Business Value
DIY Business Limits
Trying to grow your business and do everything yourself? Good luck….
August 3, 2023
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Trying to grow your business and do everything yourself? Good luck….
In this last restaurant we see how an owner’s personal attitude can drive the culture and ultimate success or failure of his business. How the “brand”of his business is tied up in how he presents himself to his potential customers.
I’m in Greece this week and will highlight some observations I see from different F&Bs that have customer experience and underlying business value lessons for all types of businesses. In the second one we have the most successful restaurant on the strand. Every day lunch and dinner he has full tables. And it stems from providing consistent high quality experience from the passerby to the final bill payment. An experience that gives him a constant stream of repeat patrons and others referred by friends or the high reviews.
I’m in Greece this week and will highlight some observations I see from different F&Bs that have customer experience and underlying business value lessons for all types of businesses. In the first one, we have a nice owner and a nice clean place but it’s sabotaged by confused messaging of what it is and some very awful pictures and inaccurately paint a low quality vision of what to expect inside.
Trying to grow the business on the back of monkeys? By investing in your employees, you’ll not only improve productivity but also attract the best new talent to continue driving the growth of the business.
What is the most effective way to sell a new product or service to your customers? Listen to them, find their pain and needs and then design the product or service. Most do it backwards and then find themselves struggling to find an audience for what they created. Learn the formula from direct marketing to know what to priortise and when.
Today the lesson is how to organically grow the business by leveraging an overlooked asset… your existing customer base and unlock the key to how most successful businesses were able to scale and grow.
Pricing is an overlooked and powerful lever of growth but it’s often determined incorrectly or unnecessarily limited.
We touch on due diligence today and the uncomfortable questions you can head off by preparing from today and turning a painful process into a beneficial one.
Buying a business is akin to a game of inches – it’s the fine details that can make or break the deal. Scrutinize your contracts, work on your growth paths, and be prepared for tough negotiations. Don’t let a few oversights cost you a potential sale. It’s not just about getting to the end zone, it’s about ensuring every yard is fought for and won
In 1985, the Chicago Bears learned the hard way that you can’t run the same play repeatedly and hope for different results. A striking parallel to an owner who kept spinning the wheel, hoping buyers would overlook his over-involvement in the business. Like in the game of football, businesses thrive on the right fundamentals and the ability to adapt. Are you making the necessary adjustments or sticking stubbornly to the same play?
my first M&A deal taught me a lot and especially how character can make or define success. A spoiled son decides to play in the big leagues and learns quickly the ball flies pretty fast and can be pretty hard. He hesitates and costs him millions.
what happens when you build a real business and you want to retire and sell but allow one function to fall short because its leader is incompetent or lazy… same as what happens when you fumble the ball on the goal line every down….
The Movie Any Given Sunday was famous for highlighting the battle for inches on both the football field and life. From personal experience I can tell you the inches look deceptively simple and often it’s just a few that separates the consistent winners from the losers. This week we’ll go into more detail on why that’s the case in business.
In the story with David and Nathan, David was having an “affair’ with his business by being so busy in day to day thankless tasks that he was neglecting growing the company and his own family. In my experience, several owners who were too busy to invest 20 minutes in finding out the strengths and risks in the underlying value of their business are no longer in business today. It’s not a coincidence.
In the story with David and Nathan, David says in passing he stepped away from a recurring revenue opportunity because he was focused on potential costs. In Business, predictability is sexy. You don’t want your business to come off as challenging, volatile, and a “bad boy”.
in the story with David and Nathan, David is allowing himself to take his eyes off his business by indulging the wishes of a customer that has become too big. You don’t want to be at the mercy of a big whale of a customer or it can evaporate your business in a second or keep you up at night worrying about it..
in the story with David and Nathan, David had his “black knight” Jack, who is destroying the value of David’s business by being completely inept in his finance role. It’s an unforced error and 100% avoidable. It just requires a commitment to producing and providing high quality financial reporting.
in the story with David and Nathan, Nathan started by how David’s poor customer experience from outsourcing is destroying the value of his business. Some metrics in this article make Nathan’s point pretty clear…
In the world of business, the real thief may not always be who you expect. David finds out finally the uncomfortable truth – that the thief jeopardizing his company’s value and his family’s future is closer than he thinks.
As the stakes get higher, the complexity intensifies. Juggling projects, pleasing clients – but is David losing sight of what matters?
Tough calls and slashed costs – the realities of running a business. But could these decisions lead to unexpected pitfalls? What will David find out eventually?
David begins suspecting his employees, even one he went above and beyond looking out for. Who in your organization would you protect unconditionally? Is your loyalty justified?
Just when David thinks he has everything under control, a breakfast chat changes everything. Are you aware of everything happening in your business, or is there a blind spot you’re unaware of?
The stakes are high if you plan to sell your business one day. Below is a case study of someone who did everything right when it came to making her business a sellable asset except for one area she wanted to save a couple of dollars …
And the math shows the benefits and costs of enhancing and neglecting the value of your business.
The key to restful sleep as a business owner….
Keep delivering on your promises to customers and suppliers, and continue to provide excellent service and uphold your reputation in the marketplace.
In short, transform your business into a premium, sellable asset that will secure your legacy and provide you with peace of mind.
Call me if you need help doing it.
Here we talk about 3 common anxieties and concerns that cause many business owners – especially those in their late 40s or 50s – sleepless nights..
Met a guy this weekend who was a total hustler but a bit out of his league trying to raise 50% investment. However, he did provide a reminder that we should ensure we walk the walk.. instead of just talk the talk…
So if the parrot is dead…it’s dead. Be honest, be transparent, and focus your energy on highlighting your growth paths and potential, your unique assets that help you stand out and justify a premium to buy or invest in you.
Sarah turned her business around with four simple, yet powerful, strategies – pricing adjustments, expense management, speeding up payments, and smart leasing. Now, she’s not just staying afloat but growing, all while increasing her company’s value. It’s amazing what strategic cash flow management can do
“Why pay him? He’ll work for free.”
That’s what my boss told an investor who wanted to promote me.
I’d been building the business backend from scratch.
No salary. No support. No credit.
That moment taught me one thing:
Never let anyone undervalue your work—or your business.
If your pricing says “I’m just getting by,” don’t be surprised when buyers ignore you later.
He built the company.
Closed deals. Took commissions.
Even beat his own team to the clients.
The result?
Millions made…
But tens of millions lost and even more left at the table.
And he wasn’t unique in that founders trap.
It’s the same mistake a lot of other entrepreneurs are still making today without realising it.
If your business depends on you to function…
It could be costing you more than you can possible imagine..
Even this second…
Read to find out more…
We planned for 2 hours.
We stayed for 4.
No slides. No pitch deck. No “guru” speeches.
Just real founders swapping real stories about what it actually takes to build, grow, and exit.
One founder broke down how he’s setting up for a second bite of the apple.
Another? Got his business dissected—and rebuilt—live.
If you’re a 7-figure founder who wants strategy, not sugar…
The virtual session’s today.
You’ve probably seen them.
Polished. Loud. Full of hype.
They promise shortcuts, AI hacks, and “zero-money exits.”
But what if the real risk isn’t what they’re selling…
It’s what they’re stealing—right from under your nose?
More than.. your money and your clients.
Something way worse:
Your attention.
Your clarity.
Your ability to build a business that actually gives you freedom.
The Hustle Bros are louder than ever—flooding feeds with flash and dopamine.
But what they’re really selling?
Find out before it’s too late.
Most founders obsess over income.
But what if that’s the wrong scoreboard?
You can increase your revenue every year…
and still be stuck, broke, or burned out.
There’s one question I’ve learned to ask that reveals whether a business owner is building freedom—
or just a high-paying trap.
I unpack it in this new piece.
If you’re building something that’s supposed to last…
check it out in this article…
As a business owner, you may reach a point where you’re done.
Mentally. Physically.
You’ll say:
“I’m ready to sell.”
But what happens when the business you’ve built… isn’t?
This is a story about how exits really play out—
And why most founders don’t realise the trap until the door’s already closed.
You don’t need to be thinking about selling to read this.
You just need to care about freedom.
Most founders don’t realise they’ve made a critical mistake.
It doesn’t show up on your P&L.
It’s not in your growth metrics.
And it hides behind a single phrase you might be saying to yourself right now:
That phrase can one day become a trap.
And by the time you see it…
It might already be too late.
Now is the time to pull the blindfold off.
Read it before you make it worse.
You know what SFB is? It’s a virus that forces school boards to cancel holidays as well as make business owners waste time and money going down rabbit holes. Find out all about SFB and how you can ensure it doesn’t poison you…
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