  It’s not just what you say that matters, but also how you say it. Everyone communicates differently, and knowing how to approach different people at different times can make or break you.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/drethanbecker/ (Ethan Becker) is the President and second-generation senior coach and trainer from https://speechimprovement.com/ (The Speech Improvement Company). In this episode, he chats with host Bob Roark and shares some tips from his book, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GQH3KD9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 (Mastering Communication at Work: How to Lead, Manage, and Influence). Ethan talks about the impact of communicating effectively and how that translates in different business situations. He also discusses the science behind speech and communication to give a better understanding of how it works. --- Watch the episode https://youtu.be/R7tQz1fEG2E (here) Dr. Ethan Becker On The Impact Of Mastering Communication In Business How To Lead, Manage And Influence This is going to be quite the episode. We have Dr. Ethan Becker. He's the President and second generation senior coach and trainer for https://www.speechimprovement.com/ (The Speech Improvement Company). It’s the oldest communication coaching and training firm in America. More importantly, he's created what I would consider a tool case, a set of tools for https://speechimprovement.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=25&product_id=64 (Mastering Communication at Work). That's the name of his book with the co-author, https://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/ (Jon Wortmann). It's how to lead, manage, and influence. It's the second edition. He was kind enough to provide me a copy, which I promptly read. It resides on my desk as a go-to resource and how-to in the speech side of the house. Dr. Becker, thank you so much for taking the time. If you would, maybe starting out with a story about your company and your mom and how this all came to pass. It's good to be here. I get asked that question about the company because we were founded in 1964. My mom and my dad were both at Emerson College, which for a long time is where you would go for communication. She was studying Speech Pathology and he was studying Rhetoric and Public Address, that was the vocation. They met, and dated, and they got together. They had this idea that if you could coach an executive, a businessperson, the same way an athlete was coached, you could help that person. Their specialty was in communication, so they did that through the lens of communication and the company name, they started right away. They said, “Let's name it what we do, The Speech Improvement Company.” Between the two of them, they found something that could focus on, in some cases, mechanics of speaking, and in other cases, psychology, persuasion, and rhetoric. Naturally, that grew into the business world. That's how it originally started a long time ago. Was there a recognition or a pushback when they started the company? Good speakers are born not made. You get some of that stuff. They also had other challenges. They were out of the norm. My mother, a blind Jewish woman who married a Catholic boy. In the 1960s, that didn't go over well. Your dad must have needed a lot of work for her to marry him and to try to improve. An Irish Catholic boy from Pennsylvania hitchhiked his way up to Boston and did what he couldn't to get through school. She came from a long line. Her grandfather was one of the founding members of Brandeis University. She came from a different place. These two were not from the same background, but they found love and commonality, and they started this business and then it quickly grew. They never wanted the company to grow large. There were always about 10 or 11 on the team. Now, we're about 20. They never wanted to be like a Dale Carnegie or a McKinsey or some watered down, one size fits all for everybody type of thing. They...

Business Leaders Podcast

Dr. Ethan Becker On The Impact Of Mastering Communication In Business

  Interestingly, many banks receive customer complaints not about their services but their standard procedure of asking for ID all the time. Regulars often see this as annoying and repetitive, which sometimes leads to arguments with bank tellers and staff. Setting the record straight regarding this particular policy with Bob Roark is https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinjroberts (Robin Roberts), CEO of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). She explains why confirming one's identification is critical in securing one's money and financial information. Robin emphasizes why this simple action promotes better relationships between you and your bank.  --- Watch the episode https://youtu.be/KgF3waxUreg (here) Robin Roberts: The Reason Behind Banks Asking For ID All The Time  Have you ever wondered why banks sometimes do things that are not quite clear? In this series, I have Robin Roberts. She's the CEO of https://www.ppnb.com/about/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). She's here to demystify why banks want to see your ID again. You go, "Why would they want to see my ID? Don't they know me?" I thought it might be useful to talk about that process from the bank's perspective. Enjoy.  --- I got back from my bank. As always, I want to take some funds out and they wanted to see my ID again. I can't tell you how many times they've asked. Pretty much, it annoys me almost every time. Robin, why do they ask? Robin is the CEO of https://www.ppnb.com/about/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). She gets asked this question all the time so we thought we would answer it. Go ahead, Robin.   [bctt tweet="Banks are protecting not only your money but also your financial identity, social security number, and all other personal information. " via="no"] I get more customer complaints about the fact that we asked for their ID than any other customer complaint. It boggles my mind. We are protecting your financial information and access to your accounts. For most people, that's either the most important thing to them or the second most important thing to them after their family. There is their money. I always equate it to when someone goes into a liquor store or they go to a restaurant and the bartender cards them, they feel so flattered like, "I must look young. Someone asked me for my ID. He must have thought I was under 21." You know that's not why they asked for the ID. They're flattered when the bartender asked them for their ID.   We're protecting not only their money but their financial identity, their social security number, date of birth, all of their personal information. They get irritated when we ask for an ID. Often I get, "Don't you know how long I've been banking here?" "I do know how long you've been banking here but the new teller doesn't." Banks have new tellers all the time. It's an entry-level position in our industry. Usually, good tellers get promoted so then you're going to have a new teller. The new teller doesn't know you and they better be asking for your ID because what if you're going through a divorce and your soon-to-be ex-wife is trying to access your accounts. We need to look at IDs to know who's authorized to have access to this and who isn't.   It's not optional, isn't it?   [caption id="attachment_5903" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Asking For ID: Banks need to look at IDs to know who's authorized to have access to the account and who isn't.[/caption]   It's not optional. If the bank allowed someone to take money out of your account and didn't ask for an ID, I can promise you you’d be complaining to me. It's the opposite side. It's not about us trying to create inconvenience for you. It's not about us not knowing who you are or appreciating your long-term relationship with us. It's us doing our job. We're protecting your financial information, your financial identity and access to your money. Please give us your ID. You could thank the teller for asking because they are doing...

Robin Roberts: The Reason Behind Banks Asking For ID All The Time

  Negotiating with banks when getting a loan is not only about getting the most rewarding end of the deal. There are a lot of regulations and policies to be considered here after all, and you must be aware of each one to ensure a smooth process. Bob Roark talks with the CEO of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank), https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinjroberts (Robin Roberts), to delve into the right approach to bank negotiations. She explains why you can't argue with banks about submitting tax returns and financial statements, delving into why it is not an invasion of privacy. On the other hand, Robin talks about loan covenants - which are negotiable - detailing how you should discuss its specifics with the bank to come up with a satisfying agreement for both parties. --- Watch the episode https://www.youtube.com/embed/sEUCyl3HyaA?rel=0 (here) Robin Roberts: What You Must Know When Negotiating With Banks Have you ever wondered why banks sometimes do things that are not quite clear? In this series, I have Robin Roberts. She’s the CEO of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). She’s here to demystify some of the things that might be bothering you. One of the things that we talked about at length is how to negotiate with your bank. There are so many people that miss this one particular component and it is not the 1/8 of the quarter that you negotiate on the loan. Oddly enough, it might be the covenants that you might want to spend some time on. Take care, enjoy, and I hope you learn something from this episode. --- What can you negotiate with your bank? If you’ve finished negotiating with your bank and you’ve got an extra 1/8 off on my five-year fixed 30-year amortization note, don’t necessarily pat yourself on the back. You may have missed basically the entire positive things that you can do. In this episode, we have Robin Roberts. She is the CEO of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank) to illuminate and demystify what you can negotiate with your bank in the commercial loan for your business. The first thing that business owners who have not borrowed before, they equate commercial loans with getting a residential mortgage on their house or getting a car loan. That’s a consumer purpose loan and those types of loans have their purpose. They are very different. They’re regulated differently. They have different laws that cover them than commercial lending. Commercial lending is its own animal. It’s important for business owners to understand commercial lending, how it is different than getting their residential mortgage, and how the process was. Not just now when you get the loan, but over the course of the loan because the bank is much more involved with you on an annual basis with your loan than when you get your residential mortgage for 30 years. You make your payment every month and no one ever bothers you again from the mortgage company or the servicer. You make your payment and you’re good. Commercial lending is not that way and business owners can, if they understand the whole process of the loan, negotiate things at the beginning of the loan that will help them 2 and 3 years down the road. For a lot of them, when you do your home mortgage and you do it through a bank, most don’t realize or don’t realize until they get a notice that the note’s been sold. It’s not on the bank’s balance sheet and their responsibility and concern about your note is now gone. Whereas the commercial loan is the banks are intimately interested in making sure of the quality of your note because it resides at the bank that you have the note from it and it’s not sold. [bctt tweet="Most small business loans are not sold. They're held on the bank's books to be monitored regulatory-wise." username=""] Most commercial loans and small business loans are not sold. They’re held on the bank’s books and the bank has a responsibility regulatory-wise to monitor that loan portfolio we grade it actually on...

Robin Roberts: What You Must Know When Negotiating With Banks

  It is often believed that bank lending is only accessible to those with money. But if that's the case, then it conflicts with the entire idea of getting a loan. Breaking this misconception with Bob Roark is the CEO of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank), https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinjroberts (Robin Roberts). She explains how banks determine the qualified persons for bank lending. She enumerates the most important factors that come into play in such transactions, from the required cash of 10% to your overall credit/FICO score. --- Watch the episode https://youtu.be/BxF538PraYU (here) Robin Roberts: Is Bank Lending Only Available To Those With Money? Have you ever wondered why banks sometimes do things that are not quite clear? In this series, I have Robin Roberts. She’s the CEO of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). She’s going to talk about who banks lend to and why. I thought that might be interesting to the business owners out there so they might be a little more prepared. Enjoy. --- https://ppnb.com/ (Robin), you and I talk a lot about some of the misconceptions and things that we hear on a regular basis. You’ve heard more times than you would like to count, “Banks only lend to people that have money.” That strikes me weird because what do you think they’re going to do. Let’s dive into that and talk about why that is. We have another in the series with Robin Roberts. She’s the CEO of Pikes Peak National Bank, talking about questions she gets asked and some of the answers that people don’t know. Here we go. [bctt tweet="Banks lend based on your cashflow, not on the amount of money in your bank account." via="no"] The comment that is made frequently is that, “Banks only lend to people who have money. It’s when you need money that banks won’t lend and if you have money, then you don’t need to borrow.” Both of those are not true. Banks lend to people who can pay it back. Banks lend based on your cashflow not on the amount of money that you have in your bank account. We certainly look at that. That’s a measure of liquidity for you as a borrower but we’re looking at what cashflow is being generated either from whatever it is that you’re purchasing or generated through your activities. You have a job, so you get paid every month. That’s cashflow. Earnings after expenses are your cashflow and what is left over to make the payment on the loan. From a business perspective, what are your earnings? Were the revenues from your business after expenses you have profit? What is the cashflow available to take on this additional payment? We’re looking at what sources of repayment are there to pay the loan payment. You don’t have to have $200,000 in the bank in order for the bank to make a loan to you. They do look at also after cashflow then what happens if the business, for some reason, can’t make the payment. Is there cash in the bank? Is there cash in you, the business owner’s accounts where you have some liquidity and can make payments? When you’re looking at any business loan, particularly purchasing real estate, you’re going to need 10% of whatever. You’re going to need cash of 10%. There are government programs that can make up that difference, the down payment. You’re going to have to have 10% in. If you don’t have 10%, then there’s a problem. You need to think about it in that way. Otherwise, banks don’t make loans only to people who already have the same amount. If you want a $300,000 loan, you don’t have to have $300,000 in the bank in order for us to make a loan. [caption id="attachment_5897" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Bank Lending: When looking at any business loan, particularly purchasing real estate, you're going to need cash of 10%.[/caption]   There’s a myriad of indicators of your ability to pay back. The fight goes, credit scores, the experience in TransUnion of the world. When banks looking at you only lend to people with money, there are...

Robin Roberts: Is Bank Lending Only Available To Those With Money?

  Since a bank is still a business, it has to follow specific rules and regulations. So when it comes to loan approvals, one must be prepared to abide by the required loan package. Bob Roark is joined by https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinjroberts (Robin Roberts), CEO Of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank), to discuss what constitutes such a package and how business plans differ depending on your scope and reach. They also talk about why banks favor those mitigating risks and how banking changed a lot over the years because of politics and culture. --- Watch the episode https://youtu.be/ESw6FO7SN2w (here)   Robin Roberts On Putting Together A Loan Package Have you ever wondered why banks sometimes do things that are not quite clear? In this series, we have Robin Roberts. She is the CEO of https://www.ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). She’s here to demystify some of those things. We’re going to talk a little bit in this short episode on the best practices to improve your odds and getting that loan that you’ve lived with for loan success. Enjoy it. --- I’m the business owner and I’ve done a good job. I have a reasonably good relationship with my bank. We have talked about this in some other series of things not to do. In the things of to, I want to take it and do a strategic acquisition for my business. I want to put together a loan package, present it to the bank, and do everything that’s within common practices to increase the out-of-the-bank gone. I understand what you are trying to do. I can see the numbers, we are willing to take in, and be a business partner with you in this note. What can they do? I have with me, Robin Roberts. She’s the CEO of https://www.ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). More of our series of things you didn’t know about banking but wish you did. [caption id="attachment_5877" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Loan Package: The better prepared you are with this information, the faster the loan decision will be made, and you can get to whatever goal you’re after.[/caption]   It depends on the type of loan that you are wanting. There are some things in your loan package. They are always going to have to be there. The better prepared you are with all of this information, the faster the loan decision is going to be made and the faster you can get to whatever goal it is that you are after. If you are doing anything new, starting a new business, adding a second product line, buying someone else’s business, or expanding and opening another location, you need to have a business plan. Now, it doesn’t have to be 500 pages. The bank is not looking for you to do something that is 500 pages. If you are an existing business, you are opening a second location or you are adding to an existing product line, the business plan is a validation of your business model. If you are a startup, you are writing a business plan to validate that the product or service that you are going to provide is needed. If you are already in business and you are generating revenue, that question is already answered. Somebody needs your product or service and you are generating revenue so you already exist. Less work has to be done on validating your business model and more work has to be done on, “Here’s how we are going to pay for the second location.” More financial projections, more talk about who the management team is going to be, what your supply chains are, and how you are going to support the new product, service, second location or whatever. [bctt tweet="If you’re thinking about doing something big, get your tax returns filed by the deadline and don’t extend to them." via="no"] A business plan with projections having that done before you go to the bank is important, it tells the bank what you are wanting to do, and why you think that you can pay the loan back given the revenues that are generated by whatever it is that you are going to do.A business plan is...

Robin Roberts On Putting Together A Loan Package

  Banks has always been a secretive establishment, heightened even more so by The Bank Secrecy Act. This makes most, if not all transactions with them a bit unclear and complicated. Bob Roark sits down with https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinjroberts (Robin Roberts), CEO of https://ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank), to delve into this law and how the 9/11 incident strengthened it through the Patriot Act. She explains why it is better to simply go on with your usual bank transactions instead of structuring it. Robin also talks about the penalties that come with breaking the Bank Secrecy Act both on the side of the customer as well as the banks. --- Watch the episode https://youtu.be/xzO4mty6K7E (here) The Bank Secrecy Act, What It Is And Why Business Owners Should Be Aware With Robin Roberts, CEO Pikes Peak National Bank Have you ever wondered why banks sometimes do things that are not quite clear? In this series, I have Robin Roberts. She’s the CEO of https://www.ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). She’s going to be talking about the Bank Secrecy Act and how that might apply to you as a business owner. Enjoy. Thank you. --- How many times you have said, “I’ve got a secret and I’m not telling.” The banks have secrets too, but it’s not because they want to have secrets. It’s because they have a Bank Secrecy Act. We thought we would take in, pull the cover off of the secrets in the Bank Secrecy Act. You talk about them and how they might affect you as the business owner and a client of a bank. Robin, thank you. This is Robin Roberts the CEO of https://www.ppnb.com/ (Pikes Peak National Bank). We are in the demystifying stage of talking about lending, banking and business owners. I always felt like I need to talk about the Bank Secrecy Act because it’s a law. First of all, it was created in 1971 or 1972 to at least find racketeering, drug rings and money laundering being done through the banking system. After 9/11, with the Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act was strengthened. Several things were added to the Bank Secrecy Act that banks have been doing since 2001. The Patriot Act continues to be renewed by Congress so they stay in place. I’m not telling any secrets. You can look up the Bank Secrecy Act and the regulations, it’s publicly available but I don’t think it’s public knowledge. [bctt tweet="Any business dealing in money is going to have to follow the Bank Secrecy Act." username=""] Most people do not understand how much the bank is reporting about you and not under penalty of law for the bank but under penalty of law for individual employees who do not follow the Bank Secrecy Act. This is a particular law where the employee themselves can be assessed that is called a Civil Money Penalty or assessment where they have to pay a fine because they didn’t follow the Bank Secrecy Act. There are severe penalties for not following it. That’s how seriously the Bank Secrecy Act is looked at by bank regulators and by bankers in general. [caption id="attachment_5889" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Bank Secrecy Act: Most people do not understand how much the bank is reporting about you and not under penalty of law for the bank, but under penalty of law for individual employees who do not follow the Bank Secrecy Act.[/caption]   With that being said, one must not cross the Bank Secrecy Act. Our favorite discussion is the one about if I deposit X dollars at this bank and X dollars at this branch, is that a reportable thing? Please don’t ask that. Do not go up to the teller and ask them, “I’ve got this cash. I need to bring it in but I don’t want it to be reported. What’s the threshold if I take it over here to this branch?” The fact that you are asking that, the teller has to report that you wanted to structure transactions. It’s called structuring. There are basic thresholds under the Bank Secrecy Act. $10,000 is a general fine. $9,999 is not going to cut it? At least $10,001

The Bank Secrecy Act, What It Is And Why Business Owners Should Be Aware With Robin Roberts, CEO Pikes Peak National Bank

  The vast majority of business owners spend somewhere between 90% to 95% of their time working IN their business and only about 5% working ON the business. Running the business is working in it; exit and transition planning are working on it. However, when it’s high time to sell, most business owners don't know what they don't know about selling their company. They are unaware of how to transition or exit their business. Joining Bob Roark on today’s show is Cam Bishop, the Managing Director at https://www.raincatcher.com/ (Raincatcher), a business brokerage and M&A firm that partners with entrepreneurs and business owners looking for help in buying or selling remarkable companies. If you’re thinking about selling your business or in the process of doing so, you don’t want to pass up this episode as Bob and Cam dive into the exit planning fundamentals that will help you extract additional value out of your company. --- Watch the episode here:[embed]https://youtu.be/eB4ILmWLn_g[/embed] Exit Planning Fundamentals With Cam BishopWe're incredibly fortunate we have Cam Bishop. He's the Managing Director at https://raincatcher.com/ (Raincatcher). It's a business brokerage and M&A firm that partners with entrepreneurs and business owners who are looking for help in buying or selling remarkable companies. He is the author of Head Noise: Perspective and Tales from the Executive Suite and Onward & Upward: Motivational Advice for Career Success. --- https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-bishop-19b6804/ (Cam), thank you from Kansas City and for coming on the show. We appreciate it. Thank you, Bob. You’re welcome. I'm glad to be here. Before the show, I did a little bit of homework. I looked at your long resume of experience. If you could, give us a quick snapshot or thumbnail of your experience prior to here. It has been an interesting journey. I went to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. I got a degree in Journalism and came out of school. I wanted to become an advertising copywriter. I thought I'll spend my entire career working in ad agencies. Instead, I started out in a marketing job and writing ad copy in a small publishing firm. It was a $7 million business. It got acquired and the new owner said, "We want you to go out and buy companies to grow this thing." We grew from $7 million to $13 million, to $90 million and then we got sold again. We grew from $90 million to $300 million. I stepped in as the CEO of that company and we grew it to $400 million. It was a profit machine. We were throwing off $100 million a year. We had 2,000 employees in 23 US cities in 4 or 5 foreign countries. It was a crazy ride. [bctt tweet="The integration plan is the absolute make or break of the deal." via="no"] The management structure changed and I said, "I liked this business model." I took six months off, wrote a business plan, flew around the country, pitched in the concept to about 50 different private equity firms, and ended up landing in a very happy relationship with JPMorgan Chase Banks' Private Equity Division. At that time, they had about $6 billion fund they were working out of. Unlike most PE deals, we didn't start with a direct acquisition. We started on my kitchen table. We went out and sourced a business as a starter, what they call a platform company. We ran the same model I had been running at the previous business, which they called in the PE world, the leverage roll-out business, where you buy a platform company and then you rapidly begin to tap companies that are strategic fits for your business. You build it up into a much bigger company, then you exit that deal and gain a benefit from scale that we used to call arbitrage on the exit multiple. Meaning if you had averaged all your deals in six times EBITDA, when they're aggregated together and you resell it, you can sell it for 8 or 9 times EBITDA based on the scale of the business and the efficiencies that you've driven into the...

Exit Planning Fundamentals With Cam Bishop

  People often have this misconception that investments in marketing almost always run contrary to an organization's mission. They feel that any spending that isn’t directly tied to the mission runs counter to the good you accomplish in the world. Bob Roark and his guest, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sswineford/ (Stu Swineford), tackle this very subject today. Stu is the author of https://missionuncomfortablebook.com/ (Mission: Uncomfortable - How Nonprofits Can Embrace Purpose-Driven Marketing to Survive and Thrive). Stu talks about purpose-driven marketing, showing that marketing isn’t really a bad thing, especially if you’re the leader of a non-profit organization or its marketing department. --- Watch the episode here:[embed]https://youtu.be/XIxoAhUkEbc[/embed] Purpose-Driven Marketing With Stu SwinefordMarketing is not a dirty word. As a leader of a nonprofit organization or its marketing department, you may have been told that investments in marketing run contrary to your organization's mission. At the least, you may feel that any spending can't be directly tied to the mission that runs counter to the good you accomplish in the world. We're going to talk about that. My guest is Stu Swineford. Stu is the co-author of https://missionuncomfortablebook.com/ (Mission Uncomfortable: How Nonprofits Can Embrace Purpose-driven Marketing to Survive and Thrive). He's also the co-founder of https://relishstudio.com/ (Relish Studio), a digital marketing firm and he's also the host of his own podcast, https://relishstudio.com/podcast/ (Relish This). Stu, thanks for taking your time. Thank you for having me on, Bob. I appreciate it. Fair disclosure, Stu and I are working together on a website. They do awesome work so I can attest to that right upfront. One of the things that we wanted to cover is one, we will talk about purpose-driven marketing and then the pillars of purpose-driven marketing, which are attract, connect, bond and inspire. Stu, maybe the first thing that we want to dig into is your thoughts on purpose-driven marketing. Thanks, Bob. Purpose-driven marketing is a phrase that we came to over the course of a few years where we're trying to give people the idea that marketing shouldn't just be an activity that you spend money on and check a box but it is something that should return an outcome. A lot of people think about marketing as a cost. One of the things that we've tried to establish in purpose-driven marketing is that it's more of an investment. It's something that you're doing to either run experiments or prove a hypothesis or tackle a challenge that you're having with your organization. There should be an outcome attached to that and it should be a positive outcome. That's what purpose-driven marketing is all about. Purpose-driven marketing can be applied to both for-profit and nonprofit businesses. It's marketing that has a specific goal in mind and we try to create all of the mechanisms by which you can attain that goal. In the context of Mission Uncomfortable, the book that I wrote, it's geared toward those businesses in the nonprofit sector specifically but the purpose-driven sector, additionally, to try and help them fuel growth. Fair disclosure, too, I read your book. Thank you for providing the copy. In the nonprofit arena, the folks that are in charge of marketing are trying to identify who their avatar or ideal donor and/or client might be. We usually start these discussions with an exercise that we call the values, vision and mission exercise. It takes some nonprofits a second to wrap their arms around it because their entire MO is around values, vision and mission. Making sure that that culture is intact and defined and everyone has a North Star so that we know what direction that we're going. When we work for for-profit businesses, we do an exercise that we call find the money and this can be something that a nonprofit can do as well. Essentially, it's looking back at your prior...

Purpose-Driven Marketing With Stu Swineford

  Selling a business is much more complicated than handing it over for an amount of money and then walking out of the room. On the part of the buyer, it involves a meticulous process of diligence and preparation. If those buyers, who are experts in buying, are taking the effort to be prepared before the transaction happens, why should you, the seller, who is probably selling for the first time, not want to achieve the same level of preparedness? Joining Bob Roark on the show, https://raincatcher.com/ (Raincatcher) CPA https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronlinnebach/ (Aaron Linnebach) has some advice for business owners who are thinking about selling their companies at some point. Old wisdom tells us that “The early bird catches the worm,” and it couldn’t be truer when it comes to M&A. Listen in and learn why you should already be investing in exit preparedness now, even if (especially if) you’re not raring to let go of the reins just yet. --- Watch the episode here:[embed]https://youtu.be/hYihvAHyBP0[/embed] Start Early: Hard But Necessary Advice For Business Owners Thinking About Selling With Aaron LinnebachThe one thing that I would tell a business owner is to start the conversation early. If you can find your advisory team before you're ready to sell, and start discussing the things you can do on your business so that when it comes time to close that deal, you're prepared. You've got a clear strategic goal. You've got a compelling investment thesis. Starting early before the deal is about to close is only going to create money. It's only going to create extended value for your business. Our guest is Aaron Linnebach. He is the Managing Director of https://raincatcher.com/ (Raincatcher). Aaron, thank you so much for coming on the show. Bob, thank you so much for having me. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you. We have a little history. We've shot out a few birds here a little bit, so that's a good thing. I've seen him in the field, in his natural setting for lack of a better term. Aaron, tell us a little bit about Raincatcher. What is your role at Raincatcher? Your backstory about how you came into this field is interesting. Raincatcher is a business broker and M&A advisor for small to medium-sized businesses. We help deliver it to you in our succinct form. We help business owners buy and sell remarkable companies. We exist to represent sellers when it's time to go to market. My personal role in that is incredibly exciting. I get to spend all day every day working with my team and our business owner clients to help shepherd that business through the process of getting ready to go to market, pulling the trigger and go into the market, navigating all the uncertainty in that path, and then successfully closing that deal. It is an incredible honor and privilege to be a part of that process. For us, it boils down to four main value add activities that we take. The first is emotional. It's a big deal to sell a company or your business. It's not all about the numbers and the Ps and Qs. Oftentimes, it's about the heart as much as anything else. We help navigate that part of it. We help take the mystique and the mystery out of selling your company. The next part is educational. It's making sure the business owners are smart on what they need to do today, what they need to do tomorrow, and what they need to do the day after that to complete that objective of selling the company successfully. The next one is strategic. That’s where we differentiate ourselves. It’s being able to take a strategic perspective on the overall life cycle of your business and why now is the right time to go to market, and then it’s tactical. It's the blocking and tackling. It's the boots on the ground grind of crunching the numbers, telling the story, putting together marketing materials, contacting buyers, negotiating on your behalf. At the end of the day, you take all of those things together. What we do is serve business...

Start Early: Hard But Necessary Advice For Business Owners Thinking About Selling With Aaron Linnebach

  Selling a business is much more complicated than handing it over for an amount of money and then walking out of the room. On the part of the buyer, it involves a meticulous process of diligence and preparation. If those buyers, who are experts in buying, are taking the effort to be prepared before the transaction happens, why should you, the seller, who is probably selling for the first time, not want to achieve the same level of preparedness? Joining Bob Roark on the show, https://raincatcher.com/ (Raincatcher) CPA https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronlinnebach/ (Aaron Linnebach) has some advice for business owners who are thinking about selling their companies at some point. Old wisdom tells us that “The early bird catches the worm,” and it couldn’t be truer when it comes to M&A. Listen in and learn why you should already be investing in exit preparedness now, even if (especially if) you’re not raring to let go of the reins just yet. --- Watch the episode here:Start Early: Hard But Necessary Advice For Business Owners Thinking About Selling With Aaron LinnebachThe one thing that I would tell a business owner is to start the conversation early. If you can find your advisory team before you're ready to sell, and start discussing the things you can do on your business so that when it comes time to close that deal, you're prepared. You've got a clear strategic goal. You've got a compelling investment thesis. Starting early before the deal is about to close is only going to create money. It's only going to create extended value for your business. Our guest is Aaron Linnebach. He is the Managing Director of https://raincatcher.com/ (Raincatcher). Aaron, thank you so much for coming on the show. Bob, thank you so much for having me. It’s always a pleasure to talk to you. We have a little history. We've shot out a few birds here a little bit, so that's a good thing. I've seen him in the field, in his natural setting for lack of a better term. Aaron, tell us a little bit about Raincatcher. What is your role at Raincatcher? Your backstory about how you came into this field is interesting. Raincatcher is a business broker and M&A advisor for small to medium-sized businesses. We help deliver it to you in our succinct form. We help business owners buy and sell remarkable companies. We exist to represent sellers when it's time to go to market. My personal role in that is incredibly exciting. I get to spend all day every day working with my team and our business owner clients to help shepherd that business through the process of getting ready to go to market, pulling the trigger and go into the market, navigating all the uncertainty in that path, and then successfully closing that deal. It is an incredible honor and privilege to be a part of that process. For us, it boils down to four main value add activities that we take. The first is emotional. It's a big deal to sell a company or your business. It's not all about the numbers and the Ps and Qs. Oftentimes, it's about the heart as much as anything else. We help navigate that part of it. We help take the mystique and the mystery out of selling your company. The next part is educational. It's making sure the business owners are smart on what they need to do today, what they need to do tomorrow, and what they need to do the day after that to complete that objective of selling the company successfully. The next one is strategic. That’s where we differentiate ourselves. It’s being able to take a strategic perspective on the overall life cycle of your business and why now is the right time to go to market, and then it’s tactical. It's the blocking and tackling. It's the boots on the ground grind of crunching the numbers, telling the story, putting together marketing materials, contacting buyers, negotiating on your behalf. At the end of the day, you take all of those things together. What we do is serve business owners. When a company comes to us and says,...

  Business acquisition is a unique challenge, especially if you’re an owner-operator who’s being pitted against larger private equity entities. Navy SEAL officer https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-hossfeld/ (Ian Hossfeld) knows where his competitive advantages lie and tries to stay within that lane in his ongoing search for a company to acquire. Ian is the founder of https://fossmtn.co/about (The Foss Mountain Company), which was created in 2020 for that specific purpose. He spends time with Bob Roark on the show to share what his company is looking for in a business, as well as some insights on what business owners should be looking at if they’re planning to sell. If you’re a business owner who’s contemplating an exit, listen in to know if Ian is a good fit for you. If not, then he would gladly help you find a buyer who is! --- Watch the podcast here:[embed]https://youtu.be/kcvjBqljX9E[/embed] Navy SEAL Turned Entrepreneur Lays Down His Business Acquisition Criteria - Ian HossfeldIn this episode, we have a special treat. We have Ian Hossfeld. He is the Managing Partner and Founder of https://fossmtn.co/ (The Foss Mountain Company). He's a SEAL Officer with the US Naval Reserves. Ian, thank you for joining us.  Bob, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to join you.  Ian and I ran across each other. He is working on purchasing a company. I thought we would take and dig in with his thoughts on the type of company he's looking for and some of the criteria. Ian, in a thumbnail sketch, give us a quick snapshot of what got you from the Navy to where you are now.  I was a Navy SEAL Officer on active duty for eight years before transitioning from active duty to the Reserves, returning to school to get my MBA and pursuing this path. A couple of steps along the way that led me to this. What led me to transition from active duty was in 2016, my wife was pregnant with our first born. I was staring at my fourth deployment in five years and didn't see that changing while I was on active duty. I wanted to be around more for fatherhood and chose to leave active duty but still be able to serve while serving in the Reserves. You do when you don't know what you want to do and that's go back to school. I went and got my MBA.  I wanted to do something with entrepreneurship. What led me to that was on my last tour on active duty, I was deployed to Iraq and was in charge of a 75-man militia in the Upper Euphrates River Valley helping lead the charge to clear ISIS out of the area. In my capacity there, I was in charge of manning, training, equipping and operationally employing this force. In many ways, I had wide left and right lateral limits. I got to be in charge of this force and in some parallels, it’s like being in charge of a company. I loved that autonomy and ability to make meaningful decisions and have to think on my feet. Having to problem solve, to work with individuals both inside and outside the organization.  [bctt tweet="There is such a thing as a wonderful business to own, but not a wond erful business to buy." via="no"] It was a meaningful experience that I knew leaving from that, I wanted to replicate that and didn't want to be a cog in a larger machine. I knew entrepreneurship was the right path for me. While I was at business school, I met up with some professors, investors and mentors that worked with folks such as myself and help advise them and mentor them in going out and purchasing a company after graduation. I worked with them my last year I was in business school on a couple academic...

Navy SEAL Turned Entrepreneur Lays Down His Business Acquisition Criteria – Ian Hossfeld

  Not every entrepreneur goes into the process of putting their business on sale. But when the time comes that selling your business is necessary, whatever your purpose may be, you will have nothing to lose on your end if you prepare well. Demystifying the intricacies of business selling and acquisition with Bob Roark is https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-warrillow-a54b241/ (John Warrillow), the CEO of https://builttosell.com/ (Built To Sell). John discusses how to know the right time to sell a business, present it to potential buyers, and start a healthy bidding war. He also goes deep into the most critical responsibilities business owners must take on when delving into such a transaction, from breaking the news to your employees to treading carefully when signing a no-shop clause. --- Watch the episode here:[embed]https://youtu.be/UtLDWtUfbrE[/embed] Preparing To Sell Your Business With John WarrillowEvery business owner will exit their business at some point. If you want to learn how to create value, understand what makes your business attractive to a buyer, and then how to negotiate the sale of your businesses, where John says, “Punch above your weight with that buyer.” You're going to improve your skill stack on this episode with John Warrillow. He's the best-selling author of https://builttosell.com/the-books/ (Built to Sell), top ten Forbes ranked podcast host on https://builttosell.com/radio/ (Built to Sell Radio), and CEO of https://valuebuilder.com/ (The Value Builder System). He has started an excellent four companies. You would agree it's safe to say a couple of things at a minimum. John is a subject matter expert and an advocate for business owners on creating value in their business, maximizing the return on their legacy. He's one busy guy. John, welcome to the show. It's good to be here, Bob. Thank you for taking the time. John, I've read your previous books and I bought additional copies to share with business owners. I’ve got it dog-eared and worn out. One of your books, https://www.amazon.com/Art-Selling-Your-Business-Strategies/dp/1733478159 (The Art of Selling Your Business), is an important book. It's a must-have investment for every business owner. I have to ask, being as busy as you are, why this book and why now? It's funny you mentioned the podcast I do. I've done something like 300 episodes and what I've come to learn is that there are cadres, a small cohort of entrepreneurs, who seem to get much better offers when they go to sell their business than the prevailing industry benchmark. It got me curious about, “What is it that the small group is doing? What do they know that others don't? What are the secrets?” Independent of what industry you're in or what the mechanics of your business is. It seems like there was something they were thinking and doing differently. I tried to distill that down into some lessons and some secrets, and that's what inspired me to write the book. You're doing field research. You're talking to business owners every week on Built to Sell Radio. If you don't have your finger on the pulse of the business owner, no one else does. On the selling trends for business owners that were hit in a difficult patch during the COVID pandemic, what do you see the trends doing here during this period of time and post-pandemic? There are two big things that we've seen. We've done some research where we looked at people that complete the Value Builder questionnaire, which is our intake questionnaire for people who use the system prior to the announcement of the pandemic in March of 2020 and the next eight months during the pandemic. Two big things popped. One is that the pandemic is causing business owners to want to sell sooner. They moved up their sales by 20%. Number two is their appetite to do a family transition. Passing their business down to their kids has dropped through the floor. In lieu, they are now planning to sell their business to a third party. We could riff...

Preparing To Sell Your Business With John Warrillow

  If there is one industry that can be tough to understand, especially if you are doing it legally, it would be the cannabis industry. Those who are in the medical cannabis business know how it can be challenging to understand the regulatory risks and compliance, to name a few. Stepping right in to help businesses and investors navigate this complex and new industry, https://www.linkedin.com/in/niceasley/ (Nic Easley) founded https://www.linkedin.com/company/comprehensive-cannabis-consulting-3c-/ (3C Consulting, LLC). He joins Bob Roark and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-nespor-zawmon-b861731/ (Jaime Zawmon) of Titan CEO this episode to share with us what goes on behind the scenes of this business as CEO, highlighting what characteristics will make one a Titan of Industry. Nic then gives some advice about leading and building a great business, no matter what industry. --- Watch the episode here:[embed]https://youtu.be/9iEQcvXuA7A[/embed] Navigating The Complex Medical Cannabis Industry With Nic Easley, Founder & CEO of 3C Consulting And Co-host Jaime Zawmon of TitanCEOIn this episode, we have our special cohost Jaime Zawmon. She is the Founder and President of https://www.titanceo.com/ (Titan CEO) and our guest is Nic Easley. He's the Founder and CEO of https://www.3ccannabis.com/ (3C Consulting) and he’s the Managing Director of https://www.multiversecap.com/ (Multiverse Capital). Jaime, Nic, welcome. Thanks for making the time. We were privileged by you taking the time and sharing your experience and wisdom with us. With that being said, if you would, tell us about your business and who you serve. I've been in the legal cannabis industry for many years. Originally, I was an Air Force Linguist and I speak a few languages. I was from the farm county Wisconsin. After the military, I got hurt after about four years and came to Colorado. Medical cannabis was legal in 2006 or 2007 and I got my first medical card. I saw how people were growing and was disgusted by pesticides and indoor lights which is very unsustainable, non-environmental and not safe for patients. I started my business many years ago to help the cannabis industry form in a responsible way. As you see it now being over a $30 billion industry, which is a drop in the bucket for where this would go. It was to help companies understand the regulatory risks and compliance of navigating this brand-new industry that is a medical product. It's an adult-use product, but then also getting into the hemp industry and making papers, plastics and fibers. Helping businesses and investors navigate this complex and new industry is how we established ourselves. What are the typical issues that a client you're serving now has that you were able to solve their problems? I'm trying to paint a picture in the reader's mind of what's your clients and who your clients are? One of the challenges with cannabis is that it's federally illegal and each state has come up with its own medical or adult-use program. At the end of 2020, we have sixteen adult-use states where 21 and older consumption and possession is legal and we have 47 states with some medical laws on their books. About 37 of those are also having medical sales. In a normal business, you're like, “I want to open a gas station or a restaurant,” you would have that state's Department of Health to deal with. When it comes to cannabis, each program is different. I'm working on applications right now in the State of Georgia. Eleven million people are giving six licenses for cultivation for eleven million-person marketplace. It can be competitive. How does a client build a team, put their financial models together and start to raise capital? Put together thousands of pages of voluminous application content about the standards of DEA cages and vaults that they might need or video recording or production plants based on the Georgia Department of Agriculture requirements. We help people that...

Navigating The Complex Medical Cannabis Industry With Nic Easley, Founder & CEO of 3C Consulting And Co-host Jaime Zawmon of TitanCEO

Top business leaders, focused on their story, strategies, tactics and tools from real world experience and what keeps them going