Business Education

When You Bring Your Child to Work, Teach these Lessons

Entrepreneurs often prefer to turn over their business to their children. (Of course, that’s not always the case, as Bill Gates so amply demonstrates.) But, if you’re planning on passing your business over to one or more of your children, you obviously need to teach them about said business. However, too many owners obsess over the nuts and bolts but fail to teach their children the most important lessons.

Money isn’t Everything

Everyone’s heard the cliche “money isn’t everything.” It isn’t. It’s understandable and essential to teach your children about money, particularly about the business’ operations and finances, including revenue and expenses. If your children will run the business one day, there’s no question it’s imperative to teach them about the minutiae of debt, equipment, materials, labor, insurance, payroll, and everything related to money coming in and going out.

By becoming an entrepreneur — whether it is simply putting up a neighborhood lemonade stand, launching a landscaping business or developing a new app — kids can learn about budgeting, saving, spending and investing. It also helps children develop perseverance by learning from their failures, and it begins to introduce critical thinking. —CNBC.com

Although this is necessary, it’s also just as important to teach your children how to run the business via your professional relationships. That means, how you lead, interact with employees and vendors alike, and with your peers, even your competition. It’s these lessons you shouldn’t overlook because it is critical your children understand how you handle your professional relationships.

3 Important Lessons to Teach Children about Business

When you bring your children to your place of business, they’ll experience how you run it. More particularly, they’ll gain a perspective, form opinions, and draw conclusions from how you interact with the people you work with. And, this is where you’ll be exposed to a mirror of sorts, because you’ll see your way of running the business through the eyes of your children. So, here are three important lessons to teach your kids about business:

Everyone deserves respect. Teach your kids by example how you treat employees with the respect they deserve. After all, this is how morale is built and people feel like they’re part of a genuine team. That’s a powerful and positive environment and one you would like to continue when your kids take over someday.
No one is above everyone else. Similarly, teach your children that everyone is important. If someone isn’t important, there’s no reason for him or her to be present in the first place. Yes, teach them about hierarchy, but again, be sure to make them understand that every person plays a critical role and the skill set each individual brings is a valuable one to the health of the company.
Competition is healthy and constructive. Additionally, you should demonstrate just how healthy and constructive competition is in a free market economy. For instance, teach your kids that competition fosters innovation and incentivizes businesses to pay employees commensurate with their experience, skill, and productivity.

What other lessons would you say are most important to teach young entrepreneurs? Please share your thoughts and experiences because your perspective could help someone out! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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Entrepreneurs Avoid the Top Mistakes that Put New Companies Out of Business

March 30, 2023 No Comments

Starting a new business is an exciting venture, but it’s important to be aware of the risks involved. According to research, about 20% of new businesses fail in their first year, and about 50% fail within five years. While there are many factors that can contribute to business failure, some are more common than others. Big Mistakes New Entrepreneurs should Avoid The numbers above aren’t the only ones that are out there. Other studies reveal the new business failure rate is as high as 75% (depending on how “failure” is defined.) However, most findings agree fewer than half will survive long enough to celebrate their fifth year in business. …being an entrepreneur and founding a successful startup is difficult. It’s a long and difficult road, and you will make mistakes, regardless of how hard you try not to. In fact, there are a few common mistakes that entrepreneurs make, especially during their first time attempting to start a business. Thankfully, the key to mitigating risk from those mistakes, and hopefully avoiding them altogether, is understanding as much about them as possible. —Forbes.com What’s more, of the less than half that do make it to their fifth year, a mere 33% of those entities will go on to celebrate their tenth year in business. So, let’s take some time to explore the most common reasons new businesses go broke and how entrepreneurs can avoid failing. Lack of Market Research One of the most common reasons new businesses fail is a lack of market research. It’s important to understand the needs of your target audience, as well as the competition, in order to create a successful business. Entrepreneurs who skip this step may find that their product or service is not in demand, or that they are unable to compete with established businesses in the industry. To avoid this mistake, conduct thorough market research before launching your business. This may involve surveys, focus groups, or other methods of gathering feedback from potential customers. By understanding the needs of your target audience and the competition, you can create a business that is more likely to succeed. Poor Financial Planning Another common reason new businesses fail is poor financial planning. Entrepreneurs may underestimate the costs involved in starting and running a business or fail to secure adequate funding to cover these costs. Additionally, some entrepreneurs may overspend on non-essential items, such as fancy office spaces or unnecessary equipment. To avoid this miscalculation, create a detailed business plan that includes financial projections and a budget. This can help you estimate the costs involved in starting and running your business, as well as identify potential sources of funding. It’s also important to keep track of your expenses and income and to adjust your budget as needed. Lack of Marketing and Branding Even if your product or service is high-quality, it’s important to effectively market and brand your business. Entrepreneurs who fail to do so may find that they are unable to attract customers or establish themselves as a reputable business. To avoid this blunder, create a marketing plan that includes branding, advertising, and other promotional efforts. This may involve creating a logo and website, networking with potential customers and industry professionals, and investing in online and offline advertising. Poor Management Effective management is key to the success of any business. Entrepreneurs who lack management experience may struggle to make important decisions, delegate tasks, or create a positive company culture. Additionally, entrepreneurs who try to do everything themselves may become overwhelmed and burned out, which can negatively impact the business. To avoid these missteps, hire experienced managers and delegate tasks effectively. It’s also important to create a positive company culture that promotes productivity, teamwork, and employee satisfaction. Inflexibility Finally, entrepreneurs who are unwilling or unable to adapt to changing market conditions may struggle to keep their businesses afloat. This may involve being unwilling to pivot the business model, invest in new technologies, or adjust pricing and marketing strategies. To avoid this foil, remain open-minded and adaptable. This may involve regularly monitoring market conditions, soliciting feedback from customers, and being willing to make changes when necessary. As we all know, starting a new business is a risky endeavor, but by avoiding common mistakes and implementing effective strategies, entrepreneurs can increase their chances of success. What other mistakes would you include and warn entrepreneurs about? Please take a few brief moments to share your experiences and more so others can benefit from your input! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

The Entrepreneurs Guide to Vacationing

May 5, 2017 No Comments

If there’s one thing that successful entrepreneurs possess, it’s drive. The drive to start a business on a small scale and grow it to larger and larger proportions. The drive to make improvements and to learn from mistakes. The drive to encourage employees, professional associates, and friends to do their best and deliver on their promises. The drive to drive at practically everything, especially toward new goals. It’s hitting the brakes which often doesn’t come naturally. Though the idea of relaxing on a beach, hitting the ski slopes, or visiting a new destination might be intriguing and tempting, all can easily fall short because you won’t actually enjoy your vacation. Instead, you’ll be checking your smartphone and/or tablet, and might even phone-in now and again just to see what’s going on, and of course, to provide your sage advice. How to Take a Vacation from Your Business and Make It Work Why you ought to be concerned about your business while you’re away, you have to establish and respect some boundaries. It’s very difficult to put aside your business passion, but such a thing is absolutely necessary; and, it’s also quite healthy in more ways than one. While the human species is built, in-part, for work, it is also limited as to what it can handle. These are the reasons we feel tired after a day at work and why entertainment has risen to such a popular level for escape. Giving yourself permission to walk away from your company can be difficult. But if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your staff: When you take vacation time, you’re setting a good example. —Entrepreneur.com Of course, such an escape can not only come from sports, books, television, and the like, but also from vacation. Some business owners actually go on vacation and never really leave their businesses, which is the definition of waste. When you consider the fact that someone would make plans, pay for travel and lodging, along with other expenses and not truly enjoy their time off, it makes the whole affair more costly and more unhealthy. I had a partner, in a previous business, who one time proclaimed with some sense of pride and peppered with a bit hint of martyr … “I HAVEN’T TAKEN A DAY OFF IN 5 YEARS”. Needless-to-say, he was and is a very hard worker, but reports from his remaining staff say the environment is like a “Salt Mine”! Everyone needs a break from work and that certainly includes business owners. When you start and build a company, it’s only natural to want to stay the course and keep your hands on the wheel. After all, the business wouldn’t exist without you and it wouldn’t be able to grow if you weren’t there. Though it might be difficult to take time off, it’s necessary and there are things you can do to take a vacation from your business and make the most of it: Have an action plan in-place. This isn’t a plan for you, but those who stay behind to run the business. It seems that Murphy’s Law takes effect the moment you aren’t present, so, have at least one contingency plan but don’t make it complicated. It should be easy to follow and simple. Know that you’ve invested in the right people. Your employees were likely hand-picked by you and this is a great time to see how well you chose your team members. Of course, there’s probably one who is a natural leader and who knows the business well to leave in-charge while you’re away. Disconnect from the day-to-day. You might check-in very briefly on a weekly basis, and that’s acceptable; but don’t give into the temptation of running your business from a distance. In our time, technology allows us to connect at any time and share information in moments. Those moments are just too precious and you need to disconnect. Put your family first. Okay, so your conscience is telling you that you work too much, too long, and don’t spend enough time with your family but you don’t change. This is the time when you can spend quality time and create wonderful memories. I have a client who hired my company in 2011 to help his retail business during the rough economic recession. He said that he was at his limit, and was ready to “throw in the towel”. Besides helping this client to recover, improve sales, cash flow, moral and pay down past debt and taxes, our Client wanted more time off with his family and vacations. The time off and vacations appeared to be a distant goal given the carnage left from simply trying to survive the recession, but we developed a strategy and took action weekly to clear up the past taxes and debt while helping him pursue his goal of time off and vacations. In 2013 he took time off and this motivated him to do it again. In 2014, our Client planned a family vacation for the summer. So, we helped our Client plan out and detail the specific and critical business metrics that needed to be managed by each of his team while he was gone. My Client reviewed this plan and his expectations on the metrics and operations protocol (i.e. Leads, Sales, Cash Receipts per Day, Deliveries, Installations, Service, and how to handle emergencies) with his Team. When he returned from his vacation, I asked; “how was your vacation and how did your team handle your being away for 10 days?” His response, “this was one of the best family vacations I’ve had in a long, long time, and there were very few issues while I was gone … I am looking forward to doing it again”. My Client took another week in Montana in the fall of that year, and 2014 ended up a record year in sales all while he built a team that will continue to allow him more vacations and time off

Pros and Cons of Working for a Startup

November 9, 2018 No Comments

There are pros and cons of working for a startup — everyone knows this. But, it’s the actual realities versus the imaginary which cause a lot of undue anxiety and stress. Of course, it’s only natural to feel a bit uneasy about joining a fledgling organization. Even if it’s a great idea and a wonderful team of individuals, there are still up and downsides of working for a startup. Cons of Working for a Startup Let’s begin with the downsides first. It’s certainly no secret that salary is a huge concern. Often, what you’re paid is either low or in some circumstances, it’s “sweat equity.” Even if there’s an acceptable salary, there’s the real possibility your job description will contain a whole host of duties. In such an environment, it’s quite common for specialists to become jacks of all trades. Working for a startup can involve a lot of risk, that’s no secret; according to the Wall Street Journal, three out of every four startups fail. In fact, there are startups funerals in Silicon Valley where CEOs can highlight the demise of their defunct companies and ruminate on any mistakes made. But that doesn’t mean taking a job with a startup – even one that ultimately fails – won’t allow you to gain valuable experience and skills to add to your resume. —Monster.com Then, there’s the real possibility of working with less. It isn’t unheard of to have little to practically no resources at your disposal. Of course, one of the most common downsides of joining a startup is those long, irregular hours. Finally, there’s the real risk of untimely failure or an inescapable decline toward failure. Pros of Working for a Startup Obviously, it’s not all bad news. (If it was, no one would ever even consider working for startups. In fact, startups might not exist.) So, here are the upsides for working for a startup: A potential huge ROI. We’ll begin with the ultimate enticement — a gigantic payout. After all, isn’t this why startups get going in the first place? And, there’s certainly no shortage of examples out there to showcase big-time successes. Big gain in experience. Okay, let’s suppose you just earn a good salary and don’t hit the entrepreneurial lottery. You’ll gain a whole lot of experience during your journey that’s probably not available anywhere else. Making new connections. Another advantage of joining a startup is your ability to make new connections. You’ll meet a host of people in different roles which can really expand your professional network. The intangible excitement factor. It’s not just all about money and experience. There’s also the excitement of an unknown journey. It’s all wrapped up in a whirlwind of circumstances and emotions. What other factors would you say play into joining a startup? Please let others know about your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.