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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Tag Archives: economy
2014 Outlook: Are We There Yet?
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural address on March 4, 1933 was an early recognition of the power of consumer confidence in bolstering our economy. In 1933 The US GDP was falling to about … Continue reading
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The Only Number that Counts
The retirement of a generation of entrepreneurs (see www.theboomerbust.com) is an event unique in our history, or in anyone’s history for that matter. What we are about to experience is inevitable, and those who are unprepared are in for a … Continue reading
3 Responses to The Only Number that Counts
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A Tiered Minimum Wage for Small Business
Recent strikes by employees of McDonalds and Wal-Mart demanding a higher minimum wage have gained headlines on all the news feeds. The strikers claim that they can’t live on the Federally mandated $7.25 an hour. The California legislature recently voted … Continue reading
2 Responses to A Tiered Minimum Wage for Small Business
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Thoughtful. Need more of that!
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I vote “yes” on this plan!
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Customer Service Starts with “Hello.”
When asked what differentiates their businesses from giant competitors, most owners will describe their relationship with customers. “We give better service.” “Our employees know our customers by name.” “We treat people as individuals.” What constitutes excellent service differs by industry … Continue reading
One Response to Customer Service Starts with “Hello.”
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Great article and so true!
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The Return of “Do It Yourself”
For the last 40 years, America has been on a roll. Baby Boomers, raised in a competitive environment, have increased the average work week, made the two income household ubiquitous, and currently operate about 60% of the small businesses in … Continue reading
6 Responses to The Return of “Do It Yourself”
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John, I appreciate your articles and I often agree with you on many of your assertions. On this topic though, I must introduce an alternative not in sync with yours. That is … when the egg’s not frying fast enough … often the solution is to turn up the heat.
You are correct that time is a limited commodity. And you are also correct observing that many individuals identify their own success “by position and consumption.”
But comparing the priorities of the sub-40 generations with those of the “boomers” today is not a reasonable comparison. The “right” comparison would be to compare the sub-40’s to the “boomers” when they were sub-40. Individuals younger than 40 will naturally have different priorities at this earlier stage of their life than a “boomer” does now. Who’s to say that at 45 to 55 those sub-40’s won’t decide to “turn up the heat?”
I agree that there a differences in generations. But sometimes differences have more to do with stage of development than with the constraints imposed by the arbitrary age cut-offs required of generational labels. What may be more accurate is that, to some degree, we all define ourselves “by position and consumption,” and when one’s actual circumstance does not reconcile with one’s desired level of position or consumption, that dissonance can create a sense of urgency to move closer to accordance. In response to the dissonance, some will choose to “turn up the heat” while others will simply adjust their self-definition.
I suspect that every generation will contain an ample cohort of individuals who will not be satisfied until there is a good fit between their own wants and needs, and their ability to satisfy those wants and needs. It may even be true that given the opportunity that the “boomer bust” creates, the “sub-40’s” will elect to “turn up the heat” a little earlier to seize the unique opportunity presented to them.
Thanks again for your thought provoking articles John.
Mike
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John:
Good, thought-provoking article! Given the fact that Gen Xers and Millennials prefer to “work to live,” I wonder if another reason Boomer business owners continue to work long hours is because they feel there’s no one else who can manage their businesses as well as they do. Do you think the Boomers have done a good job finding and cultivating the right talent to take over for them one day?
Rob K. – MillennialEdge360
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in your last paragraph you say that GenXers “better learn how to hammer a nail” as their reduced productivity will cause them reduced disposable income. That warning is looking at the world from a Boomer perspective. When i talk to my GenXer kids and their friends, they’re quite willing to live on reduced disposable income – they have no desire to “judge their success by position and consumption”. My (Boomer) initial reaction is to try to talk sense into them; but them i think about it more and say – maybe you’re right. Take that year sabbatical at age 28 and go to Spain with your girlfriend. The rat race will be here when you get back!
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Thanks again John, spot on, thought provoking as usual. To Rob’s comment on cultivating the right talent, it is difficult to find the margins to hire two people for a job that used to take one passionate employee, the exception being a family owned business, where the children are vested at an early age and actively engage on their own.
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While I’m no coach, so therefore, don’t have the broad background you have, my experience in working with Millennials is that they’ve learned lessons from their parents quite well, thank you very much.
The small group of entrepreneurs I’m working with now are looking at leverage, from every angle. Several want the material trappings Boomers are noted for, yet I agree, they don’t want to work the long hours they saw (and many still do see) their folks put in every week.
So they’re finding ways of creating passive revenue, at every turn. While they’re willing to put the time and energy in getting something off the ground, their overriding goal is to have others do the work, so they can do something else. (I’m assuming they’re starting other ventures for more passive revenue streams. But you know what they say about assume!)
So what do they do? They follow in their parents’ footsteps: They outsource, both stateside and overseas. There are still plenty of other millennials who are willing to put in the long hours, and this group of millennials I’m working with are happy to leverage that.
They’re also leveraging their outsourcing efforts, too. Because they’ve watched their Boomer parents’ loyalty get in their way of profitability and progress, they’re not overly tied to one vendor. So they find a few who will do the same tasks. If one rises to the top, they’ll outsource more to that individual or organization, but not all of it. From what I’m seeing, they’re not putting all their eggs in one basket.
Yes, they’re more group-minded, but they’re also very bottom-line driven. And if something’s not working, they’re willing to pull the plug faster than their elders.
Because not all millennials are like this group of people I’m working with, I think there’ll be plenty of folks who will still be willing to put in the long hours, just because they’re having so much fun doing it. As long as it’s fun, Millennials will play the game. Once it stops, it’s game over — and on to a new one.
Most of my 20-year career as a custom publisher (magazines and newsletters, both electronic and printed) has been spent working with Boomers. As one myself, I understand them, their motivations and how to make them happy. Millennials have opened my eyes to doing business a different way. I find it refreshing to work with and learn from this group of business people.
And if I can get out of my own way and take a page from the millennials’ book, I, too, may just find myself with a nice passive income stream. Until then, though, the 40+ hour work week beckons…
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Interesting and thought provoking article. I think that Baby Boomers are doing something very different than our parent’s generation. When my dad was my age his career was on a path that he stayed on until his retirement. My friends and I have cobbled out careers that have spiraled and shifted based on changes in the marketplace and changes in employer/employee relationships. Those of us no longer in the traditional workplace find ourselves at a new frontier and work relationships are like a circling of wagons to be better able to get to the new world. Though there is more DIY, there is also much more ad hoc team building driven by what works. I haven’t quite figured out how to not work long hours, though…
John..you continue to be a mirror. Well stated, I’ll look for the book on Amazon.
You now know one business owner who thinks the downturn is over. 2013 numbers have blown our 2012 numbers out of the park. I do give you kudos for the first 80% of your article. We have met the enemy and it is us.
Well done, John. I appreciate your hardwork. I hope more business will bloom this year 2014. I will grab a copy of “Hunting in a Farmer’s World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur” on Amazon. Great job!