General Business

You went into the venture with the highest of expectations. Then, you invested time, money and considerable effort. You may have a company that has been in operation for years. Now tough times have hit and you need a solid objective means of determining whether to pull the plug. Consider a few factors before you make the decision and watch out for thoughts that seem logical but actually distract you from good reasoning.

This, too, shall pass

One owner of an agency was working 60 hours per week and making less than she would bagging groceries. I asked her why she continued in the business and she replied that it was all she knew. While I was sympathetic to her situation, she did not have a good reason for staying in business. She could have to work for someone else and made more money with fewer headaches. Or she could have used the internet to help her evolve into a new business. (more…)

Have you ever received a legal bill totaling twice the amount of the initial estimate? Unfortunately, legal bill sticker shock can happen easily for business owners and entrepreneurs who are busy starting and running companies rather than monitoring legal price tags. One way to avoid the shock of an unexpectedly high legal bill is to just expect to pay much more than you are quoted; but, there are better ways that ensure that you know approximately what your bill is going to be before you even receive it.

1. Avoid paying for a learning curve.

Talk to several lawyers before you hire someone. You want to be certain the lawyer you hire has the experience you need. Ask specific questions to determine if the lawyer has handled similar cases to or matters as yours—and what those outcomes were. Lawyers interested in your case are likely to give you some free advice. Take advantage of it. They may offer free insight on things to consider when forming a company or the best approach to a piece of litigation. Ultimately, you should go with your gut: Hire someone who is interested in helping you and someone with whom you are comfortable. (more…)

One of the joys of fatherhood is discovering the insights and blunt wisdom of children’s books. My eleven-year-old daughter, Truitte Rose, used to have a favorite book titled “Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst. I couldn’t read it to her enough. It chronicles a day in a boy’s life where nothing goes right.

I too had a bad day last week at my company, Corporate Rain. I hit my chair dealing with client crises, fighting a cold, losing a valued associate, dealing with a minor credit card fraud, and reading a dense legal contract. On the side of my desk there was a Mt. Everest of overdue sales calls I needed to get to. And this was before noon. I was frustrated. I was angry. I was having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.

As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that a day like this can be dangerous, not because of the circumstantially difficult day, but because of my internal reaction to it. (more…)

Most of us start businesses because we want to be happier. We’re certain that when we are our own boss, we’ll finally have the creative freedom, autonomy, challenge, and meaning that we’ve been craving. We imagine our future selves working on our own terms, for something that we believe in (or at the very least are excited about). We dream about how this new professional reality will improve our personal lives, too — we’ll have the time and flexibility to exercise, to eat right, and to see our kids, friends, and spouses.

But the truth is, it’s astonishingly easy to be unsatisfied as an entrepreneur. Despite our best intentions, we endure a lot of stress, we get burned out, and most importantly, we stop having fun. We question our ventures and ourselves, and we may sometimes begin to think that entrepreneurship isn’t all it’s made out to be.

And this is where many of us give up trying. We don’t throw in the towel — we settle. We tell ourselves that we’d still be less happy working for someone else, and that this is as good as it’s going to get. (more…)