Catalytic Conversations

Recently I was a guest on Lauren LeMunyan's Spitfire Podcast.  Lauren and I are both coaches who work with executives to become consciously profitable.  The question is, how? Leaders who are executives and business owners have to keep up with legislation, maintain profitability to retain value within the company, and rely on people to make those things happen.  As if that isn't tricky enough, those leaders have to lead people who, in 2021, are dealing with the pandemic - working remotely and isolated, while dealing with the social reckonings of the lack of equity, inclusion and diversity. No one wants to be part of the problem.  Everyone wants to offer a solution.  What is a leader today to do? In this interview we talk about legislation that is in the Senate for committee review that will impact M&A activity for startups.  We also tie it to the questions that Victoria M. Grady poses in a recent article for leaders who want to be value added to their teams in transition. &nbs

Picture this - you’ve worked for years to build your business.  You hope to retire in the next five or six years.  You will use the money from that sale to buy the family a relaxing cruise, invest some for retirement and finally, do what you want to do with your time. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?  Unfortunately, for many who hold that dream dear, it doesn’t work out that way.  It happens for a lot of reasons.  Sometimes, the market conditions aren’t right.  At other times, owners get in their own way. Today you have the chance to get the insider view of the transaction at the point of choosing the best fit buyer.  Dan Scherotter, a broker and strategy consultant with Filament Business Advisors, has a background in the restaurant industry. Dan is a former chef and restaurant owner.  Dan has a finger on the pulse of the restaurant industry.  As a consultant and broker for Filament, Dan is going to discuss with me the unique aspects of selling a restaurant, asymmetrical

Today we look at the process of selling your business.  You may hear of this process referred to as The Deal or the Transaction.  Your deal, or transaction, is the culmination of your years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears.  The amount of money you walk away with is dependent on a number of variables.  I hope that your biggest takeaway for my shows this month is that preparation is your key to successfully selling your business. Selling your business is a process.  Today, I want my guest to give you a peek at what happens behind the curtain of the deal.  I want you to be ready for the business colonoscopy.  I want you to be so prepared, so ready, that you don’t feel a thing! We’re going to talk about the things owners do that get in their own way, that they do wrong, or how they subconsciously sabotage the entire deal!  This happens all too often. KEY ISSUES: Problems You May Encounter: In my experience, these are the obstacles that owners don’t prepare for, lead th

A lot of you plan to sell your business one day.  However, the odds of successfully selling your business are against you. Did you know that there are ways to stack the odds of selling successfully in your favor?  Today Mike Metzger of Murphy Business Sales and I discuss the steps that you can take to prepare your business to go on the market. We look at the things that you can do to build value in your business.  We discuss the most common mistakes that business owners make when putting their business on the market.  Mike and I want you to know what you don’t know.  What you don’t know can definitely hurt your business.  Finally, Mike and I share our recommendations for steps that you can take to prepare your business to sell, and then integrate successfully once it’s sold. I think you’re going to want to take notes! SHOW OBJECTIVES: THE WHY 4 out of 5 businesses that go up for sale, don’t successfully sell. Of the businesses that close the deal, 80% fail to integrate succes

COVID19, racial reckoning, economic uncertainty, the upcoming election…. Each is a complex, impactful occurrence.  Together - the challenges keep every business owner ready to take up the fight, flight or freeze reaction in our reptilian brains. McKinsey recently reported that some industries will take up to five years to recover.  Others were able to pivot and navigate the new government recommendations with some success.  In the messy middle are those businesses that are working through the complexity one step at a time.  The small businesses have sustained most of the economic punches of this crisis. Each owner’s experience is different.  So, take what we talk about today with the knowledge that there is no silver bullet, or one size fits all or a magic pill. Key Issues - ​Owner Perspective: Impactful steps to improve the balance sheet, prune away the dead costs, and overall profitability.  This is beneficial to both selling and reinventing. Improve the company's retained

Any business owner will tell you that owning your own business is a lot of work.  If you listen to stories of the how and why of different businesses, it will amaze you to hear the twists and turns that a lot of people have gone through to get to that place. Business owners are as varied as the different types of businesses.  They have different reasons for getting into business - some are moving away from a career they didn’t like, or are moving toward the start of a great idea.  They have different experiences with work, consuming products and financial resources. They also have different levels of tolerance for risk. But, how can you mitigate your exposure to risk?  Many believe that franchises are the way to go. Today we look at franchises with one the most successful franchise experts in the country, Gus Iurillo of The Entrepreneur's Source.  Gus will give us tips for choosing a franchise, and what to watch out for. Failure is possible.  Franchisees do fail.  You have t

This episode is from the Catalytic Conversations aired on IBGR.Network every Friday at 2 pm Eastern.  This was the Season 4 opener.  Let me know if you liked it, have questions, or suggestions for other topics you'd like to hear more about.  Thanks for listening! Creating a family legacy is hard work.  Fewer than 20% of businesses make it to the fourth generation.  Why is that?  What contributes to the failures from one generation to the next. A favorite resource is the PWC Family Business Survey series.  Today was take a look at the challenges for those in power to prepare the next generation for leadership.  Using the PWC Global Next Generation Survey from 2019, we will start off with a few discussion points: Gaining top level experience is the #1 priority for NextGens in increasing their skills.  48% would like to do more shadowing/mentoring, 43% feels the need to network more with peers, 42% would like to gain experience outside of the family biz, 41% would l

Have you forgotten what it felt like to start your business?  I’ve lost count of the number of business owners who have said, “If I had had any idea how hard it would be to get this business where it is today, I’m not sure I would’ve done it.” Business owners usually nod their heads at this.  Yes, it was hard.  But, you learned a lot.  Many of the lessons learned at that point in the business get lost or forgotten as the company grows. We’ve talked about innovation and disruption as well as pivots this year.  The pandemic emphasized the importance of scenario planning and contingency plans.  A number of businesses have gotten really creative and changed the way they do business. How do mature businesses reconnect with that entrepreneurial spirit to reinvent the product, product delivery or the business model to compete in this marketplace? My guest today is Mavis Tang of Soundé.  Mavis and her co-founders have brought a new product to an old market. I believe in their missio

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ascendcoachingsolutions/message

This was a special episode from my weekly radio show, Catalytic Conversations, on IBGR.Network radio on Fridays at 2 pm Eastern.  Vince Burruano, VP of Sales for the Commercial Division of JK Moving, is a leader to learn from - you can download the full show notes at IBGR.Network. I’m currently working with several companies dealing with sales team crises.  One company has had three hires for the sales team without any success.  Another has had a sales manager who was successful pre-COVID and finds the current business landscape so difficult, he’s no longer able to lead. I invited Vince to give us a snapshot of his innovative approaches to building a successful sales team.  Vince is a lifelong learner who is a student of leadership.  This was a valuable hour for picking up new ideas. You are all here to learn.  A lot of you, like my clients, learn best by first hand experience.  Is it really necessary?  Vince is here to help you learn about the importance of sales leade

Many family businesses come to a place and time where the decision is made to sell the family business.  While many families would prefer to pass the business on for generations to come, sometimes that isn’t possible for unforeseen reasons. I recommend to all business owners that they actively plan for the sale of their business - regardless of their ideal exit.  Why?  Because it is always great and empowering to have options when you are ready to exit. For some owners, taking this seriously will allow them to reverse engineer a viable asset instead of merely a job from the business they’ve worked so hard to create.  My guest today, Michelle Seiler Tucker of Seiler Tucker Inc. and author of Exit Rich, has had 20 years of experience buying, selling and growing viable businesses. Michelle has designed a process with tools to equip business owners to build value within their businesses.  Today, she shares the ST GPS, and the 6 Ps of value that every listener can integrate into their exit

This is interview was a part of my weekly radio show at IBGR.Network.  Catch Catalytic Conversations every Friday at 2 pm EST. Building Culture and Teams Culture in any organization can be difficult to define, as well as communicate.  The issue of defining and explaining culture in a family business is even more complex.  At the same time, leaders in a family business have a responsibility to not only define and explain culture, but to also equip themselves and the next generation to lead through culture changes.  It’s complicated for the family and for those in the organization outside of the family, isn’t it? At the same time, the WHY Institute believes that knowing the WHY of the company, it’s leaders and those who make up the organization is an important part of sustaining a family business for future generations.  The WHY Institute founder, Gary Sanchez, was inspired to reach  out to Simon Sinek after his famous TED Talk to ask how a person goes about discovering the WHY. &n

This show gives you, the Owner/Founder Executive the chance to see how somebody else did it - innovate within an established market.  Jay Carpenter and his co-founder, Alexis Carpenter, had a need, which led to an idea that took them to starting Handley Watches. Jay shares the journey.  He gives us his “WHY”.  He told us what he didn’t know and had to find out.  Jay will let us in on how they did it - from day one. Handley Watches gives us a blend of the old and the new, so that we can move, work and play without the weight of connection dragging us down and back. This interview took place as part of my weekly radio show, Catalytic Conversations, with IBGR.Network every Friday at 2 pm EST.  Drop by any time.  Join the IBGR.community or download the IBGR app to get the full show notes. Resources: Handley Watches, Visit the Handley Watches website to sign up for their updates and receive 10% off your purchase!   Handley Watches FB Page, “Richmond Couple Finds Time To La

Seven Hills Electric has seen a few economic meltdowns. This is a family owned business with master networkers. In this episode, Greg and Kyle Harvey connect the dots for us – we can see how networking in the right way led to their most recent successes. Debra Willis of PPG Solutions, and Karen Larsen of HR TABS, and I have the chance to see this crazy world through the eyes of a third generation family business that survives every jolt the economy delivers. Takeaways: 1. Seven Hills knows how to pivot. After ’08 downturn: a. Went from a commercial firm to residential and light industrial. b. Refocused on new territory from Charlottesville to Richmond area in Virginia. 2. This family business makes decisions as a group and goes with consensus. 3. The Harveys put high value on relationships: a. They work at building strategic partnerships. b. Every customer request is handled by the owners, then on the day of service, the owners start deliver instructions to the service teams onsite. Visit the Seven Hills webs

Capacity+Capability= Strategic Responses Worth Doing This episode of Catalytic Conversations gives you a chance to weigh the value of a strategic response versus a knee jerk reaction. No judgment here.  This group of people have a wealth of experience, with the curated wisdom to make those words go down easier. Jeff Miller and Randy Asbell are sales gurus.  They are business owners who help build out sales teams (Jeff) and processes (Randy).  The two also model collaborative relationships at their best! Here’s what Debra, Karen and I took away from this conversation: Panicky, knee jerk reactions are common. COVID19 was an opportunity for many to build operational excellence.  In sales, this looks like a team with a high EQ. Operational excellence leads to an increase in capacity, & capability which results in valuable strategic responses. Resources that we all love: Grant, a documentary on Ulysses S. Grant Simon Sinek’s latest, The Infinite Game Bob

Norman Company Inc is an amazing commercial construction company in central Virginia…. the model for family business at its best! This family-owned commercial construction company provides clients in Greater Richmond and surrounding areas with general contracting: project management, pre-construction planning, estimating and scheduling; and negotiated Design/Build services.  The Normans built their business on shared values, delivery of quality products, and integrity. In the interview, Rob (VP of Business Development) and Will (VP of Construction) Norman discuss the protocols put in place to protect employees, clients, and subcontractors from COVID19 infection.  What we didn’t expect was the level of commitment this family business brings to the job.  Listen in for a glimpse at family biz best practices at work - on the jobsite and in real time. Two things that didn’t come out during the interview: The Normans had a policy to take everyone’s temperature when they arrived at the jobsite - and

Catalytic Conversations is back!  Wendy Dickinson, Founder of Ascend Coaching Solutions is a business coach who works with owners at the intersection of life and business. Today she talks with Debra Willis of PPG Solutions and Karen Larsen of HR TABS about the struggles of business owners coping with COVID-19.  We’ve entered the second quarter in 2020 - and it’s all about survival. We discuss: The impacts of COVID-19 that we see in the world of business today. The question of whether or not businesses should lay off employees or keep them on. Key takeaways for business owners in this moment of disruption for every type of business. My guests are Debra Willis of PPG Solutions and Karen Larsen of HR TABS - Debra is a 40 year healthcare veteran. President of partners in healthcare and currently a business manager at PPG Solutions/Benefit Hackers. She now works with small businesses to reduce insurance costs and improve employee benefits. Specializing in cost analysis and device at no cost! You

Seven Hills Electric is a third generation electrical services company.  Seven Hills has evolved from a 4 partner business started in the 70’s, to a family owned company with three generations currently at the helm.  The Harvey Family had to pivot due to the recession of ‘08.  Kyle discusses the ups and downs of their decisions.  He is open about his choices - going to college, joining the business, and the preparations for the next recession.  Join us for a frank discussion of what has worked for Seven Hills Electric and the Harvey Family. After our conversation, I suggested that Seven Hills design a special disaster package for their service customers.   SHE could take a look at the damage done in the past from hurricanes, flooding, snow/ice events, as well as wind damage.  That information could provide the outlines of the most valuable features and benefits that would give their service customers an advantage in getting back up and running after a climate event.  Ky

If you thought family business was all unicorns and rainbows, think again.  The family business is a source of income, professional growth, AND a major source of identity.  This is part two of an in depth interview about a family business that weathered Hurricane Katrina with mixed results. Michele Wink, CEO of UP Professional Solutions, is one of five children.  Her father founded an engineering firm.  In this interview, recorded on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Michele tells us about the lessons her family learned about succession, contingencies, and how to build a family identity that can withstand any trial. Here are Michele’s key takeaways: Have a succession plan from Day 1. Outline terms and conditions.  Document and communicate the plan. Hire outside advisors for the hard, and the soft, sides of the business. Require each member of the next generation to work outside of the family business to experience success that belongs to each as individuals - independent of

If you thought family business was all unicorns and rainbows, think again.  The family business is a source of income, professional growth, AND a major source of identity. Michele Wink, CEO of UP Professional Solutions, is one of five children.  Her father founded an engineering firm.  In this interview, recorded on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Michele tells us about the lessons her family learned about succession, contingencies, and how to build a family identity that can withstand any trial.  This is part one.  You won't want to miss part two! Surprise Best Practice: Michele’s parents staged a summer camp at their home for the entire 3rd generation, and started a 3rd Gen Club.  Every grandchild was eligible for the club once he/she could read.  Then, the company was open to those children to learn about the business.  Each member of that generation is close to one another as a result of those practices.  Definitely a win for the Winks! If you would like