Excerpts from an Interview about The Business Owner's Pocket Guide

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Eliot Wagonheim

 

 

Recently I was asked some pointed questions about my inspiration and motivation for writing The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide and I thought I’d share those thoughts here:

 

 

 

What was the motivation behind writing The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide?

The purpose of The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide was to help owners of small to medium sized businesses build stronger companies. As a small business owner myself, I know that these companies are the lifeblood of our economy…and I wanted to help make them better. Through The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide, I wanted to provide business owners with answers before it was too late by focusing on areas of critical importance throughout the life of their companies. I wrote the Guide to address bottom line concerns – even legal issues – in an easily relatable way in the hope that it may not only help business owners avoid unnecessary risks, but also travel well down their chosen path.

How was the content selected for The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide and what makes this guide different?

Having counseled businesses of nearly every size and description for over 20 years, I've gained an understanding of what’s important to business owners. Many of the major concerns cut across industry lines:

  • What do I need in my contracts to ensure that I’m going to get paid?
  • Should I ask my salespeople to sign a non-compete agreement?
  • What should I do if I want to bring on a new investor?
  • What happens if the owners of the company can’t agree on critical issues, and how can we prevent the problem before it arises?
  • How do I position my company for sale when I’m ready to retire?

I drafted the Guide based on the questions and concerns I saw over and over again. Then I sent the rough copy out to a group of business owners to get their feedback. I think that’s what makes it different – it’s not a textbook and it’s not written to sound “like a lawyer.” It addresses real world issues in an easily accessible way…and it’s free!

Who can and will use The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide? 

In the few days since it has been out, it’s been downloaded by business owners in industries ranging from landscaping to catering, professional service firms, and even some folks in local government. Basically, I see the Guide as a valuable tool for business owners and managers, regardless of industry, and whether the business has 5 people or 500. 

I wrote it to address issues across the board…and it seems from the enthusiastic early reception as though it is doing just that.

Visit www.wagonheim.com to download The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide and come back here to leave your thoughts and comments.

The Business Owner’s Pocket Guide is the third in a series including The Contractor’s Pocket Guide and The Banker’s Pocket Guide, which were released over the past several years by Wagonheim & Associates.

 

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The Prepared Business Owner: He Sleeps in a Storm

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Eliot Wagonheim

In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom quotes a sermon so important to business owners that I have reprinted the entire excerpt below:

A man seeks employment on a farm.  He hands his letter of recommendation to his new employer.  It reads simply, 'He sleeps in a storm.'

Several weeks pass and suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful storm rips through the valley. 

Awakened by the swirlining rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed.  He calls for his new hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly. 

So he dashes off to the barn.  He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed.

He runs out to the field.  He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and are wrapped in tarpaulins.

He races to the silo.  The doors are latched, and the grain is dry. 

And then he understands.  'He sleeps in a storm.'

Running your own business is an exercise in piloting to safe harbors through strong and unexpected storms.  And as business owners, the storms rage all around us. The bankruptcy of a major customer is a storm.  So too, the loss of a major salesperson, along with the customers who elected to follow her.  A job gone south, the loss of key support personnel, and one's own unexpected absence from work -- all are gales of sudden and untold destructive force. 

To many, the state of our economy this past 18 months has been a storm of epic proportions. 

The question then becomes:  "Can you sleep in a storm?"

Have you:

  • Secured lines of credit with terms and limit appropriate to your business?
  • Protected your streams of revenue by locking down key salespeople with restrictive covenants? 
  • Limited your risk by negotiating manageable damages and indemnification provisions -- particularly in those contracts governing your largest projects?
  • Trained your replacement?
  • Documented key procedures so that a new person could step into a job knowing key passwords, resources, and procedures?

Too often, these types of preparations are like flowers at a funeral -- they arrive all at once, and too late.  Prudent business owners prepare.  They schedule regular meetings with their management team and key advisors, whether quarterly, every 6 months, or even annually, to consider and prepare for what storms may come. 

And when those storms arrive, as they most certainly will, the prudent business owner sleeps soundly.

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