"I'm Just Worn Out."

At the end of a client meeting that covered a number of facets of the business, my client turned to me as I was about to leave and said, “I’m just worn out.”  We were working on prepping his business for an eventual sale so that he could retire, and had been talking about things that would help to maintain the business performance during a selling phase so that the business value would not be eroded.  After 30 years of building, selling, managing, and running the business, the owner simply wanted to move on, and here I was, encouraging him to make one last strong effort to not only continue what he had built, but to work through the added responsibilities of the sales process as well.  It was just a little overwhelming for him at that moment.

You might be surprised to learn that this story is not that of a single client.  It has happened similarly in my coaching experience several times.  Each time, I have found myself pondering what it means related to aging, and what it can teach me related to my own entrepreneurial experience.

The conventional wisdom about the ownership transition of your business says that you should prepare at least 3-6 years ahead of your retirement by working on several aspects of your business that will improve its value to an acquirer.  Of course, there is also a body of thought that says you should prepare to sell your business from the day you start the business.  (Begin with the end in mind.)  I support these recommendations.  I think they are exactly right, and that type of preparation can do wonders for the amount of money you might harvest at the time of sale.

However, for small businesses (generally under $1 million in value), most owners find themselves so wrapped up in the day-to-day operation, that they find it hard to shift into the “prep for sale” stage.  So they wait and delay until they wake up one day and realize that the time has come to kick back and enjoy the rest of their life.  It could be that their spouse is encouraging them to travel, or spend more time with the kids, or move to a different location.  It could be health related.  It could be that other transition plans haven’t materialized, and selling is the only remaining option.  It doesn’t matter the reason, but the fact is that taking another 3-6 years to prepare for an eventual sale, which could take another 1-3 years, seems overwhelmingly long.  And even the likelihood of harvesting substantially more money in sale proceeds with a more valuable business, doesn’t seem worth the effort if it means sacrificing the retirement time they seek.

It’s hard to be critical of anyone who has reached this stage.  The owner may have built a business that has supported his family for his entire career.  We don’t need to judge that they have missed an opportunity for more equity.  It is what it is.  But what lessons can we take from this?

• Even though it doesn’t seem to apply in the situations I’ve described, it is still wise to prepare your business ahead of time for its eventual sale.  Doing it early helps ensure you have the energy and will to ensure a higher level of equity that can be liquidated.

• Although there is an overwhelming feeling that “it is time” to move on, find someone, maybe a business coach, to help push you just a little bit farther, so that you can retire without regret that you didn’t achieve a sales value that you hoped for.

• Educate yourself about the selling process of your business so you can anticipate the effort and probably timing.  A good place to start might be my book, Final Act Of Ownership.

• Since for many small business owners, their business equity is their retirement account, it behooves them to manage that account just as they would manage an investment portfolio.  We might work with an advisor to do that, but even if we do it on our own, it helps to work on the little things that add value to our business each week, each year that we are in business.  Of course, this is the proverbial working ON your business instead of just IN it.

• And if you find yourself in the situation where you feel like “I’m just worn out”, do what you can to sell at whatever level of value you can, as opposed to simply closing the door and walking away.  Then go enjoy the rest of your life with no regrets, but with the satisfaction that you were an entrepreneur that supported your life with your own independent business.

Note: Final Act Of Ownership can be found at www.amazon.com/author/jerrybaltus. 

10 Signs of a Slacker Employee

In small business, it is hard to hide employee traits of being unproductive and under-performing.  But it certainly does occur, and the effects on the owner are traumatic, either financially, emotionally, time-wise, or all of the above.  So let’s look at 10 signs you may be a slacker employee:

• Your boss has to do some of your work.  You are hired to do a job, but you don’t perform it fully, so the boss has to complete it so it represents the reputation of the business.  The boss is now using his or her precious time to do what you are supposed to do.  Think this is the boss’s fault?  Maybe somewhat, but why can’t you take responsibility?

• Someone has to fix your work because you didn’t get it right.  If your coworkers are covering for you, how do you think they feel about you?  My guess is that you are resented and derided.  You are bordering on useless.  Is that the way you want to be known?

• You make mistakes resulting in scrap, rework or repair.  This is similar to the first two signs above, but the effect here is on the competitiveness of the company you work for.  Your sloppiness is causing more expense, which means the business is less competitive, which means your job, such as it is, is at risk.  Do you care so little about the future of your employment?

• You don’t know what performance is required of you.  Yes, your boss should be explaining this fully, but you have some responsibility, too.  If you don’t know, ask!  And think!  Look around and see what is needed to help the business perform at a high level.  Then just do it.

• You argue regularly with your boss and/or coworkers.  If this is you, I’ll bet you think everyone’s out to get you, don’t you?  Well, guess what the common denominator is in all this conflict.  It’s you!  Why not put your energy into resolving conflict instead of causing it?

• You take sick days when you aren’t sick.  Just because “everyone else does it” does not mean it’s the right thing to do.  If you get paid for not working, it is either a precious privilege which the business has offered as part of your compensation, or you are stealing from the business.  The difference between the two can be a very fine line, but don’t you think your reputation is worth knowing the difference?

• You don’t pitch in to help, or to do something that is “not your job”.  Businesses are ultimately only as good as their employee team.  Just like a football team, you might have a superstar or two working there, but it takes the entire team to win.  If you don’t help, you risk being cut.

• You spend time at work doing personal things or engaging in “play”, such as games or personal activities.  But you are paid for engaging in work needed for the business to succeed.  Here’s a proposal for you: Send me a check every week for the privilege of not doing work for you.  How would that feel?

• You are “disengaged” (that’s the current politically correct word for “slacker”).  You perform work slowly, with just enough effort to get by, and feel you are entitled to be paid just because you show up.  Take a look at the resume you used to get your job.  I’ll bet it claimed you to be an “action-oriented, progressive, creative, proactive, engaged, thought leading, team-oriented” dynamo.  Did you lie?

• You show up late and/or leave early.  Yeah, you’re a slacker.  Enough said.

Unfortunately, not too many slackers will read this, nor recognize themselves in these clear signs of their poor work ethic.  But now let me turn the tables.  Business owners and managers who read this have some responsibility, too.  Our businesses cry out for us to eliminate slackers, but too often we put up with them either because “hiring is too hard”, or “deep down inside they are really nice people”, or “I just don’t have the heart to fire them”, or some other excuse that means the business suffers, or you personally sacrifice your time or your money to support this waste in your business.  What are our responsibilities?

• Make it clear what performance expectations you have, and how they will be measured.

• Train relentlessly.  Unfortunately, people learn best by repetition.  If you’ve explained it once, great.  Now explain it again.  Expect improvement, but not instant perfection.

• Measure performance.  How much scrap, rework and repair is being produced?  What is the percentage of billable hours vs. total hours paid for?  What level of output is achieved?  What gets measured gets done

• Engage with your employees if you expect them to engage with you.  If you are holed up in your office all day, how can you expect your employees to get as excited about the business as you are?

• Work on creating a team that can help do some or all of the work you do.  Creating a well-functioning team is different than simply hiring individual, disconnected technicians.

• Stop putting up with slackers.  They are sucking the life out of your business, and possibly out of you.  Get rid of them and put your effort into finding employees you can be proud of.

Tough talk, I know.  But men weren’t put on earth to be slackers.  We are here to be creative, productive beings.  Go and use your talent as a manager to find and build productive achievers to work for you.

The Best Advice Starts With Questions

 by Ken Stubbe

 Often on my past journeys toward self-improvement; the best advice; the most illuminating self-discovery and the best coaching I’ve received started with intelligent, probing questions. While probing questions tend to annoy me, and get my defenses up; the fact remains that they were often what initiated my making the reforms needed.

Great coaches and advisers ask great questions. They ask questions that get you to think about, analyze and discover causes. They help you to determine where you truly want to go. They guide you toward the journey and processes needed. This, of course takes time to complete.

Jeffrey Gitomer in Sales Bible (Wiley & Sons, 2003) and Little Red Book of Selling (Bard Press, 2005) advises using intelligent questioning methodology during consultative selling. This methodology accurately parallels successful consulting and coaching methodology.

A quick sidebar; for me consulting in a business setting is the search for answers and the recommendation of methods. Coaching goes further. It is about working alongside of the business owner to implement the recommendations and methods, and to expand the positive impacts and outcomes.

What types of questions should your business coach be asking you? And, by extrapolation, holding you accountable to progress toward the goals they imply?

·        How many of your salespeople or staff did not meet their goals last year?

·        Why? What was the major cause?

·        What do you plan to do to make sure they meet their goals this year?

·        What type of personal development for each employee have you put into place?

·        How do you train, ensure success and support staff?

·        What are your key business performance measures?

·        Do they align with your strategic goals?

·       What one thing would have to have happened one year from today, for you to feel  a sense of accomplishment in your business?

Annoying as it may at first be; the journey to self-improvement, clearly defined strategic goals, smoothly running processes and a well-coordinated team start with probing and intelligent questions. The questions must come from either yourself, or from trusted and skilled advisers.