These Turbulent Markets, Where to Turn for Advice....
"Develop the habit of turning inward whenever something goes wrong outwardly"
- Vernon Howard
To say that something has gone wrong 'outwardly', i.e., in the financial markets, would be an understatement. Something is terribly wrong with what is happening these days. But, believe it or not, this does not have to impact you and how you conduct your business. In fact, at a certain level of understanding, one comes to realize that these events actually have no power at all to influence your thinking . . it is merely our inability to prevent them from impacting our thinking -turning towards thought of negativity - that is the problem.
Often times we want outer circumstances to conform to our sense of how things should be. During my career as a wealth manager, I was told that my 'book of business' [i.e. my client base] largely reflected my own personality. That, in fact, was true. I attracted clients to my business that thought a lot like I did. Therefore, when something went wrong, they and I were usually in very good company with each other over what was perceived to be wrong with the world. I played the quarterback, laying out the plan to deal with the problem, while the clients and I together speculated on where things were heading. It was a collaborative, but often-times exhausting process.
Sometimes I got caught up in my client's emotional states in a way that made me feel as negative as them. For some reason, I could not help it. I sympathized with my client's concerns and I was impacted, as a business owner, by those concerns. And I was certainly not alone, as I was also in the good company of other advisors who were equally anxious to engage in conversations about how difficult things were and hopeless things seemed to be.
It was during those times that I was without a certain level of understanding. I was not able to detach myself from these outer circumstances in a way that would have strengthened my ability to handle them better and, in turn, be a better advisor to my clients. Instead, I would let these circumstances slow down my prospecting of new clients and have a negative impact on my business.
Over the past few years I have learned a new way of thinking - one that has produced some remarkable results in my personal and professional life. This new way of thinking begins with the idea that we can control our thoughts, and therefore control our outcomes, all of the time, regardless of the circumstances. This new way of thinking essentially states that negative thinking attracts poor results into our lives. Our ability to recognize this simple fact is actually a critical point in improving our circumstances.
Therefore, when it looks like the world is going to 'hell in a handbasket', you literally have a choice. You can choose to feel lousy about it, or you can choose to examine your thoughts more carefully and guard against 'going negative'. This type of thinking requires a bit of work. However, there are a few good reasons for seeking this level of understanding:
First, as advisors, clients depend upon the objectivity and professionalism of our advice. I often compare this idea to what we are told to do on an airplane if cabin pressure should be lost during the flight - first apply the oxygen mask to yourself, so that you can then assist others properly.
Next, as business owners, we want to realize that negativity slows the growth of our practices and prevents us from providing our valuable services to others. Nobody wins in this exchange.
And, finally, for our own benefit, it is more healthy [and profitable] to choose to remain positive and optimistic.
Do you know that you cannot change what has happened in the past?
Are you aware that dwelling on and worrying about the past is extremely unproductive - particularly since it is the one thing that you cannot change.
You can change your state of mind today and better direct your future results.
This and many other topics will be the conversation that I will be engaging in with my friend and mentor, David Neagle this Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. ET. I hope that you can join us - click here to register to be a part of this discussion.
And as an ancient mystic once said when consoling a person on their current plight, "This too shall pass".
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Making the Quantum Leap
Many readers of this newsletter and Members in our Advisor program know that over the past few years I have become a real student of change and the principles that govern positive experiences in one's life.
To effectively study this material, you need to open your mind to certain possibilities that, to otherwise logical people, seem very - well for lack of a better term - strange.
For example, we know that "there are from 10 billion to 14 billion nerve cells in the human cerebral cortex, and we know that these are arranged in definite patterns. These arrangements are not haphazard. They are orderly . . . It is inconceivable that such a network of intricate equipment should be in existence for the sole purpose of carrying on the physical functions incidental to growth and maintenance of the physical body."
Napoleon Hill wrote those words nearly 80 years ago in his classic book, "Think and Grow Rich". For those who have read this book, you know that Hill talks about potential for any person that far exceeds what any of us think is possible for our businesses and for our lives.
One of the challenges of opening our minds to this huge potential comes from our conditioned thinking and upbringing. We are educated and raised in a 'stair-step' manner, one step at a time - grade 1, then 2, then 3, then middle school, then high school, then college, then graduate school, and so on. We are taught to think in terms of 'next steps' - logical next steps - all of the time.
But what if we - just for a moment - entertained a new way of thinking? What if we set a goal not based on logic - i.e, what seems possible to achieve next - but rather based that next goal on something totally illogical - such as writing a book and getting it professionally published within 10 months. Is it possible to entertain the idea that what you can achieve in the future is more about being able to believe that you can do it, rather than knowing that it will be difficult or cumbersome, or extremely time consuming? Is it possible that Napoleon Hill talked about our brains in a way that led him to firmly conclude - after interviewing 500 of the wealthiest people in America over a 20 year period - that there is something beyond logic at work in making great advances forward?
So, one may think, 'If that is true and I set a goal to reach a point far beyond anything that I think I can accomplish today, how will I know what to do to get there?'
And therein lies the problem. Once you resort back to logic to figure out how to achieve your goal, you have once again put yourself in the way of it happening. If your ego needs to know how something seemingly impossible is going to happen, it becomes that much more difficult to happen because your mind is not open to it appearing in a way that you are not expecting (which, of course, is illogical).
As I said, to effectively study these concepts, you need to open your mind to certain possibilities that, to otherwise logical people, seem very strange. Logic and reason, which many professional advisors hold as their calling card and standard-bearer (it's part of what our clients pay us for and expect out of us), is often the enemy of exponential growth.
So, one may ask, what is the point of this lesson? And, where can I find applicability of this lofty notion in my work and in my life?
Well, I can share that it has been my experience, that making a Quantum Leap forward (as many advisors who find Pinnacle's program are looking to do), essentially begins with self-reflection and examination, more than it does with learning new material or purchasing a new program.
Further to the point, one may ask what any of this has to do with growing my exit strategy planning practice? Well, if you consider that an exiting owner is going from working and running a business that they likely built themselves and heading into retirement, this is a Quantum Leap of a different sort. This is a lifestyle change that is taking the exiting owner from one path in life and putting them on another.
Well, I would argue that in order to be effective in assisting an owner with this process, it really is helpful to see beyond the technical components of an exit strategy plan and to begin filtering in the more subjective notions of addressing the changes that are going to occur in this business owner's life. At that point, you earn the role of trusted advisor as you assist your owners through these massive changes.
Gain an understanding of the dynamics of change in order to better assist yourself and your clients with their complex needs. Make this type of study - the study of oneself - your highest priority, and you will be rewarded in your business and in your life.
Making a Quantum Leap is therefore about embracing change. And with that thought I leave you until next week when we resume our newsletters and begin to focus on our big and expanding agenda at Pinnacle before 2008 closes out behind us (much, much more news on many of our current, bold & illogical initiatives will be shared in the coming weeks and months - many to be revealed at our October Workshop).
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
To effectively study this material, you need to open your mind to certain possibilities that, to otherwise logical people, seem very - well for lack of a better term - strange.
For example, we know that "there are from 10 billion to 14 billion nerve cells in the human cerebral cortex, and we know that these are arranged in definite patterns. These arrangements are not haphazard. They are orderly . . . It is inconceivable that such a network of intricate equipment should be in existence for the sole purpose of carrying on the physical functions incidental to growth and maintenance of the physical body."
Napoleon Hill wrote those words nearly 80 years ago in his classic book, "Think and Grow Rich". For those who have read this book, you know that Hill talks about potential for any person that far exceeds what any of us think is possible for our businesses and for our lives.
One of the challenges of opening our minds to this huge potential comes from our conditioned thinking and upbringing. We are educated and raised in a 'stair-step' manner, one step at a time - grade 1, then 2, then 3, then middle school, then high school, then college, then graduate school, and so on. We are taught to think in terms of 'next steps' - logical next steps - all of the time.
But what if we - just for a moment - entertained a new way of thinking? What if we set a goal not based on logic - i.e, what seems possible to achieve next - but rather based that next goal on something totally illogical - such as writing a book and getting it professionally published within 10 months. Is it possible to entertain the idea that what you can achieve in the future is more about being able to believe that you can do it, rather than knowing that it will be difficult or cumbersome, or extremely time consuming? Is it possible that Napoleon Hill talked about our brains in a way that led him to firmly conclude - after interviewing 500 of the wealthiest people in America over a 20 year period - that there is something beyond logic at work in making great advances forward?
So, one may think, 'If that is true and I set a goal to reach a point far beyond anything that I think I can accomplish today, how will I know what to do to get there?'
And therein lies the problem. Once you resort back to logic to figure out how to achieve your goal, you have once again put yourself in the way of it happening. If your ego needs to know how something seemingly impossible is going to happen, it becomes that much more difficult to happen because your mind is not open to it appearing in a way that you are not expecting (which, of course, is illogical).
As I said, to effectively study these concepts, you need to open your mind to certain possibilities that, to otherwise logical people, seem very strange. Logic and reason, which many professional advisors hold as their calling card and standard-bearer (it's part of what our clients pay us for and expect out of us), is often the enemy of exponential growth.
So, one may ask, what is the point of this lesson? And, where can I find applicability of this lofty notion in my work and in my life?
Well, I can share that it has been my experience, that making a Quantum Leap forward (as many advisors who find Pinnacle's program are looking to do), essentially begins with self-reflection and examination, more than it does with learning new material or purchasing a new program.
Further to the point, one may ask what any of this has to do with growing my exit strategy planning practice? Well, if you consider that an exiting owner is going from working and running a business that they likely built themselves and heading into retirement, this is a Quantum Leap of a different sort. This is a lifestyle change that is taking the exiting owner from one path in life and putting them on another.
Well, I would argue that in order to be effective in assisting an owner with this process, it really is helpful to see beyond the technical components of an exit strategy plan and to begin filtering in the more subjective notions of addressing the changes that are going to occur in this business owner's life. At that point, you earn the role of trusted advisor as you assist your owners through these massive changes.
Gain an understanding of the dynamics of change in order to better assist yourself and your clients with their complex needs. Make this type of study - the study of oneself - your highest priority, and you will be rewarded in your business and in your life.
Making a Quantum Leap is therefore about embracing change. And with that thought I leave you until next week when we resume our newsletters and begin to focus on our big and expanding agenda at Pinnacle before 2008 closes out behind us (much, much more news on many of our current, bold & illogical initiatives will be shared in the coming weeks and months - many to be revealed at our October Workshop).
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Friday, September 26, 2008
Taking Your Practice to a New Level
Why is the growth of our advisory businesses difficult and what can we do to make a change today?
Here are some of the salient points from our interview with David Neagle a few months ago. I believe that you will find the highlights below very interesting and helpful in your efforts to build your advisory practice.
We began the interview with the question: Why is growth difficult?
Our upbringing trains us to grow our businesses in a ‘stair step’ manner. For example, in school, we go from one grade to the next, moving at a pace with all other students. Rare is the person who skips a grade and, as I recall, there is usually an exceptional circumstance that allows that to happen.
The problem with this type of conditioning is that our businesses are not designed or intended to grow in this slow-moving manner. Our belief systems, therefore, reinforce our world and the personal environments that we build for ourselves in our businesses. In short, we create our own limitations for the growth of our businesses.
Pre-disposed Towards Growth
Every advisor who enters the Pinnacle Program is geared towards the growth of their business. So what is keeping you from the growth that you want and deserve? What is keeping you from the changes in your business that you want to implement?
The answer may be as simple as being able to let go of some of those existing limiting beliefs and embracing a larger idea that success is not only your right, but can also be easy – particularly if the success is aligned with your purpose.
So, how do you make these changes in your business and your life?
First, you need to have the desire to learn and grow. If you are a part of the Pinnacle Program, you already have the desire for more.
The next step is to increase your awareness of the reasons why this growth is not occurring.
The first step in increasing your awareness is realizing what your current belief system is and how that impacts your mindset and your approach to your business. If you think in small, incremental steps, then small, incremental opportunities will appear in your life. However, if you think in terms of deserving the larger opportunities and being a part of a more fulfilling process for delivering service to your clients, then those opportunities will also appear in your life.
Therefore, the logical extension of this analysis is that it is as equally easy to attract the larger opportunities as it is to attract the smaller opportunities. All you need to do is alter your awareness around what you are brining into your life and make a decision that you will seek out the opportunities that challenge you to grow and provide you with the income that you deserve.
What Holds Us Back?
Of course if this was easy, everyone would do it. What makes it difficult? Simply, it is the list of subconscious reasons WHY we cannot make these changes - they may include some of the items below:
If any or all of these reasons for not moving ahead are ones that you have come up with for not advancing yourself in your business, I want you to pay very close attention to the reality of each of these statements - it is simply this:
Each of these statements comes from a source that says that your abilities are limited. Furthermore, each of these statements begins with an analysis of what you cannot do, rather than focusing on the infinitely more important question of what can I provide to this marketplace of prospects that they do not currently have? And, why am I denying this marketplace of business owners the opportunity to engage in this process when I already have their trust as their professional advisor?
When you change the questions, you change your thinking and your approach to this marketplace. When you focus on being of service to this marketplace, instead of what your current limitations are, you begin to explode forward. Does this sound like a risky proposition to you? If 'yes', then I submit that examining why this sounds risky is the best place for you to begin the study of yourself and the limitation that you put on your advisory practice. By making this study your highest priority, you will advance forward as you become aware of the real truth of your potential.
Changing Your Thinking
In short, the catalyst for this type of growth has to do with the way that you think. Your thinking comes from your belief system. So, change the beliefs – let go of your limited attitudes towards your business - and you have taken the first step towards the growth that you deserve.
If you would like more information on this type of coaching, feel free to contact our office with your questions and someone from our Pinnacle offices will get back to you within 48 hours.
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Here are some of the salient points from our interview with David Neagle a few months ago. I believe that you will find the highlights below very interesting and helpful in your efforts to build your advisory practice.
We began the interview with the question: Why is growth difficult?
Our upbringing trains us to grow our businesses in a ‘stair step’ manner. For example, in school, we go from one grade to the next, moving at a pace with all other students. Rare is the person who skips a grade and, as I recall, there is usually an exceptional circumstance that allows that to happen.
The problem with this type of conditioning is that our businesses are not designed or intended to grow in this slow-moving manner. Our belief systems, therefore, reinforce our world and the personal environments that we build for ourselves in our businesses. In short, we create our own limitations for the growth of our businesses.
Pre-disposed Towards Growth
Every advisor who enters the Pinnacle Program is geared towards the growth of their business. So what is keeping you from the growth that you want and deserve? What is keeping you from the changes in your business that you want to implement?
The answer may be as simple as being able to let go of some of those existing limiting beliefs and embracing a larger idea that success is not only your right, but can also be easy – particularly if the success is aligned with your purpose.
So, how do you make these changes in your business and your life?
First, you need to have the desire to learn and grow. If you are a part of the Pinnacle Program, you already have the desire for more.
The next step is to increase your awareness of the reasons why this growth is not occurring.
The first step in increasing your awareness is realizing what your current belief system is and how that impacts your mindset and your approach to your business. If you think in small, incremental steps, then small, incremental opportunities will appear in your life. However, if you think in terms of deserving the larger opportunities and being a part of a more fulfilling process for delivering service to your clients, then those opportunities will also appear in your life.
Therefore, the logical extension of this analysis is that it is as equally easy to attract the larger opportunities as it is to attract the smaller opportunities. All you need to do is alter your awareness around what you are brining into your life and make a decision that you will seek out the opportunities that challenge you to grow and provide you with the income that you deserve.
What Holds Us Back?
Of course if this was easy, everyone would do it. What makes it difficult? Simply, it is the list of subconscious reasons WHY we cannot make these changes - they may include some of the items below:
- I don't have the experience to engage that prospect.
- The competition is too strong for me to compete at that level.
- What if I get asked a question that I cannot answer? How would
- The lead-time is too long for this type of prospecting.
- I don't have the network (like other people) to support receiving
leads like this on a consistent basis. - I don't have the time to study and prepare for a meeting with that
type of prospect.
that reflect on my professionalism?
If any or all of these reasons for not moving ahead are ones that you have come up with for not advancing yourself in your business, I want you to pay very close attention to the reality of each of these statements - it is simply this:
Each of these statements comes from a source that says that your abilities are limited. Furthermore, each of these statements begins with an analysis of what you cannot do, rather than focusing on the infinitely more important question of what can I provide to this marketplace of prospects that they do not currently have? And, why am I denying this marketplace of business owners the opportunity to engage in this process when I already have their trust as their professional advisor?
When you change the questions, you change your thinking and your approach to this marketplace. When you focus on being of service to this marketplace, instead of what your current limitations are, you begin to explode forward. Does this sound like a risky proposition to you? If 'yes', then I submit that examining why this sounds risky is the best place for you to begin the study of yourself and the limitation that you put on your advisory practice. By making this study your highest priority, you will advance forward as you become aware of the real truth of your potential.
Changing Your Thinking
In short, the catalyst for this type of growth has to do with the way that you think. Your thinking comes from your belief system. So, change the beliefs – let go of your limited attitudes towards your business - and you have taken the first step towards the growth that you deserve.
If you would like more information on this type of coaching, feel free to contact our office with your questions and someone from our Pinnacle offices will get back to you within 48 hours.
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Increase Your Exposure to Business Owners
One of the best ways to increase your exposure to business owners is through a marketing plan that consistently makes a high quality contact with them at a low cost (both in terms of dollars and time) on your part. Therefore, as mentioned last week, one of the greatest benefits of a Pinnacle membership are the two new Exit Strategies Newsletters that are available to you at the start of each month. These newsletters can be customized with your company information and logo and mailed to business owner clients and prospects to educate them on planning their exit strategy. Whether you choose to send this information out by mail or email (as described in last week's newsletter), having the newsletter pre-written and delivered to you on a consistent basis will be the first step in increasing your exposure in your area.
The Pinnacle System of marketing and prospecting includes exit strategy planning topics that are drawn from the upcoming book, Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth - A Strategic Guide to Owners and Their Advisors. By using this system, your business owners can receive customized content on the exit strategy planning topic that they are most interested in (remember that we archive old newsletters for you to choose which ones to send to each separate owner), and you can take from that content and respond to the owner's request. For example, an owner may have an interest in learning more about an ESOP transaction because an ESOP was mentioned in the bi-monthly newsletter. That's great - you can forward along additional information from the archived database.
After that, if the business owner wants more information, you can forward a copy of the book - referencing the Chapter and verse that you quoted. From there, the business owner looks to you as a true solutions provider whose advice is integrated into a larger training and delivery system; a system that you can use to design a customized exit strategy plan and get paid for delivering this unique and valuable service.
With the power of these tools, you can maintain a focus on exit strategy planning as you run your day-to-day business. And, as we indicated last week, much of this can be done on an automated basis with today's technology and Pinnacle's content and ongoing support.
As always, I hope this information is helpful to you as you further consider incorporating exit strategy planning into your advisory practice.
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
The Pinnacle System of marketing and prospecting includes exit strategy planning topics that are drawn from the upcoming book, Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth - A Strategic Guide to Owners and Their Advisors. By using this system, your business owners can receive customized content on the exit strategy planning topic that they are most interested in (remember that we archive old newsletters for you to choose which ones to send to each separate owner), and you can take from that content and respond to the owner's request. For example, an owner may have an interest in learning more about an ESOP transaction because an ESOP was mentioned in the bi-monthly newsletter. That's great - you can forward along additional information from the archived database.
After that, if the business owner wants more information, you can forward a copy of the book - referencing the Chapter and verse that you quoted. From there, the business owner looks to you as a true solutions provider whose advice is integrated into a larger training and delivery system; a system that you can use to design a customized exit strategy plan and get paid for delivering this unique and valuable service.
With the power of these tools, you can maintain a focus on exit strategy planning as you run your day-to-day business. And, as we indicated last week, much of this can be done on an automated basis with today's technology and Pinnacle's content and ongoing support.
As always, I hope this information is helpful to you as you further consider incorporating exit strategy planning into your advisory practice.
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth: A Strategic Guide for Owners and Their Advisors
Quoting from the Introduction
Congratulations!
You made it.
Now let's do our best to protect it.
Your business has been built on your hard work and passion for what you do. The long hours, the battles with the finances, the incremental gains that you fought tooth and nail for are now more behind you than in front of you. For many readers of this book, many exciting challenges still await your careers. For others, a quick exit is what is most desired. In either case, you made it, and a warm congratulations is due to you for your accomplishment.
Now it is time to enter the equally challenging phase of keeping it. "It," of course, is the wealth that has accumulated in your illiquid business. That wealth is locked inside your business, much the same way that wealth is locked inside your home. Now, home may very well be where the heart is, but your business produces profits. If your business is where your heart is, then this book is a very good resource to assist you in viewing the business more as an investment and less as a job you love. The reason you want to think this way is because the majority of your wealth is likely tied up in your business, and without a plan to monetize or transfer that wealth, a great deal of your hard work may be lost.
Page 3 continues to make this point . . .
. . . Building your business was not easy. It required a plan and a tenacious approach to competing in your marketplace. Exiting your business is equally challenging, and in many ways much more difficult.
An analogy will help put this in perspective.
On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest, the highest spot on earth.
But is Edmund Hillary famous because he was the first person to make it to the top of Mount Everest? Not necessarily. In fact, it is widely believed that others before him had made it to the pinnacle. However, Hillary became famous because he was the first westerner to navigate the descent back down the mountain without perishing. The others who went before him are still frozen up there.
Is climbing down a mountain harder than climbing up? Think about it. When you are ascending a mountain - or building a business - your weight is behind you, pushing you onward and upward. By contrast, when descending from the mountain, your weight can work against you. You need to avoid missteps that send you tumbling down.
So, is exiting a business harder than building one? Very likely, yes. The next question is: are you frozen in your business? . . .
-------------------------
Did you like this passage from the Introduction? If you did, you'll love the book. It spans 236 pages of step-by-step instruction that will help you make money by incorporating exit strategy planning into your practice. Click here to learn more and order.
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Congratulations!
You made it.
Now let's do our best to protect it.
Your business has been built on your hard work and passion for what you do. The long hours, the battles with the finances, the incremental gains that you fought tooth and nail for are now more behind you than in front of you. For many readers of this book, many exciting challenges still await your careers. For others, a quick exit is what is most desired. In either case, you made it, and a warm congratulations is due to you for your accomplishment.
Now it is time to enter the equally challenging phase of keeping it. "It," of course, is the wealth that has accumulated in your illiquid business. That wealth is locked inside your business, much the same way that wealth is locked inside your home. Now, home may very well be where the heart is, but your business produces profits. If your business is where your heart is, then this book is a very good resource to assist you in viewing the business more as an investment and less as a job you love. The reason you want to think this way is because the majority of your wealth is likely tied up in your business, and without a plan to monetize or transfer that wealth, a great deal of your hard work may be lost.
Page 3 continues to make this point . . .
. . . Building your business was not easy. It required a plan and a tenacious approach to competing in your marketplace. Exiting your business is equally challenging, and in many ways much more difficult.
An analogy will help put this in perspective.
On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest, the highest spot on earth.
But is Edmund Hillary famous because he was the first person to make it to the top of Mount Everest? Not necessarily. In fact, it is widely believed that others before him had made it to the pinnacle. However, Hillary became famous because he was the first westerner to navigate the descent back down the mountain without perishing. The others who went before him are still frozen up there.
Is climbing down a mountain harder than climbing up? Think about it. When you are ascending a mountain - or building a business - your weight is behind you, pushing you onward and upward. By contrast, when descending from the mountain, your weight can work against you. You need to avoid missteps that send you tumbling down.
So, is exiting a business harder than building one? Very likely, yes. The next question is: are you frozen in your business? . . .
-------------------------
Did you like this passage from the Introduction? If you did, you'll love the book. It spans 236 pages of step-by-step instruction that will help you make money by incorporating exit strategy planning into your practice. Click here to learn more and order.
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Friday, September 19, 2008
Running Your Marketing in Your Absence
As an advisor looking to grow your practice, you should know that you can use an affordable, online Email Campaign system to pre-load content and automate your marketing process to business owners. With the 2 new Exit Strategies newsletters that Pinnacle provides each month, it is easy and cost effective to simply copy and paste the newsletter text into an email campaign and send out to your list of business owners who have expressed an interest in starting their exit strategy planning (you can also automate the process by setting up a system for hard-copy letters to go out with the same frequency).
One such system, used by Pinnacle, is called MyEmma. MyEmma is a Web-based service that includes everything you need to manage your email marketing and communications from start to finish. It's a platform that combines easy self-serve features, a custom-designed brand template, and personal assistance whenever you need it. Again, Pinnacle can manage this process for you as part of our Gold Level Membership, assuring that you don't miss your opportunities to consistently market to business owners. We will also report to you every month the number of e-mails that were opened and how many owners 'clicked-through', expressing a further interest in an offering on the page.
You can easily organize your members by group, and create as many groups as you like. By segmenting people by status, geography and more, you'll be able to send e-mails to everyone or tailor your emails to different groups. You can also create one or more custom signup screens that let new people sign up for your emails or newsletter directly from your website (another feature that we offer Gold Members - website design with an exit strategy planning focus).
So, whether you do it on your own, or use our Member content and support, we strongly encourage that you automate a part of your marketing to increase the efficiency and profitability of your advisory practice. Remember, there are millions of business owners out there who are approaching retirement age. They key to getting them to take action is establishing a marketing program that works consistently and delivers quality content that is worth reading.
© John M. Leonetti
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
One such system, used by Pinnacle, is called MyEmma. MyEmma is a Web-based service that includes everything you need to manage your email marketing and communications from start to finish. It's a platform that combines easy self-serve features, a custom-designed brand template, and personal assistance whenever you need it. Again, Pinnacle can manage this process for you as part of our Gold Level Membership, assuring that you don't miss your opportunities to consistently market to business owners. We will also report to you every month the number of e-mails that were opened and how many owners 'clicked-through', expressing a further interest in an offering on the page.
You can easily organize your members by group, and create as many groups as you like. By segmenting people by status, geography and more, you'll be able to send e-mails to everyone or tailor your emails to different groups. You can also create one or more custom signup screens that let new people sign up for your emails or newsletter directly from your website (another feature that we offer Gold Members - website design with an exit strategy planning focus).
So, whether you do it on your own, or use our Member content and support, we strongly encourage that you automate a part of your marketing to increase the efficiency and profitability of your advisory practice. Remember, there are millions of business owners out there who are approaching retirement age. They key to getting them to take action is establishing a marketing program that works consistently and delivers quality content that is worth reading.
© John M. Leonetti
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
In the Dreaming Room - 2 1/2 Days with Michael Gerber
You may be thinking what I was thinking before heading down to New York to listen to "The #1 Small Business Guru in the World" - that question is:
"What the heck is a Dreaming Room, and why would I want to be in one?"
Well, on my way to New York I had an opportunity to listen to Michael Gerber's new book, Awakening the Entrepreneur Within and the audio recording gave me a very good idea of what to expect at the Dreaming Room experience.
Essentially, at the age of 70, Michael Gerber had both a personal and a business epiphany. After 30 years of E-Myth teaching, coaching, writing, and mentoring, he realized that he was becoming the Manager that he wrote about - he himself was caught in the limited role of merely running his E-Myth Enterprise, allowing the entrepreneur inside of himself to stay silent (Michael relates this story in the book through a conversation that he had with his mother - who essentially told him to 'go for it').
So, listening to the voice inside of himself (and his Mom), Michael remodeled his E-Myth platform, leading with a simple concept - that an entrepreneur would be better served learning whether or not they are in the right business at all, before turning to the E-Myth system to fix the business that they set out to build. This is essentially 'pre-business planning / preventative maintenance' for entrepreneurs.
I totally get it.
What Michael asks participants to do is to envision the business that they want and how BIG it can possibly be. Michael - as he says in his book - wants the entrepreneur to understand the process of Dreaming about the business (and life) that they truly want, and then to set a Vision for how that business will be born/expanded to fit that Dream. Michael's process calls upon the right brain, creative side of the entrepreneur to drive the business forward. Dreaming occurs before the Visioning / Planning. Better understood, the right-brain leads the process of building a business that is aligned with what you really want out of life.
Of course for most advisors reading this newsletter, we live in a left-brain driven world - economic reports, value drivers, stock market returns, benchmarks, laws to be interpreted and followed, valuation guidelines to follow, rule-setting authorities that guide our daily communications with clients, and on and on with the licensing, continuing education requirements, and so on and so forth. Where in this world of left-brain, analytical thinkers does a Dreaming Room fit in?
Well, if you can get past the initial corniness of the whole notion of paying to sit in a room and Dream (after all, "Can't we just stay at home and do this for free?", you may ask) this becomes a powerful exercise towards reinforcing what drives your business forward. This process also helps you to more easily identify the things that are holding you back from making progress in your business. Here's a hint: the things holding you back are the tasks that you don't enjoy doing, but somehow believe that you are the only person qualified (or that you can currently afford) to do them.
Did I get a book published with my first attempt (actually, with one single manuscript sent to the largest publisher in Finance) because my business building process began with a strictly analytical approach towards business exits? Not at all. In fact, I had a Dream to Transform the State of Business Owner Exit Strategies Worldwide. That is what I am living every day and what is providing a natural accelerant to my business. So, I understand - at a personal and business level - what Michael was talking about, and I could see the wisdom (albeit unorthodox style) of his new business model.
This review of Michael's Dreaming Room experience will mean different things to different people but at the end of the day, it's easiest to understand it as conducting your business and your life by whatever get you really gets you fired up. When that happens, great things tend to occur rather effortlessly.
Michael Gerber figured this out and set out on a new mission to transform how entrepreneurs get themselves into businesses. This process is intended to be vetted out before the businesses are built on weak foundations (not a lot of enthusiasm) and become broken and in need of repair. I applaud Michael for this courage and original business model, as well as with his own ability to break himself free from the 'comfort zone' of his E-Myth business to once again Awaken the Entrepreneur Within himself.
© John M. Leonetti
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
"What the heck is a Dreaming Room, and why would I want to be in one?"
Well, on my way to New York I had an opportunity to listen to Michael Gerber's new book, Awakening the Entrepreneur Within and the audio recording gave me a very good idea of what to expect at the Dreaming Room experience.
Essentially, at the age of 70, Michael Gerber had both a personal and a business epiphany. After 30 years of E-Myth teaching, coaching, writing, and mentoring, he realized that he was becoming the Manager that he wrote about - he himself was caught in the limited role of merely running his E-Myth Enterprise, allowing the entrepreneur inside of himself to stay silent (Michael relates this story in the book through a conversation that he had with his mother - who essentially told him to 'go for it').
So, listening to the voice inside of himself (and his Mom), Michael remodeled his E-Myth platform, leading with a simple concept - that an entrepreneur would be better served learning whether or not they are in the right business at all, before turning to the E-Myth system to fix the business that they set out to build. This is essentially 'pre-business planning / preventative maintenance' for entrepreneurs.
I totally get it.
What Michael asks participants to do is to envision the business that they want and how BIG it can possibly be. Michael - as he says in his book - wants the entrepreneur to understand the process of Dreaming about the business (and life) that they truly want, and then to set a Vision for how that business will be born/expanded to fit that Dream. Michael's process calls upon the right brain, creative side of the entrepreneur to drive the business forward. Dreaming occurs before the Visioning / Planning. Better understood, the right-brain leads the process of building a business that is aligned with what you really want out of life.
Of course for most advisors reading this newsletter, we live in a left-brain driven world - economic reports, value drivers, stock market returns, benchmarks, laws to be interpreted and followed, valuation guidelines to follow, rule-setting authorities that guide our daily communications with clients, and on and on with the licensing, continuing education requirements, and so on and so forth. Where in this world of left-brain, analytical thinkers does a Dreaming Room fit in?
Well, if you can get past the initial corniness of the whole notion of paying to sit in a room and Dream (after all, "Can't we just stay at home and do this for free?", you may ask) this becomes a powerful exercise towards reinforcing what drives your business forward. This process also helps you to more easily identify the things that are holding you back from making progress in your business. Here's a hint: the things holding you back are the tasks that you don't enjoy doing, but somehow believe that you are the only person qualified (or that you can currently afford) to do them.
Did I get a book published with my first attempt (actually, with one single manuscript sent to the largest publisher in Finance) because my business building process began with a strictly analytical approach towards business exits? Not at all. In fact, I had a Dream to Transform the State of Business Owner Exit Strategies Worldwide. That is what I am living every day and what is providing a natural accelerant to my business. So, I understand - at a personal and business level - what Michael was talking about, and I could see the wisdom (albeit unorthodox style) of his new business model.
This review of Michael's Dreaming Room experience will mean different things to different people but at the end of the day, it's easiest to understand it as conducting your business and your life by whatever get you really gets you fired up. When that happens, great things tend to occur rather effortlessly.
Michael Gerber figured this out and set out on a new mission to transform how entrepreneurs get themselves into businesses. This process is intended to be vetted out before the businesses are built on weak foundations (not a lot of enthusiasm) and become broken and in need of repair. I applaud Michael for this courage and original business model, as well as with his own ability to break himself free from the 'comfort zone' of his E-Myth business to once again Awaken the Entrepreneur Within himself.
© John M. Leonetti
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Demand for Exit Strategies Advice
One of the foundational concepts behind Pinnacle's business model is that there are far more businesses that need exit strategy planning advice than - perhaps - the entire population of advisors can competently serve. The statistics below are drawn from a few studies to illustrate this point. And, for advisors thinking about getting into this business, you will see - objectively - the size of this opportunity and draw your own conclusions as to what it can mean for your practice.
From Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth (Chapter 1 - Exiting is a Process, Not an Event, p. 26)
"With millions of Baby Boomer business owners seeking an exit strategy from their business, the demand for advice in this area is very high. However, the supply of trained advisors who can assist with this type of planning is disproportionately low. . .
. . . for example, we know that 8.4 million [Baby Boomer owned] businesses in the United States will be changing hands in the next 10 to 15 years. Therefore, we can make some projections about the capacity of advisory services required to fulfill this need that will illustrate this supply and demand point.
An exit strategy is a complex planning engagement. Let's say that 50 to 100 hours of work is a good estimate of the time needed to formulate and execute an exit strategy plan. By multiplying the number of businesses that will transition by the estimated 50 to 100 hours of advisory work, we conclude that 420 million to 840 million hours of advisory work will be required in the next 10 to 15 years.
Many types of advisors are available to assist business owners with their exit strategy planning. There are an estimated 700,000 such advisors in the United States today: legal advisors, financial advisors, insurance advisors, accountants, business consultants, business brokers, and merger and acquisitions professionals."
This Chapter section goes on to explain to business owners (and advisors) that a business owner needs to be pro-active and find advisors who are trained in this area so that their illiquid business wealth can be protected.
Does this look like an opportunity for you to grow your advisory practice?
Do these statistics resolve any lingering doubts about whether or not the marketplace of businesses owners is sufficient to meet the growth needs of your practice?
If so, take another look at Pinnacle's training and Workshops. We are making an impact in this large demographic of Baby Boomer business owners. Maybe it's time for you to decide that adding exit strategy planning to your practice is the next step in growing your business and assisting your business owner clients and prospects.
This is a practice where everyone wins. The business owner gets a plan to liberate themselves from their businesses (while protecting their wealth) and the advisor gets paid and achieves the trusted advisor status with the client - positioning themselves to provide other advice and service.
The key to tapping into this market is first awareness - understanding the needs of this marketplace - and then taking the first step.
So remember, planning is the key to any successful business exit because a proactive approach to an Exit Strategy is the only approach to a successful Exit Strategy.
© John M. Leonetti
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
From Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth (Chapter 1 - Exiting is a Process, Not an Event, p. 26)
"With millions of Baby Boomer business owners seeking an exit strategy from their business, the demand for advice in this area is very high. However, the supply of trained advisors who can assist with this type of planning is disproportionately low. . .
. . . for example, we know that 8.4 million [Baby Boomer owned] businesses in the United States will be changing hands in the next 10 to 15 years. Therefore, we can make some projections about the capacity of advisory services required to fulfill this need that will illustrate this supply and demand point.
An exit strategy is a complex planning engagement. Let's say that 50 to 100 hours of work is a good estimate of the time needed to formulate and execute an exit strategy plan. By multiplying the number of businesses that will transition by the estimated 50 to 100 hours of advisory work, we conclude that 420 million to 840 million hours of advisory work will be required in the next 10 to 15 years.
Many types of advisors are available to assist business owners with their exit strategy planning. There are an estimated 700,000 such advisors in the United States today: legal advisors, financial advisors, insurance advisors, accountants, business consultants, business brokers, and merger and acquisitions professionals."
This Chapter section goes on to explain to business owners (and advisors) that a business owner needs to be pro-active and find advisors who are trained in this area so that their illiquid business wealth can be protected.
Does this look like an opportunity for you to grow your advisory practice?
Do these statistics resolve any lingering doubts about whether or not the marketplace of businesses owners is sufficient to meet the growth needs of your practice?
If so, take another look at Pinnacle's training and Workshops. We are making an impact in this large demographic of Baby Boomer business owners. Maybe it's time for you to decide that adding exit strategy planning to your practice is the next step in growing your business and assisting your business owner clients and prospects.
This is a practice where everyone wins. The business owner gets a plan to liberate themselves from their businesses (while protecting their wealth) and the advisor gets paid and achieves the trusted advisor status with the client - positioning themselves to provide other advice and service.
The key to tapping into this market is first awareness - understanding the needs of this marketplace - and then taking the first step.
So remember, planning is the key to any successful business exit because a proactive approach to an Exit Strategy is the only approach to a successful Exit Strategy.
© John M. Leonetti
Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com
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