In Process Podcast

Widespread misperceptions exist in terms of foreign firms establishing new operations in the United States. We hear it all. Product liability claims. It’s expensive. The process is too complicated.

While there are processes to follow, requirements to meet, and some cultural differences to overcome, in reality, the United States is still one of the best places in the world to set up operations. The World Bank actually rates 189 countries each year, and the United States is rated No. 8 in the world for ease of setting up operations.

This week in In Process, Yelena Epova, partner-in-charge of International Services at Aprio; and Karen Weinstock, managing attorney at Weinstock Immigration Lawyers, discuss:

• What makes the United States an attractive market for foreign companies
• The questions foreign business owners should ask if they’re considering coming to the United States
• How to recognize and overcome cultural challenges
• Immigration procedures and the different types of visas
• Timelines for establishing a U.S. operation

We all know the best way to achieve sales goals is to set them and develop a plan, yet account planning is often hard to implement. A lot of avoidance psychology comes into play when we start thinking about account planning. Let’s face it, sales people…well…want to sell, hit their numbers, and make their goals. They often have difficulty directly connecting those types of results to spending the necessary time to develop and execute an effective account plan.

This week in In Process, Mark Donnolo, managing partner of SalesGlobe and author of "The Innovative Sale,” discusses how to combat approach avoidance when it comes to developing―and implementing―an effective account plan. He has a new book coming out in late May titled “Essential Account Planning: Five Keys for Helping Your Sales Team Drive Revenue.”

Join Evelyn Ashley and John Monahon of Trusted Counsel with their guest expert, Doug Tatum, Newport Board Group Chairman of the Board as they discuss the challenges often faced by companies transitioning from small to big. Doug discusses the navigational rules these companies need in his book No Man’s Land: Where Growing Companies Fail. Purchase this book at Amazon.  

Join us for a fast-paced conversation about the common issues faced by companies as they go through growth transitions!

The world has witnessed massive data breaches in the past few years. Sony Pictures, the Democratic National Committee, Target, Verizon and Cox Communications were all victims of some sort of cyber attack. This week in In Process, we’re speaking again with Trey James, co-founder and CEO of Xcentric, a national hosting provider based in Georgia that is focused on dedicated virtual servers exclusively for tax and accounting firms. In Part 3 of our discussion with Trey, we explore common cyber security risks and how people can make better decisions to prevent personal and business data from falling into the wrong hands.

Stream the conversation with Trey in the player below for more tips and insights into technologies that can prevent you from being a victim. You can also subscribe to In Process on iTunes to receive this episode, listen to “Data Security” Parts 1 and 2 as well as future updates from the show on your smartphone.

We’ve talked a lot about selling your business. We’ve talked about getting your financials ready. We’ve talked about legal contracts, estate planning, and timing, too. But this week we’re speaking with Darrell Mays, a seasoned entrepreneur and executive who’s been through the process himself. Mays is presently a Senior Vice President MasTec, Inc., and President of MasTec’s wireless division.  MasTec is a $4.4 Billion dollar corporation providing end-to-end solutions designing, building, installing, maintaining and upgrading infrastructure in the telecom, energy, and communication industries.    

The conversation is a fascinating and inspiring one and it is not to be missed. Listen in the player below or subscribe on iTunes to receive more episodes of In Process delivered directly to your smartphone.

Some of the companies with the most efficient operations are also the ones who have the hardest time growing. It’s a counterintuitive idea, but it’s one that has been supported by research and that serves as the basis for this week’s episode of In Process. Joining us on the show this week are Art Saxby and Beth VanStory of Chief Outsiders.

Selling a business comes with a lot of uncertainties, but while a would-be seller can’t always control which parties are interested in buying, the seller does control the way the business is managed and scaled leading up to the sale—and the way they use their leverage in negotiations. George Shea and Manan Shah discuss the current selling climate, typical exit process, and the importance of a strong management team.

This week, we did something unprecedented on In Process: we talked about law. “The whole point of a transaction is to sell a business, which means that it has to have some fundamental building blocks. A business has to have contracts that protect them from a legal liability standpoint, but also support recurring revenues,” says John Monahon. Stream the conversation for an in-depth discussion on diligence, transaction structures, and the legal documents your company needs to have in place before sale.

We are two episodes into our series of podcasts about what businesses and their chief executives should be thinking about in order to get themselves to a point where they're ready to be sold. This week on In Process, Donna Barwick of Wilmington Trust joins the show to discuss the importance of estate planning. Much like the sale of a business, many entrepreneurs and business leaders don’t make decisions about what will happen to their assets without them until it’s too late.

In Process is picking up with the second episode in a series of podcasts about what businesses and their chief executives should be thinking about in order to get themselves to a point where they're ready to be sold.  This week we’re catching up with Peter Baron, founder and senior consultant at Carabiner Communications. When it comes to succession planning, Baron is uniquely qualified to advise his clients: earlier in his career, he founded a company with the express purpose of selling it. Stream the podcast here and subcribe on iTunes for regular updates from In Process.