Posts
No. 22: The Power (& Joy) of Self-Publishing
I just finished the second companion book in my two book series for Professional Service owners, this one for the next generation prospects or G2s/G3s, and before I move on to my next book, I want to share with you my writing experience. I now have two books formally or traditionally published, and two books…
No. 21: Grants and Gifts of Equity
Let’s get straight to the point. My advice to every founding owner that I’ve consulted with over the past 30 years has been simple and consistent on this issue. Stock, or any form of equity, in a valuable Professional Services business should never be treated like a birthday present. As applies to most small business…
No. 20: Being a Good Steward of Ownership
A properly structured business can theoretically last forever, or certainly well beyond the founding owner’s career. The concept of being a good steward of ownership is that founding owners can use their businesses to accomplish good and to take care of all its stakeholders – clients, owners, employees, and the surrounding community. A well-managed business…
THE SECRET FORMULA FOR PERPETUATING A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUSINESS
Multiple owners and multiple generations of ownership working together to build a valuable, growing, investable, and sustainable Business. Each new generation of ownership requires a broader base of talented individuals to support the after-tax, buy in costs. This process is gradual, purposeful, and powerful—a team built for the ages.
No. 19: Building a Business Around Equity (Part 2 of 2)
Many Professional Service owners begin as forces of one, and if not as an actual sole proprietorship, then a single owner S-Corporation or LLC. From this point on, I’ll refer to the preferred entity structure as “Newco, LLC”, or “Newco” since it can basically adapt to any cash flow or tax structure, upon election, that…
NO. 18: BUILDING A BUSINESS AROUND EQUITY (Part 1 of 2)
When I’m not writing books, I work as a mechanic. I fix things. One of the things I fix is how Professional Service Providers (i.e., tech consultants, engineers, accountants, health care providers, dentists, financial advisors, etc.) run the most valuable asset they own – their own books, practices, or sometimes a business. In my two…
No. 17: The Three-Basket Cash Flow System
Respectfully, many Professional Service Providers (PSPs) have not built and do not own a business; they own the job they do, or a practice perhaps, but not a real business. One of the key differences is how each level handles its cash flow – not a matter of quantity, but of purposeful organization. A sole…
No. 16: A Modern Day Apprenticeship
As I work through the second book of my Succession Planning series for Professional Service owners, it occurred to me that the training and development of younger professionals today shares some key characteristics with traditional apprenticeship models. One of the key themes in both books is to build on the foundations of knowledge, work and…
NO. 15: LESSON NO. 46: THE CHALLENGES OF MULTIPLE FOUNDERS/G1’s
An audio book version of Building With the End in Mind will be available shortly to complement the current eBook/Kindle, paperback and hardbound versions. To assist listeners as they enjoy the audio book, I am adding this particular Lesson in its entirety in order to capture the details of an embedded Excel table with full context so…
No. 14: What Does it Mean to Create a Legacy?
In the decades I’ve been helping professional service owners set up their succession plans, I often ask the founders to answer one question right up front: “How does your story end?” I hear lots of different answers but one of my favorite is “I want to build a legacy”, except that when I ask what…