If we could put music to this summary it would be:

I Just Want To Celebrate another day of living,
I Just Want To Celebrate, another day of life.
I put my faith in the people, but the people let me down,
So I turn the other way and carry on anyhow.
That’s why I’m telling you,
I Just Want To Celebrate another day of living,
I Just Want To Celebrate, another day of life.

Of course this is From the Rare Earth Group and their 1971 hit: I Just Want to Celebrate.

Maximum Value Partners doesn’t sing it but frequently tells its small business clients just to take time to Celebrate!

In this segment of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, radio show hosts: Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, business partners of Maximum Value Partners discuss how often small business owners just don’t take the time to stop and smell the roses… to stop and celebrate when they get a new client…when an employee does an exceptional job.

It makes a tremendous difference in your psyche and the mental health and attitudes of your people when you give out the high fives and the “Ata boys” and “Ata girls” and sincerely recognize them for a job well done. What is the sense of working your tail off if you don’t take a few moments or even give the team the afternoon off when something great happens? Celebrate once in awhile…it’s good for your business!

Jack and Adam also debunk the myth that good friendships are the bases for good business relationships with small business owners often think that the best way to build your team is with the friends and relatives you already know.

“Nothing and I mean nothing, could be further from the truth,” said Jack. “When things get a little rough and you need to tell your best friend that he or she is not doing the job, do you really want to choose between the health of your business and the demise of your friendship?” Bottom line, it is seldom a good idea to go into business with your friend or relative.

Dirty Secrets of Small Business also covers a very quirky “How Come?” question for this week’s insight from Jack. Listen in to this podcast to get the whole story on “How come baseball players spit?” and what this has to do with tips for small business owners.

Tune into DirtySecretsofSmallBusiness.com to catch up on all the podcasts and learn more on how to be a productive and successful business owner and if running a small business is really right for you!

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Dirty Secrets of Small Business examines the tough topics small business owners face as they are running their companies. On this week’s show, Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter of Maximum Value Partners, broach the subject of your business style and how this relates to the clients you do business with.

Key takeaways are: Know how you, the owner, like to do business and stick to it. If you are true to your objectives and how you want to run your business, you should find yourself saying “no” at least a few times per year when it comes to new clients. If you are working with a customer that only brings you headaches, backaches and other aches, in the end, it is probably best if you terminate a bad business relationship sooner than later.

This week’s show also covers Jack and Adam discussing the dirty secret of the week that “Not everybody is cut out to be a business owner.” Some red flags that you won’t be a successful business owner are:

• If you are spending money from the business as soon as it comes in;
• If you don’t hire and retain good people;
• If you focus on a paycheck or
• If you are indecisive when making tough decisions to ensure profitability and end up hurting the business.

Tune into DirtySecretsofSmallBusiness.com to catch up on all the podcasts and learn more on how to be a productive and successful business owner and if running a small business is really right for you!

The post You Need to Pick and Choose the Clients You Want! appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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On their show, Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter of Maximum Value Partners talk about nearly every concern small business owners have and worry about, but never had a forum to get the insight and answers they need until now.

In this week’s segment, they discuss the common myth that as an owner, you can outsource the numbers associated with your business… the profit, loss, sales, overhead, projections… everything, so that you really don’t have to be concerned about them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

As a small business owner, it is imperative that you understand every aspect of your business and “own” the numbers to be able to chart your course of action and make changes as it relates to how well the sales and profits are doing for you and the organization you built. Another dirty secret this week is that you don’t have to make every decision immediately. Sometimes, and even most times, it is good to let things percolate a little bit without acting on the situation and even develop an “idea list” to take a look at a little later.

This week’s “How Come Question” centered on: How come my team isn’t happy when I get new business?”

Think about it. New business to you, the owner, represents a growing, thriving organization. New business to your team represents some negatives: more work, more hours away from relaxing at home, more stress and more pressure to get everything done to the boss’s delight.

When new business comes on, it would be a good idea to be as approachable as possible to get feedback and possibly talking to the “mole” in your organization to find out what the back story is on how everyone is really feeling about some of the things taking place in your organization.

As Theodore Roosevelt said: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” And, this is very true when it comes to your business, your team and integrating more projects into the already hectic mix of running a small business. Tune into DirtySecretsofSmallBusiness.com to catch up on all the podcasts and learn more on how to be productive and successful.

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Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, co-business partners of Maximum Value Partners have coached hundreds of small business owners over the last 15 years. On their show, Dirty Secrets of Small Business they discuss the common myth that as an owner, you should keep all your customers even if some of them are not contributing to your profits and even if some of them aren’t helping you grow your business.

“The 80/20 rule is a good one to base your business mix on,” said Mencini. “Do the analysis to see that 80% of your profits are coming from 20% of your clients and it won’t take you long to realize that getting rid of some of those deadbeats who are not contributing to your success will free up time to concentrate on the clients who are helping you grow.”

In this week’s radio show, Jack and Adam reveal the dirty secret that most business owners don’t understand their numbers but instead typically rely upon their bookkeeper or CPA to prepare and review their balance sheets and profit and loss statements. Don’t let this be you. There’s a better way. They also disclose the 3 key elements to concentrate your efforts and focus on as a business owner: Plan, Direct and Control to run a successful small business.

They also discuss the responsibility owners have to their employees. “We can use the analogy that your employees are like young birds in a nest with their mouths open waiting for food. Your employees have open minds and ambitions to learn from you and be directed to how they can be in sync with helping the business grow on a successful path… if they have the right leader feeding them and guiding them, “ said Sonnhalter.

Whether you’re starting a small business or already have one, tune into the show to get some great insights on hiring, segmentation, marketing and sales that will undoubtedly help you no matter what stage you are at with your business.

The post Not all clients are good clients to keep! appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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If you are a small business, which there are 25 million in the United States, you DON’T NEED A BUSINESS PLAN!  What you need is a profit plan and the 7 Keys to Success.  

In this week’s show, Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter debunk this myth that every business needs a business plan. They also discuss the questions a small business owner can ask to have a direction to run the business.  It starts with:  Where are you today? Where do you want to go? And, how do you get there?   Within theses questions is additional information to get the business on the right path without having to create a 100-page business plan.

Jack and Adam give great insights on how to hire employees for your small business and the benefits of using a recruiter.  The money spent with a recruiter can be the best investment a small business owner can make in finding the right people to help grow the company.

Whether you’re starting a small business or already have one, tune into the show to get some great insights that will undoubtedly help you no matter what stage you are in with your business.

The post Small Business Myth: You Need a Business Plan to Succeed! appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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It’s almost become an urban legend and many of you still believe that “You have to spend money to make money.” You hear something like this so many times that you think it must be true. In this week’s show, Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter debunk this myth and further explain that you can even acquire another business with no money down.

Jack and Adam give great insights on effectively running a small business and discuss that you can’t put your business on cruise control. They also give examples from their clients they coach through Maximum Value Partners. A challenging topic for many of their clients is how to explain to their employees where all the money goes that is taken in by the business. (Sometimes, it isn’t even clear to the owner.)

This week’s success story is about a small business that is building a bigger business through acquisitions with none of their own cash and how they were funded from a combination of the bank, the sellers, and vendors.

Whether you’re starting a small business or already have one, tune into the show to get some great insights that will undoubtedly help you no matter what stage you are in with your business.

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We are so sick and tired of our business owner clients who don’t have college degrees being made to feel like second class citizens. It’s embarrassing that most of them feel embarrassed to “admit” they don’t have a degree, yet they are running successful companies. College degrees are geared to helping train people for jobs, at best, not for running a successful small business.

In this week’s show, Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter debunk the myth that to be a successful business owner you need a college degree. From their years of experience in helping small businesses get to the top of their game, Maximum Value Partners (Jack and Adam’s company) chart a path for their clients that is based in reality and 7 Keys to Success.

Hear about the secret of getting real business experience by working at a pizza shop and the truth that there is no hourly compensation for a small business owner.
Whether you’re starting a small business or already have one, tune into the show to get some great insights that will undoubtedly help you no matter what stage you are in with your business.

The post Quit Apologizing for Not Having A College Degree! appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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Tune into this week’s show to learn that the customer isn’t always right and you need to prune your customers (the bad ones!) to get to the healthy stuff for good business growth. Also, Jack and Adam give you insights on your inner business ego… you don’t know everything and don’t be afraid to ask others the questions that are on your mind to make your business even better. Jack and Adam look at the world of small business in a way you can relate to with honesty, integrity and many times, some humor.

In Dirty Secrets of Small Business… Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter are the myth busters and show hosts. If you have missed a show, take a listen to the other podcasts… you will be surprised at what you can learn.

The post 2 Myths Of Small Businesss: The Customer Is Always Right & Keep Bad Customers appeared first on Maximum Value Partners.

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Many small business owners view the competition as the enemy. Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter, coaches of small business with Maximum Value Partners are here to disagree with that concept. In this week’s show of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, they will talk about playing nice with your competition and delve into the idea that your lawyer is not really in the coaching game.

They will also examine the Uber Class Action lawsuit and give their insights on the fact that there is no such thing as an overnight success in business.

Whether you’re starting a small business or already have one, tune into the show to get some great insights that will undoubtedly help you no matter what stage you are in with your business.

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Welcome to Dirty Secrets of Small Business…this show’s mission is to give you the knowledge, tools and power to achieve success whether you’re starting a small business or already have one. Jack Mencini and Adam Sonnhalter of Maximum Value Partners are the radio show’s hosts.

Each week they will be talking business—small business. Drawing on their collective experience having owned and operated 20 small companies and coached and advised for hundreds more, Dirty Secrets of Small Business will debunk the common myths of business ownership, expose the impact of government regulation, share small business success stories and reveal the Dirty Secrets of Small Business.

In this radio show, they will be focusing on:

• The myth that friends and family make the best hires for your small business
• Communications issues- when business advisors don’t speak your language
• What’s up with increasing minimum wage?
• Brother leaves family business and acquires a new small business

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