In This Episode
Today we were joined on the show by business owner Brian Maurer of Brian Kyles.  Brian has been an MVP client for about a decade and we have had a lot of fun and success together!  During the show today Brian shared his story of taking over the family business from his parents and then growing that business to where it is today.
We covered a lot during our chat but some of the highlights include:


Working with family in the business including his dad, mom, and brother and then transitioning the ownership of that business;
Growing the business through a combination of acquisitions and launching a new division; and
Importance of key people and systems in assisting with the growth.

Brian has a lot of great a relevant experience that he shared with us today, including talking about his decision to attend college and why it took him 3.5 years to get his 2 year degree, and we know you’ll enjoy hearing him share his story.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Brian Kyles (https://www.briankyles.com)
Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute Campus (https://ati.osu.edu)
Business Network International “BNI” (https://www.bni.com)
Rotary International (https://www.rotary.org/en)
Aspire (https://www.youraspire.com/)
COVID 19 (https://www.cdc.gov/covid/index.html)
PC Services (https://www.facebook.com/4goodnature/)

In This Episode
One of the areas of small business coaching where we’ve specialized over the past two decades plus has to do with transitioning the business from one generation to the next.  As you might imagine, over that time we’ve come across just about every scenario you can imagine.  The one that people seem to fear most is when the current business owner dies while still running the business.  So the question for today is, “What happens when you’re not ready?”
One of our clients, who was also a prior guest on Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Lisa Holly, is joining the show today to discuss this very topic.  As you might recall from Lisa’s first appearance on the show, her and her brother Woody took over the family moving and storage business after their mom died in a car accident in November 2006.  Nearly 17 years to the date of their mom’s passing, I also lost my business partner and co-host of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Jack Mencini.
We thought it would be fitting to have one of our past clients who loves Jack almost as much as I do to share her thoughts on this topic.  Plus, I have a little different perspective on this topic since Jack’s passing.  Some of the things we shared during today’s show include:


Just Keep Swimming: we all need to tap into our inner Dory from the movie Finding Nemo and “just keep swimming”.  When a business partner (or life partner) passes away unexpectedly, it’s often necessary to remind yourself to just keep taking the next step forward.  Take that next breath in and out.  As hard as it might seem at the time, you need to keep moving.  In doing that, it can often feel like all we are doing is barely holding things together.  And that’s perfectly normal.  It might take months or years before you don’t have to remind yourself to take the next step or breath and it just starts happening naturally.
Be Patient: we often need to remind our clients to give themselves some grace when it comes to transitions like this.  There is no playbook for what is the right or wrong way to react, although most folks who have been through something similar will tell you to be patient and not make any major decisions in the first year.  This also gives you plenty of time to listen to what others are telling you and/or suggesting and see what might fit.  Remember that changing behavior takes time and effort and the emotions will pass.  So be patient with yourself as well as those around you.
Now What/What’s Next?: if you’re truly unprepared, like Jack and I were with Dirty Secrets of Small Business, you pretty quickly start asking questions like, “Now what?”  We knew Jack was planning to do the show until he was no longer able to do it physically or mentally and we both thought that time was years away. With Lisa and her brother Woody, they were thinking they might eventually take over the business but they certainly weren’t thinking it was going to happen when it did.  But once you get through the “holding everything together” phase, you need to decide what’s next.  In the case of Berea Moving & Storage, Lisa said there was no other option as far as she was concerned.  Not only did she and Woody want to honor their parents and all they had built, but they also realized they had dozens of employees who were willing to do whatever it took to succeed.

Lisa talked today about her “discovery” year of 2007 where she learned about a lot of things and people including herself.  Like other things related to business transitions, there is no one right way to do things.  So if you still have time, you can start working on a transition plan today.  If it’s already too late, then hopefully some of our stories and insights from today’s show have helped.  Whatever you do, don’t go it alone and make sure you tap into your “village” of people for help.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

In This Episode
You might have noticed that it’s been a few weeks since we’ve dropped a podcast.  It’s the first time in nearly 8 years of recording Dirty Secrets of Small Business that we’ve missed a week.
We have some sad news to report.  My business partner of over 20 years in Maximum Value Partners, and my co-host for nearly 8 years on Dirty Secrets of Small business has passed away.  Jack Mencini left this world two weeks ago on November 8, 2023 at the age of 80.  While we had plans in place for MVP after Jack, we never really had plans for DSSB after Jack since he planned to continue with the show as long as he could.  I am planning to take some time during this holiday season to figure out the next steps for DSSB.
In the meantime I thought it was appropriate to do a Thanksgiving show this year as Thanksgiving was Jack’s favorite holiday.  He loved the food, family and friends, and football without all the pressure of having to bring gifts.  Just a chance to be with people you love and reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for.
As you might imagine, I have so much to be thankful for in my 20+ year partnership with Jack and I wanted to share a few of them with you today:


Partner: my wife said losing Jack is kind of like losing her.  Jack was someone I saw, talked with, texted, or emailed nearly every day over the last 20 years.  We spent a lot of time together coaching our hundreds of clients over the years, but what I’ll miss most is the times we were just hanging out talking about things.  Everything from life to business to sports.  And we took lots of trips together including several annual trips to baseball spring training in Arizona to watch our beloved Tribe and get out of the Cleveland winters for a few days.  It’s hard to put into words all that Jack has meant to me in my life.
Clients: we’ve been blessed to have a front seat view with hundreds of small business clients as they run, grow, and eventually transition their businesses.  The outpouring of love for Jack over these past few weeks has been overwhelming.  It’s safe to say Jack had an impact on just about everyone he encountered and just about all of that impact was positive.
Listeners: what started out as a couple of amateurs live on the radio evolved into a weekly podcast that has helped so many folks.  We initially started the DSSB podcast so we could help more small business owners as well as provide people with some insight for what it’s like to work with MVP.  It’s been great over the years to hear from so many of you and how you enjoyed and looked forward to our podcasts.  If nothing else, we could often provide you with a few laughs and a voice of reason to make sense of what can often be a crazy business world.
390: I’m so blessed to have recorded 390 DSSB podcasts with Jack.  I’ve already gone back and listened to a few of our prior shows over these past couple of weeks.  It’s so great to hear his voice and his laugh and to hear him tell his stories even though I know so many of the stories by heart.

I recently changed the wallpaper on my phone to the photograph I’ve uploaded for this show.  This is a photo of Jack from our first Spring Training trip in March 2015.  Every time I look at my phone I see this smiling face and I can almost hear the crack of the bat.  I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully you remember you have a lot to be thankful for this year.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

St. Ed’s Obit for Jack with Senior High School Photo (https://obituaries.sehs.net/obituaries/john-e-mencini/)
Busch Funeral Home Obit (https://www.buschcares.com/obituaries/John-E-Mencini?obId=29850202)

In This Episode
Today we were joined on the show by business owner Jeremy Orsky of Ohio Collision Group.  Jeremy was an MVP client for nearly 8 years and we had a lot of fun and tremendous success together!  During the show today Jeremy shared his story of acquiring several underperforming collision repair shops and growing them and eventually selling them to a consolidator.  He was able to accomplish all of this by his early 40s.
We covered a lot during our chat but some of the highlights include:


Working with family in the business including his dad, sister, and spouse, not to mention a few friends who were like family;
How do you spot underperforming assets and then grow them;
Importance of key people in assisting with the growth; and
Making the decision to sell what you’ve worked so hard to build.

Jeremy always has an interesting way of expressing things and we think you’ll enjoy hearing his story and will definitely have some good laughs.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Crash Champions acquires Ohio Collision Group (https://crashchampions.com/news/crash-champions-continues-growth-in-greater-cleveland-metro-area-with-two-new-acquisitions)
Kent State (https://www.kent.edu)
Bob Evans (https://www.bobevans.com)
Winking Lizard Tavern (https://www.winkinglizard.com)
Margin Authority (https://margin-authority.com)
Chris Farley as Matt Foley on Saturday Night Live (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Foley)

In This Episode
With all the battles going on to get workers back in the office, we started to think of the good old days when folks would complain that the boss is never around or the opposite, they never leave!  But our question today is bigger than that.  Is it good for the boss to be around?  What kind of message does it deliver if the boss is around too much or not enough?
One of the things we discuss with all of our clients is that most people have no idea what the boss does.  The “work” of the boss often looks very different from the “work” of much of the rest of the team.  So why doesn’t she ever leave us alone?  Or how come he’s never here?  These are some of the questions employees will ask when they don’t understand what the boss is doing.
As a boss yourself, do you ever consider your power?  Do you realize people respond differently when you’re in the room?  If so, then you should have some purpose when you’re in the office or around the shop.  Beware that the eyes are always on you.
During the show today we shared several ideas for things to do and consider when you’re hanging around your company:


Inform: let people know what’s going on.  The “why” is a big deal in terms of why you do the things you do.  A good way to instill this in your organization is to have regular meetings so your team can constantly be informed and report on the most important items of your business.
Assist: one of your main jobs as the leader of your company is to remove roadblocks for your team.  You should never tire of asking the question, “How can I help you or make your job easier?”
Credit: be sure to shower praise publicly (and privately) on those who are doing the right things.  Reinforce for people the types of behaviors and results you’re looking for.
Blame: when things don’t go right, be the first one to take the blame.  Even if it wasn’t your fault, it’s still your company so the buck should ultimately stop with you. 

There are lots of things to be doing whether you’re in the office or not so be sure to be purposeful about it.  In today’s ever changing and more virtual world you’ll want to be sure to be “present” as well.  Even though it might look a little different virtually.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Loch Ness Monster (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster)

In This Episode
One of the great things about buying vs. starting a company is that when you buy a business you have some history and some things established.  Things like customers, vendors, and employees.  When starting out you have to build everything from scratch.  As you might imagine, when you’re building something from scratch it’s easy to put your stamp on the company.  But how do you do that with a company you just bought?  What if it’s one your family started?  How do you honor what they’ve built but still put your own stamp on the company?
This is something we have a lot of experience with both personally as well as with coaching our clients.  Depending on the situation, you might need to put your stamp on the company faster.  For instance, if the company you’ve purchased is more of a turnaround scenario where the business has been struggling to make money or has been losing money, you’ll want to make changes quicker.  But if the company is running well and profitable, you’ll likely want to move more slowly to make changes as you won’t want to upset the current flow of business.
During the show today we shared several ideas for things to do and consider when looking to put your stamp on the company:


People: one of the first things you’ll want to assess is your people.  Who is going to be key for helping you run and grow this business and who might get in the way.   Also, are there any voids in the business that need to be filled?  If so, are those things you’re going to do or do you want to bring in someone new or offer those duties to one of your current people?  A great way to start putting your stamp on something is how you work with and through your team.
Routines: what systems are currently in place to run the business you just bought?  Some of these systems or routines might be documented while likely many others are just happening because people have been there for a while.  One of the things you can do early on is start to change some of the routines.  It could be the frequency of regular meetings or it could be a change in the work schedule (e.g. going to 4 days per week vs. 5 days).  Look around at things that can be improved from a systems standpoint.
Presenting: this is one that is often overlooked.  How often does your team get together so they can stay informed about the most important things going on in your business?  We suggest doing this at least monthly because a lot can change and time goes by quickly.  Just you Presenting what’s going on in the business will help to quell any fears the employees have about a new owner.  It will also give you the chance to see how your team performs and interacts.  Early on you’ll want to talk to your team about the Vision you have for the business and why you purchased it.  Give them a chance to get excited with you!
1-on-1s: set up time to meet 1-on-1 with everyone on your team.  Ask them questions about their past and what they’re hoping to do in the future.  Get to know them.  Share some of your story with them too so they can understand you and why you bought this business.  People will also talk differently 1-on-1 vs. in the group where others are watching.
Fire Someone: this could be a customer, vendor, or employee.  Chances are there are some bad customers, vendors, or employees.  The quicker you can figure out who those bad ones are and purge your organization of them the better off you’re going to be.  How you define “bad” is a matter of opinion but think about folks who are abusive to your staff which maybe the prior owner put up with in the name of doing business with those folks.  What a bunch of nonsense.  You’ll gain your team’s loyalty quickly if you help purge their days of people who don’t appreciate them.

There are lots of other things we discussed during the show today and if you’re in the situation of having recently purchased your business we ...

In This Episode
Today we were joined on the show by business owner Phil Billick of Valley Ridge Farms.  Phil was one of MVP’s earliest coaching clients with a prior company he started and he is also Jack’s nephew!  During the show today Phil shared his story of not only starting, growing, and then eventually selling one business, but also how he’s been involved in starting several more including his 800 acre farm in southeast Ohio.
We covered a lot during our chat but some of the highlights include:


Partners in business, the good the bad and the ugly;
What do you do when you “retire”; and
What’s it like to partner with your spouse.

Phil also shared some crazy stories about some colorful characters he’s met throughout his career as well as an unbelievable story about moving their house up a massive hill.  We think you’ll really enjoy listening to his story!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Valley Ridge Farms (https://www.facebook.com/valleyridgefarmsltd/)
Air Compliance Testing (https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/63400-60#overview)
Cleveland State (https://www.csuohio.edu)
Wharton School of Business (https://www.wharton.upenn.edu)

In This Episode
The good news is you’ve gotten that offer you can’t refuse and you are going to sell your company.  Now the question is what do you do next?  Do you stay on with your company after the acquisition?  Do you ride off into the sunset?  Do you start another company?  So many choices and so little time.
We’ve been blessed in our coaching business to have taken several clients through the process of growing, running, and eventually selling their businesses.  While each situation is unique, there are several questions you’ll want to answer when deciding what to do next including the possibility of staying on with the new owner.
So here are some things to consider if you’re trying to decide if you should stay on board with your company after selling to a third party:


Employee vs. Boss: whether you’ve been running your business for five years or five decades, you can most likely appreciate that it’s very different being the boss vs. being an employee.  Our guess is you’ve done pretty well as a boss since you’ve been able to grow and sell your business.  But how are you as an employee?  Maybe you don’t remember what it was like to work for someone else.  Maybe you’ve never worked for someone else.  In any case, it’s going to be a big deal because you’ll now have to be answering to someone else.  Maybe you view this as a relief that you won’t have to make all the decisions any more or bear all the financial responsibility.  Be careful what you wish for.
Take Time: do you have enough money to walk away and not work anymore?  This might seem like an easy question to answer, but it often comes down to more than the money.  Give yourself permission to take some time off.  To figure out what you want to do next.  During the show today Jack talked about how he is a twice failed retiree.  What you tend to find is that even when you aren’t working to make a living and put food on your table, it’s still really fun and satisfying to run, grow, and operate a business.  So what if you took all the knowledge you now have and use it to do something new?  Most people never take a significant amount of time off.  How about a sabbatical for the business owner?  They don’t just have to be for professors!
Other Options: if you’re like many small business owners we know, chances are you don’t have too many hobbies or other interests outside of your business.  “So what,” you say, “now I’ll have time to pursue those other interests!”  Well yeah, maybe.  Don’t be so fast to put aside business as an interest.  Most people don’t realize how fun, exhilarating, and rewarding business ownership can be.  Too many folks think about work as being a job.  You know better.  Maybe there is another business or two you could help.  Perhaps become an investor or a partner in another business or two and bring your knowledge and expertise.
Significant Other: what’s your significant other think?  This could be your spouse, life partner, best friend, whatever.  If you’re currently living with someone, how do they feel about the possibility of you being around more often.  Of you not having anything in particular to do.  Of getting in their way.  It can be a bit of a pain dealing with someone who doesn’t have to work any more.  The people closest to you should tell you how things really are and provide a good sounding board for you.

As discussed on the show today, we’ve counseled several people through this process and we’ve been through just about every situation you can imagine.  Many of our clients chose to stay with the company that bought them.  The reasons for doing this include curiosity, loyalty, and fear.  The curiosity piece of what’s it like working for someone else/a bigger company/etc.?  The loyalty piece comes from not wanting to abandon your team and walk away once the deal closes.  Many of your employees have been loyal to you and you want to show that in re...

In This Episode
How many times have you uttered the phrase, “I don’t have time!”?  If you’re like most of us, it’s likely been hundreds or even thousands of time…just this year!  Way too many small business owners utter that same phrase when we talk with them about exploring new opportunities.
Are you one of them?  Then tune in for today’s show where we help give you some ideas for how to find and make the time to pursue some of these opportunities.  Thomas Edison summed it up well, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”  As a small business owner we know you aren’t afraid of work, so let’s be sure you don’t miss too many good opportunities.
So here are some tips for how to know when it’s time to jump in to help:


Stay Open: your mindset is key with anything in life.  Being open means you have to listen when people bring you ideas or you make time to investigate things you think are worth looking into.  But if you tell yourself you don’t have the time or interest in anything new then chances are pretty good that you’ll miss it.
Vision: so where do you want to be in 5-10 years?  Too many people are frustrated where they are today yet so many of those folks have no idea where they’d like to go.  It doesn’t matter if we are talking about business, personal relationships, or anything else in life, if you don’t know where you want to go chances are pretty good you’re going to be frustrated and won’t be able to spot many opportunities.  There’s a reason our 1st of 7 Keys to Success is Vision, we need to know where we are going.  If you know where you want to go you’re able to take small steps every day/week/month to get there.
Talk About It: one of the best ways to figure out if something is an opportunity or not is to talk to someone about it.  This does a couple of things: i) it helps you process the idea by talking it through, and ii) you’ll see if it energizes and excites you.  Most things can quickly be thrown into the opportunity or distraction pile based on a few short discussions with some trusted people.  Being this sounding board is a big role we play for our small business owner clients.
Sooner Than You Think: one of our most successful coaching clients once said that when he got comfortable then that’s when he’d get nervous and get himself uncomfortable.  He knew otherwise he’d get passed by the competition or would stop growing and improving.  One of the harsh realities of business ownership is that markets change.  And change isn’t always a bad thing, especially when you can spot opportunities.  Are your customers changing their purchasing behavior?  Is there some new competitor who keeps showing up?  Talk with anyone who has been in business for a decade or more and you can be certain the path they have taken hasn’t been one that was planned out in detail on day one.

So have you been missing some opportunities?  Still not sure?  Take a listen to our show from today and test out some of these approaches listed above to find out.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

MVP’s 7 Keys to Success (https://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/)
Metallica (https://www.metallica.com)
JPMorgan Chase (https://www.jpmorganchase.com)

In This Episode
One of the things we talk about often when it comes to business partners is the timing of difficult discussions.  This is especially important when those business partners are also life partners because you’re going to be seeing this person after work as well.  The last thing you want to do is let things that happened at work impact what happens at home.  But hey, we’re all human.  And sometimes our emotions and best intentions can get in the way.
We’ve been blessed to coach dozens of couples who are also business partners over the years.  One of the areas we focus hard on when one spouse is considering jumping in to join the business is making sure we protect the personal relationship.  One of the ways we do that is by focusing on what happens if things don’t work out.  More specifically we talk about what it looks like if things aren’t working out or if that spouse is starting to drown and needs help or wants to tap out.
If you’ve been in business with your significant other for more than a year, we can guarantee there have been situations where your partner is drowning and you haven’t been quite sure how to help.  One of the reasons is that you’re worried about what’s going to happen when we get home.  But like any other relationship, it’s often best not to let things fester too long.
So here are some tips for how to know when it’s time to jump in to help:


Ask: sometimes it’s as simple as asking a question.  Something along the lines of “How’s it going” will often do the trick.  You’ll be able to tell a lot by how your significant other responds to this question.  It could be something short and sweet like “Fine” which as men we know is never a good response.  They may be honest with you and tell you they are struggling and all they needed was this invitation from you.  Or it could lead to a melt down or something in between.  In any case, sometimes just asking a simple question will let you know if it’s time to jump in.
Observe: pay attention to what’s going on.  Not just with your significant other, but also with the folks around them.  How’s the rest of the team responding to them?  How about customers and vendors?  Is your spouse doing a great job of acting like a duck on water where everything appears calm, cool, and collected, and only you realize they are paddling like hell underneath?  Keep in mind, you’ve already asked them how things are going and you didn’t get an invitation to help.  So now you’re looking for windows of opportunity and real life examples that involve other folks who are part of your business.
Prepare and be Gentle: if you’ve noticed some issues, it’s time to jump in.  The key here is preparing and being gentle.  These types of conversations can get overheated in a hurry especially if your significant other feels like they are being attacked.  Be sure to explain what you have been observing and give specific examples of what you’ve seen and the impact it’s had.  Since this is also your life parter, you can also bring up examples of what’s happened in your personal life and how these stresses in the business have impacted this as well.  Be ready for a counteroffensive as well when they start to point out all the things you haven’t been doing well either.
Sound the Alarms: if none of the above work, you need to then be a little more aggressive and sound the alarms.  You need to push hard for changes to happen.  This can include getting your spouse some help with tasks in the business or perhaps giving them a path to work their way out of the business.

Whatever your particular situation, don’t wait too long to take on these challenges when you notices you spouse is drowning in the business.  We’ve seen it happen too often when one or both fail, the business and the personal relationship.  It doesn’t have to be that way and knowing when and how to jump in to save your drowning partner is ...

In This Episode
Today we were joined on the show by business owner Ben Ihde of Wild Birds Unlimited. Ben was a coaching client of MVP for several years and is a repeat guest on Dirty Secrets of Small Business (see link below for his February 14, 2019 appearance).  During the show today Ben shared with us what’s been going on since we last heard from him.
When Ben was last on the show he had just completed the buyout of his former boss and he was ready to grow that business, D&S Color Supply.  Not everything worked out as planned as Ben got an offer he couldn’t refuse less than a year later and wound up selling D&S Color Supply to Painters Supply Equipment.  Ben stayed on for the first year after the purchase and then joined a company run by his good friend who less than a year later wound up selling that business!  Not to worry as Ben and his wife Dawn had already identified their next venture as they purchased a Wild Birds Unlimited franchise which they have been running for nearly two years.
We covered a lot during our chat but some of the highlights include:


Emotional decision to sell D&S Color Supply;
What’s it like to go from being the boss to working for someone else; and
How Ben discovered the rabbit hole that became the Wild Birds Unlimited purchase.

We had a lot of fun during this interview and we think you’ll not only enjoy hearing Ben share some of his stories, but that you’ll learn some good nuggets for how to grow your business and eventually sell it and then move on to your next business!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Ben Ihde Interview from February 14, 2019, “How I Got From Entry Level Job To Owner” (https://dirtysecretsofsmallbusiness.com/episode/how-i-got-from-entry-level-job-to-owner-ben-ihde/)
Wild Birds Unlimited, Cuyahoga Falls (https://cuyahogafalls.wbu.com)
Painters Supply Purchase of D&S Color Supply (https://www.bodyshopbusiness.com/painters-supply-equipment-acquires-ds-color-supply/)
Crash Champions Purchase of Ohio Collision Group (https://crashchampions.com/news/crash-champions-continues-growth-in-greater-cleveland-metro-area-with-two-new-acquisitions)

In This Episode
If you think it feels lonely being a small business owner, just wait until after you sell your business.  There are even fewer people who can relate to that.  Especially if you sell the business for enough money and you don’t have to work any more.  I mean how do you answer the question when your kids’ friends wonder why your mom or dad doesn’t go to work?
We know, you can’t wait for that challenge right?  The challenge of having to fill your time with stuff to do that you want to do vs. what seemingly everyone else wants you to do, from employees to customers to vendors to your family.  I mean how hard could that be?
Be careful what you wish for.  We’ve been blessed to help several clients not only grow their businesses successfully, but also exit those businesses.  Each one initially had a response like we mentioned above where they almost blew off the idea that they need to figure out what they are going to do next.  During the show today we shared several of those stories as well as some personal ones to give you some ideas for how to approach your activities post sale.
Here are some things to consider when it comes to your next move after selling your business:


Take A Break: we know it’s hard to think about taking a break.  It can feel impossible to go from 100mph running your business to a complete stop or just bumping along at a few miles per hour.  As small business owners, one of the things we’re really bad at is taking care of ourselves and giving ourselves a break.  Jack talked during the show about how he took a break a couple of times during his career before pursuing new ventures and just how valuable those experiences were.
Find Your Next Business Venture: you now have all this knowledge from owning, operating, and selling your business.  So what do you want to do with this knowledge?  We’d encourage you not to become one of these underutilized resources who is just sitting on the shelf.  Get out there are start figuring out what you want to do next.  It could be advising other small business owners (either for free as a mentor or you could be actually charging for your advice).  Perhaps you have some friends, family, or other Know Like Trust people who would value AND pay for your counsel.  Maybe you can even try going to work for somebody else for a while and remember what it’s like to be an employee!
Get A Hobby: this is a foreign concept to most small business owners as they typically don’t have much time for hobbies.  Now that you’ve got some time, maybe it’s time to pick up that hobby again.  It could be anything from word working to golf to bird watching to getting a new pet!  Whatever you feel like you’ve been missing out on, give it a go again.
Wander/Spend Time With Your KLT People: we all have folks who Know Like and Trust us (“KLT”).  Chances are you haven’t spent as much time with those folks over the years due to life and business demands.  Make a point to spend some time with these folks and just engage with them.  See what they are up to and see if there are ways you can help them.  There’s a good chance your next adventure might be hiding with one of your KLT people.

Whether you’ve thought about selling your business or not, when you do start to think about it, be sure to spend some time figuring out what you’d like to do with all that free time.  Be curious, stay open to the possibilities.  Hopefully today’s show gives you some good ideas to consider.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Austin Powers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Powers)

In This Episode
Making the decision to hire someone can be very stressful on a small business owner.  What if we pick the wrong person?  Can we truly afford to add someone else to the payroll?  What will we do if we don’t hire someone?  How soon will we know we hired the right person?  These and many other questions roll through the heads of business owners looking to make hiring decisions.
This is especially true when it comes to those “key” hires.  You know, the folks who become your right-hand person.  The ones you feel like you can’t live without.  These key hires also tend to be the most “expensive” as many of our small business clients will point out.  Not so fast.
So one of the things we’ve learned over the years is to break down a new hire into 30, 60, or 90 day buckets.  When it comes to someone being “expensive” we will talk to the business owner about looking at hiring this person for 90 days vs. the entire year.  That way you’re only making a decision based on 1/4 of that person’s compensation instead of the full year (e.g. a $25K decision vs. $100K decision for someone with a $100K annually salary).  Why?  Because you’ll know for sure by the end of 90 days if this person is the right one or not.
Here are some things we’ve learned over the years about bringing on new employees:


Faking It: most adults can fake it for a bit.  Kind of like going on a first date. Chances are you aren’t going to share your innermost thoughts on that first date or two.  But after a few dates things start to loosen up a bit and either you become more or less attracted to the other person.  We have found that most people will show their true selves from a work standpoint in the first 30 days on the job.  Think about it.  Either they’re able to do all the things they talked about during the interview process or maybe just some of them or perhaps even more.  Some folks are better at faking things longer so you might not know for 60 days, but certainly by day 90 you should know if the person is a keeper or not for your organization.
Team: one of the most difficult things to do as a small business owner is to get good information from your team on what’s really going on.  Most people don’t want to be the bearer of bad news to the boss so you might have to do a little digging and prodding to get your team to talk.  One reason your team is so important is that many of the things you’re looking for to decide if someone is the right fit or not has to do with more intangible things.  There’s a lot of feel involved.  So if your team isn’t feeling good about this new person for some reason, you’ll want to dig into this a bit.
1-on-1 Time: during those first 90 days you’re going to want to spend some 1-on-1 time with this new hire.  Find ways for the two of you to be together.  You want to see this person in action for yourself.  How do they deal with the staff, customers, vendors, a waitress, etc.  Be ultra sensitive to how this person acts.  You’re looking for any kind of red, pink, or yellow flags that give you a pause for concern.  You’re also looking to reinforce that you’ve brought on the right person by asking them some questions about their opinions on the business, your people and customers, etc.  The 1-on-1 time gives you the chance to get inside their heads and see how they think a bit.

Like anything in life, there are no guarantees.  But if you take some of the approaches we’ve outlined above you’ll be sure to have more luck knowing when you’ve got the right person on board.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Larry, Darryl & Darryl, Newhart Show (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newhart)

In This Episode
Are you ready for retirement?  I can’t wait for retirement!!  Can I retire now?  Everywhere you look you can find someone trying to give you advice on retirement.  But as a small business owner, retirement is likely something you’re not looking forward to.  I mean isn’t retiring something old people do?
We have been involved in dozens of business transitions with companies transferring ownership from one generation to the next.  One of the biggest items slowing down business transitions is the current owner figuring out what they are going to do next.  And “retirement” isn’t likely in the cards.  So what’s a business owner supposed to do in retirement?
In addition to coaching folks through transitions, we’ve also helped several of our clients grow and then eventually sell their businesses.  Often they sell when they are in their 40s or 50s and they have enough money from the sale to retire, but what they’ve reinforced is that most small business owners don’t retire well if they are trying to retire to nothing or a life of sitting around.  The key is finding something to retire to.
Here are some thoughts and ideas for how to figure out what you’d like to retire to:


Business: knowing what you know now, why not start or buy another business?  How much easier will it be to run a business now with all the successes and mistakes you’ve had in the past to build upon?  Maybe you could be a minority owner in multiple businesses.  How about consulting.
Volunteer/Non-Profit: maybe there are organizations you’ve been supporting for a while but now you’ll have more time available to help out.  If you don’t have a cause yet, spend some time looking for one.  Ask some of your friends what they’re involved in.  Visit different groups and check them out.  If one doesn’t exist, maybe you could set up a non-profit.
Politics: one of the seeds we plant with many our clients is one about politics.  We encourage them to get involved whether it be at the local level or perhaps national.  Our political system needs more good people who know how to get stuff done and that is the epitome of a small business owner.

Other folks have likely talked to you about traveling and playing golf or pickle ball or spending more time with your family and perhaps kids or grandkids.  And if those sound like fun to you, well then give them a shot.  But don’t feel guilty about trying other things like some of the things we outlined in the show today and above including Jack’s personal journey of trying to retire twice and vowing to never do it again.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Rotary (https://www.rotary.org/en)
Navy (https://www.navy.mil)
Calgon Take Me Away (http://hopeclark.blogspot.com/2011/04/calgon-take-me-away.html#:~:text=When you hear those words,, bubbles, salts or beads.)
Austin Powers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Powers)
SCORE (https://www.score.org)

In This Episode
Today we were joined on the show by business owner Joe Butler of Prescription Fitness and Butler Wellness Group. Joe was a coaching client of MVP for almost a decade.  During the show today Joe shared some of the key moments in his growth from one location when we met him to 7 locations today.  It was anything but a straight path!  Joe’s energy and enthusiasm is infectious.
We covered a lot during our chat but some of the highlights include:


Changing your business model along the way;
Ways to increase predictable cash flow; and
How investing in systems (both manual and technology-based) helped position the business for growth.

We had a lot of fun during this interview and we think you’ll not only enjoy hearing Joe share some of his stories, but that you’ll learn some good nuggets for how to grow your business and be inspired by Joe’s journey.  You’ll also learn things like the fact that Joe hates losing more than he loves winning!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Prescription Fitness (https://prescription-fitness.com)
Butler Wellness Group (https://butlerwg.com)
BNI (www.bni.com)
Extended DISC (https://www.extendeddisc.org)
St. Edward (https://www.sehs.net)
St. Ignatius (https://www.ignatius.edu)
Cleveland Cavaliers (https://www.nba.com/cavaliers)
Bubba Gump Shrimp (https://www.bubbagump.com)
Good to Great by Jim Collins (https://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html)

In This Episode
Can’t I just say it!  Why can’t I just tell them how I feel?  These and many other thoughts have likely gone through your head at some point.  Perhaps you are frustrated or feeling some pressure and you’re just about to burst!  Take a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth.  Take another one and take a step back from the situation.  Should you say what you’re thinking or should you bite your tongue and look for a better time and situation to make your point?Perhaps after you’ve had the chance to calm down a bit.
Like many things in business or life, we often look back on situations and we are glad that we didn’t say something in the moment and let our emotions get the best of us.  It can often feel great in the short term to get something off your chest, but if the message isn’t delivered right it can just add more fuel to the fire vs. correcting or calming the situation down.  Keep in mind that rarely will your job as a business owner be to add more fuel to the fire.  You’ve got to maintain your cool and be the adult.  We have to tap our inner James Dalton (that’s the character Patrick Swayze plays in the movie Road House).  Sometimes this is easier said than done to “be nice” and “stay cool”.
Here are some things to consider from a timing perspective when you are looking for the right time to have some difficult discussions:


Alone: do it in private vs. public if at all possible.  The last thing you want when trying to have a difficult discussion is an audience.  You may have heard strategies that talk about having these discussions in public to help temper someone’s response (e.g. Jerry Maguire being let go at a crowded restaurant).  That’s certainly an option, but we just haven’t found that to be the best environment to have a real conversation.  So if you have the ability, try to do it when the two of you can be alone.
Role Play: practice makes perfect, or so the saying goes.  It’s best to do some practicing (i.e. role playing) when getting ready for a tough discussion.  Perhaps you have someone else in the company who can practice with you.  Maybe it’s your spouse or a friend who can help.  There are a couple of key to role playing: i) the more you hear yourself talk the better you’ll get at delivering your message, and ii) the person you’re role playing with should be asking questions and trying to cover all the potential responses of the person you will be speaking with.  This last point is key as you’d like to make sure you are ready with a response to whatever the person says to you.
Brief: whatever you have to say, now’s the time to say it.  Keep it short and sweet.  Say what you have to say and then wait.  This can often be the hardest part…letting something just sit in the air and not talking over it.  Give the person you’re talking with the time to digest what you just said.  Chances are 10 seconds of silence is going to feel like 10 minutes, but stay patient and let that person respond.  Keep in mind that you’ve had plenty of time to prepare for this discussion, whereas the person you’re speaking with is hearing it for the first time.  Some might react by keeping quiet themselves while others will start thinking out loud.

Not too many people relish having difficult discussions, but the timing of when, where, and how you have these discussions can help make them go better and hopefully make them less painful and more productive.  We’ve dealt with these difficult discussions in everything from families transitioning their business from one generation to the next to business partners and spouses working together.  No matter your situation, we’ve likely been there and done that before so reach out if we can help.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Jerry Maguire (https://en.wikipedia.

In This Episode
Ever bought a company before?  What, no one’s ever asked you that question before?  Any guess what the top response is when we ask someone if they’ve ever bought a company before?  Some version of, “I don’t have the money/big pile of cash.”  Well, what if someone gave you the company?  What then?
Usually this question is met with a sly smile and an inquisitive or confused look.    “Why would someone just give me their company?”  There are lots of ways that someone could “give you” a company.  Unfortunately most folks don’t get past the “I don’t have piles of cash laying around” piece to even consider what it would be like to own their own business.  That type of thinking has caused too many folks to miss opportunities to own and run a small business.  We’ve been working hard to demystify a lot of the thinking around buying companies for the past two decades and today’s show covers a lot of that.
There are lots of ways someone could “give you” their company.  Below are just a few of the scenarios:


No Successor: chances are if you talk with 10 small business owners, you’d be hard pressed to find half of them who have a successor in place or even identified.  Most folks start and run their business without even thinking about the eventual exit.  Maybe they still hold out hope that one or several of their kids will want to take over at some point.  If not a relative, then maybe a key employee.  But when they get to the point to start having some of those discussions seriously they find out that no one in their family or business wants to step up to run things.  When faced with the option of closing the business down vs. giving it to someone, chances are pretty good that the owner will chose the latter vs. the former.
Health Issue/Untimely Death: did you know that all small business owners live forever?  If you didn’t know any better you might think that because many small business owners have no contingency plans in place if something were to happen to them.  “They’ll figure it out after I’m gone,” we’ve heard several business owners quip over the years.  Sure that’s one potential strategy, but if the business owner has a serious health issue or literally dies in the chair unexpectedly, there will be an opportunity for someone to step in to take over
Bank Workout: have you ever met a banker who made a bad loan?  Us either!  The bankers will often joke that the loan they made was good when they made it.  It just went sideways somewhere along the way.  And when bank loans go bad, borrowers get put into the workout group.  Don’t confuse this with a fitness group, what they are trying to do is work you out of your troubles and get you out of the bank.  Jack shared several stories of being given companies by banks who had made bad loans.  If you like messy situations and turnarounds, this path might be for you.

We shared several stories about how people have been “given” companies over the years during the show today.  One of the key ways that deals get done in these types of situations is that the current owner agrees to be the bank.  So instead of paying an actual bank every month for the loan on the business, you’ll instead be paying the former owner.  So the cash flow from the business funds the purchase of the business.  Sounds like a pretty good gift to us!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Ben Ihde, How I Got From Entry Level Job to Owner (https://dirtysecretsofsmallbusiness.com/episode/how-i-got-from-entry-level-job-to-owner-ben-ihde/)
How Did Jack Buy His First Company, December 20, 2018 (https://dirtysecretsofsmallbusiness.

In This Episode
Is it time to sell your company?  What does it even mean to be ready to sell your business?  I mean people talk about it like it’s common knowledge or something.  It’s to the point that you almost feel silly asking the question.
How many times have you heard people say, “I got an offer I couldn’t refuse?”  What would that offer look like for your business?  How do I even know if I have something worth selling?
Here are some of the key things to consider when looking to sell your company:


Right Buyer: you need to determine what the “right” buyer means for your business.  Is it the person willing to pay the highest price?  Someone who will keep all your employees and will be a good long-term place for them to work?  Or something in between?  There are a lot of options out there and if you’re not careful, you might unwittingly sell your business to the wrong buyer.  This can be one of the most emotional pieces of selling your business, making sure your “baby” lands in the right spot.
Price: while you don’t need to have an exact price in mind, you should have a number in mind that would make things hard to ignore or the “offer you couldn’t refuse!”  There are lots of ways to get a sense for what your business is worth starting with getting to know what other companies like yours sell for and how they are valued.  Some buyers will only look at your sales figures when determining value, but most will look at some version of cash flow.  So be sure you have a good handle on just how much cash flow your business produces.  This includes all the expenses you run through the business (e.g. vehicle expenses).
What’s Next: this probably sounds silly when you’re up to your eye balls in all the things going on in your business, but what are you going to do after you sell?  And after you “take some time off” or “do some traveling” or whatever the floating thoughts you’ve had about life after selling your business.  How are you going to stay relevant?

Chances are you’ll only get to exit a business once so you want to be a little more strategic about it than just waiting for the right person to show up.  If you’ve got a good handle the above 3 items, then you’ll be able to engage someone to help you go sell your business.  If not, you might be waiting for a while or responding to all the wrong offers.

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Wall Street Journal (www.WSJ.com)

In This Episode
One of the best things about summer is the chance to have some vacation time.  It’s a chance to break up the monotony of your day-to-day and add some different type of chaos and excitement to your world.  But one of the drawbacks is that vacations can get you out of your routine.  Disrupting routines isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing by itself, but it can often be difficult to get those routines reset. 
During the show we shared several personal stories as well as those of our clients who have had trouble getting back into things after returning from time away from the business.  We can hear your groaning of saying, “let me get away from my business for a bit so I can experience this resetting of routines you’re talking about!” 
Here are a couple of things to consider as you look to get your routine mojo back:


Prepare & Prioritize: not all routines are created equally.  We all have routines in our personal life as well as our professional life.  When vacation hits, it typically throws all of those routines to the wind.  One of the best things to do before you go on any vacation is to prioritize which of your routines you want to maintain during vacation.  On the personal front you may look forward to taking a week off from going to the gym…or maybe that’s one of the routines you want to keep up during vacation.  Perhaps you can’t wait to walk away from all your emails and deal with whatever happens when you get back…or you might be the kind of person who dreads returning from vacation to thousands of emails where it takes you a week to catch up.  So spend a little prep time before heading out on that vacation to get your game plan together for which routines you want to keep on vacation.
Purge: give yourself permission to get rid of some of the routines you had.  If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything it should be that it’s OK to change or get rid of some “routines”.  We all have stories of things we’ve done or folks we know did when the pandemic first hit or soon thereafter.  Adam talked about how he basically stopped going on Facebook in late 2020 as things got more toxic online and he saw it being more of a negative vs. a positive in his life.  Are there things you gave up during the pandemic?  Is there still a sense of relief for giving it up or are you secretly wishing you could get back on schedule?
Embrace The New: what better place to try something new than on vacation?  Maybe you want to change your sleeping pattern or what time you wake up.  You’ve got at least 7 days to try out getting up when the sun comes out or when that alarm goes off for the first time.  Maintain an openness to trying new things while on vacation.  You might surprise yourself at how easy some of these new things are or they just might reinforce for you why you had certain routines in the first place!

Whatever your case might be, don’t let the “lack of routine blues” create a vacation hangover for you where it takes you so long to get back up to speed that it nullifies all the benefits of getting away in the first place.  Routines are like shoes.  The old ones are broken in and pretty comfortable, while the new ones can feel a bit awkward at first but after a little while they become the old reliables!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

Extended DISC (https://www.extendeddisc.org)
Facebook (www.facebook.com)
Outer Banks (https://www.outerbanks.org)
BNI (www.bni.com)

In This Episode
One of the great things about being a small business owner is there are new things popping up all the time.  A key success factor for any small business owner is being able embrace and respond to these new challenges and opportunities.  But growing can be uncomfortable and scary at times.  If nothing else, it can make you feel even more lonely and under pressure.
We recently spent a few days at a farm run by one of our former clients.  After running his business for 20 years he decided to sell the business and buy a farm and a bunch of land.  Adam had never spent any time on a farm before so there were lots of new things to try during our time there.
Here are a couple of things to consider as you look to get more comfortable with trying new things:


Know Yourself: one of the areas of Leadership we coach all of our clients on is getting to know themselves better.  It starts with the Extended DISC behavior assessment.  We all have a natural behavior style.  Each of us will either naturally embrace or avoid change based on our natural style.  This is where that uncomfortable part comes in.  If you are more of the reserved S/C style like Adam where you don’t like to make mistakes, chances are you’ll be slow to change and try new things as there is a great chance you’ll make mistakes along the way.  Or if you’re more of the D style like Jack you’ll really embrace changes that you are driving for because you realize change helps with progress and you won’t be so worried about making some mistakes along the way.  But that comfort with change can also mean you’re changing too much.  Whatever your natural style might be, you will be able to get more comfortable with trying new things if you do it in your way.
Help: how are you with asking for help?  Many of us have been discouraged from asking for help growing up and are told instead to figure it out ourselves or are made to feel stupid for even asking a question.  If you’re a small business owner and you haven’t yet embraced the idea of asking for help, this is your chance.  Contrary to popular belief, small business owners don’t know everything.  They just sometimes pretend like they do because for some reason they feel like it’s a sign of weakness to ask for help.  When you ask for help you get the chance to engage other people on your team and it gives them a chance to teach others what they know.  This can be a wonderful thing for both the helper and the person they are helping.  We have seen so many instances where something new pops up and the business owner has never experienced it before. But if they reach out to folks on their team, chances are someone on the team has some experience with that “new” thing and they would be more than glad to help if someone just asked.  So if you’re not good at asking for help, or if those folks you’ve been asking haven’t been too helpful, then maybe it’s time to find some new people to bring into your life.
You Might Be Surprised: we often coach our clients to embrace these new challenges and opportunities for growth.  They are chances for both you personally as well as your company to grow.  Who knows, you might even be really good at this new thing, all you needed was to be exposed to it.  We have seen small business owners who believed they weren’t good at things like sales or the numbers become experts in those areas over time as they embrace them and have the right help.  As we often say with business, it’s not rocket science but there is a lot to learn and master.

So are there things you have been avoiding because they are new and you aren’t sure how they are going to work out?  If so, pick one of those things and make some progress on it this week.  If you don’t have any of these new things pending, just wait as it’s likely to show up soon!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show