Einstein Quotes and Implications for Business Owners
September 29, 2006
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- "The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why." - Albert Einstein
- “The most important thing is to not stop questioning.” - Albert Einstein
Little Known Facts about Albert Einstein - "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."– Albert Einstein
- "Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it." - Albert Einstein
- "Imagination is more important than knowledge." –Albert Einstein
Little Known Facts about Albert Einstein
- Albert Einstein was home schooled.
- Albert Einstein Wikipedia Entry
- 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics
- Patent: In 1926, Einstein and former student Leó Szilárd co-invented the Einstein refrigerator.
- Einstein was very much involved in the Civil Rights movement. He was a close friend of Paul Robeson for over 20 years. Deeply influenced by Gandhi, Einstein once said of Gandhi, "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."
- In 1999, he was named Person of the Century by TIME magazine.
Do Not Start a Business, Buy a Business
September 29, 2006
My 15 Reasons To Buy a Business instead of Starting one are organized under the following headings:
- Leverage Marketplace Position
- Window of Opportunity
- Proven Systems - Mature Infrastructure
- Reduced Risk of Failure
NOTE: the book is also available at Borders, Barnes and Noble in the US and in Canada you can buy it at Chapters, Indigo across Canada and Audrey’s Books, 10702 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB.
I really do believe that Buying a Business is much better than starting one from scratch. The links on the right represent 15 reasons that make a compelling case for buying a business.
CAUTION: This is not any ordinary advice, it has proven to change the outlook of those who read it. You will find yourself seriously considering the possibility of buying a business. Shamesless Self-Promotion: if anything you read here makes sense to you, buy my book!
If you buy it direct from me (buy now button at the bottom of the page) you get to participate in a conference call with me.
This section will provide you with 14 compelling reasons to buy a business instead of starting one from scratch.
Under New Management! Imagine putting your own ‘under new management’ sign onto a business that you just purchased. Yes it is possible to buy a business and there are at least eight reasons to buy an existing business (instead of starting from scratch).
“Thank you very much. It (ebook) changed my outlook on businesses. I just ordered your book on Amazon and can’t wait for it toarrive. It will be the first business book that I’m anxious to read, in many years! Thank you!” Ken.
Go Ahead and Make Your Day: If you have always dreamed of buying a business this is the right book for you.
Worry no more. Think of this book as your coach. You are the athlete and all any coach expects is that you make a commitment, trust the process, and put 100 percent of yourself into the game. Sure, it’s a lot of hard work, but anything worthwhile is hard work. This book will coach you through the entire business-buying process.
Financing Is the Least of Your Worries: If you think that you simply can’t afford to buy a business, think again. An established, successful business is highly sought after by financial institutions because businesses make a lot of money for the banks. Hence they will be eager to lend you money for the purchase of a successful business. New banks are opening all the time, so there will be many financing options available to you. If you have a 401(k) or an IRA you may also be able to use those funds to finance your purchase without exposing yourself to taxes on withdrawal.
Seller Financing: Further, my personal experience is that most business owners are only too willing to finance the purchase for you. You can read about owner financing and other funding details in Chapter 13.
1) Leverage Marketplace Position
Immediate Cash Flow
You do not have to go through the trials and tribulations of trying to get enough customers to make a profit because established customers provide an established cash flow, a.k.a. money. With an established cash flow it is just a matter of managing the available cash to achieve your business goals. You do not have the extra pressure of finding enough business to pay the bills.
- Security and peace of mind because you do not have to worry about where the money will come from because of the revenue from established customers.
- No changes to standard of living. You are more likely able to take a full salary buying a business than startingone from scratch.
- Buying a business and making the transition requires a management focus whereas when starting a business requires concentrating on sales and revenue.
Money is not a Roadblock
Financing an established business with proven cash flow is appealing to both the bank and you as owner. It reduces the risk, and you will have better financing options available. If you are just buying the assets of a business, you will still need to demonstrate your ability to generate revenue, and you will have to pledge the purchased assets as collateral.
An existing business will likely have established credit terms with a bank. The banker would want to maintain a business relationship with a new owner. When you get to the point where you have a business you are ready to buy and are ready to investigate banking options in more detail, have the seller arrange a personal introduction to his or her banker. Do not approach the bank without the permission of the current owner. Aside from being an act of rudeness, it is unlikely that the banker would disclose any specifics regarding banking history and credit terms without the seller’s consent anyway.
A successful business always has goodwill and financing the sale of their own business is attractive to a seller. When structured properly they can not only extract their equity but save a lot on capital gains and taxes on the sale of the business.
SBA guaranteed loans will not exceed 50% of the total amount. However, depending on where the business is located in the U.S. you might be able to get up to 90% financed. It is done in conjunction with\ your bank, SBA and the local Certified Development Company (CDC). Funds can be used when buying a business in a depressed area, expansion of manufacturing capability as well as purchasing a business.
Cheaper to Buy a Business Than Start One From Scratch
It is almost always cheaper to buy an existing business than trying to start a business. For example, it will always cost less to buy a business than try to start one in a mature industry where the players\ are well entrenched because of the marketing, promotion, sales and advertising investment is greater than the cost to buy a customer list i.e. buy a business. Look at the net profit (before taxes) – it is almost double.
I bet you want to know how this could possibly be done right? In my book, Tips and Traps When Buying a Business you will find the information, background, and process to walk you through the process of buying a business. It is actually quite simple.
The cost of advertising, promotion, sales reps and other marketing efforts is considerable. Take a look at a real world scenario that I extracted from a real small business. Having a good understanding of this business I was able to identify that I could reduce overhead by close to $100,000 plus:
Using these strategies I would be able to pay $750,000 to buy the business, pay-off the note in just 10 years ($750,000 @ 5% interest rate) and end up with a better before tax, rate of return than the existing business. Truth is I could probably even afford to accelerate\ paying off the $750,000 note and pay it off a lot faster. But I wanted to use a conservative approach for this illustration.
Seller Financing - Opens a Whole New World of Opportunities
One of the best reasons to buy an existing business is obtaining financing from the seller. Because the financing will be provided to the business (with your personal guarantee) it would not eat up your personal credit capacity. You will still have the normal amounts available for financing a new car, renovations, or other important expenditures.
The reason for business owners to finance the purchase is that it is in their best interest. They get the interest payments that a bank, investor, or financial institution would normally get if you went out and financed the business on your own. Just like the bank, they will have a note and a security agreement (i.e., lien) on the business for the amount financed. They will require that you also provide a personal guarantee that allows them to seize your personal assets should the business fail to meet its obligations.
It does mean you will have a much closer working relationship with the owner and I have seen a few do 100% financing. Owner financing is a legitimate option plus with some good financial, corporate and tax planning it will save the seller a lot on taxes which in many cases can only be accomplished through a deal that includes seller financing.
You can learn more about seller financing in Chapter 13 of Tips & Traps When Buying a Business.
2) Window of Opportunity
Established Customer Base
When you buy an existing business you get an established customer base.
When you start a new business you have no customers and have to start from zero. So when you have an established customer base it gives you immediate cash flow.
The business has relationships with existing customers and when you buy the business you are able to leverage that relationship to:
- Flexibility to add new products or services and generate additional revenue and profits.
- Tweak operations to maximize profits whereas when you start a business you have to first establish those relationships before you have a chance to make a dime of profit.
- Segment the customer list, analyze data, and uncover customer purchase patterns. This can provide significant opportunities to improve customer service and marketing opportunities.
Shorter Time To Market
One of the great challenges for inventors or manufacturing companies is bringing their product to market. Moving from R & D to production and marketing/sales is what makes or breaks companies attempting to penetrate a market.
The same is true of a business in a start up situation. So much time, energy, and resources need to be extended to acquire market share and maintain momentum that they often fail to succeed in making any real progress, if they do it comes at a very high price – depleted financial resources.
The real cost in starting a business is time. I think of it the same way people who sell radio and TV airtime do – they cannot sell yesterday’s advertising today. Yesterday is gone. If they fail to sell out all available airtime they are not maximizing their opportunity. The same is true for every business – you cannot sell your products or services to yesterday’s customer. It is impossible since that opportunity has evaporated.
Therefore, the quicker you get to market (i.e. buying a busiuness) and start making money the better off you are.
Avoid Excessive Experimentation
Where time gets wasted in a start up is with excessive experimentation. Without a formula or well-researched plan, a business in start up mode has to experiment and try various strategies. It is the time and resources spent trying and testing marketing, sales or operational strategies that the business looses on two fronts:
- Lost time spent on activities that do not result in any measurable or tangible result translates into a lost revenue opportunity that may have resulted in generating revenue that is now lost. Making money doing something else.
- Experimentation with marketing, advertising, and promotion almost always involves expending a portion of your budget. When unsuccessful not only did you the money that was spent on the unsuccessful campaign. You also lost the profit those dollars were supposed to generate.
New firms face a learning curve. In the early stages of life, internal deficiencies are so prevalent that most bankruptcies occur for these reasons alone. Management must master the basic internal skills—general and financial knowledge, control, communications, supervision of staff, and market development—or it will fail solely from the weight of these problems.
Market Strength
The company you are buying already has a market position and recognition in the community and the industry. Whereas, when you start a new business, you have no recognition or position in the marketplace. If nobody knows\ about the products and services you sell, they cannot buy them.
If your market is in a mature market dominated by companies ‘long in the tooth’ starting a business is out of the question because the cost of acquiring customers is just too expensive, time consuming and unrealistic.
Without positioning, you have to spend money on marketing and advertising. Plus, during the time it takes to establish your market position, you will be earning less revenue while overhead remains the same and time is lost. For example, in the time it would take to penetrate an established market with a start up – you could be making money operating an existing business that you purchased.
Starting a business in a growing industry it can still take years to establish a serious and recognizable presence. Starting a business in an emerging industry makes it even more challenging because of the time it takes to figure out the marketing and sales mix it takes to succeed.
When you buy an established business, experimentation and testing can be kept to a minimum leaving energy and resources to be invested in expanding relationships with existing customers and adding new products or services.
3) Proven Systems - Mature Infrastructure
The operations, systems, and procedures of an existing business can make life a lot easier for you during the transition when you have many details to absorb. It is easier to make changes to systems that already exist than to create new systems from scratch or by trial and error.
Plus you save time and money by not needing to train staff and\ implement new systems.
This is my favorite reason to buy a business instead of a franchise.
A well-established business typically has mature systems that are a ’success formula’ that reduces risk the same way a franchise providing systems ensures success for the franchisee. There is no need for experimentation as someone else has already paid the price and risk. Plus no franchise fees!
This provides you with an opportunity to concentrate on tweaking the controls, management, and operation to put your own signature on the operation. Bottom line, you do it with less risk.
Experienced Employees
Another valuable asset you get with an established business is experienced and\ dedicated employees. In the service-based economy of the 21st century experienced employees are a huge advantage. They are trained, experienced, and have relationships with the customers.
With a start-up business you are starting from scratch. Experienced employees can really make a big difference in helping you run the business, achieve your goals, and provide great customer service. Starting a business from scratch requires recruiting, interviewing, selecting, and training employees. Whereas when you buy a business the biggest thing you have to do is fit in with the existing team.
In the transition period, experienced employees provide a buffer allowing you to focus on familiarizing yourself with the operation. You will appreciate this time, as there will likely be things you want to change within the business. With these dedicated and experienced employees you will have time to make modifications while the business profitably chugs along. This can be very different from a start-up situation, where you have to focus on getting new customers, creating systems and procedures, and getting the cash flowing.
Recently it has become apparent that the Millennial Generation, born after 1985, has a strong orientation toward entrepreneurship.
They are confident that they can create great results and earn a satisfactory living – by going into business for themselves – which means they are not available to become employees of existing companies. They are self-aware, astute, creative, and comfortable taking the risks involved with owning a business and as a result simply not interested in working for someone else. So one of the best ways of getting young entrepreneurs with the drive, intellectual curiosity and energy is to buy their business and merge them into your operation.
That being said the other end of the age spectrum is also actively doing the entrepreneurial gig. Companies like DELL and Microsoft were started by younger entrepreneurs like Michael Dell and Bill Gates but the startup domain once dominated by young, highly-driven, technology-oriented entrepreneurs - is quickly being taken over by individuals who, while still driven and tech-savvy, happen to be in their 50s, 60s and 70s.
As companies outsource more and more functions, they end up outsourcing to firms that could quite possibly include people they may not have been able to hire because of their age.
The makeup of the workforce in the 21st century is very different and requires a different approach – like buying a business – instead of starting one from scratch.
4) Reduced Risk of Failure
Reduced Risk of Failure
An established business has a reduced risk of failure compared to a new business that has no customers, no cash flow, no market recognition, and no established trading relationships with suppliers.
Buying a successful existing business propels you forward in a way that a brand-new business cannot.
If a business has been successful, there is no reason to expect that it would not be successful once you take it over, especially if you can demonstrate in your business plan your vision and goals to increase the performance of the business.
Scarcity of Young Workers
In a report from the Herman Group - Young Entrepreneurs Drain Labor Pool “early indications suggest that the Millennial Generation, born after 1985, has a strong orientation toward entrepreneurship. They feel confident that they can achieve great results–at least earn a satisfactory living—by going into business for themselves. This population cohort is showing itself to be self-aware, astute, creative, and comfortable taking the risks involved with businesses.”
“This scenario is a “good news—bad news” situation. While it is\ inspiring to see young people with a desire to create something, to try new business ventures while they are young, there is also a downside. These entrepreneurs, full of intellectual curiosity and energy, are often ideal employees for existing companies. However, if they are business for themselves, these unique human resources are usually not available to work for other employers. They are simply not interested.”
This does not bode well for any business that needs young workers. To access this group of workers, you will need to either outsource to gain access to this entrepreneurial group or buy a business to build your staff.
You could buy a business owned by these young upstarts and merge them into your existing business or in the worse case simply outsource work to them. I actually think that outsourcing work to these motivate and inspired people is the best way to build a business relationship and test drive the ‘owner’ to see if your styles are complimentary. If so, discussions to become part of a larger organization – that they trust – will appeal to their desire for personal growth.
Senior Entrepreneurs Make up 27% of the Self-Employed
An insightful article on the Hispanic Business web site stated that, “…the last 20 years of entrepreneurial pursuits, youth has ruled the roost. Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Napster creator Shawn Fanning all started their ventures before the age of 21.” It goes on to point out that “… the latest government figures indicate that the tide is turning toward more experienced individuals, many of whom may have lost their jobs during the three-year wave of job cutting, which has yet to let up.”
The article goes on to claim access to “…unpublished government data obtained by Challenger researchers show that … has increased 22 percent from 2,136,000 in May, 2000 to 2,598,000 as of May, 2005.”
“These senior entrepreneurs now represent nearly 27 percent of all self-employed workers, which is second only to 45- to 54-year-olds who make up more than 27 percent of the self-employed. Clearly, experience pays when it comes to entrepreneurship.”
“While self-employment was expanding among those 55 and up, it was falling for almost every other age group. The biggest group of self-employed workers in 2000 was the 35- to 44-year-old cohort… their numbers have fallen 10 percent.
“The only other age groups to see an increase in self-employment between 2000 and 2005 were 20-to 24-year-olds and 45- to 54-year-olds, which increased by 29 percent and more than 6 percent, respectively.”
This is good news for business buyers because the sheer number of older self-employed baby boomer business owners could mean more businesses for sale which could drive prices lower for business buyers.
Baby Boomer Business Owners Have a Liquidity Problem
The single largest demographic segment baby boomers, are now beginning to look at retirement options. Depending on your view, this is either an opportunity or an obstacle. Baby boomer business owners’ greatest problem is to figure out a way to retire and extract the equity that has built up in their businesses.
For many baby boomers, that will mean selling their businesses and converting their equity into cash or retirement income.
Because Baby Boomers have a liquidity problem that is created by one simple economic principle: supply and demand. Like anything else, supply and demand affects the sale price of a business. The more buyers (the greater the demand), the higher the asking price. Fewer buyers will result in lower sale prices.
If all baby boomer business owners try to sell their businesses at the same time, there will be an oversupply of businesses for sale— meaning that asking prices will drop as finding a buyer becomes more difficult. The implications are vast.
Without a succession plan or buyer waiting in the wings, baby boomers will struggle to get the full value out of their businesses. This will be bad for the baby boomers, but good for you as a potential buyer.
But baby boomers have another option. If they have not planned their business succession in advance, and they’re unwilling or unable to liquidate at a lower price, they may continue to work well into retirement. With postretirement life spans of 25 years or more, baby boomers will need adequate retirement funds to maintain the quality of life they have become accustomed to. If they have not saved enough money to fund that long retirement, baby boomers may decide to keep running their businesses into their retirement years. If this happens on a large scale, the supply of businesses for sale will drop dramatically, and prices will rise. This doesn’t mean that potential business buyers have no hope, but it does mean that you will have to get creative to find a business owner willing to sell you the business that is funding his or her retirement dreams.
There’s no way of knowing for sure what will happen as the baby boomers retire, in any event their actions will impact the business landscape. For that reason, it’s important to keep these scenario’s in as you consider buying a business.
Article Series - Buying a Business
- Business Myth Busted: Starting a Franchise is Safer Than Starting Your Own
- Do Not Start a Business, Buy a Business
- Should I Buy a Distressed Business That Is Losing Money?
- Partnerships and Buying a Business
- Innovation, Fear and Their Role in Buying a Business
- Reduce Your Risk When Buying a Buisness
- Buying a Business - Obstacles and Deal Breakers
- Buying a Business - The Goodwill Controversy
- Long-Term Vision: Buying a Business Podcast
- Strengths and Structure: Buying a Business Podcast
How What You Think Determines the Outcome of Your Business - Show 14
September 28, 2006
Change Your Mind: "Nothing stops an organization faster than people who believe that the way they worked yesterday is the best way to work tomorrow. To succeed, not only do your people have to change the way they act, they've got to change the way they think about the past." - Jon Madonna, Chairman, KPMG International
Opening Up To Possibilities: "We do what we are. We are what we think. What we think is determined by what we learn. What we learn is determined by what we experience and what we experience is determined by what we expose ourselves to and what we do with that experience." - Mike Vance, founder and dean of Walt Disney Universitywww.aeispeakers.com—speakerbio.php Mike Vance
See my video titled "Creativity In Business"
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Harvey Firestone - Show 13
September 27, 2006
"Treat workers as human beings not objects to get work done." - Harvey Firestone
Out of Print Book: Uncommon Friends by Jim Newton
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Learning to Learn
September 26, 2006
“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn." - Peter Drucker
What have been the defining moments in your life? Have you ever felt inferior?
There is no telling what you can achieve if you will give yourself permission to succeed.
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself on a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt
- More about Theodore Roosevelt: Theodore Roosevelt
- Talking Story, Joyful, Jubilant Learning
My BHAG and other notes - Show 11
September 25, 2006
The September 1st Joyful, Jubilant Learning post that started it all.
http://www.sayleadershipcoaching.com/talkingstory/2006/09/learning_a_plac.html
Music compliments of http://www.robcostlow.com titled Family via the Podsafe Music Network http://music.podshow.com/
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My Mistakes Blogging
September 24, 2006
Since 1998, I have been writing daily and doing it online. I never really stopped blogging, I just moved where I was posting.
For example, I started using my .mac web space and put up a blog there and began blogging for D&B Canada. Recently I started a daily podcast at DailyThoughtsforBusiness.com. I still maintain the Business Coach Podcast, the Buying a Business Podcast and the No Bullshit Leadership joint podcast.
I definitely have an entrepreneurial mindset. I am always trying new things and attempting to improve my business but sometimes it can be a double edged sword.
Big Mistake, I Switched Platforms
The biggest mistake I made was moving away from the Wordpress platform. I spent a lot of time learning to use Wordpress and overall was happy with it. Why did I stop using it? Good question, I am not sure I can come up with a good explanation.
I switched to the Joomla platform because it had unlimited capabilities being able to add ‘extensions‘ to extend its functionality. Therein, lies the problem - too much flexibility, a disorganized Open Source community, and the need to ‘design” your own site or purchase a commercial template.
The commercial Joomla developers I used were quirky code geeks that really did not understand how frustrating their approach to customer service was. This is a classic case of talented developers that start a business, start making money, and shoot themselves in the foot because they have no business sense.
Joomla Comments Reminiscent of Web 1.0
My biggest disappointment with Joomla was there was no reasonable way to allow ‘open comments’ without people first joining unless you were willing to expose your site to massive spam comments. Wordpress has bullet proof Askimet spam bot protection.
Joomla Does Not Support Podcasting
I could not find a Joomla extension that would allow me to easily publish my podcasts from my Hipcast account. The extensions I did try were clunky, some did not support MP3 files, and the WYSIWYG editor messed with the audio and video code which required working around the system to get it to work. Not fun.
Wordpress Is A Better Content Management System
Not only does Wordpress have the best protection against spam bots but the Wordpress platform is much more battle proven and stable than the Joomla code base. Even with all the free Wordpress templates available, getting a design for my website that satisfied my sense of design was a challenge. Plus I wanted to make it easy for users to find relevant content among my 438+ articles.
I have settled on the Lush 2 template which has a great search feature that is very quick and finds relevant content too.
So, I am back to using Wordpress as my CMS for my Coaching website and podcasts. I could not be happier.
Podcasting Introduction
September 23, 2006
Podcasting allows you to listen to audio files any time and any place.
First, you need podcasting software installed on your computer. You can find free software from Apple (iTunes) and Juice.
To subscribe follow the instructions included with your software. You can choose to modifying preference settings to allow you to get updates daily or weekly.
Podcasting software allows you to listen directly from your computer through the software, or by synching up a portable MP3 player, such as an iPod.
Podcasting Listening Software
Amazing Business Tool: Relaxation
September 23, 2006
I think napping will be come my newest business skill. Really, I have been taking 30 minute naps at the end of my day and whenever I need them for years now and it really does make a difference.
I stumbled upon this little application called Pzizz, I am not sure how to pronounce it but it a cool little application that is available for both Windows and Mac. It is a power nap, guided relaxation, meditation software that is truly remarkable.
You can setup energizer and sleep naps. You can try a 20 minute energizer soundtrack for free.
Last week I was chatting with Phill Ryu about MyDreamApp - and I agreed to give away a free license of the current version of the pzizz software and energizer plugin to everyone who votes in the first round!
Playing in the Big Leagues
September 22, 2006
"Basically, I wasn't even the best athlete on my high school team. I just want to emphasize that. I wasn't the fastest or strongest guy even in my senior year. One thing I have kept doing since I started playing football is continuing to get better every single year. I would see what my weaknesses were, and I would fix them. You find something wrong, and you fix it. Sometimes you have to suck it up and do what you know you need to do." - Justin McCariens, Wide Receiver, New York Jets www.nfl.com—NYJ
Justin McCariens, Wide Receiver, New York Jets
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Beyond Someday I’ll
September 21, 2006
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." - Chinese Proverb
Denis Waitley: www.waitley.com
Danny Cox: www.dannycox.com
Jodee Bock: www.100percentfactor.com
When Best Is Not Enough
September 20, 2006
"It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." - Winston Churchill British statesman & Prime Minister during World War II
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www.deming.org—articles_fourdays01.html
On Finishing Well
September 19, 2006
"A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't particularly feel like it." - Alistaire Cooke, writer
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Creativity in Business
September 18, 2006
Business is changing and so to do we as business owners need to adapt and change. More than ever entrepreneurs must become more creative and innovate to thrive.
To varying degrees, every entrepreneur I have met has a streak of creativity and the ability to innovate - to look at the world a little differently. Perhaps I am preaching to the choir but over the next few years I plan to research and explore this topic in depth. It is that important - I have a question for you.
Comments about Creativity from a Leader
In February 2006, Sir Ken Robinson (author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative) spoke at the TED conference (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA.). He is a leading expert on innovation and human resources. In this clip he speaks to the topic of creativity and education.
What is Your Talent?
Are you squandering your talent? How you forgotten how to be creative? Perhaps you had your creativity educated out of you or you have simply grown out of your creativity.
Personal Branding, Fear of Failure
September 18, 2006
If you run a small, small businesses (1-10 employees) personal branding is a great way to promote your company because so much of the business revolves around you as the business owner. 20 minutes
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Partnerships and Buying a Business
September 18, 2006
Considerations when considering a partnership when buying a business. 16 minutes
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Article Series - Buying a Business
- Business Myth Busted: Starting a Franchise is Safer Than Starting Your Own
- Do Not Start a Business, Buy a Business
- Should I Buy a Distressed Business That Is Losing Money?
- Partnerships and Buying a Business
- Innovation, Fear and Their Role in Buying a Business
- Reduce Your Risk When Buying a Buisness
- Buying a Business - Obstacles and Deal Breakers
- Buying a Business - The Goodwill Controversy
- Long-Term Vision: Buying a Business Podcast
- Strengths and Structure: Buying a Business Podcast
Getting Ready to Write Your Business Plan
September 18, 2006
What you should do to get ready to write a business plan.
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Global TV Interview
September 18, 2006
I appeared on the Global TV Morning Show on January 30th, 2006 and thought you might be interested to hear the interview where I talk about the book and buying a business.
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Show 5: Leadership
September 18, 2006
Greg comments on Leadership and an article from http://www.ccl.org that highlights a survey of everyday leaders and what they learned.
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New Daily Podcast
September 15, 2006
Check out my new Podcast, “Daily Thoughts for Business“. It is a daily podcast of short, inspirational, and thought provoking ideas to brighten your day and help you grow your business. I plan to keep the length to 5-10 minutes. Short, sweet and to the point.
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Getting the Price Right
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My Books on Amazon
