Monthly Archives: February 2019

How Do I Slow Down?

February 23, 2019Uncategorizeddirty-secrets-of-small

In This Episode

So, this might sound counterintuitive to all of you business owners focused on growing at all costs, but it often pays big dividends in the long-term to slow things down a bit. Growth can create all kinds of indigestion for a company.

We have several clients who have learned very expensive lessons about how it often pays to slow down. This includes everything from failed acquisitions to the wrong attachments being sent out on emails and everything in between. We shared several of those stories on our show tonight.

So what does slowing down look like? It can be as simple as forcing yourself to wait 24 hours to make a decision or “sleeping on it” for a day or two as you let things percolate. Believe it or not, most things can wait 24 hours (and usually longer). Things like having regular meetings can also force an organization to slow down a bit as that structure provides a place for most decisions. Listen instead of talk. What about “single-tasking” vs. “multi-tasking”?

If you’re in business long enough, things should naturally “slow down” for you. Much like an athlete moving from grade school to high school or high school to college and eventually to the professional ranks, at some point either the game “slows down” or they don’t survive at that next level. So if things haven’t slowed down for you yet, tonight’s show is for you!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Days of Thunder (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099371/)
Budweiser Clydesdales (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_Clydesdales)
Barry White (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_White)

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How I Got From Entry Level Job To Owner, Ben Ihde?

February 14, 2019Uncategorizeddirty-secrets-of-small

In This Episode

During tonight’s show we had the honor of being joined in studio by Ben Ihde, owner of D&S Color Supply, who has been a business coaching client of Maximum Value Partners for several years. He has a fascinating story for how he went from an entry level position to owning the company and he shared many insights from that experience during tonight’s show.

Ben also discussed his experience with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program where he was a graduate of the first class here in Cleveland. One of his key takeaways was being able to present his business especially to bankers which paid off well for him as he took over the business and doubled his credit line and borrowed money to buy out the previous owner.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

D&S Color Supply (http://www.dscolorsupply.com)

PPG Industries (http://corporate.ppg.com/Our-Company.aspx)

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program (https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/)

The post How I Got From Entry Level Job To Owner, Ben Ihde? appeared first on Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

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Is Jimmy Haslam Really As Bad An Owner As Everyone Thinks?

February 6, 2019Uncategorizeddirty-secrets-of-small

In This Episode

When my wife starts talking to me about football I know I need to pay attention because she doesn’t really like football. In late January 2019, ESPN investigative reporter Seth Wickersham published a scathing article about the Cleveland Browns and the dysfunction that has existed since Jimmy and Dee Haslam took ownership in 2012. My wife had a lot of questions after reading that article, so we thought it would be an interesting topic to delve a little further into for our audience.

During tonight’s show we dissected the article to hit on some Leadership and Organization issues that we know will relate to small business owners. You might find it hard to believe after reading Wickersham’s article, but Jimmy Haslam has actually done a lot of things right when it comes to Leadership and the Organization. Chances are you might have more in common with Jimmy Haslam as an owner than you want to admit in public.

We shared some stories of clients of ours as well that relate to what Jimmy and Dee have gone through as owners. Some of the good Leadership traits like being decisive, listening, and being engaged lead to some victories for Jimmy but also some struggles. So how do you avoid making some of those same mistakes? Take a listen to the show and find out!