Our guest for this episode featured Nike Anani, Founder of African Family Firms, which is a non-profit community of family business owners of African descent from around the globe. Nike' got her start as a member of her own family's construction firm when she lived in Nigeria. Born there, but raised and educated in the UK, she went back to work in the family business with her father in Nigeria and eventually helped the family plan their own succession. This led to her work with other family businesses. 

Her typical client is a 2nd generation owner of a family business of African descent. She works with them to build a legacy plan, a wealth and estate plan, while counseling them on developing a communication plan to help facilitate and complete all of the above. With an asset base of $50M and above, these would be considered larger family enterprises by comparison to most, making their situations more complex and time consuming, but still having many of the same issues family business owners tend to face.  

Nike recently released "Lifetime to Legacy" a book about how to leave a family business legacy. Her advice for our listeners:

1. Be mindful of all stakeholders in the family business and use empathy when dealing and communicating with each other

2. Owners should try to include the Next Gen into the planning as early as possible. Being a successor can be intimidating; the earlier they know what's going on, the higher likelihood of success.

Thank you to this month's sponsor:
Sunbelt Midwest Business

Find Nike on LinkedIn: Nike Anani

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

In today's episode of #PoisedForExit featured Alec Broadfoot, CEO of Vision Spark, a consulting firm that specializes in selecting and placing leaders for strategic growth. 

Alec's firm uses a proven process for helping his clients hire the right fit for their open leadership positions, using data, science and assessments to make smart decisions. Measuring things like business acumen, mental acuity and values, affords Vision Spark a high batting average when placing candidates with their clients. 

Alec said according to Gallup, 82% of leaders hired were the wrong fit. This is a high number and likely due to the fact that most companies lack a hiring process. Taking the time to really define the position is the first step and is missed so many times, thus a hire is made and the fit is not there. 

Vision Spark's biggest strength is in recognizing market demands and acting on them; utilizing a strong hiring and onboarding process is in high demand among the best and brightest candidates. 

Another interesting point Alec made is that 48% of resumes are built on lies and that 100% of them are embellishments of the truth. If that's the case, why would we not prove the content of them to be accurate?

Thank you to this month's sponsor:
Sunbelt Midwest 

Find Alec on LinkedIn: Alec Broadfoot

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

In our #PoisedForExit for episode today, we featured Jason Early, President of BizEquity, which is a software service that advisers use for valuing a privately held company. If Valuation has been on your mind, this episode is for you!

BizEquity was founded to "democratize business valuation" for privately held companies who are not backed by Venture Capital or Private Equity. It is a software that calculates the value of a business in over 900 industries, so the owner is in a better position to make critical decisions about growth, transition and eventual exit. Since the business is usually an owner's largest asset, it's essential to know the value in order to move forward in any way.  

Financial services such as accounting, financial advisory, and banks tend to be the ideal client for the BizEquity software. In advising their owner clients, these types of firms must know the value of their client's largest asset in order to make sound recommendations and implement meaningful plans. 

Jason said the impact of this program  has been extremely significant for their clients and has changed outcomes in numerous cases. In one such case, an adviser used BizEquity software as a catalyst to help a family business move forward with succession planning. Once they understood the value of the enterprise, they were much more open to moving ahead with transition planning. We call that a Triggering Event in Exit Planning!

Thank you to this month's Sponsor:
Sunbelt Midwest Business Advisors

Find Jason on LinkedIn:
Jason Early

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

Today's episode of #PoisedForExit featured Chris Steffl and Daniel Metcalf, partners at Cyberfin, a firm who offers complete Cybersecurity protection for small to middle market companies across the globe. 

Chris comes from a commercial insurance background and saw a great need for Cybersecurity among his many insurance agency clients who were lacking proper protection from the dark web. Cyberfin started as a subscription service for financial service providers (thus the 'fin' in the name) but has become industry agnostic, appealing to small, medium and large companies alike. 

The cost effective nature of the service is a big attractor for subscribers. Even consultants like me are jumping on board to protect the valuable client information and their own proprietary, financial, and sensitive information. 

Among the many tips and bits of advice they dispensed on the show, one was the importance of knowing what to do if you are ever compromised by a hacker. Your first call for help should always be to your insurance agent, said Daniel. Cyber Extortion "Bad Actors", hold your information hostage these days after they've had a chance to follow you and your staff awhile to learn your business, your weaknesses, and your involvements. Sometimes they are even able to access a copy of your insurance policy when they hack into your system, so they know what kind of coverage you have! 

Other prevention tactics that Chris and Daniel recommend are to force password changes regularly, that are 14 characters in length, and to use multifactor authorizations especially for email!

Thank you to this months sponsors Sunbelt Business Advisors!
http://sunbeltmidwest.com

Find Chris and Daniel on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-steffl-5b6b492/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmetcalf/

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

In this, our 100th Episode of #PoisedForExit, we invited Lisa Meyer, adviser with Sunbelt to interview a client of hers, who's growth strategy has been to acquire other companies in his industry. He's got a system for that, and a strategy that works. 

Jeff Rahn, President of On Time Service Pros began his career as an employee and he worked his way up, as they say. But, not without issues. Some of the very things he went through as an employee he tries not to emulate today as an employer. 

When assessing whether a company is a fit for him to buy, he watches for two things, that the owner is truly ready to sell, and that the company's focus was on customer service. If those two exist, it's likely going to be a good match. 

Jeff does asset sales only, and dissects the customer list away from other assets, buying the list only. The seller is free to do with the other assets as he wishes. Jeff plans to continue acquiring 1-2 smaller owner/operator companies per year. 

He's had some situations where the owner he's made a deal with changes their mind and walks away (for fear of the unknown and losing a lifestyle, he said) and he's also had some where he walked away himself. If the seller is trying to tell him what to buy, how to run the company, and what he should do to retain customers, he realizes the owner is not ready to sell, so he walks away at that point. 

Jeff has a whole system for how to assess candidates for acquisition, as well as a system for assessing their employees on whether to hire them. He doesn't use any sophisticated tools for measuring their capabilities, he simply meets the prospective employees and has a personal conversation with them, deciding then, whether they're a fit for the On Time Service Pros culture!

We would like to thank our sponsor for this week's episode:
https://www.sunbeltmidwest.com

Find Lisa and Jeff on LinkedIn:
Lisa Meyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-meyer-43883610b/
Jeff Rahn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-rahn-1b5904b2/ 

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

Today's episode of #PoisedforExit featured Bruce Werner, author, private equity investor and family business advisor. Bruce and I met through our book publisher "Indie Books International" a couple years ago. Bruce recently published "Your Ownership Journey" that highlights his expertise in scaling your business during various stages of growth, ending the book with exit planning advice. 

He spent his first 20 years in business working in his multi generational family business that eventually sold, whereby he moved on to becoming an entrepreneur once again, but this time consulting for other family businesses. 

He said when it comes to working with family businesses, either you get it or you don't. Having lived in family business situations for my entire upbringing, I know what he means. When you've lived it, you understand better than others that family business has its another layer of complication that requires advisers who understand and can provide the right guidance at the right time. Bruce definitely 'gets it'. 

Some of the many services he focuses on with his clients is in Governance. He says that Business Governance is part of the overall Family Business Governance strategy, but not all of it. The family business shareholder wears many hats, so it's important to differentiate between them and the role the member has in each area. This is where many families get into trouble.

Bruce says "the most important thing about my work is that it has to have impact. If it's not making a difference and I'm not having fun, it's time for me to find something else to do". Well said, Bruce. I agree!

We would like to thank our sponsors for this week's episode:
https://www.villagebankonline.bank and https://www.sunbeltmidwest.com

Find Bruce on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucedwerner/

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

In this episode we interviewed the father and son team, John and Marc Sylvestre of Sylvestre Remodeling and Design, who shared some of their transition planning journey with us which started at the onset of the pandemic!

Through many trials and unforeseen obstacles, they created a plan for John's eventual transition by bringing in Marc in a leadership position, working alongside John for the first year and then taking much of the control of the business in year 2.  As a client of mine for many years, I have to commend John for the way he never pushed Marc into taking over. He would ask him regularly "are you still having fun and do you still want to do this?" to which Marc would say "yes and yes". It has been a gradual, methodical transition process that has produced great success for them and the entire company. 

When John started in the business 50 years ago (as a young teen) he really liked to create and build things. So, when he went to college he studied Architecture, and upon graduating, started up his own company with another partner. Fast forward to now, Sylvestre Remodeling and Design is an award winning contractor and top name in high quality remodeling work in the Twin Cities, and Marc's goal is to keep it that way. 

One claim to fame is that John runs his business on tried and true systems and processes; something not commonly found in his industry. He said they like to take something that's not working and make it work. An example of a client they helped had adopted a girl with special needs, so they had to sell the house that John had formerly remodeled and buy another one more conducive to her needs, but it still needed accessibility work, so the Sylvestre team created living space that could accommodate her strengths. 

Marc's goal is to help his Dad have more time away from the business and he's accomplishing that well. John says that won't happen abruptly, because he's still having fun and likes to contribute as well as mentor Marc while he becomes accustomed to being in the leadership chair. After just two years, Marc is doing really well. The two of them along with the entire Sylvestre team have a full pipeline of projects, so there won't be a shortage for learning!

For more information about Sylvestre Remodeling and Design, visit their website at sylvestremn.com

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

In this #poisedforexit episode, we caught up with Aleesha Webb, President of Village Bank. Aleesha has been on the show a couple of times in the past and always has great insight to share with you, our business owner audience, and this time was no exception. 

Aleesha said that business acquisitions have slowed down from her perspective and that there seems to be less "blue sky" in deal structure, with more collateral instead. Seller Carryback Notes are more common and when written properly can be quite beneficial for both parties. 

She said that a bank needs to know where the business is sitting financially at all times, in order to effectively advise them in the future, whether it's time to refinance, seek additional capital, pay off debt, or downsize expenses, a banker relationship for a business owner is vital. 

Having said that, we also talked about the overall team that a business owner needs to have in their corner when making big decisions to grow and expand. Aleesha said those businesses who have a strong financial team (both internal and external) to help the owners make sound decisions are the most successful and most well run of all their customers. 

Looking to the future, she said that inflation will drive new SBA loan programs for the smaller companies who seek that type of financing. Village Bank is writing more commercial real estate loans for its customers today; owners who sought larger space are buying vs leasing. 

Aleesha said that you should be able to ask your banker anything and share the whole picture without being afraid of them, because as your partner they want to help you succeed, which can only happen if they know the story!

We would like to thank our sponsor for this week's episode:
Village Bank
Sunbelt Advisors

Find Julie here: https://www.poisedforexit.com

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

Craig Siiro, CEO and Founder of Integrated Consulting Services, got his start in the 1980's as a CPA working for a Tax and Audit firm. He spent a lot of time with entrepreneurs and learned that he really liked the advisory side of the business. Fast forward to 2010, when Craig launched Integrated Consulting Services or ICS, who provides fractional CFO work for owners of privately held companies.  In the spring of 2020, he added Cathy Sedaca as its Managing Director, and over the past few years the company has grown significantly. 

Craig and Cathy say their claim to fame is in helping owners understand their cash flow and to customize a model for their business that zeroes in on specifics pertaining to their industry, company size and unique goals of the company. Once a customized flow chart is created that accounts for all incoming and outgoing cash, it becomes much simpler to project future growth and gauge when to invest cash or use credit for future growth strategies. 

Craig says that ICS really becomes a partner with their clients; like a team member would. Taking financial management off the plates of their clients is life changing for many, who struggle with managing it all and still being able to sleep. 

The difference between a Controller and a CFO, they say, is that a Controller manages A/P and A/R, and tends to look in the rearview mirror when making decisions. In other words, what have we done in the past and what do past numbers show us? Whereas a CFO looks more to the future and makes decisions about how best to use money, how to build cash, as well as work closely with the company's CPA firm over tax planning strategies. 

Craig and Cathy say that having a written plan and knowing your numbers is key to growth and success. 

Thank you to this month's sponsor #VillageBank

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor

Today on #PoisedforExit, we caught up with Melissa Johnston, Co-Founder and Chief Credit Officer of EntreBank, a brand new community bank, located in the Twin Cities. When we last interviewed her, EntreBank did not have an official name yet and their founders were working through the approval process with the appropriate governing bodies, which she will tell you was quite grueling. But that was then, and this is now!

EntreBank's focus on privately held companies has an approach that focuses on both internal and external factors. Internally, they have been very diligent about hiring can-do team members who aren't afraid to take on challenging projects and don't get shook up if things take a bad turn; they're wired to figure out a way to make it work and they're motivated to grow the bank and succeed as a team. 

Externally, EntreBank focuses on acquiring customers who are looking for a banking relationship; something they can't get with a big bank. Unfortunately, larger banks are not set up to work with small businesses who seek a true banking partner who can help them throughout their business life cycle. Melissa said getting to know the owners and their businesses is key to recognizing opportunities and pitfalls that could swing the business in one direction or the other. 

This company will be one to watch and one to consider working with if you are a Twin Cities owned small business looking to align with a bank who is  innovative, knowledgeable and has the products and services you need now and will need in the future.

Find Melissa here.
Find Julie here.

Thank you to this month's sponsors! Sunbelt Business Advisors 

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor