At some point, business owners are responsible for the people that they’ve engaged because their livelihoods are dependent on their ability to run and to lead that business. Kevin Kays, president of The Alternative Board Denver North, helps business owners increase revenue, improve profitability, and lead their companies more effectively. Kevin shares what he does at The Alternative Board and how they help business owners run their businesses more effectively. He also touches on transitions, working with a business coach, behavioral assessments, critical success factors, and more.

—

Watch the episode:

Listen to the podcast:

How To Increase Revenue, Improve Profitability And Run Your Business More Effectively with Kevin Kays

We have Kevin Kays. He’s the President of https://www.thealternativeboard.com/denver-north (The Alternative Board Denver North). Kevin, thank you so much for taking the time on this episode.

Thanks for having me.

Kevin, tell us a bit about your business and who you serve.

I own The Alternative Board Denver North and I work with entrepreneurs. I target folks who own and operate and actively involved in running their businesses that do gross revenues of about $1 million up to the $50 million range and larger. What I do is work with them to run their businesses more effectively so that they can identify their personal goals and translate them into their company goals. Use that to develop their strategy and implement it to get them where they want to be both personally and with the business.

I’m going to pretend I’m a business owner. I’ve been successful. I know everything I think that there is to know about my customer. I’ve been running the business for twenty years. I’m successful by almost everybody’s measure. You walked through the door. What should I expect?

What you should expect is for me to start asking you about where you are with your business and where you are with your life. What plan do you have not only for running the business but for leaving the business and monetizing that asset that you’ve spent your life building?

For many of the business owners, they think about leaving the business, “I have zero plan to leave my business. I’m going to work here until I die.” Why would that be of interest to the guy that says, “I’m never going to leave my business?”

The guy that says he’s never going to leave his business is deluding himself because he’s either going to leave it on his own power or leave it first. If he’s got a family that’s depending on him, he’s got a responsibility to make sure that that asset serves them one way or another after he’s gone. If he doesn’t plan for his exit and doesn’t plan for that asset to be of value to the folks behind him, he’s going to leave a colossal mess for them.

I saw a statistic that said after 2008 declined crash that two-thirds of the jobs created in the country were created by small business owners. Some of the business owners that’s been successful is interested in as employees as well.

One of the things I look for the individual that runs his or her business is to help them lead more effectively. I help them deliver on the plan that they need to make so that not only is the business doing well to meet their needs but meets the needs of their employees. At some point, you are responsible for the people that you’ve engaged because their livelihoods are dependent on your ability to run and to lead that business.

For the business owner, they might say, “I’m not going to take and sell my business. I want to transition it to my kid.” For that particular person, what types of things do you see that you bring to the table that help those folks?