If you are an independent business owner, you are most likely also an independent business seller–if not now, you will be somewhere down the road. The Small Business Administration reports that three to five years is a long enough stretch for many business owners and that one in every three plans to sell, many of them right from the outset. With fewer cases of a business being passed on...Read More
It’s easy to be negative about cost-cutting. “Everything just costs more,” a business owner will say; the subtext being, “What’s the use?”
Don’t give up! There are ways to cut costs. The first step is to identify where the money goes . . . and why. Then look at creative ways to shave off the non-essential while keeping the shape of your business...Read More
Strong Points
Flexible and positive attitude
Creative and comfortable with risk-taking
Goal-focused and committed to success
Organized
Energetic
Weak Points
Impatient with achieving goals
Distractible; tolerant of interruptions
Distrustful of “the new” (especially technology)
Tendency to stray from business plan
Failure to delegate authority and tasks
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Now that we crossed that much-heralded bridge to the 21st century and once on the other side, there will be new challenges, but many of the secrets of succeeding in independent business will remain the same. Ask yourself the following questions to see how you measure up to these old-and-new standards of entrepreneurial excellence:
Are you in step with technology?
The 21st century will usher...Read More
You’ve make the big decision to sell. Your books are in order, you’ve spiffed up the premises. What are you waiting for?
Many sellers get to this threshold and then become concerned about confidentiality. They do not want the news of their decision to reach their customers, competitors, employees, or creditors. After all, they figure, customers may lose confidence in the business...Read More
