Intentional Growth

My guest today is Rob Dube. Rob has been a successful businessman since high school. He and his business partner have been running their businesses together ever since. Now Rob is the president and co-founder of imageOne. imageOne is a print managed business that began as a toner cartridge refurbishing company. It has since become one of the top companies in the Top 25 Small Businesses in America on the 2017 list of Forbes Small Giants. Rob has developed a strong relationship with his employees and himself through the practice of meditation. Unlike most of my guests, Rob sold his business in 2004 and bought it back in 2006.

During today’s episode, we discuss why Rob bought back imageOne and how he runs it better now. We also discuss Rob’s new book, Donothing, and his journey to discovering the benefits of meditation. Rob has developed a constructive relationship with numerous business leaders, including author Bo Burlingham. Bo is a wise business writer who has helped many business owners build better companies. Rob shares how Bo’s work has helped him restructure his business and personal life.  Rob has figured out how to fortify his business and business culture, if anything can be taken away from this episode, it’s business is a constant learning experience.

How often do you do… nothing? With so much on your plate, it can be hard to find a quiet moment just to breathe. Today’s speaker, however, recommends doing just that. His success, and many others who have been on this show, derives from those moments he is able to clear his mind of the endless barrage of questions  and concerns that run through his head from the moment he awakens to the time he falls asleep.

Why is this, exactly? Focus. Being able to clear your mind and be present in the moment helps you gain focus and perspective to better tackle the things that matter in life.

Rob Dubé is no stranger to building and exiting a company. In fact, he has built and exited the same company he currently owns today. Rob re-purchased the successful print managed business he sold after only 18 months of being an employee, rather than entrepreneur. His painful process of reaching that decision was helped along by meditation—by doing nothing.

It hit him one afternoon, when his family was out enjoying the nice weather and he was sitting inside, bordering on tears, from his anxiety over the stress of the office. Sound familiar? Even if you’re telling yourself you’re not that stressed out, that your business is fantastic and smooth-operating and you wouldn’t change a thing… chances are, you could benefit from taking a breather.

And tha

Today I dive into the topic of tax reform with my guest, James Markham. James is the Global Tax Middle Market Leader for EY (Ernst & Young Global Limited.) We discuss this exciting time in U.S. business history. Some people are thrilled about the upcoming tax reform (it takes effect this year) and others are scared stiff. James and I try to take some of the confusion and misunderstandings out of the new tax laws. So, hopefully, we are able to ease your mind about the new changes.

If you have plans to sell your company this year or you are just a little nervous about the 2018 tax reform, join us to get some perspective!

This week we’re talking taxes. Typically on the show, I like to cover topics that help owners survive the selling process, particularly in terms of what comes next. Today, we’re going to talk about how taxes impact the sales process, why making a quick choice to save some money now could negatively impact your sale price and what you can do to minimize the risks of changing your tax strategy.

Tax laws have changed, and we need to keep up. While some changes are exciting and titillating, they are rather complicated. Things cannot continue as they were, right down to that weekly round of golf you play with your top clients on Thursday afternoons. Essentially, you are no longer going to be able to entertain your clients like you used to.

The new tax laws stipulate that you can expense meals, but not the entertainment that often goes alongside them. While many of us groan at the initial thought, the impact is actually much greater than simple inconvenience on our parts, personally, as the business owner. While trying to cater to high-end clients by taking them to one of the top golf courses in the area or out on the boat along the beach is very common and oftentimes expected on the clients’ part, you can no longer expense this. So your golf club membership, sail boat, box seats, etc. now much be paid out-of-pocket. Can you still afford these expenses? Will the businesses you used to frequent (and pay for out of the company’s coffers) survive after having lost your usual patronage?

One other change that will have a definite impact on your business is the ability to 100% expense a purchase immediately—but is that going to be the game-changing tax break you’re looking for? Well, maybe. But maybe you’d rather have the tax break over the course of several years. On either side, your expensing choice comes down to what you and your business need.

The impact of these changes will be far-reaching. While it’s not possible to predict all of the effects we will see on our community, or our country,

My guest today is Rob Walling. Rob is a serial entrepreneur that built one of the most successful ecommerce marketing platforms on the market, maybe you’ve heard of it… Drip. We discuss Rob’s early entry into the world of business and how he became a giant in the tech space. He lives by 3 main principles that have guided him on his entrepreneurial journey. He shares why these principles are so important to him and how he came to the conclusion he needed them. Let Rob’s insights help you take a closer look at your own principles and what drives you!

Today’s guest shows us just how important knowing yourself really is in terms of business success and happiness. Rob Walling has built and sold two successful businesses while sticking to his principles and ensuring he’s getting the dollars he needs to live the life he truly wants. Through hard work, education and self-knowledge (including acknowledging your limitations!), you can achieve the freedom you need when the time comes to exit your business.

It might seem like common sense to say that money matters, and rightly so. However, Rob’s own principles of freedom, purpose, and relationships have enabled him to achieve his business and life goals. Living by his principles got him the principle he needed to back his investments, build his companies and live the life after business he wanted.

Rob learned the value of money at a young age, and discovered his entrepreneurial spirit in eighth grade. He was opportunistic — he saw a market niche he could exploit and went to town. He became a salesman at his school. He would purchase items, marked them up and sell them to his peers. Many entrepreneurs start out in a very similar manner: they have a need that is not being fulfilled and they find a way to fulfill it.

He wanted to be able to help out at home and have the financial freedom to buy the things he wanted. This motivation carried him into his next adventure, and his first big success, by showing him that you can make money if you have the right market niche and the drive to capitalize on it.

Rob went out and tried and failed at multiple small businesses after college, but nothing really gained traction until he went back to his roots: he found software that fit a niche marke

Do you know what role your business plays in your life? Building a business is like building a safety net; not only can you build your financial freedom, but you can also change your life and the lives of the people around you while having fun and enjoying yourself. Today we’ll be talking to Marcelo De Fuentes. He started his own market research company after getting laid off in the 1990s. He’s going to talk to us about how he built the company and how he sold it. We’ll also discuss what Marcelo’s life was like post-sale. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the insight that Marcelo shares.

Altruism and business go together far better than most of us realize. As entrepreneurs, we’re often so focused on getting our business up and running and performing well that we don’t stop to think about the impact we’re having on our community, or the world at large. Is it our responsibility to do so? Marcelo De Fuentes argues that yes, it is, particularly as we look to the future.

However, Marcelo assures us we can still have good profit margins while creating a more positive work and living environment.

You’ve noticed that market gap and have built a bespoke business which perfectly fills that niche. Good for you! But are your employees happy? Do you have a good ecological impact? How big is your carbon footprint? What are you doing to further the society around which you’ve built your business?

Let’s not get too crazy, here, by trying to tackle all these points. Instead, we’ll look at the impact Marcelo’s business model had on his business and how that is now applying to his newest venture, Fundary, and what that company is enabling an entire country to do.

We’ve heard this before: company culture and employee happiness is tantamount to business success. We’ve studied why, we have entire departments devoted to securing a functioning workplace and we even acknowledge that most people prefer companies that offer bonuses and benefits.</

What does a great exit look like? How do you accomplish one? Geoff Green is on the show today who is the author of The Smart Business Exit. Geoff started off his career as an M&A attorney and has been a business advisor, value building advisor, and exit strategist for over 30 years. We talk about the different variables needed to build a sustainable business that is highly transferrable and valuable. Geoff explains how navigate all the variables that go into accomplishing a great exit that includes being happy in your life after business.

In this podcast, Geoff Green talks about the absolute necessity of planning for your life after business — which could not be more perfect for this show. He spent ample time as a corporate lawyer and learned all about the inner workings of a deal. However, he noticed a distinct lack of planning for what happens after the exit… and that this was creating an undue amount of stress on business owners.

When someone asks you “What are you going to do after you sell your business?” Do you have an answer ready? Do you feel happy and excited to exit your business? Well, you’re not alone if you answered negatively to both of those questions and felt a smidge of panic.

You’re going to exit your business some day or another, so why aren’t you preparing now? Time after time, we’re told to prepare early for the sale of our business so we don’t get nasty surprises during due diligence or negotiations. However, rarely are you asked, as an entrepreneur, “Have you planned for life after your business?”

This is why I created this podcast, and why I’m grateful to host people like Geoff who truly understand the importance of thinking about what comes next.

Since we know that we are going to have to leave our business eventually — and yes, maybe ‘over your dead body’ but one day even that will happen! — we need to embrace the planning process. You can even treat it like a business plan: what are your needs, what goals can you set to attain those needs, what action plans can you put in place to achieve those goals and what type of framework do you need to ensure your action plans are successful?

To borrow from Geoff’s book, The Smart Business Exit: Getting Rewarded for Your Blood, Sweat and Tears, you need to face some uncomfortable t