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What It Takes To Succeed As A Business Owner

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | What It Takes To Succeed As A Business OwnerBeing a business owner is a very rewarding career but also takes a certain kind of person and talent to be successful. It’s important to know what it’ll require so that you can thrive in the business world if you’re considering running your own company one day.

There are a few abilities you’ll want to know about and zero in on if you wish to proceed in this area. What’s most important is that you’re passionate about the business and product or service you’re selling so that you’re able to stay motivated when there are obstacles to face and rough patches to endure.

Committing to being Financially Stable

It takes your business to be financially stable if you wish to succeed as a business owner. For example, if you own a law firm, then you might consider looking into funding for lawyers services that can help your business stay on its feet and survive even when money is tight. Be glad to know there are options and financial products out there that can help get you through challenging times. It’s in your best interest to always be aware of what money you have and that your books are accurate if you’re going to run a profitable business. You’ll sleep a lot better at night knowing your finances are strong and that you don’t have to be dealing with unwanted surprises constantly.

Providing Excellent Customer Service

Your clients should be your top priority as a business owner, and all you do should revolve around them. Without loyal customers, it’ll be challenging to keep your doors open, and you may soon experience a dip in your sales. It takes you offering customer service that goes above and beyond if you want to be successful as a business owner. Train your employees and make sure everyone is on the same page so that you’re always consistent and your staff knows how to handle difficult situations or questions.

Being Fully Dedicated

It’s going to take you being hugely dedicated to your business if you want to be successful. There’s not going to be a lot of time for much else when you own and are managing a company. Therefore, make sure your schedule is clear and that you’re fully engaged in what you’re doing each day. You’ll likely have to make some sacrifices so that you can keep your business on track and heading in the right direction. You may not have the flexibility you imagined having as a business owner when you’re first starting out, so plan ahead and know that you may not have a whole lot of free time initially.

Being Organized

It’s also vital that you’re organized when you’re in charge of your own business. You should know where your essential files and information is stored at all times. Make sure your office is tidy and that your computer files are organized into appropriate folders for easy access. The more organized you are, the better, and more smoothly your business will function. You especially want to keep organized so that you can attend to your client’s needs right away when they reach out and need assistance.
Making Tough Decisions

As a business owner, it’s going to be your job to make the tough decisions. All of the answers aren’t always going to come to you right away. It may take you doing some deep thinking and meditating on information and facts before you can come to a conclusion. It’s also a good idea to get in the habit of problem-solving on your own instead of always relying on others for guidance and direction. While it’s okay to bounce ideas off of other people, you also want to be able to come to a final decision after having done your homework and contemplating the matter.

Focusing & Avoiding Distractions

It’s also going to take you being able to keep focused and avoid distractions if you want to be a better business owner. You’re going to be constantly pulled in a lot of different directions and can’t always attend to all that lands on your plate right away. It’s essential to document your goals and put your tasks in priority order so you can refer back to this information when you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed out. Be sure to close your door and turn off your phone and email when you have critical matters to address and can’t afford to be distracted at the time.

Persevering through Challenges

If there’s one attribute you need to have as a business owner, it’s to be able to persevere. There are going to be inevitable trials and tribulations and roadblocks that are going to try to get in your way and slow you down. However, you have to be wise and rise above these interruptions and continue strong even when you’re feeling a bit defeated. Avoid worrying about all that could go wrong and focus on all that’s going right and that you’re doing well to help keep you motivated to succeed. There may also be people who will try to get in your way or competitors who are going to try to steal away customers from you. These are the sorts of instances when you have to be strategic and logical and to put on your thinking cap instead of letting your emotions take over.

Conclusion

You should now have a better idea of what it’s going to take to succeed as a business owner. Your experience managing your own company will be that much more pleasant and satisfying when you dedicate your energy to making sure you put these suggestions into practice. Remember to have some fun and enjoy your time working in your career as well because it will go fast. You want to be able to look back on your time as a business owner and feel you did all that was in your power to run a successful company and not have any regrets.

Tapping into the Entrepreneur’s X-Factor: Overcoming the Exchange Barrier

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Tapping into the Entrepreneur’s X-Factor: Overcoming the Exchange Barrier | The Private Practice Survival Guide | Brandon SeigelWhen we examine entrepreneurs from all walks of life, whether at the start-up stage, scaling toward success or becoming serial entrepreneurs, many exhibit similar recognizable qualities. Successful entrepreneurs are able to recognize talent, are focused on growth, are purpose-driven and are agile in an ever-changing business environment.

However, another X-Factor that’s often not recognized, and that truly is a differentiating factor for entrepreneurs who transform into “serial-preneurs,” is the ability to overcome the “exchange barrier.”

The exchange barrier is a term that I coined to refer to a common issue in today’s business environment. It relates to the lack of awareness in recognizing the different forms of exchange and the value that can be delivered beyond the fiscal exchange. It also refers to the barriers that exist when we go “out of exchange” with our employees, our customers and, most of all, ourselves.

As we look at overcoming the exchange barrier, it’s important to explore the whole picture of exchange, because exchange can come in all shapes and sizes. Here are a handful of the most common exchanges to keep in mind:

1. Monetary Exchange – The benefit of this exchange is that it’s a fairly black and white exchange, so it gets “quick results.” But the disadvantage of this benefit is that someone that’s driven on the monetary exchange will always find a better offer at some point in time. As a result, retention becomes a common core issue, or you get priced out of your business model.

2. Value Exchange – Similar to monetary exchange, a value exchange tends to attract others quickly, and is often the vehicle to increasing a business model’s scalability. However, it’s common that the value exchange will catch up with an entrepreneur, and it’s not sustainable over time.

3. The “Experience” or “Culture” Exchange – Over the past twenty years, the experience exchange has become one of the fastest growing trends for entrepreneurs to tap into. Entrepreneurs are drawing on this exchange first and foremost for their team by focusing on work-life balance and ultimately taking responsibility for how they share in the way their team feels before, during and after work. In addition, entrepreneurs have been utilizing this approach for customer acquisition and retention by building a brand around the experience rather than just the product or service.

4. Purpose Exchange – In recent years, our society has become hypersensitive to the role humans play in our world and has become driven to unite around purpose. Among the top employee engagement strategies of the 21st Century are engaging a team in delivering community-based services and fundraising for a cause to give back to others and unite as a team. Entrepreneurs are tapping into this exchange with their customer base by promoting the philanthropy that their organization stands for and tying it directly to the organization’s values.

5. Education Exchange – This is the most undervalued exchange currently. The role that education plays in growing the human condition has been recognized as one of the major contributors to the success in the United States today. However, entrepreneurs aren’t spending enough time identifying the role that education, mentorship, training and support can play in the exchange with both their workforce and their customers.

The five types of exchanges outlined above are just a few among an assortment of exchanges that exist in today’s business environment. One of the challenges that entrepreneurs face is the ability to identify the different exchanges their organization offers, and to communicate them effectively in their messaging.

In addition, it’s important to recognize the several “conditions of exchange” that often go overlooked. Here’s a sampling of conditions of exchange:

1. Criminal Exchange – This is when someone is basically stealing from you. If you’re pirating videos, then you could classify that as “criminal exchange” because you’re stealing something that doesn’t belong to you. If an employee is sleeping on the job every day, then you could say there’s a criminal exchange.

2. Out of Exchange – This is someone that isn’t criminal, but the “exchange” is not equal and, ultimately, is adversely favored to one side of the exchange. If an employee is getting paid to create 10 widgets per day and is averaging only 8 widgets, that employee would be out of exchange.

3. Equal Exchange – Just as it sounds, this is someone or something that is living up to the terms of the exchange.

4. Exchange in Abundance – This is one area where entrepreneurs can stand out. Like the saying, “Under promise and over deliver,” staff or customers will appreciate that they got the better end of the deal.

For anyone involved in entrepreneurship research or consulting, it’s common knowledge that entrepreneurs have a substantial chance of failure. The bottom line is that the odds are stacked against most entrepreneurs. However, the one defining X-Factor for the 21st Century entrepreneur is the ability to overcome the exchange barrier.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Brandon SeigelBrandon Seigel is an internationally known business coach and president of Wellness Works Management Partners. He currently manages multiple private practices and consults with entrepreneurs and private practices throughout the world. A recognized leader in today’s private practice environment, he is a frequent keynote speaker and trainer for organizations, associations and universities. His new book, The Private Practice Survival Guide: A Journey to Unlock Your Freedom to Success (Rebel Press, February 5, 2019) covers the essential how-to questions of opening a successful private practice. Learn more at wellnessworksmp.com or brandonseigel.com.

Time to Sell Your Business? An ESOP May Be the Answer

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Selling Your Business|Time to Sell Your Business? An ESOP May Be the AnswerMost small to mid-sized businesses have limited sales potential. These companies are often founded to capitalize on a perceived market opportunity and grow over time until eventually the owner has a healthy, and profitable company.

However, owners often assume that an exit will be as simple as selling the company. Why? Because large exit sales are often in the news. One need look no further than Inc. or Fortune magazines to see the latest Silicon Valley unicorn company selling for 4-6X annual revenues, while being unprofitable. But is it fair to assume that a privately held, profitable company can produce similar results?

Unfortunately this is not the case. What usually happens is: The owner starts the company, the company grows, and within 7-10 years, a few acquisition offers are made. These usually aren’t good deals and the owner gets a tough lesson in small company valuation. Look no further than the “entrepreneur” and “start-ups” categories to see what it takes to build a successful company.

Let’s assume you started a digital marketing agency, a realistic example, given this industry is hot. It’s easy to start out as a solo practitioner and build a company as the skills from one’s career are directly transferrable, and overhead is quite low.

Over seven years the company develops a solid client base, grows to 16 employees serving 40 clients, with revenues of $2 million annually. If acquired, this company would realistically sell for $1.2 – $1.6M, a far cry from the 10X multiples seen in Silicon Valley.

The lesson here: A company is worth what an acquirer is willing to pay; the fact of the matter is that small- to mid-sized companies have limited sales potential.

Additionally, small companies present risks to outside acquirers, who are likely to merge the company into their business, which means culture change, clients will receive notice and may terminate, and some employees will leave. The long and short story adds up to a risky business.

What if there was a way to reduce that risk, preserve the company’s culture, keep employees and clients, increase company morale and improve performance by paying employees more without costing the business more? What would this do to the company’s valuation?

Selling one’s company to an ESOP, an employee stock ownership plan, does just that. Selling to an ESOP preserves company culture and increases productivity, which generally ensures strong future performance. This reduction in risk can take the $2M digital agency that would sell for $1.2-1.6M, and enable it to sell for $3.5-4M+.

While you’re not getting the Silicon Valley exit multiples of 4-6x revenue, it is realistic to exit at 0.5-1X revenue when sold to a third party. As part of that acquisition, expect about half of the proceeds to be tied to an earn out, which is a way for the acquirer to ensure delivery of the goods.

How does an ESOP work?

The short answer is, if you own a profitable company and a culture that is worth maintaining, the company is worth owning, particularly by employees. In an ESOP transaction, owners essentially sell stock, whether some or all, to employees. Employees now participate in company profits, which can be significant financially, and the owner gets partial or full liquidity.
Often these transactions are underwritten by banks, which prefer to lend to ESOPs due to the record-low default rates.

Learning more about how ESOPs work can be explored at Legacy Press Ventures

About the Author

Jack Ogilvie is a founding member of Legacy Press Ventures. After selling his previous company, Techwood Consulting, to an ESOP, Jack started Legacy Press to help others do the same. You can learn more about his company here.

Finding The Perfect Property For Your Business Offices

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Commercial Real Estate|Finding The Perfect Property For Your Business OfficesWithout good offices which you can really be happy in, your business is much less likely to be successful. That might sound like a stretch, but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Your offices are where all the magic happens, as it were: the space from which you create products, come up with future goals and ideas, and communicate with clients, customers and partners alike. The quality of those offices will determine the quality of all of that, and that will mean that you are much more likely to want to keep the offices as close to perfect as possible. A big part of that will be finding the ideal property to house your offices, which takes a lot of effort in itself. In this post, we will look at some of the major concerns for finding the perfect property for your offices.

To Buy Or To Let?

One of the early decisions you will need to make here is whether you are going to buy some property or rent it. You might well be in a position where this is effectively decided for you; if you are just starting out with a small startup and a tight budget, it might well be unlikely that you are in a position to buy any property. When it comes to leasing a property, you want to go online or speak to a real estate agent and look into office space for lease. You don’t have to go with the first property that you see that fits your requirements on paper, so make sure you don’t settle for less than you want even if you are renting the office space.

But if you have a decent loan or you are running a well-established business, there is a good chance that you will be able to buy property, and there are certainly benefits to that. For one thing, it is going to count towards one of your business’ tangible assets, thereby adding both value to the business and a safety net should you need it. In either case, going through a notable and trustworthy dealer like PropList will ensure that you can find the right place for your offices, whether you buy or rent.

Space, Size & Location

These three characteristics are some of the most vital when you are looking for the kind of property that is likely to serve well as a house for your business offices. You will therefore need to know what kind of amount of size and scale you are going to need, as well as where you actually want the offices to be located. That in itself varies based on whether these are going to be your main offices or whether they are going to be a subset, but in any case it is important to be clear on what it is that you need for them. As long as you are, you will find that it is a much easier thing to be able to find the perfect property for those offices at least in regard to these three things.

Persistence

Remember that it is often going to take a long time before you can actually end up with the right property for your offices, so you will need to have a good ability with persistence in order to make sure you find the right one. It can take a lot to find something that will suit you for good, so make sure that you are happy to approach it in this way.

How to Go From Disruptor to Industry Leader: 5 Ways Disney and the UFC Think Alike

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Entrepreneurship the Disney Way | How to Go From Disruptor to Industry Leader: 5 Ways Disney and the UFC Think AlikeDisney and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are not as big a mismatch as you might think. In fact, the two organizations share five compelling strategies that connect them by more than a business deal. But when Disney’s 80% ownership of ESPN led to a groundbreaking deal for the broadcasting rights of UFC last May, it was a milestone for UFC. Just how UFC became a viable media property for Disney holds lessons for any company seeking legitimacy and business success in today’s market.

When UFC arrived on the scene back in 1993, it was an upstart — a gritty disruptor in the world of sports. Its fights, while intriguing, were more side-show than serious competition. Seen only on pay-per-view and videocassette, UFC struggled in its early days to find venues willing to put on their show. But in one of the most transformative business acts in business history, owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and CEO Dana White formulated an approach to gain legitimacy in the greater sports world. Their strategy shares five key similarities with Disney:

1. Know what your assets are.

Both Disney and the UFC know what their most valuable assets are, and they make a great effort to protect them. For Disney, those assets are great stories and characters. The Walt Disney Company has a treasure trove of intellectual property that it protects and promotes with exacting attention. For the UFC, it’s all about putting the best athletes in the world into interesting and exciting matches that create anticipation months before a fight. In a sense, the UFC is also in the story and character business, but marketed to a different demographic than Disney.

2. Work to gain legitimacy.

Disney and UFC understand the chief concerns of their primary stakeholders, and work to manage the key drivers of legitimacy in their industry. Disney must consider social trends, industry standards, fan expectations, and government relations. The UFC is no different: It gained social legitimacy by shifting from an “anything goes” format to instituting a standard set of rules, oversight by state sports commissions, and protocols for fighters’ health and protection. Many observers now consider the UFC to be one of the best-managed and regulated leagues in sports.

3. Offer quality entertainment.

Disney and the UFC are both in the entertainment business, and committed to providing quality shows. Disney is famous for its attention to detail in all of its products. For the UFC, quality is measured in the capabilities of their athletes and the excitement of their fights. Just as Disney has a range of movies in the drama, comic book, and animation genres, the UFC has a whole range of weight classes that are deep with potential championship contenders. As a result, the UFC builds a lot of drama into their fight productions, including stories leading up to the events and tension-building campaigns. UFC fans await upcoming matches fought by their favorites with tremendous anticipation. The organization also has a constellation of its own stars, such as Gregor Gillespie, a scrappy grappler currently ranked tenth in the lightweight division.

4. Master market symmetry.

UFC’s and Disney’s products are quite different, but they take a similar approach to selling. Both are experts at market synergy and cross-promote to their markets better than just about anyone. Disney and UFC fans watch the shows, read the fan magazines, and buy related merchandise because of their attachment to the stories that each company promotes. Both companies are cash machines with multiple revenue streams coming from their core customers.

5. Protect the brand.

Both companies protect their brands at all cost. Disney is very careful about who represents the company. Any celebrities in their productions are expected to be in line with the company’s values. The UFC has the same expectation of its athletes, albeit with different codes of conduct. One excellent example of this was when the UFC suspended light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones was arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history and a top draw for pay-per-view. But he failed a drug test, costing him as well as the UFC millions of dollars during a 15-month suspension. Jones is back and a top draw again, but he paid a big price by not adhering to the UFC’s drug policy.

Disney clearly believes the UFC is far more than an upstart now, and it’s betting big that UFC will be a highly lucrative addition to the Disney entertainment umbrella. Credit is due to Disney for seeing the value in the UFC, and due to the leadership of the UFC — who took all the right steps in successfully maneuvering and conquering regulatory and societal challenges. These two success stories hold invaluable lessons for other disruptors facing their own challenges for legitimacy in today’s complex society.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Industry Disruptor |How to Go From Disruptor to Industry Leader: 5 Ways Disney and the UFC Think AlikeMichael G. Goldsby is the Chief Entrepreneurship Officer and Stoops Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Ball State University, USA. His new book, with Rob Mathews, is Entrepreneurship the Disney Way. Learn more at www.ELProfile.com.