In This Episode

A client of ours recently attended a presentation focused on business transition.  One of the things that stuck in his head was a quote from a speaker who had recently taken over the business after working for the company for the better part of two decades.  He said, “I went from being involved in everything to being responsible for everything.”  Gulp!

This is something we address with nearly every business transition we get involved with, especially when it includes family.  This is one of the hardest things to prepare someone for when it comes to answering the question of whether you want to own the business or not.  Newt Gingrich can certainly speak to this experience as he reflected on the differences between being part of the House of Representatives vs. being Speaker of the House.  Newt talked about how it’s easier to throw fire bombs from the back row vs. being the one up in front.

There tends to be a lot of romance around the topic of business ownership.  Just Google the phrase “top reasons to own/start your own business” and you’ll find lots of romantic reasons for owning your own business (all of which are positive).  Like any pursuit (or relationship), that romance comes with a lot of hard work as well.  And not just hard work, but work you may not want to do.  But as the owner there is often no one else who is willing to do that work either so guess where it falls?  Squarely on your shoulders.  This “hard work” can vary depending on your perspective. For some people it’s getting out there to market the business to grow sales.  For others it’s dealing with all the people issues or making sense of the numbers or collecting money from customers.

So you have to ask yourself if you truly want to be responsible for everything vs. simply being involved in everything when thinking about this topic of business ownership.  Too many business owners don’t come to this realization until they’re already in that ownership seat.  We’ve identified a handful of key attributes for success for a business owner which we discuss in today’s show.  These include things like not having a job mentality, humility, and a willingness to try things.  Listen to today’s show to find out more about these characteristics and others.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

• Inc. Magazine (https://www.inc.com/guides/201101/top-10-reasons-to-run-your-own-business.html)
• Entrepreneur Magazine (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243145)

The post How Do I Know If I’ve Got What It Takes To Be The Boss? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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In This Episode

It’s often been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  The same thing can be said of the definition of “significant” when it comes to changes.  We often help our business coaching clients with not only defining what is a significant change but then also helping them work through options and start to make that change.  It can be a difficult thing to do by yourself.

Trying to find some objectivity is helpful.  This can be done by getting some outside guidance from a mentor, business group, CPA, business coach, good friend.  Anyone who is business oriented but not involved in your day-to-day business.  It’s also helpful to frame things in financial terms and how the decision will impact your business.  Beware not to fall prey to paralysis by analysis though.

Perhaps most important is to know yourself.  Be aware of things like your behavior style which can impact how you make decisions.  Also understand if you are more driven by the desire to attain pleasure or avoid pain.  Most of us are more likely to act to avoid pain!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

• Tom and Jerry (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_and_Jerry)
• Tidbit (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tidbit)
• Dr. Evil, Austin Powers (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Evil)
• Apple (https://www.apple.com)
• IBM (ibm.com)
• NBA, Adam Silver (nba.com)
• World Cup (https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/)
• Iceland (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland)
• Eva Peron, Evita, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Perón)
• Netflix (netflix.com)
• Amazon Prime (amazon.com)
• Hulu (hulu.com)
• Ford (ford.com)
• Weeble (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeble)
• Charlie Weible (http://www.weibleco.com/charles-bio.html)

The post How Do I Make A Significant Change In My Business? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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In This Episode

One thing we discovered early on in our business coaching is that owners of small businesses typically do little to no planning in their business.  Our clients learn how to properly plan as part of our coaching, as do the listeners to our radio show and podcast.  For those of you who are planners, one of the questions you may have is when is it time to update or change my plans?

If you’re doing planning properly, you typically spend a lot of time and effort pulling those plans together.  So you don’t want to change them quickly or often.  But there are certainly times that call for those updates to happen.  Some things are in your control and others are not.  In either case, you should certainly look at making some adjustments or changes to get things back on course.  After all, one of the keys of the planning is to drive your day-to-day activities!

Most owners don’t know how to plan for their business so they don’t do it.  Once we teach our business coaching clients how to plan, it becomes addictive and part of their ongoing culture.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

• Beach Boys Wouldn’t It Be Nice (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wouldn%27t_It_Be_Nice)
• Venus Flytrap from WKRP in Cincinnati (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077097/)
• Dave Ramsey (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Ramsey)

The post How Do You Know It’s Time To Adjust Your Plans? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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In This Episode

If you’ve been in business long enough, chances are there have been several times when you’ve felt like you can’t get caught up and that you’re drowning in work.  There are only so many hours in the day and it almost feels like being in quicksand where the harder you work and the more you struggle the worse things get.  So what’s a drowning business owner to do?

First off, realize that you always have choices.  No matter how many items are on your To Do List or how many unopened emails you have, you always have a choice for how to respond.  Don’t give up hope!  Keep things simple to start.  List out all the stuff you have to do.  Get it out of your head and either onto a piece of paper or into a Word document or some other electronic format.  There is incredible power an energy that comes from simply getting things out of your head.  Then find one good person to help you.  You’ll be amazed the positive impact one good person can have on your organization!  Go after someone overqualified!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

• U.S. Supreme Court Case with Masterpiece Cakeshop and Jack Phillips vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/masterpiece-cakeshop-ltd-v-colorado-civil-rights-commn/)
• Tarzan (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzan)
• Buffalo Blue Cheese Combos (https://www.influenster.com/reviews/combos-baked-snacks-buffalo-blue-cheese-pretzel)
• Jacob Marley (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Marley)
• Bob Marley (http://www.bobmarley.com)

The post How Do You Get Caught Up/Stop Drowning? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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