and consulted with the owner on selling the business only to find out that on the very first day when Junior took over, they find dad is stilling in his old office.

The business coaches give advice that when you have a plan to get out of the business, the plan also has to include that you physically get out of the business too!  This doesn’t mean that if you are a male business owner you become a one of the ROMEOs (retired old men eating out) that we see early in the morning at every breakfast place with donuts or bagels causing loud conversation with a half-dozen older gents arguing over insane and insignificant topics.  Have a plan to keep your body and your mind in gear and productive by volunteering in your community or even consulting at workshops for small businesses or getting into a new business.

If you are thinking of selling your business or transitioning it to a family member, give Jack and Adam a call (877-849-0670) and they will talk you through it because they know how to do it and neither one of them is remotely near to being a ROMEO!

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/

Do you have any How Questions of your own to email to Jack and Adam or any war stories on listening to a suit rather than working with an effective small business coach?  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.

Remember…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. Dial  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 It’s Time To Sell My Company? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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In this day and age of constantly being in contact with everyone through smart phones and social media in both your personal life and business life, how can you ever achieve down time or what everyone is ruminating on: the need for work/life balance? In this week’s show on Dirty Secrets of Small Business, hosts and small business owners themselves, Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter tackle not only the work/life how question, but also discuss the truth that many small business owners, who love their small business… don’t want to be disconnected from their work and don’t see the balance conundrum as an issue for them. It may be an issue for their significant others and their families…but not for the owner who has never found the switch to turn off thinking about his business and really doesn’t want to.

Adam gave the example of growing up in a family business where his dad ran a very successful advertising/public relations agency. “My dad was always available to take me to my sports practices and take part in family functions. What I didn’t realize until much later in life is that after my brother and I went to bed, my dad would probably be up until 2:00 am working on the business. His work/life balance didn’t suffer because he chose to utilize all of his time on his schedule (the things he chose to do) even if it meant burning the midnight oil.”

Jack also addresses the idea of what work/life balance means to the millennial workforce.  “To millennials and small business owners their concentration is on tracking productivity and not the normal 40-hour work week or the 9-5 job,” said Jack. “If more people would target what needs to be done and the concept that it really doesn’t matter in what time frame the project gets done or if you are able to get it accomplished sooner, then you will have the flexibility to define your own work/life balance. This will result with no compromise for reaching success and productivity.

Listen to this week’s show of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, as co-hosts Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, who are also owners of Maximum Value Partners, www.maximumvp.com discuss the topic of sucky job syndrome.

For more insights contact Jack and Adam directly at radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670.

Plan to listen each week on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 and the new 101.5 FM, the coaches invite listeners to be a part of the show and feel free to call in (440-946-9468) or tweet your question to @MaximumVP. Listeners can ask questions about their businesses or even debate the examples Jack and Adam share on the trials and tribulations of their clients and the dirty secrets of small business.

The post How do I achieve a work/life balance? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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One of the allures of running your own small business might be that you don’t have to worry about all the formal structure that exists in bigger companies.  Typically that starts with avoiding regular meetings at all costs.  I mean, as a small business owner, you are typically seeing and talking with all of your key team members multiple times a day.  Why muck it all up with a bunch of formal meetings?

In our 15 years of coaching owners of small companies, one of the top complaints we’ve heard revolves around communication.  Either too little of it, too much, too confusing, etc.  You might be surprised how a couple of simple, structured, and regular meetings can alleviate much of the communication complaining.  The key is doing it right.

We are big fans of keeping things simple and easy.  From a meeting standpoint, start with one meeting.  We typically recommend starting with either a daily touch or a weekly update meeting.  The daily meeting should be no more than 5-10 minutes and the weekly no more than an hour.  It’s key to start with one so you can get your rhythm down and build momentum.

Next, follow these simple steps:

• Have a set day & time: if Monday at 10am works for everyone for the weekly update, make sure it gets into everybody’s calendar and stick to it and don’t allow other things to trump that meeting. Also, start on time and finish on time.  Don’t let it drift!
• Create a set agenda: make the agenda items a handful of broad categories for what you’d like to discuss during the meeting and the specifics will change each time. And don’t let anything else be inserted into the meeting.
• Avoid problem solving: whether it be a daily touch or a weekly update meeting, the purpose is to make sure information is disseminated, not to solve problems. If you see people delving into problem solving mode, quickly bring them back up and ask them to problem solve offline.
• Don’t include bystanders: if someone is in the meeting, they should have something to present. Avoid the temptation of inviting everyone into the meeting.  You want folks to be active participants so don’t waste someone’s time by requiring them to be at a meeting where they aren’t participating.

Listen to this week’s show of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, as co-hosts Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, who are also owners of Maximum Value Partners, www.maximumvp.com discuss the merits and the upside of running a successful meeting and what it means for your business.

For more insights contact Jack and Adam directly at radio@maximumvp.com or 877-849-0670.

Plan to listen each week on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 and the new 101.5 FM, the coaches invite listeners to be a part of the show and feel free to call in (440-946-9468) or tweet your question to @MaximumVP. Listeners can ask questions about their businesses or even debate the examples Jack and Adam share on the trials and tribulations of their clients and the dirty secrets of small business.

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Probably some of the toughest situations to deal with in having your own business involve making changes to your team, especially when the person is your relative or possibly… your mother.  Small business coaches Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, who are also co-hosts of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, discuss the very difficult situation of having to fire your mother in this week’s show.

We believe it’s never the desire of the children to disrespect mom and that mom really doesn’t want to get in the way, but often mom doesn’t quite know how to bow out gracefully.  As a transitioning business owner, it’s tough to give up being in charge and it’s also hard to let your children make their own mistakes in the business. You have to fight that natural parental instinct to protect both your children and your business.

One of the best ways to take some emotion out of a situation like this is to ask the simple question of “what’s best for the organization?”  You’d be amazed at how often the cloud lifts and the answer appears when you’re struggling with what to do in a tough situation.  Now the challenge becomes making the decision to execute on that decision.

As you might imagine, this topic of “firing your mother” doesn’t come up in a situation where everyone is getting along and in agreement for what is best for the organization.  So when’ it’s gotten to this point, here are a few options to consider to get the business unstuck from this very delicate situation:

• Pay your mother to stay away: this is as simple as it sounds where you literally continue to pay your mother whatever you were paying her when she was working in the business with the caveat that you don’t want her to come to work any more. If she steps foot back in the company then the payments will stop.
• Offer a buyout: one sure way to rid the company of your mother is to buy her out which would then put you in full control. Putting together an offer to buy her out might just do the trick.
• Prepare for your own exit: if you can’t get your mom to agree to either of the above, then you might have to threaten to leave the business yourself. This option only works if you are integral to the business AND you are actually willing to leave.  Don’t go down this path unless you are truly ready to walk out.
• Take her to court: this brings back images of Judge Wapner from People’s Court, but if you can’t negotiate another option, the last one would involve getting the lawyers involved and using the legal system to your advantage and make your case to an impartial 3^rd party (just like Wapner!).

Another topic that is covered in this week’s Dirty Secrets of Small Business is How do I know if I am an entrepreneur? Tune in to this week’s podcast to see if you measure up as an entrepreneur.

Listen each week on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm (EST) on WINT Radio 1330 and the new 101.5 FM, the coaches invite listeners to be a part of the show and feel free to call in (440-946-9468) or tweet your question to @MaximumVP. Listeners can ask questions about their businesses or even debate the examples Jack and Adam share on the trials and tribulations of their clients and the dirty secrets of small business.

If you have a success story or a how question you would like to share, submit a question on their web site at  http://maximumvp.com/how/, send an email to radio@maximumvp.com or contact Jack and Adam directly at 877-849-0670.

The post How do you fire your mother? & How do I know if I am an entrepreneur? appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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