Intentional Growth

With 2018 coming to a close and the Life After Business podcast in the middle of it’s second year, I figured it was time for an update on how the podcast has been doing and what my favorite episodes were in light of our 5 Growth and Exit Planning Principles.

If you are interested in interviewing for one of the 5 individual consulting engagements I am opening up for 2019, you can schedule your interview here using my calendar link – SCHEDULE NOW

Employees Are What Make a Company Valuable

Build a Platform and Run the Business like You Are Selling Tomorrow

How Much Do You Need to Sell Your Company for? The Goal: Lifetime Cash Flow

Business Valuations: Deep Dive with a Certified Business Valuator

Taxes and Selling a Business: How to Calculate Net Proceeds

Tom Heller is a former business owner who reached out to me on LinkedIn. He joins me to tell me about his purchase and sale of his printing company. We discuss how he became an entrepreneur,  how he found the company that would become the core of his identity, and how he began to untangling himself from the business to sell it.

Tom’s story is a really common story and he is a great example of how to move forward after your sale. He shares how his life has changed and what he would suggest to lifetime entrepreneurs looking to make the transition out of the daily grind.

When you decide to sell your company, think 1-4 years ahead so you can place your business in a favorable position to sale. To get the best deal and outcome from a sale, you need to be mindful of what you are doing now and how it will affect your company down the road.

GEXP Collaborative

Tom Heller has been working in the communication field for more than 20 years. He is a resourceful leader, visionary, entrepreneur, and creative thinker. He has worked with some high profile clients and built some genuine goodwill with clients and stakeholders alike.

Tom studied design and visual communications at the University of Minnesota and marketing at the University of St. Thomas. He was the owner of Soulo Communications and exited the company as the executive account director.

Currently, he is a martial arts instructor at his local YMCA and is active in his church. He is now the director of marketing for Nativity Lutheran Church and has plans to use his experience and talents to benefit the church and his community.

Mike Mooney, the author of Reputation Shift joins me today to discuss something that affects all of us. Reputation.

We discuss how your reputation affects your business, your sale prospects, your future connections, and a ton of other things you don’t think about. Mike defines what reputation means to him and how you can be more aware of your own reputation.

As the leader of your company, you need to be mindful about how you treat people. Your business culture reflects on yours and your company’s reputation. Be positive, be authentic, and be proactive in creating a reputation you want.

GEXP Collaborative

He has developed a trusted reputation over the last 25 years at senior-leadership posts in the fast-paced and high-profile world of motorsports where he delivered dynamic business results and – more importantly to him – nurtured long-standing relationships.

Having led numerous crisis and reputation management efforts over his career, Mike is a go-to resource for those in repair mode, but also those wanting proactive-branding and business-driving strategies.

Mike’s experiences in motorsports led him to write the acclaimed book Reputation Shift – 5 High-Performance Truths for Success.  The book delivers actionable strategies and step-by-step plans for readers to protect, harness, and strengthen one of their most valuable and precious assets – their reputations!

Mike is a graduate of Elon University where he earned a degree in Corporate Communications and where he was lucky enough to meet his future wife. He, his wife and three children live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Walker Deibel began his entrepreneurial journey like a lot of us, with a startup. But by 2004 Walker had found a far more effective business model called acquisition al entrepreneurship. During today’s episode, Walker tells me how he stumbled onto acquisitional entrepreneurship.

We also discuss what he looks for in a potential purchase. He promotes his book on the subject Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game and shares what he hopes to create from it.

Your business looks totally different to a buyer. Go online and check out a broker’s site. Get a feel for your current market and see your company from the buyer’s perspective. You will see so many opportunities for value building and growth.

GEXP Collaborative

Walker Deibel is an acquisition entrepreneur. He has co-founded three startups and acquired seven companies. Walker is the Managing Director for Centra, which currently owns and manages three companies. In addition,  Centra is a partner in over a half dozen firms covering: distribution, manufacturing, education, childcare, film, and television production, enterprise Software, online content, and eCommerce.

Walker is the bestselling author of Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game

He holds an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis where he received the Declaration of Accomplishment in Entrepreneurship from the Skandalaris Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is a Certified M&A Advisor, former SEC licensed stockbroker, and helps online entrepreneurs exit their firms as an advisor.

Walker has produced almost a dozen films and had premieres at some of the world’s most esteemed festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, and Toronto International Film Festival.

He lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife and their three children.

Dr. Tom Deans and I discuss a topic that is way too common in the business world. Gifted family businesses. This traditional approach to business is still very much alive and well, but Tom is of the opinion it is a practice that needs to die. The author of Every Family’s Business is a firm believer that every business should be sold, including to family members.

Tom presents a logical and compelling argument that business owners need to get out of their own way and allow their company to go to market. Buying your family company is a much healthier model that makes sure that the right people own and run the company.  Tom defends his position and explains how he came to his opinion.

Sit down with your family and have a family business meeting. Discuss all the financial stuff, all the past and current disagreements, and just try to get to an open and healthy place. For the sake of your family and the business.

GEXP Collaborative

Tom Deans Ph.D. is the author of Every Family’s Business: 12 Common Sense Questions to Protect Your Wealth, selected by the New York Times as one of the Top Ten Books Business Owners Should Read.

With more than a million copies in circulation, Every Family’s Business is the best-selling family business book of all-time. The sequel, Willing Wisdom is also an international best-seller that answers the question “How prepared is your family to inherit?”

His research and thought leadership on the subjects of wealth transfers, preparing heirs and family dynamics has made him an in-demand speaker. Since the release of his first book in 2008, Tom has delivered more than 1000 paid speeches in 20 countries. He has also provided advanced training to advisors employed by the world’s largest financial institutions, law firms, and accounting firms.

His thought-provoking and contrarian approach to business succession planning and family wealth transitions leave audiences motivated to take action and to work closely with their advisors.

Dr. Deans is also the Founder of the Willing Wisdom IndexTM a new digital client engagement tool for advisors to use with prospects and clients to answer the question: “How Prepared is Your Family to Inherit?”

The Willing Wisdom Index is offered as a subscription service to advisors who want to build a bridge to the next generation of inheritors. It