The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Inheriting the Family Business Inheriting a family business can be overwhelming. Even if you knew this day would come, you still don’t feel fully prepared—and business succession is even more complicated if your family members dispute who should be at the helm. While no single resource can prepare you to bear the risks and rewards of …
“We just signed a major deal!” “I just put in a contract on a house!” “Click here to accept our terms and continue . . .” These phrases all have in common that a contract has just been made. Contracts are the cornerstone of business dealings. In some places, contracts are still made on handshakes or someone’s word. For many …
The Entrepreneur’s Checklist for Buying an Existing Business What’s the easiest way to have a successful, cash-flowing, profitable business? Truthfully, it’s acquiring it, not starting it up. Buying an existing business can be a shrewd move for an entrepreneur. Instead of starting from scratch, you get a customer base, an established brand, and operational systems in place. However, this advantage …
Although often perceived as a worst case scenario, bankruptcy can be an appropriate way for small businesses to recover from unmanageable debt by reorganization, reducing personal liability or liquidating business assets. Sometimes small businesses (or their owners) must turn to bankruptcy when cash flow slows or business expenses cannot be met. There are three types of bankruptcy filings available. If …
Building a business empire, enterprise, or even just a start-up has its price. The image of the confident and charismatic CEO often falls short of reality. Before, during and after public visibility often comes personal self-doubt, anxiety and mental anguish. Many business owners don’t readily divulge the distress they feel because they don’t perceive it as a positive for the …
Early in my Marine Corps career, one of our instructors told us “watch the leaders above and below and pick out the tools you believe would work for you. Discard those that are ineffective or not part of your style. In this way, we work to put leadership errors into the past.” Watching others perform their chosen craft provides lessons …
“Entrepreneurs are the action athletes of the business world.” Stephen Kotler made this observation in his book, The Rise of Superman. Kotler founded his writing on the importance of “flow” for action athletes to be successful in their endeavors. You might have heard of the concept of “flow” being referred to as being “in the zone” or “dialed in”. One aspect …
In hindsight, I should have asked more questions. One of the most well known of Master Sun’s instructions is that “all warfare is based on deception.” The business community adopted many of Sun Tzu’s teachings in the last twenty years. Thus, in some manner, thousands of people engage in deceptive interactions with their fellows in countless different matters. Depending on …
“You’re only as good as the people around you.” I constantly heard this phrase from my parents and teachers. Now as an entrepreneur, I can confidently say that the phrase’s meaning resonates more deeply. When looking at the people that surround me, I realize that this saying is the principle I apply when building my advisory team. Entrepreneurs are sometimes …
