Avoid the Biggest Transition Mistake SMBs Make

Have you come up with a plan for who will take over your business when you retire? Have you shared your plan with anyone else? There are many risks for small business owners when it comes to transitioning their business, whether to a family member, employee or through a sale. Unfortunately, family businesses experience high failure rates, especially during periods of generational transition. Anywhere from 50 – 70% of businesses don’t survive after the first generation retires. How do you prepare, and what are the major “what if’s” to prepare for? 

Listen to Accelerate Your Business Growth Radio Show on Wednesday, May 30th to hear Les Szarka, CEO of Szarka Financial, discuss some of the financial issues related to transitioning a business as you prepare for retirement.

 Les is Chief Executive Officer, founder and co-owner of Szarka Financial. He has been a financial advisor and retirement planning specialist for over 25 years. Les builds deep relationships with his clients and has a profound commitment to help them reach their financial goals and objectives.

Holding dual bachelor’s degrees in finance and marketing from Cleveland State University, Les is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and a Registered Securities Principal through FSC Securities Corporation. He is also a member of the Financial Planners Association (FPA).

 

Today's show is sponsored by Vision 21. Vision 21 is an entrepreneur resource center in Northeast Ohio. Visit www.visiontwentyone.org for details.

Thriving in the New Economy

In honor of Small Business Week I'm thrilled to share the news about my latest Kindle article - Thriving in the New Economy. I co-wrote this article with Marilyn Landis of Basic Business Concepts, Inc. Marilyn and I believe that the economy has changed in a way that makes it ideal for small businesses to succeed. We've set out to not only explain the change, but to offer specific things you can do today to position your business for success and growth. We hope you enjoy the read. And please feel free to provide a review and share your thoughts here!

Create An Ongoing Pipeline of Leads

You don't want to miss this episode of Accelerate Your Business Growth at 1pm EDT, Monday, May 14th. Misty Williams will be joining me to talk about leveraging the top two strategies for creating an ongoing pipeline of leads. Misty is a marketing expert who helps speakers, authors, coaches and consultants develop strong, marketable platforms and a solid Marketing Gameplan; her marketing team partners with her clients to execute their gameplans to grow their businesses.  She delivers her strategy-packed presentations at conferences and meetings across the country to help demystify the marketing maze, support her clients in finding their breakthroughs, and super-charging their campaigns to take their businesses to the next level.  

Today's show is sponsored by Szarka Financial and Robert H Gray CPA, inc. Szarka Financial’s 25 years of business have included a strong commitment to educating their clients and others on timely and important financial topics and basic financial principles. They offer a full range of planning services for individuals, employees, and business owners across Northeast Ohio. Visit www.szarkafinancial.com for details.

Robert H. Gray, CPA, Inc. are business advisors to new and growing enterprises.  They provide timely, personalized accounting, planning and tax services.  They are also Certified QuickBooks Advisors.  The firm blends their technical expertise with the business owner’s knowledge to become trusted advisors for business and personal issues.  Their focus is on planning, rather than reacting to events.  Please visit www.rhgraycpa.com for more information.

Empowering Associates

I recently had the pleasure of reading Michael Koploy's article about Empowering Associates to Assist the Educated Consumer. He focuses on how retailers can enhance their results and bottom line by investing time and money in their staff. One of the things that stood out for me is that his suggestions can apply to other types of businesses.

Take a moment to read it and let me know your thoughts.

The Viable Business Model for the New Economy

I hope you'll join me on Monday, April 23rd at 1pm ET when Marilyn Landis will join me on Accelerate Your Business Growth Radio. She'll be talking with us about the new economy and what business model works best for success these days.

Marilyn is the President and CEO of Basic Business Concepts, Inc., a multifaceted service firm providing the support to keep businesses financially on track and growing. Today's show is sponsored by Vision 21. Vision 21 is an entrepreneur resource center in Northeast Ohio, designed to help entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed.

How Can I Start This (fill in the blank)

My friend Bill Barack of Lindisfarne Investments wrote a wonderful letter in the NAAIM The Active Manager newsletter in March. I asked him if I could provide it here. He has a great message about moving forward. Please enjoy.

"Spring has come early to the shores of Lake Erie. In fact, we hardly had a winter at all. Yesterday, I took some pictures of snowbells, which are early spring flowers. They were rushing the season by already blooming on the 27th day of February. Some trees and bushes are starting to show buds and the temperature has been unseasonably warm. I have no complaints!
But it has led me to think about the parallels to my RIA business and its analogies with the seasons. There are times when I find myself waiting for the right "spring time" to begin a new effort that I wanttto blossom into improvements for my business. It might be starting a newsletter, or developing new trading approaches, or joining a networking group, or developing and initiating a new marketing program. As I wait, my most precious commodity, time, slips by.
We routinely talk to our clients about the effects of compounding. We point out that a small difference in annual gains can lead to large differences over a number of years. I would contend that the same is true with time and how we use it to incorporate new efforts into our business. While a small delay in beginning anew program may seem unimportant int he overall scheme of things, over time, the habits that it reinforces can lead to large deficits when compared to wheat our business could have been. And an early start can correspondingly result in compounded gains that magnify my business over time.
So the important questions are "How can I start this fill in the blank now? What is the one action that I can take today to begin?" My early spring, then, reminds me that sooner is better than later. I don't want to be the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, that sees its shadow and is resigned to six more weeks delay to the end of winter. And there are many shadows in the world that I can use as excuses to postpone that which I know I need to do. Instead, if I see the shadows are mere phantoms, I can ignore their potentially negative impacts and create my personal early spring. The positive results I accrue will accumulate over time and take my business to heights that are hardly imaginable."

So what can you start today instead of putting off? What can you move forward with that will take your business to new heights? I can't wait to see your results?

Negotiating Know-How

Join me for Monday's show at 1pm when Arthur Wylie will be sharing his principles for mastering the art of negotiation. Whether in your business or personal life, making deals—from the biggest ones that take months to finalize and involve teams of lawyers to the nominal ones that are sealed with a handshake after a 10-minute chat—is an art. Deal making is a craft that, when done well, requires a skillful, visionary and inspired application of key principles and methods to create a desirable end result.

What are the secrets to masterful deal making? In this show, Arthur  Wylie offers basic steps to becoming an ace dealmaker—skills that will help bolster your position whether you’re negotiating for a railroad or a rental car, and whether you’re acting on behalf of a worldwide organization, a sole proprietorship or just your own personal finances.

Among his current endeavors, Arthur Wylie is an executive at Global Entertainment Holding's Film Fund, a publicly traded film production firm currently building a $100 million dollar film fund. His duties there range from capital raising, film production oversight, distribution, to marketing and working with some of Hollywood's top producers who have more than $9 billion in box office sales.

Arthur holds a bachelor’s degree in Financial Management from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and has been a licensed securities principal for some of the top investment companies in the world. Arthur is also the author of "Only the Crazy and Fearless Win Big."
 

Today's show is sponsored by Seize This Day Coaching's Clarity of Course^®: Sales Training Program. Visit  http://www.seizethisdaycoaching.com/coaching/clarity-course-sales-training-program for details and to register.