Some times your mind is full of a hundred ideas. Many of them come at 3:30 a.m.! Here is a simple (but not simplistic) decision making template, for business or personal decisions, that you can use to sift through the ideas and either discard them or put them into some kind of an orderly process.

-- The Catholic CEO

Format:

This is an extremely simple (but not simplistic) decision making template to use when one is overwhelmed with a constant flow of ideas – some of which may be useful, some of which could be pursued for business, hobby (personal interest), or philanthropic reasons, and some of which could be simply discarded. It’s a kind of decision tree format. And, if written down, it can be developed into a visual flow chart. I have colleagues who do cartoon style decision making flow charts that are fun and useful.

Questions:

Here are the questions to ask when you are faced with a constant flow of ideas. It’s best to write...

Family Business Growth Strategy: Acquisition Frustrations and Positive Developments

1. Entrepreneurial frustration about delays in closing the deal;
2. Frustration about a potential nearby acquisition; and
3. Entrepreneurial frustration about the distribution deal.

The family business case study has three positive developments regarding the growth by acquisition strategy, despite the frustration expressed in the subject heading.

FIRST, the acquisition of the service business is almost at home plate. 

• The price has been established, the attorneys have papered the deal, the owner is on-side and ready to work in the business for about another ten years, and a seven year business loan, combined with a 20 year mortgage on the building is about to be approved.
• This looks like a go on this growth opportunity! The strategy is paying off!
• The target date for a transfer of ownership is set for about six weeks from now. There will be no name change – the point is that the...

In todays session, we spent valuable time on three topics – the acquisition, the distribution deal with the European manufacturer, and the new distribution center.

The QUESTIONS this week are: 

1. Should he go ahead with the acquisition deal?
2. Should he push for that distribution deal?
3. Where should he locate the first distribution center?
4. Is a social media strategy that important?

First Question: Should he go ahead with the acquisition deal? 

Considerations include:

• The location is about four hours away from the main shop and the owner looks forward to running it for the next decade or so without the ownership headaches. 
• The deal terms are pretty well thought out, the financing looks to be in place, and the team is ready for the transition period. All that is needed now is for the formal legal docs to be presented and signed. 
• The service side of the business will grow regionally. It looks like everything is set.
• The main factor that I believe...

Social Media Strategies 

The owner was tied up with solving an equipment breakdown. So this session was shorter and focused on one topic only.

The social media strategy is focused on driving traffic to the website – where the catalog and product listings are ready for immediate sale and shipping.

The Four Main Platforms to Focus On

LinkedIn. This is a base for key information about the business including longer articles and more complete information about the history of the business, its strategic direction and it’s focus.
 

Twitter will be used to push out short bursts of information intended to intrigue people to go to the website. It also will be used for responding to other tweets from related businesses or customers (present and past) and for re-tweeting certain related opinions and thus create a permanent presence and role for my client in the mind of the audience.

Instagram, while allowing for slightly longer messaging than, say,...

LESSONS IN EUROPEAN IMPORTS + STAFF DEVELOPMENT:

This week’s work session covered serious talk about:

•  The importation of the European product, and 
•  The staff development program.

The Distribution Deal:

• We discussed key actions and steps that must be taken to win a deal to become the distributor of this major manufactured line of blades and bits. I believe this is getting to be a matter of great urgency. The client must move promptly and with a powerful business plan* to make sure to win this deal. My fear is that otherwise the manufacturer could do a deal with another company – which would not be good! We discussed the business plan outline I provided to the client last week in detail, point by point. 
• Warehouse space in that southwest metropolitan city. Where? Who? How much? What office space is needed? 
• Trade shows. Which trade shows are key? Where can you find the greatest number of buyers (and therefore potential customers)?
• ...

NOTES on Work Session #7

This week’s work session covered a lot of general territory – staff development, progress on the acquisitions, trade shows, discussions about representing a manufacturer in the US market, where to locate a distribution center, how to finance inventory, and social media.

• Staff Development. I put an outline in front of the owner this week about how to set up a staff development program for family members. The outline proposes three main features.
• First, there should be a 20-minute weekly check-in meeting with each individual to review progress, set a plan for the following week, and discuss specific ways to learn more or experience new situations within their specialty area. For example in sales the family member should be asked to deal with increasingly complex sales targets, or asked to create a professional sales pipeline analysis that takes into account the probability of completing a sale, or, even, asked for ideas (or taught) on...

SUCCESSION PLANNING 

The bulk of this week’s session was about proper family business succession planning. What are the pitfalls that doom succession planning from the beginning? How is family business succession planning done properly so the successors will be involved and enthused to participate? How can The Catholic CEO's years of experience in mentoring family businesses help them?

The week also brought surprises and disappointments. But that’s the entrepreneurial world for you. Yet there is a path forward that looks promising.  And still there is progress. The client is moving ahead. 

PREPPING FAMILY MEMBERS TO RUN THE BUSINESS:

In this mentoring session, I opened a discussion with the client on how to prepare family members for future roles within the business. Obviously my client needs to look out for his own succession plan. I’d estimate that he will want to step back from operations in the next ten years or so and...

The Marketing Push!

In this week’s family business mentoring session, The Catholic CEO helps the client move ahead on marketing. Also covered in this small business coaching plan is capital funding, continued work on acquisitions, website and social media updates, and the qualities needed for new sales people.

1. Keeping the Bank In The Loop:

The bank showed some interest in the growth plan. I don’t think that is enough of a signal. The owner didn’t have a formal meeting to present a business plan. He had an informal phone call and heard this message. I’m not worrying too much at this point. It’s a regional bank with over a dozen branches so I figure they would be clear and precise if they actually had a business plan to comment on.

2. Getting the Story Out – Marketing.

Marketing was a big topic this week. I was struck by the clarity of the plan.

• The website will be the main source of information. There will be videos featuring the...

Business Mentor Guides Family Business

Each week The Catholic CEO, Henry Kutarna, sits down with a service business owner in the Midwest of the US. They are building a strategic plan for the future of the business. This business plan is a multi-faceted program where they look into options for business expansion, product diversification, market analysis, competitive analysis, and future family involvement. 

NOTES on Work Session #4 of 52:

This week I was impressed with “big progress” on strategy and plans. Here are the main points that I think you’ll be very interested in hearing about.

Can you grow a small, regional, family run, industrial blade sharpening business and add a manufacturing line of premium quality, high margin, bits and related products – to preserve family involvement, to multiply revenue and to sell into new markets?

Welcome to all business leaders/owners/founders/participants in family owned businesses doing business according to Catholic principles!

Join me, The Catholic CEO (Henry Kutarna), as I mentor a Catholic family business in a 52-week growth journey. 

Today we feature the third working session of 52. In this year-long project I mentor a mid-west USA based, family owned, service business that intends to transition to a manufacturing business. 

Each week you can follow the plan as it develops in real time. I lead a weekly work session with this client and post a short progress report on The Catholic CEO LinkedIn page and on The Catholic CEO website in written and audio format. I also highlight my work on LinkedIn, ...