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
Aileen came to us stuck.
She needed to decide whether to invest in or divest one of her divisions—a decision worth millions.
In 60 minutes, she had her answer.
Not because I told her what to do. Not because I overwhelmed her with frameworks or formulas.
But because I guided her …..
Delegation isn’t about “letting go”—it’s about leading smarter. Yet so many business owners struggle to step away because their team just can’t handle the load.
Here’s the kicker: it’s not your team’s fault. It’s a skill you need to master.
Want to know how one business owner went from being the bottleneck to having a business that runs without him?
I break it all down here
7 out of 10 business owners aren’t ready for the big payday they’ve worked so hard for.
Just like a team that dominates the season but falters when it matters most, many businesses fail to sell—not because they aren’t profitable, but because they aren’t ready.
If your business depends on you for survival, it’s not sellable.
Here’s what you need to know to prepare for your moment:
Life doesn’t warn you when it’s about to change everything.
Most people live like tomorrow is guaranteed—but it’s not.
In my latest article, I dive into a critical question every business owner must ask themselves to safeguard what matters most.
This one shift could mean the difference between thriving in uncertainty—or scrambling to recover.
Because the best time to prepare isn’t after the phone call. It’s before.
Lose in the playoffs? Tough break, but you dust yourself off, train harder, and take another shot next year.
In business? Let’s just say the rules are a little… different.
How different?
My first hit on the high school baseball team? A home run.
Sounds impressive, right? But what happened before that might surprise you. Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly team material when I started out…
It took a mentor, some tough lessons, and a total transformation to make it to that moment at home plate.
The same kind of transformation your business needs to break through to its next level. Ready to see how?
“For she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Proverbs 3:14-3:15).
We’re talking about Sophia…
More specifically, the Greek word for wisdom.
And how tapping into Sophia or wisdom can transform what your business provides you.
“Sing us a song, you’re the piano man…”
Hearing those lyrics took me back to a snowy Christmas Eve years ago, driving through Chicago in a blizzard to pick up my friend Don. We slid into snowbanks, laughed until we cried, and celebrated late into the night.
Years later, Don built a thriving business and a life he loved abroad. But his story has always stayed with me—and not for the reasons you might think.
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