On Tuesday we talked about the process of picking out what’s most important for you to accomplish in a day, or a week, and blocking time on your calendar to do it. Did you know you can use a similar process to keep your whole business focused on the most critical challenges you face? When…
On Saturday, I wrote about my client who filled his calendar all day, every day with meetings. Not meetings in which he got to do the thing he loves — meetings to cover administriva, operations meetings, places where he had to make decisions about things that he wasn’t an expert in. He had resolved many…
His business had grown — it was bigger now than he ever thought it would get to be. He’s making good money, driving a nice car, has a big office, a place out by the lake…things are good. Except, he’s tired, exhausted really. He’s tried changing up his workout; he tried taking a big long…
So I’ve made some good progress toward my big goals for the year, and I’ve gotten some good help to make those goals happen. Is that all I need to do? Now I’m walking down easy street? Well, not for me! You see, things are going pretty well, and making all that change is uncomfortable. Since…
In Saturday’s message I told you about some big changes I made this year, and how in the middle of those changes (and even now) I can get griped by a terror that I’ve made a terrible mistake. What made it worse is that I didn’t know where to go for help. In the middle…
I started this year with some big goals for my business. To accomplish these goals, I: All of that while recording a weekly podcast, serving a dozen or so active clients, and having a life too. It was a busy year. I’m happy to say, with two months left in the year I’ve fully accomplished…
When your business first starts to grow, hiring is a necessity. There’s work that needs to get done and you need people to do it. You want folks who will be a good fit, sure, but mostly you need work done. Once you get to 10 – 15 people you need more than help to…
When I was in the business of buying entrepreneurial companies, the first thing we’d look at to determine the value is the cash flow. If you want the option to sell your business someday — it might make sense for you to pay attention to your cash flow now! Most businesses are valued based on…
For the better part of a decade, I worked for a family-owned conglomerate and looked for businesses for them to buy. We’d look seriously at ten or so businesses a year, where we’d build a financial forecast, build a valuation, research their customers and market dynamics, meet the key leadership team, etc. Of those ten,…
You know what I mean when I ask, “How many adults are there on your team?” Right? How many people on your team …without being told to do it? Stop for a minute and go through your team: Is he an “adult”? Is she? When I ask business owners this question in a team of…