Early Years as Searcher/CEO
How do searcher/CEO's feel 2 years after closing their acquisition? You may be surprised to learn from over 2 dozen searchers surveyed that 2/3 of them reported feeling significantly worried about their business years from acquisition.…
Board of Directors
Recruiting and working with a Board of Directors once your search process is complete can be one of the more significant learning opportunities as a new business owner. CEO's find that a well-constructed and managed…
Communicating with Employees
Learning how to effectively communicate with employees took me many years to develop and refine. It sounds simple: tell them what is going on, listen to what they have to say and then they will…
Selecting your direct reports
Recruiting and retaining team members for the company you purchase can raise it from "good" to “great”. Getting the right people into the right positions should not be delegated to the HR department. As the…
Managing a Blue-Collar Workforce
Hiring and retaining a “blue-collar” workforce rapidly rises in importance once the challenges of taking over the business after closing are dealt with. Searcher/CEOs report that managing a direct, nonexempt, hourly labor group is much…
IT Systems
When you take the CEO position of the business you purchase, you are likely to find inadequate and antiquated IT systems supporting the business. After all, you have purchased a "good" business and a "great"…
Wearing your sales hat
With the title "owner" on your business card, you will become the most effective salesperson your company has. For me, learning this lesson took quite a while, until I discovered that being the company’s “face”…
Knowing your competition
Once you have purchased a business, get a solid understanding of how your competition thinks and behaves. Doing so will be critical to developing your strategy and tactics for profitable growth. It is often too…
Growing Revenue
Striving for growth on the top line of your business rarely yields immediate results. Achieving profitable growth at a reasonable pace (GARP) is a more manageable objective. You want to be a "profitable company that…
Pricing for Value
Developing, and executing an effective pricing strategy has a more immediate impact on profitability than increases in volume, which take much more time, energy and patience. As CEO, your leadership role in pricing is paramount.…