In This Episode One of the areas of small business coaching where we’ve specialized over the past two decades plus has to do with transitioning the business from one generation to the next. As you might imagine, over that time we’ve come across just about every scenario you can imagine. The one that people seem to fear most is when the current busi…

In This Episode You might have noticed that it’s been a few weeks since we’ve dropped a podcast. It’s the first time in nearly 8 years of recording Dirty Secrets of Small Business that we’ve missed a week. We have some sad news to report. My business partner of over 20 years in Maximum Value Partners, and my co-host for nearly 8 years on Dirty Secr…

In This Episode Today we were joined on the show by business owner Jeremy Orsky of Ohio Collision Group. Jeremy was an MVP client for nearly 8 years and we had a lot of fun and tremendous success together! During the show today Jeremy shared his story of acquiring several underperforming collision repair shops and growing them and eventually sellin…

In This Episode With all the battles going on to get workers back in the office, we started to think of the good old days when folks would complain that the boss is never around or the opposite, they never leave! But our question today is bigger than that. Is it good for the boss to be around? What kind of message does it deliver if the boss is aro…

In This Episode One of the great things about buying vs. starting a company is that when you buy a business you have some history and some things established. Things like customers, vendors, and employees. When starting out you have to build everything from scratch. As you might imagine, when you’re building something from scratch it’s easy to put …

In This Episode Today we were joined on the show by business owner Phil Billick of Valley Ridge Farms. Phil was one of MVP’s earliest coaching clients with a prior company he started and he is also Jack’s nephew! During the show today Phil shared his story of not only starting, growing, and then eventually selling one business, but also how he’s be…

In This Episode The good news is you’ve gotten that offer you can’t refuse and you are going to sell your company. Now the question is what do you do next? Do you stay on with your company after the acquisition? Do you ride off into the sunset? Do you start another company? So many choices and so little time. We’ve been blessed in our coaching busi…

In This Episode How many times have you uttered the phrase, “I don’t have time!”? If you’re like most of us, it’s likely been hundreds or even thousands of time…just this year! Way too many small business owners utter that same phrase when we talk with them about exploring new opportunities. Are you one of them? Then tune in for today’s show where …

In This Episode One of the things we talk about often when it comes to business partners is the timing of difficult discussions. This is especially important when those business partners are also life partners because you’re going to be seeing this person after work as well. The last thing you want to do is let things that happened at work impact w…

In This Episode Today we were joined on the show by business owner Ben Ihde of Wild Birds Unlimited. Ben was a coaching client of MVP for several years and is a repeat guest on Dirty Secrets of Small Business (see link below for his February 14, 2019 appearance). During the show today Ben shared with us what’s been going on since we last heard from…

In This EpisodeIf you think it feels lonely being a small business owner, just wait until after you sell your business. There are even fewer people who can relate to that. Especially if you sell the business for enough money and you don’t have to work any more. I mean how do you answer the question when your kids’ friends wonder why your mom or dad…

Making the decision to hire someone can be very stressful on a small business owner. What if we pick the wrong person? Can we truly afford to add someone else to the payroll? What will we do if we don’t hire someone? How soon will we know we hired the right person? These and many other questions roll through the heads of business owners looking to …

Are you ready for retirement? I can’t wait for retirement!! Can I retire now? Everywhere you look you can find someone trying to give you advice on retirement. But as a small business owner, retirement is likely something you’re not looking forward to. I mean isn’t retiring something old people do?By Adam Sonnhalter

Today we were joined on the show by business owner Joe Butler of Prescription Fitness and Butler Wellness Group. Joe was a coaching client of MVP for almost a decade. During the show today Joe shared some of the key moments in his growth from one location when we met him to 7 locations today. It was anything but a straight path! Joe’s energy and en…

Can’t I just say it! Why can’t I just tell them how I feel? These and many other thoughts have likely gone through your head at some point. Perhaps you are frustrated or feeling some pressure and you’re just about to burst! Take a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Take another one and take a step back from the situation. S…

Ever bought a company before? What, no one’s ever asked you that question before? Any guess what the top response is when we ask someone if they’ve ever bought a company before? Some version of, “I don’t have the money/big pile of cash.” Well, what if someone gave you the company? What then?By Adam Sonnhalter

Is it time to sell your company? What does it even mean to be ready to sell your business? I mean people talk about it like it’s common knowledge or something. It’s to the point that you almost feel silly asking the question.By Adam Sonnhalter

One of the best things about summer is the chance to have some vacation time. It’s a chance to break up the monotony of your day-to-day and add some different type of chaos and excitement to your world. But one of the drawbacks is that vacations can get you out of your routine. Disrupting routines isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing by itself, bu…

One of the great things about being a small business owner is there are new things popping up all the time. A key success factor for any small business owner is being able embrace and respond to these new challenges and opportunities. But growing can be uncomfortable and scary at times. If nothing else, it can make you feel even more lonely and und…

Does your business have a plan to make money on purpose? This might seem like a strange question, but in our several decades of working with and advising small business owners we have found that the vast majority don’t have this plan in place. We refer to it as a Profit Plan. Chances are you may have heard it called a budget. No one like to be put …

After you’ve been in business for a few years, one of the strangest things starts to happen. You’ll begin to get inquiries from folks who will say they are interested in buying your company. If you’re like most small business owners, you’ll take those inquiries and store them in a file somewhere for when the time is right. So if you’ve determined t…

We know, this might sound a bit dramatic. Like the power struggles between good and evil! But this can be a big challenge for couples who are also business partners. So if you aren’t aware of the power dynamics that are happening in your business, and more specifically your relationship with your spouse, or if you are experiencing some of these pow…

Depending who you talk with, many people think it’s crazy to work with your spouse or significant other. One of the biggest concerns we often hear is this idea of separating business from personal stuff. You know that famous phrase, “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” How do you think that comment would be received by your significant other wh…

It can often feel like your business partner is your “work spouse” because you typically see so much of each other that you can finish each other’s sentences. But does this mean that like marriage that a business partnership should be until one of you passes away? Is this why any time you talk to your attorney or accountant they’ll ask about whethe…

This might seem like a strange question, but think about the question if you were to substitute attorney or accountant or insurance person for the phrase business coach. Wouldn’t you be surprised to learn a business owner friend doesn’t have an accountant or insurance person? So why would it be so odd to expect that every small business owner also …

We all know couples where it’s evident who wears the pants in the relationship. Other couples have more of a shared power concept going on. So which one is right if you and your life partner are also business partners? Should one of you be the boss? Should you share the boss duties?By Adam Sonnhalter

One of the most overlooked opportunities for growth in the small business world is that of acquiring other companies. This could mean buying out competitors or perhaps adding new products or services to your current offerings. It could also be a way of expanding your geography or finding some good new customers or team members. There are many benef…

Have you ever not liked going to work because of the people you work with? Perhaps there is tension at work between you and a colleague where you just can’t get along on a regular basis. Maybe you disagree on the direction of the company or it could simply be you don’t like how they do certain things. What do you do when this person is related to y…

So what does it look like when you’re ready? Does it always look and feel the same? Kind of like when you’re lost? In today’s show we talk about how to know when the next generation is ready to take over. Like many things in life and business, it’s not always so clear, but there are some key things you can look for.…

You may have heard that one of the benefits of owning your own business is that you get to choose which 12 hours during the day you’d like to work. Many small business owners will crack a smile at a statement like this, in part because they know it contains some truth, but also because it’s one of the things many business owners struggle with. Just…

One of the areas we specialize in for our business coaching is helping family businesses transition to the next generation. One of the biggest gating items for a transition of any business, is the current owner deciding when it’s time to hang things up and move on to the next phase of their life. Sometimes the current owner is the last person to re…

It’s pretty easy and common to get excited, nervous, and stressed when running your small business. You can often feel like Atlas with the weight of the world on your shoulders. Everyone from your employees to your customer and vendors, not to mention your family depending on you. So how can a small business stay calm and in control in the often ch…

No offense to Marshall Field, the retailer who is often credited with creating the slogan “The customer is always right,” but give me a break. Following this piece of advice has probably put more small businesses out of business than anything else. We have seen way too many small business owners justify keeping bad customers by quoting this phrase.…

Whether you’re currently contemplating starting or buying a business or if you already own a business, one question you might be asking yourself is if you’re cut out to be a business owner. Depending who you talk to you might hear things like “people are born to be entrepreneurs” or something similar. Don’t always believe the hype!…

If you’ve owned your business for several years, chances are someone at some point has talked to you about a business valuation. Either someone has asked you directly what your company is worth or the idea of your company’s value has come up in conversation. The question we address in today’s show is just how valuable is a business valuation?…

Most people’s only experience with firing someone is watching Donald Trump say “You’re fired” on the TV shows The Apprentice. If you’re one of those people you may think it’s no big deal. I mean the person is being terminated for a reason, right?By Adam Sonnhalter

Many folks are confused why business owners have trouble stepping back and selling or transitioning their business to the next generation of ownership. We have found in our decades of working with small business owners transitioning to the next phase in their life that one of the biggest items holding them back from exiting their business is findin…

It’s rare that a small business owner wakes up one morning and decides it’s time to transition their business to the next generation. It’s something they usually think about for a while, likely many years before they are finally ready. But once they decide they often want it to happen yesterday. But before the current owner leaves they want to make…

If you’ve ever been involved with the buying or selling of a business, chances are you’ve heard of a term called seller’s remorse. Even if you haven’t been involved in a deal it’s likely you’ve heard about it or seen it. And it doesn’t matter how large or small a deal is, it can happen to anyone…even a billionaire.…

One of the key success factors in running and growing a small business is surrounding yourself with good advisors. Talk with any small business owner and they are likely to have all or most of the following “advisors” helping their business: accountant, attorney, insurance, payroll/HR, banker, financial planner, marketing, and business coach/consul…

If we had to pick a movie to be the theme for a small business owner, it would likely be the 1993 classic Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Even if you’ve never seen the movie you can probably relate to what it feels like to have the same day over and over again. Unfortunately for too many small business owners this can be the…

Today we were joined on the show by Sherry and Dan Jones. They were clients of ours when they owned their franchise business Seniors Helping Seniors. We not only helped them grow their business but we also helped them with a successful exit of their business.By Adam Sonnhalter

One of the reasons we started this podcast was to help dispel many of the myths we’ve seen in the small business world. One of those chief myths is the idea that if “you’re not growing you’re dying.” This has become so popular in the small business world that folks seem to think it must be true. Not so fast my friend.…

Today we were joined on the show by business owners John and Terri Sonnhalter. Oh yeah, they also happen to be Adam’s parents! They shared with us their 40+ year journey of working together in a business as spouses. We heard from John a few years ago when he appeared on our show back in January 2020 (see below for a link to that show). But this tim…

One of the dirtiest of little secrets we’ve discussed related to business ownership on this show over the years is that as a small business owner you’re also running a bank. With all the talk of recessions and tough times ahead, if you haven’t had this issue before, chances are you’ll be dealing with some slow paying customers over the next year or…

If you’ve been around us at all then you know one of the things we specialize in with our coaching is helping people with buying and selling companies. Not only have we helped hundreds of people with various transactions, we’ve also bought and sold several businesses ourselves. So as we finish one year and head into the next we thought it might be …

Today we were joined on the show by business owner Bob Scaccia, who is the Founder and CEO of USA Firmware. Bob shared with us some of the ups and downs of his first decade in business and the tremendous growth he’s seen over that time. We heard from Bob a few years ago when he appeared on our show back in January 2019 (see below for a link to that…

We are big fans of partnerships. Surprisingly, we tend to find ourselves in the minority when it comes to that positive view of business partners. We’re guessing you may have heard a lot of negatives about partners as well. So why do we often recommend that business owners look for good partners?By Adam Sonnhalter

Everyone loves something new and shiny! Many of our small business clients refer to those bright shiny new objects as squirrels. But while we’re all chasing these new shiny objects, we might just be missing something that’s right under our noses that can help grow our businesses. Past customers.By Adam Sonnhalter

One of the things nobody tells you about when starting a business is that you’ve unknowingly signed up to play the bank. Every time you provide credit to a customer you always risk having someone like Wimpy from Popeye who will promise you the world for that hamburger today! So knowing how it feels to have some customers ask you to play the bank, i…