Only mothers know what’s it like to have a baby, and only business owners really understand what it’s like to sell their company. I recently coached a business owner for about a year leading up to the eight-figure sale of his company. This was not a dot-com that rocketed to its valuation in a year or two. It look 25 years to get there. Selling a brick and mortar business with trucks, warehouses, hundreds of employees you’ve known for years, and slow but steady growth may not be sexy like Internet buyouts, but there are a lot more of them. They hold some important lessons. Should you or a friend ever be in a position to sell your small business, keep in mind:

• Sell to the right buyer, not necessarily the top bidder. There are lots of owners who sell to anyone who writes a check, particularly if their goal is to get the hell outta Dodge. The highest bidder isn’t always the best buyer, especially if the seller is staying on as a management employee and cares about his reputation. You want, and your customers deserve, a buyer who will invest in the business and make improvements that benefit customers directly. New inventory, better customer service systems, better benefits for employees–those are the kinds of things that matter and will elevate the seller’s reputation. If there isn’t a true upside for customers, they will defect to competitors, fearful that service levels and relationships will deteriorate.

• Have an advisor who has no dog in the race. A small-business owner who is selling may not have a board of directors and investment bankers advising her. If you find yourself if this situation someday, make sure you have someone you can trust and talk to who has no financial stake in the outcome. If you are using a business broker, even if you hired him, remember he is ultimately looking out for himself, not you. If the buyer lowers their offer over something trivial, just to see what your reaction will be, your broker may encourage you to take the worse deal. He gets a commission of a couple of percentage points, so his downside is small as long as a deal–any deal–gets done.

• Eyes on the prize. When you are a seller who has 20+ years into a business, it’s a different experience from being one with a couple of years invested. As a seller, you may not be a twenty- or thirtysomething. You’re likely to be in midlife, with plenty of other pressures on your mind in addition to selling your business. The ups and downs of the selling process are many and incredibly fatiguing. There are times when the the entire experience becomes almost more than you can tolerate. So have a mantra that keeps you positive and keeps your eyes on the prize of a great outcome.

If you have sold your small business, or know someone who has, and have some other “secrets of success,” please share them with your comments.

Tags: business brokers, coaching, selling your business, small business

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Here’s a brief story about an age-old entrepreneurial conundrum brought to my attention by Coach Leah. I started using WordPress a few weeks ago and have been messing around and tweaking this blog. I plan to integrate the blog and my coaching website into one in the next few months. I am thinking about how best to do it. Do I do it myself, using a WordPress Revolution template recommended by my friend Newt? Do I hire someone to do it for me from scratch? Leah says: Don’t spend time doing/learning things that are not going to become a repeatable skill that you can resell to your clients and customers. Makes perfect sense. So I go about getting a proposal from a great web developer that will cost $4000-$8000. This makes me perspire and have trouble swallowing. I continue messing around and tweaking with WordPress tools on my own and another few hours go by but I kind of like the results and the experience. I talk to Newt again and he recommends another developer who helped with his blog/site, which is really excellent. So should an entrepreneur work on activities that are potentially “low value” and not marketable to other clients? The pro argument is that entrepreneurs need to develop a wide range of skills, and technology is so interwoven into small business today that learning more about blogging technology, as an example, is hardly a waste of time. At this very moment I’m more inclined to heed Leah’s advice…but it’s still early in the day; talk to me after lunch, the answer could be different.

Tags: blog, Entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, small business, Wordpress

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Thinking about starting your own business after a successful career in corporate America? There are hundreds of important things to ponder as you prepare to take the plunge. Self-care is one that’s often overlooked.

How well are you taking care of you? If you’re like most corporate citizens, probably should, especially if the marathon of business ownership is in your future. Many of us Baby Boomers grew up with a corporate culture that told us, only half-kiddingly, “If you don’t come into the office on Saturday, don’t even bother coming in on Sunday!” (I had a boss who actually used to say this, but always with a smile on his face.)

And if you travel for business, your self-care gaps are bound to be even bigger.The agita of getting to appointments on strange streets (pre-GPS), getting to the airport on time and dealing with issues at home and at the office while away makes many of us feel like there is someone (the boss?) with his boot on our chest. So if you are thinking of getting off the corporate thrill-ride and going solo, you should give some thought to the kind of shape are you in, physically and mentally. You should start doing more self-care a year before turning in your office ID. Including:

1. Stop smoking. Do you still smoke? Very Nineties. Cut it out.
2. Over 50? Colonoscopy time. I turned 50 this year and had my first one. What a big nothing! Dealing with the laxative is the only part that’s a tad unpleasant. But well worth it to hear from the doctor that I am in perfect health and to come back for another one in five years.
3. Do you drink lots of coffee in the office because it’s free and always there? Does your generous employer stock the fridge with free soda? Cut way, way back on caffeine and sugar. Life in the self-employment lane will self-caffeinate you plenty.
4. While the boss is paying for it, make sure everyone in your family has their check-ups (medical and dental) and has as much work done as possible on your employer’s dime. (My son needed $3,000 of uninsured dental work a year after I left corporate employment. I could have had half of it paid for with some forethought.) Ditto with eye exams and prescription glasses.
5. If you have back pain or any other kind of chronic pain, deal with it. Chiropractic, homeopathic, acupuncture, whatever may work. Don’t go into a self-employment without your entire self in great working order. When you leave the office for good, you should feel physically fantastic.
6. If you are really going to leave and it’s just a matter of time, why are you pushing yourself so hard? Slow down. Take all your vacation. Bring no work home. Start to unwind mentally. Do it for a year because when you start your own business, it’ll take all the energy you have.
7. Oh, and of course, floss.

Tags: colonoscopy, self-care, stop-smoking

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Small business entrepreneurs need every edge they can get. One often overlooked source of business is barter. In my event catering business, I belong to several barter networks. Here’s how it works: someone (either a consumer or event planner) calls me and books my services for an event. Let’s say my fee is $1000. The barter company authorizes the booking, making sure my buyer has the credit available in their barter account. I provide my services and receive $1000 in barter credit to my account. The buyer pays a cash fee of about 10% ($100 in this case) to the barter company and pays me the sales tax, if applicable, directly. Now I have $1000 in my account. What do I do with it? Well, today there are painters up in my kids’ bedrooms. Tomorrow a landscaper is doing new plantings for our yard. Last week we had a big storm and a tree fell–and a tree removal service did that job (and pruned a bunch of other trees). We’ve also used barter for advertising, locksmith services, commercial printing, web design, and many other goods and services. A key benefit of barter is that when you provide your services in this way, you receive leads from many potential cash customers. Barter is often overlooked by entrepreneurs but shouldn’t be. The one caveat I have is to research the barter companies you choose to work with. It’s important they have a strong network of members who will provide services to you. The barter credit you receive is only as valuable as the network through which you can spend it.

Tags: barter, small business, solopreneur

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I just finished reading a blog entry by a venture capitalist that got me thinking. The post is about strategies for working while on vacation and having it not interfere with family obligations, or at least not be noticed by your spouse. You have to be a supremely good multi-tasker, which this VC is: in fact, he sent the blog post while working out on an an elliptical trainer. (How he typed it I am not sure.) He makes his phone calls (from Hawaii, where he is vacationing) while his family sleeps. He looks at his Blackberry while waiting for tours to begin. “The idea of a ‘get away from it all’ vacation is a romantic notion that I cannot [my italics] seem to achieve,” he notes.

I am not big on “cannot.” Like many things entrepreneurs do, vacations are a choice. Working on vacations is a choice. Not working on vacations, also a choice. Can’t? He goes on: “My friend…does ‘go off the grid’ for one week a quarter every quarter. I’ve asked him how he does it and I honestly can’t see myself pulling it off. I wish I could.” Really? I don’t know this individual personally but I know of him–and know how smart and resourceful he is and how he has made a lot of his other life wishes come true. This is someone for whom the word “can’t” should be banished from thought and speech–as it should for us all. This person can, and has, done everything he’s ever set his mind to. What a shame to be in Hawaii and have your pocket vibrating with a @*%$*& Blackberry.

Tags: Blackberry, Crackberry, vacation, VC, work-life balance

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Not in any particular order:

1. Go to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods and spend an hour and a half shopping
2. Seeing each and every one of my kids’ plays at school
3. Cooking my family’s dinner about five nights a week
4. Having an office that’s a mile from my home
5. Seeing weekday movie matinees (no talkers and it’s cheaper)
6. Take late afternoon naps a few days a week
7. Get tattoos
8. Grew a beard
9. Think about client satisfaction, not boss satisfaction
10. Wear a suit about once a year
11. Travel on airplanes about once every two years
12. Have a mature relationship with money
13. Blog (in fact, two blogs)

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…but my coach told me about a nifty equation, borrowed from business bestselling author Jack Canfield, that helped me move a few clients in a better direction this week. It’s this: E + R = O. First some background. I have two clients from the same financial services company who run different territories. One is very down at the moment. The market is obviously in the, uh, outhouse. His clients (financial advisors) are distracted and in a bad mood. It’s harder to get appointments and when he does, his clients aren’t listening because they are worried. His colleague–same job, different territory–is all smiles. He says: “I control two things: my activity and my attitude.” How wonderfully simple. So thanks to Mr. Canfield for this: “E” is Event, “R” is Response, and “O” is Outcome. The stuff that’s happening all around you–that’s E. How you react, what you do about it, how you let it affect you–that’s R. And O is the result. My client who’s not a happy camper right now has an R with a negative value. This is a great lesson for entrepreneurs or executives who want to start a business. Is this a good time to start a business (recession, gas at $3.35 a gallon, layoffs galore)? Depends on your “R”.

Tags: Entrepreneur, Jack Canfield, small business

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Want to get a quick feeling on your progress as an entrepreneur? You can look at your year-over-year Quickbooks P&L report. Or, for a more textured view, take a look at your email file from one year ago. What were you writing about 365 days ago? Who were you talking to? What was your mood? Your focus? People who are entrepreneurs tend to be creative types, and often moody. They have lots of ups and downs. Their progress is not always linear.

While I’m not big on reliving the past (someone said you can’t improve the past, no matter how much you think about it) it was fascinating for me to look at what was going on in my life a year ago as reflected in my Google sent mail file. At the time, I was recovering from cancer surgery, having been in the hospital a month before. I was definitely down, but didn’t realize how down I was. My event business and my coaching practice were way off from the previous year because of my illness, and I was thinking about giving up on them. I am amazed that I was considering getting back into corporate life, or at least making some motions in that direction. That mood lasted for about six months in all, until I was fully recovered, and then I went on to have the best year in my businesses ever.

I learned by reviewing my emails (more the ones sent than received) that I was attracting a lot of negative energy. The reason for that: I wasn’t in touch with how much of an impact being sick had on me. I didn’t take the illness seriously. I minimized it when I was diagnosed and my attitude going into the hospital was that it was no more serious than getting a tooth pulled. When I got home and wasn’t fully recovered in a few weeks, I really got annoyed. Impatient. Depressed.

As I healed I was able to think through the process and the lessons of it all. Being sick is being sick, no matter whether you are a solopreneur or a CEO of a Fortune 50 company. To appreciate being well, I had to give the illness its due, show it some respect. When the doc said not to lift anything heavier than a phone book for a few months, he wasn’t kidding. But as a solo business owner, I had no backup. If I’m not working, the businesses more or less come to a halt.

I realized that even though I value having small, manageable businesses, I still needed a support network. I needed people who can take work from me when I am too busy–or sick–to do it myself; and I built that network. I need to develop passive streams of income so I am not dependent on my physical well-being every single day. I am working on that goal right now and making solid progress.

Enjoy your digital spin down email Memory Lane.

Tags: Entrepreneur, small business

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….is my dad. He came upon entrepreneurship accidentally. When he married my mother in 1954 he was pretty aimless, working at the corporate offices of Sear’s, the Miami Herald, and other random places. My mom’s father had a deli in Manhattan so with nothing better to do my dad started working there and took it over. It was called Service Delicatessen, located at 1032 Lexington Ave. between 73rd and 74th streets. Dad transitioned the business many times, first from an average deli to a gourmet store to a catering powerhouse on the upper East Side, then finally to a party equipment rental company that my brother took over and built for 20 years before recently selling to the largest firm in the business. Back to my dad and one of my favorite entrepreneur stories. I was about 12 and went to the store with him every Saturday to work behind the counter, decorate tea sandwich trays, deliver orders and whatever else had to be done that a 12 year old could do. One of the counter men was making sandwiches for an order. I don’t remember what kind, only that the bread was pumpernickel. He called over my father and said, “Look Jerry, I used up all the bread from yesterday to make these!” He was very proud of himself. My dad glared at him silently for a moment, then took his forearm and ran it the length of the butcher-block counter, sending about two dozen sandwiches to the floor. “If you ever do that again [use stale bread] you’re fired” was all my dad said, and he walked away. And from this, class, we learn what lesson in entrepreneurship? That’s right, quality! Quality, reputation, reliability, consistency. All of it can disappear from any business if the owner takes his eye off the ball. In dad’s case, the ball was day-old bread. Howard Schultz knows what I’m talking about, right Howie?

Tags: Entrepreneur, Howard Schultz, small business

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