Business Owners Must Prepare for the Future…
“Business owners, who lie in bed at night worrying about the ‘what-ifs’, need to develop blueprints for their life,” says Irving Katz.
Most business owners haven’t protected themselves or planned for the future because they’re so busy working in their business. They are caught up in their day-to-day concerns and haven’t spent any time creating blueprints for their future. So they lie awake at night worrying. I call this The Working-In-Your Business Trap.
If something happens to you, the business must continue even if you do not. The only chance of that happening depends upon the right employees staying with the business. If you do not return to the business because of death or disability, your key employees will be very worried about their futures. Without you and without them, the business stands very little chance of continuing.
Your death or disability may create immediate and immense problems:
•   significant financial interruption.
•   potentially no successor.
•   loss of key talent . . . your!
•   emotional distress.
Most business owners have left more written instruction in the past for babysitters when they have gone out of town for a night or two, than they have in case of death when they will never be able to speak with their families again. Doesn’t your surviving spouse deserve as much as the occasional babysitter?
Put your continuity instructions in writing. Communicate to your employees, family and advisors what they are going to need to know if you are no longer here.
- Who is responsible for day-to-day operations?
- Who should make the financial decisions?
- Who is in charge of administration decisions?
- List the names and phone numbers of your advisors.
- Who can assist the family with the business transition?
- Should the business be sold, liquidated or retained? If sold, who would be potential buyers?
Make these choices during your lifetime so your family does not make the wrong choices when you are not here.
Is this something you have been thinking about? I invite you to share your thoughts and comments below and/or contact me for putting a plan in place.
May 19, 2010
Tags: business owner, business trap, employees succession, key employees Posted in: Business Owner Succession 
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What Are Some of the Basic Characteristics of a Good Business Owner?
I found this article below and thought it was very informative and true…Tell me your thoughts and upgrades by commenting below. Is this you?
If you’re not sure what a good business owner looks like and how you can be one too, check out this list and see if any of them fit you.
Self Motivated
First and foremost, if you’re going to be your own boss you MUST BE self motivated. In the world of work there is a boss who is always making sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to do because that is his/her job. But whey you’re in business for yourself, you have to be your own boss so YOU MUST BE THE ONE TO MOTIVATE YOU.
You must be able to work on your own without someone else telling you what you need to. YOU are the boss, manager, supervisor, leader, etc. You have to depend on you and only you to get the work done.
Dedication
If you want your business to succeed, you must be dedicated to doing the job. You must be committed to every detail of your business. You can’t slack off any. You can’t take it easy. You must work until the job is done.
And once you get your business running like a well-oiled machine, then you can focus your efforts on something else. But until then, you must be in the trenches getting things working perfectly so you can enjoyed the fruits of your labor.
Integrity
In order to do business for a long time, you must do GOOD business. You must be a person of integrity when operating your business. You must have standards, honesty and reliability.
Doing business in an unethical way may work for a while, but in the end it’s going to get you in trouble so focus on what’s right and you’ll be okay.
Organized/Detail Oriented
You must have all of your ducks in a row if you want to be a good business owner. One of the main responsibilities of owning a business is record keeping.
A good record keeping system will keep you out of trouble and on the profit side. If you know what’s coming in as well as what’s going out you can be an effective manager of your business and make money.
Customer Lover
Yes, you must love your customers. You must respect them and treat them good because they are the ones that will spend their hard earned money and support you and your efforts so your customers are precious to you.
Give your customers more than what they expect. Go out of the way to make them feel good because if you do, they will come back and when they come back, that increases your profits and that’s why you’re in business, to make money.
There are other characteristics of a good business owner but these are just a few so work on these and you’ll be on your way to a lot of success.
To YOUR Success,
Rodney
About The Author
To learn more about Rodney Gainous, Jr. go to http://www.rodneygainousjr.com.
To learn how to get more leads and build that Know, Like & Trust Factor with your prospects, go to http://knowlikeandtrustfactor.com.
| The author invites you to visit: http://rodneygainousjr.com |
May 17, 2010
Tags: business owner, dedication, Integrity, self motivated Posted in: business owner No Comments
The Power And Profit Of Mentorship
It is a proven fact that if you want to succeed in business, you need to have a mentor or mentors. Mentees receive enormous benefits from having a mentor and you will be more likely to achieve all the goals you have set for yourself under the tutelage of your mentor.
However, finding a mentor can be a tedious task. If you want a successful person as your mentor, it can be difficult at time. Successful people are very busy and may not have a lot of time to devote time towards being mentors. However, there are a variety of ways one can mentor another.
If you are planning on being a mentor, you should be prepared to invest time at least on a monthly basis with your mentee; whether by phone or in person.
Being a mentor is a highly responsible task. Your mentee will be looking to you for guidance in certain specialized areas. It will be your responsibility to ensure that you show your mentee the path and create an environment so that he or she will be willing to tread the path.
However, a mentor-mentee is a give and take relationship. As a mentor, you will learn from your mentee as much as they will learn from you. While you are imparting knowledge to him or her, you to will be learning and acquiring skills and knowledge you did not posses earlier. In addition, your people development skills will improve.
Being a mentor is about paying back. It is quite possible that in the past you received good mentoring from someone and may never have had an opportunity to show your gratitude to him or her. Taking up the role as a mentor will enable you to give something back indirectly to the person who gave to you.
Being a mentor is not about trying to achieve glory and recognition from the situation. You may or may not receive it. But the satisfaction you will get from recognizing and grooming talent goes beyond anything you might have experienced in the past. In addition, seeing your mentee succeed will energize and motivate you. You will experience a whole lot of pride, satisfaction, happiness, contentment and excitement.
Never forget that behind every successful entrepreneur or businessperson, there is a mentor. A mentor guides and shapes the mentee’s business skills so that he or she can succeed in this highly competitive world of today.
You will be sharing your wisdom and knowledge. Above all you will leave the world a better place.
By: Dr. Joe Capista
To find out more about creating a successful business go to www.joecapista.com to access the free eBook, Build a Multi-Million Dollar Business.
April 26, 2010
Tags: entrepreneur, mentee, Mentorship, relationship Posted in: Mentorship No Comments
