Take Your Own Advice

It's easy to get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of running a company. We often find ourselves focused on meeting deadlines, making sales, and ensuring that our employees are productive and motivated. In the midst of all this, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.

One thing that I've learned over the years is that sometimes the spiel you give to others is something that you need to hear yourself. Purely anecdotal, but many people I know got sick over the recent holidays when there was no work. Less activity on your body should be restful. When you're working hard to keep your business running smoothly, it's easy to get caught up in what's going on and forget the rest.

As Mike Botkin put it in this thread, "While I may have been physically present. Most of the time, I wasn't mentally." Getting a deal done is a massive sacrifice in other areas of life, and so is running a business when you don't take care of yourself.

It feels hard to be involved with operations, finance, and management and miss a day due to being sick or a family event. 

Part of driving a company and acting as a leader is taking care of yourself. Your employees have lives outside of work, and so should you. Take your own advice to your employees. Find a way to give yourself the time to do so. Hire and delegate. Choose to let things wait until tomorrow.

Taking a step back and really listening to the message you're trying to impart to your employees can be a powerful way to refocus your own efforts and stay true to your company's mission. The team at Chenmark talk about having a consistent message and how important that is. Whether you're talking about the importance of hard work, honesty, or customer service, these values should be reflected in your own actions as well.

So the next time you find yourself giving a pep talk to your employees, take a moment to listen to your own words. Chances are, you'll find some valuable insights that will help you stay on track and continue to grow your life and business.

Thanks to Everest Brady for his help, writing, and research in assembling this week’s newsletter.

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This Week on Think Like an Owner

Our guest on this episode is Sean Joy, CEO at Buccaneer Pirate and Southern Star Dolphin Cruise, a company owned by Chenmark in Destin, FL that provides seasonal boat tours. Sean was a part of Chenmark’s GVP, the Generalist Vice President program that provides a career track to becoming a CEO at a Chenmark company.

Individuals start by working on a couple of projects within the portfolio, then take a non-CEO operating role in a company, before moving to a CEO role. Sean’s background was in control workouts and restructuring, which we talk about to kick off the episode before he found a small business in Chenmark and inquired about their GVP program.

Over the course of the episode, we talk about Sean’s finance experience, what he pays close attention to given his restructuring experience, managing cash in a highly seasonal business, the wide array of services offered on a tour boat and how they interact, and the power of price increases. Enjoy!

This episode Q&A features Hood and Strong, partner Jerry Zhou answers, "What are some of the most common areas where a transaction will break as a result of a quality of earnings report? What will a quality of earnings report find that will most often break a deal?" Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners, Jerry Zhou, at [email protected].

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Think Like an Owner is sponsored by:

Ravix Group - Ravix Group is a fraction CFO, outsourced accounting, and HR consulting firm serving small and large businesses alike. Whether you or someone you know is getting started, searching to buy a business, or building out an organization, Ravix will help on the journey. To learn more about Ravix Group, head to their website and tell them Think Like An Owner sent you.

Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected]. 

Oberle Risk Strategies– Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company’s commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. If you are under LOI, please reach out to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to the CEO, August Felker, directly at [email protected].

Oakbourne Advisors – Oakbourne is an independent retirement plan consulting firm that helps small companies design and implement great retirement plans for their teams.  Whether you already have a 401(k) in place or are looking to start one for your team, please reach out to learn more about how Oakbourne can set your people up for success in retirement at oakbourne.com/think.

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