Browsing Category
Succession & Exit Strategies
45 posts
WJR Business Beat: How to Make A Family Business Last Generations (Episode 402)
In this Business Beat, Jeff's guests explain what makes a family business thrive for generations. Tune in to today's Business Beat to learn the characteristics that lead to long-term success: Tune in to News/Talk 760 AM WJR weekday mornings at 7:11 a.m. for the WJR Business Beat. Listeners outside of the Detroit area...
May 4, 2022
Launching a Family Business? Keep These 3 Things in Mind
Are you wanting to start a family business? If so, you’re not alone. According to the United States Census Bureau, roughly 90 percent of American businesses are either family-owned or controlled. The size of these organizations runs the gamut, from two-person “mom and pop” shops all the way up to Fortune 500 behemoths. Together with...
April 11, 2022
5 Strategies to Turn Around a Program Launch That Isn’t Working
If you’re a few days into your program launch and you’re disappointed by lack of results, don’t waste your time by wallowing in what you think is failure. Before diving into these five steps, first recognize that no matter the situation, your launch is not a failure. I like to tell my clients that every...
April 8, 2022
The Ideal Pitch Deck Is a Story, a Science and an Art
In the startup world, it's pitch decks, not business plans that get companies funded. A deck is often the first impression an investor will get at the company, so it needs to look stunning. Making a pitch deck is an art, a science, but most importantly, a story. The deck should achieve three things: It...
April 6, 2022
Have a Startup? Make Sure You’re On the Right Fundraising Path
The following is adapted from "Exit Right: How to Sell Your Startup, Maximize Your Return and Build Your Legacy" by Mark Achler and Mert Iseri. Most of us know Travis Kalanick from his meteoric rise as the CEO of Uber, and his ultimate fall from grace. What most don’t talk about is his obsessive focus...
March 31, 2022
For the Smoothest Deal Process, Know the 6 Legal Stages of Your Startup’s Acquisition
The following is adapted from "Getting Acquired: How I Built and Sold My SaaS Startup" by Andrew Gazdecki. Nothing derails an acquisition faster than legal problems. Legal procedures are the most critical aspect of a sale, but they’re often the ugliest as well. Fail to understand the legal process of selling your company, and you...
March 28, 2022
Why Grit is Essential to Your Success as an Entrepreneur
For entrepreneurs building a business, the initial startup stage is an exhilarating time: you’re energized by your idea and engrossed in building the business. It feels like it’ll always be fun. The hard truth is that in building any business, there are peaks and valleys. When you hit a valley, it can be difficult to...
March 28, 2022
How Venture Capitalist Diane Yoo Chooses Her Startup Investments
With so many entrepreneurs and startup ventures seeking investment opportunities, it’s crucial that venture capitalists (VCs) create a list of criteria they want their potential investments to meet. Of course, every VC dreams of investing in a business that can grow into a billion-dollar unicorn company, but these instances are few and far between. As...
November 16, 2021
12 Keys to Family Business Success
Family members start a major portion of new businesses launched in the U.S. every year. Brothers come to mind, of course, when it comes to family business. Whatever the family ties, however, starting a business with a spouse, parents, siblings, children or other family members presents unique challenges over and above the usual problems a...
September 21, 2021
3 Lessons for Balancing a Side Hustle When Launching a Business
Any founder will tell you that starting a new business while working another job (or two for that matter) is lousy. Figuring out what that side hustle, or main hustle, will be to support launching this new endeavor is going to suck up two things in your life: your time and attention. But it’s important...
September 16, 2021
How to Use Talent Optimization to Build a Better Business
The following is excerpted from “The Science of Dream Teams: How Talent Optimization Can Drive Engagement, Productivity, and Happiness” by Mike Zani, pp. 29-35 (McGraw Hill, July 2021).” Through the hot summer of 2018, Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, slept for nights on end at his assembly plant in Fremont, California. Musk had vowed that...
August 24, 2021
4 Important Questions to Ask When Buying a Business Right Now
The market looks vastly different than it did a year ago, which means new opportunities — for better or worse. As businesses reopen, they offer clues to which industries proved to be pandemic-proof, meaning they were hit hard but show strong promise of recovery, and which ones appear gone forever. If you were already researching...
July 29, 2021
This Angel Investor Shares Why You Need an Exit Strategy from the Start
For founders and entrepreneurs building up their business, the initial startup stage typically focuses on the product, technology or service offering. You’re energized by your idea and engrossed in building the best business concepts possible. While all of this is vital to your business and essential to the success of your company, it’s also critical...
June 7, 2021
An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Selling Your Company
After 10 years of running my company, Mtell, we sold it to a publicly traded company for $37 million. It started in 2006: we bootstrapped our way to profitability by offering consulting services until we found a product-market fit. Because we were already generating revenue, that meant we got to fundraise on our own terms....
July 19, 2019
Why It’s Key to Have an Exit Strategy Before Starting a Business
Some authors swear that writing the ending of a book first is imperative to the plot. Knowing where you want to end up can be invaluable, as it helps you plan out the beginning and middle of your story. If starting a business is part of your life story, it can be helpful to think...
February 21, 2018
Your Business May Have Failed, But You Can Still Prevail
Upper Street was a dream for any entrepreneur. The bespoke shoe label, started in 2010 by Julia Elliott Brown and her sister Katy Chandler, allowed customers to design their own shoes online using 3-D technology before trying them on at its London location. The concept struck a note with women worldwide, winning over an impressive...
January 22, 2018
What’s Your Website Worth and Where Can You Sell It?
As an internet entrepreneur, situations arise where you may need to sell your website and want to ensure you’re going to get the highest price possible. Before you list your website for sale, you’re going to want to understand what your website is worth, how to increase its value and how to make your website...
January 10, 2018
Tackling What’s Next: Are You Ready to Exit Your Business?
Exit strategy. A noun that could become a verb and conjures up both excitement and paralysis for entrepreneurs. Developing potential exit strategies can generate swells of pride if your business has achievements that allow you to craft a desirable list: impact, scale, leadership, growth, profitability, stability and value. The exercise also produces fear that you may never be able...
November 30, 2017
Top Leadership Traits Needed to Successfully Manage a Family Business
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say many people don’t like change of any kind. The status quo, which is known, is usually preferred against something new, which is unknown. With respect to a family business, change can be particularly troubling, especially when it’s unexpected — the death of an owner, a key employee or...
April 6, 2017
4 Traps To Avoid When Selling Your Company
Business owners have been known to refer to due diligence as "the entrepreneur's proctology exam." It's a crude analogy, but a good representation of what it feels like when a stranger pokes, prods and looks inside every inch of your business. Most professional acquirers will have a checklist of questions they need answered if they’re considering...
August 8, 2016