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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…
NO. 13: LEARNING TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF OWNERSHIP (from Lesson No. 23)
The internal Succession Plans addressed in my new book, Building With the End in Mind, focus on gradual, ownership transitions from one generation to the next. The incremental nature of the process means that the founding owner(s) and next gen owners must learn to work together, side-by-side for, perhaps, decades. As in any relationship, compromise…
No. 12: Adjusting Your Money Mindset as a Professional Services Owner
I’ve met a lot of professional service providers (PSPs) in the course of my career and the one thing they all share is a passion for the work they do and the services they provide. They have no fear of hard work. They love to make a difference. Those who are financially successful as well…
No. 11: But I’m Unique!
I watched a Gene Wilder documentary the other night as this comic genius played an early role in his own career. The character he played wished to portray a young, new but aspiring actor, “the next Rudolph Valentino”, as he prepared and dressed for this important audition. It was obviously a big deal. Gene’s character…
No. 10: What’s Even Better Than Your Own Succession Plan?!
After months of watching various political candidates evade the questions asked of them, I’m going to break ranks and just answer the question straight out. The answer is, having two dozen of your largest professional service clients with their own succession plans, each building a legacy of their own. Rather than watching your long time…
No. 9: That Point Where You Start to Throttle-Back…Building on Lesson No. 25
A properly executed Succession Plan changes everything about how and when you retire. In contrast to selling the business all at once to an outside buyer, your internal Plan gives you a lot more time to work and benefit, and it gives you more choices. I learned from experience that some of those choices and…
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