Dirty Secrets of Small Business

In This Episode One of the things nobody tells you about when starting a business is that you’ve unknowingly signed up to play the bank.  Every time you provide credit to a customer you always risk having someone like Wimpy from Popeye who will promise you the world for that hamburger today!  So knowing how it feels to have some customers ask you to play the bank, is it OK for you to do the same t...

In This Episode One of the common refrains you’ll hear whether it be in business or life is something to the effect, “If you’re not growing you’re dying.”  A phrase like that can put a lot of pressure on a business owner to constantly be growing.  But what does this really mean to grow?  How do you plan for all of this growth?  And is it possible to have too much growth? A good metaphor to keep in...

In This Episode One of our favorite things about small business when compared to big business is that small business allows you to have a heart.  Big organizations can often feel cold and impersonal.  But with that “heart” of small business also comes a lot of emotion.  Our topic today covers one of those emotional reactions that is pretty common for a small business owner, trying to figure out if...

In This Episode Chances are if you’ve been in business for yourself for a little while at some point you’ve wrestled with the thought of throwing in the towel.  Many things could trigger this thought.  Anything from losing a big customer or key employee or it could just be that you’re tired and worn out.  Whatever your situation, understand you’re not alone. One of the things Jack did after...

In This Episode So what do you do?  What do you say when someone asks you this question?  Chances are you’ll talk about your business and what your business does first when responding to this question.  But if someone is asking what it is that you do as the business owner in our business, what do you tell them? Most business owners we meet will joke about doing anything and everything, especially...

In This Episode Warning, this may get a little uncomfortable!  It’s always awkward for a business owner to think about this question, let alone ask it out loud.  Yet we know it’s a question that many business owners wrestle with at a variety of times with their business.  Is there a right time to step away from your business?  And what does “step away” really mean? We’ve been blessed over our 20 y...

In This Episode One of the biggest things we do for our business owner coaching clients is help them ask the right questions.  Our topic today about trying to not think about your business is one of those questions that isn’t the right question to be asking.  It’s really not even the question our clients and other small business owners mean to ask because it’s really not possible to stop thinking...

In This Episode If you’re a business owner, chances are you’ve either been accused of being the bottleneck or you’ve recognized it in yourself.  It’s tough when you’re the one who started the business and it was basically you doing everything at the start.  As you grow and add more people to your team, it can be difficult to let things go and entrust your team to get things done.  Especially to do...

In This Episode One of the most common frustrations we hear from small business owners is that they feel like they are tied to their business.  Like they can’t leave for short or long periods of time without significant angst or stress as they wonder how things are going.  So how do some business owners manage to be away from their business yet still have a good sense for what is going on while ot...

In This Episode It seems these days that everywhere you look a new podcast is popping up.  It’s to the point now that there are over 1 million podcasts currently available.  And that number continues to grow.  Even fake people have podcasts…Ron Burgundy anyone?  So the question we pondered today during the show is, should your small business have a podcast? Was it just us, or did your mother also...

In This Episode So did you already start your business or are you still thinking about it?  If you’ve already started your business chances are you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed already.  If you haven’t already started, maybe you’re finding reasons not to start, like you’re waiting for the perfect time to launch.  Unfortunately there’s no such thing as you can always find reasons not to start...

In This Episode One of the best predictors of success in any aspect of your life is your coachability.  How coachable are you?  Are you what we often refer to as an “old steel guy” who knows everything?  Or are you the one who’s always looking for ways to get better and improve and achieve your goals even faster? One of the things we learned early on in our coaching practice is that not everyone i...

In This Episode There has never been an easier time than now to get into business for yourself.  With modern technology and the resulting connectivity you could literally have a worldwide business set up and running in a matter of days.  So depending on your view this could be an exciting opportunity or totally overwhelming.  But just because you can set up a business, does that mean you should? W...

In This Episode Have you been on a road trip this summer?  We are big fans of road trips, always have been.  And now with all the craziness going on with airlines and constant cancellations and delays, not to mention all the hassles at the airport and potential loss of luggage, road trips have become even more appealing to most folks. Whether you’re a road trip warrior or perhaps just stay more in...

In This Episode So have you run out of siblings, cousins, aunts, friends, and neighbors to hire?  How do you find the best people?  Perhaps more importantly, how do you screen and interview people so you don’t waste a bunch of time with people who aren’t going to be a good fit for your organization? Our show today focuses on the interview process with a particular focus on the initial phone screen...

In This Episode Do you ever feel overwhelmed as a small business owner?  Like you have to do everything yourself, especially if you want it done right?  But at the same time you’re not an expert in every aspect of your business, even though most folks expect you to have all the answers.  So what’s a lonely business owner supposed to do? Keep in mind that your role as the business owner isn’t to do...

In This Episode So what do you do when all the government money runs out?  Over the past couple of years since the COVID-19 pandemic started there has been an unprecedented amount of “free money” being doled out to individuals and businesses alike. On the business front in the U.S. there were 2 rounds of Forgivable PPP Loans (Paycheck Protection Program), refunds from Worker’s Compensation, and Pa...

In This Episode It’s one of those statements you’ve likely heard at different points throughout your life.  And if you’re a business owner you’ve either uttered those words or certainly thought about it a lot.  It truly is lonely at the top.  So what does this mean and why is it so lonely when you’re running your small business? Some of the more common factors we find that make it a lonely place a...

In This Episode Staying focused can be a problem in regular life, not to mention your business life.  One of the things we provide for our coaching clients is a framework to help them know “what” they should be focusing on which is our 7 Keys to Success.  But that doesn’t explain “how” they can stay focused.  After all, don’t we all battle some demons when it comes to staying focused? One of the b...

In This Episode This is one of those questions that circles around an owner’s mind quite often.  Not only how often should I be in the office but for how long?  Should the boss be the first in and last to leave?  Or should the boss only show up whenever it’s convenient?  Or somewhere in between?  How about as little as possible?  The short answer is, it depends! We know that may sound like a cop o...

In This Episode So here we are in the middle of summer and it’s prime time for summer vacations.  Are you excited about your upcoming vacation?  Unfortunately, too many business owners either aren’t looking forward to their upcoming vacation or they don’t have one planned.  It doesn’t have to be this way. If you want to see a small business owner smile, just ask them to tell you about the last vac...

In This Episode We recently met a husband and wife who have owned and worked together in a business for nearly three decades.  They were exploring the possibility of selling their business and retiring.  When we asked them what they were going to do after they sold the business they both had a sheepish grin and said they were going to “relax and enjoy life.”  They want to do a little traveling and...

In This Episode One of the things that folks in a leadership position wrestle with is the idea of being in control.  We will often hear business owners talk about how they are accused of being micromanagers.  This can result in team members not feeling confident or empowered to make many of the day-to-day decisions in running the business and instead will wait for the owner to step in to decide wh...

In This Episode Over the years we have helped several clients buy companies.  Some have been individuals looking to own their own business.  Many more have been clients with an existing business they are looking to grow and decided to pursue acquisitions as an option.  Our discussion during the show today centered more on the folks who are looking to buy their first or next business. So one of the...

In This Episode Many business owners are looking for help.  Oftentimes they are looking in all the wrong places.  It usually starts with friends and family.  Most of these friends and family are well intentioned, but many can’t relate to the challenges of owning and running a small business as they’ve never done it successfully themselves.  Or perhaps they have had some success in running a small...