KBQ VOL 1 ISSUE 4 FIRST QUARTER • 2016
K E N T U C K Y B U S I N E S S Q U A R T E R LY. C O M
KENTUCKY QUARTERLY
™
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Can Your Lawyer Get Things Done? Small Employers Bear The Brunt Of Osha’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program Influence & Gain Success in Social Selling Without Writing (Much)
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Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterlyâ„¢ | 3
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KENTUCKY QUARTERLY
™
CONTENTS FEATURE
14
Rockpoint Publishing Helping Businesses Build a Solid Marketing Foundation
6
Can Your Lawyer Get Things Done?
12
Small Employers Bear The Brunt Of Osha’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program
18
BY MELANIE KILPATRICK 10
26
Staying Connected
28
What About the Next 1,000 Years? BY ANDREW VAN HORN
NEWS • ANNOUNCEMENTS CURRENT EVENTS • TRENDS
20
What is a Corporate Refugee?
22
Employee Engagement
BY BRIAN WRIGHT
Voice Recognition a Big Time Saver BY BRENT COOPER
BY BOB WOODS
BY DEREK D. HUMFLEET 8
Influence & Gain Success in Social Selling Without Writing (Much)
Leadership: Are you setting the right goals? BY BRIAN LORD
30
When is the Right Time to Sell Your Business? BY MARK SIEVERS
BY BRIAN SIMMONS
Brian Lord, PUBLISHER
859-368-0778 brian72676@gmail.com v
Kentucky Business Quarterly™ is Published by Rock Point Sales Marketing & Consulting LLC
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 5
Can Your Lawyer Get Things Done? BY DEREK D. HUMFLEET
How does your lawyer spend the majority of their work day? Is it focused on one particular area of the law? Their niche? Or do they have a broad range of experience dealing with a variety of business issues? Do they give general business advice as well as litigate cases? Do they counsel you or just give legal advice? Here’s a story. A local grocery store contracted to buy a certain amount of produce from a local farmer every month. It was a beneficial relationship for the grocery store, because they got to advertise their produce as locally grown and support the community. The farmer benefited because they had certain amount money coming in every month from his sales. This contractual relationship went on for several years. One summer there was a significant drought and the farmer was not able to provide enough produce to meet his contractual quota for several months. The grocer had to get its produce from another provider in a different state at a significantly higher cost. The grocer went to an attorney to ask what could be done. After detailing the story the attorney reviewed the store’s contract with the famer and told the grocer he needed to sue the farmer for breach of contract and he could recover the increased cost of the produce. The grocer didn’t like the idea of suing a local farmer,
but if his attorney thought a lawsuit was the best way to handle it, who was he to disagree. So they sued the local farmer. Soon enough the newspapers got wind of the grocer suing a local farmer during drought. Local residents didn’t like the idea of one of their neighbors getting sued during a drought. The grocer’s once reliable patrons stopped shopping at his store. After the lawsuit was filed the other local grocery store in town went to the farmer to discuss how they could help the farmer during the drought. They both consulted with a local attorney and together they came up with an irrigation plan and a way to fund it. Their innovative irrigation program not only made the local news but national news. Business at this store increased tenfold. The farmer was able to grow more produce and expand his operations. The farmer was able to settle the first grocer’s claim with the first grocer’s bankruptcy trustee. Who got the best advice?
can actually do things. Stick with them. If there is a problem try to work it out. They are not easily replaced. Rather than just analyze the law or prepare a document, good lawyers should give you wise counsel. In other words they craft creative solutions, sustain client morale, offer wisdom and sound judgment, not just knowledge. Lawyers who give good counsel are hard to come by. Any lawyer can take your side in a dispute and run with it. But the practice of law is more like chess than checkers. Wise counsel comes from thinking ahead. How is the decision going to affect you a year from now, five years from now or in ten years? Most people like to avoid conflict. Effective legal counsel minimizes the risk of conflict. Effective legal counsel stabilizes relationships. Effective legal counsel smoothes out the highs and lows of running a business. The most effective counselors have experience in running their own small business.
Find a lawyer who gets things done.
Has your lawyer ever run a business?
Sometimes you need a lawyer who concentrates their practice in a particular area, like patents or employee benefits. But don’t overlook the lawyer who can get things done. Too often we think of lawyers as people who analyze the law or prepare legal documents. Effective lawyers must be able to actually do things, without excuses, on time and more or less right. If your lawyer is able to do things, on time and correctly; congratulations! There are probably only about 5% of lawyers who
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Small firm attorneys must meet payroll and other expenses every other week. This experience enhances the attorney’s ability to advise business clients. For example, has your big firm lawyer ever dealt with the flood of paperwork and random insurance bills that come with hiring people? Have they ever analyzed cash inflows and outflows for their own firm or business? Have they ever thought about how legal mattes might fit into an overall business
scheme or how you want to portray yourself to the community? Do they know how to get and sustain a good deal? Most small firm attorneys address these questions weekly in running their own business. An attorney who has experience running a small business can be a great asset. They know how important it is to hire the right person. They know the difference between a W-2 and a 1099. Attorneys who have small business experience understand the need to handle legal matters in a way that fits into the marketing plan and business scheme. They know to look five to ten years down the road on how a particular decision will affect your business. Lawyers can look beyond the law to moral, economic, political and social factors in addressing legal questions.
Does your attorney have a plan if a lawsuit is unavoidable? Litigation experience also makes a difference. Most big firms have litigation departments that defend cases. But what if you have to file a lawsuit? Proving a case is much different than defending a case. Do they know the difference between admissible evidence, which can be used to support your claim, and inadmissible hearsay, which cannot be used no matter how much it supports your case? In A Few Good Men Lt. Kaffee said “it doesn’t matter what I believe. It only matters what I can prove! So please, don’t tell me what I know or don’t know. I know the LAW.” You will rarely hear a lawyer say this but here goes. In the courtroom, the truth is based on what you can prove to twelve of your peers. Actual truth is sometimes a stranger in the courtroom. You have to have a lawyer who can find an analyze evidence you can use to prove your case. In the past decisions like hiring an attorney were made on a golf course. In today’s market there are
many, many, many buyers and sellers. Buyers of legal services now consider more than legal expertise. They also should consider technology and business processes. One size doesn’t fit all.
Do you have a healthy relationship with your attorney or is it just a fling?
Do you have a healthy relationship with your attorney? A healthy relationship is a connection based on mutual respect, trust, support and honesty. A short-term deal for six months to two or three years is not a relationship. When disaster strikes, and it often will, you want a relationship. Preferred customer programs are all the rage in retail these days. Does your attorney offer a preferred customer program? Have you asked? If you have a healthy relationship with your attorney, what do you get as a preferred customer. Lower rates. Better service. Preferred meetings. If you’ve been a loyal customer shouldn’t you get something? Most people don’t have much experience in hiring a lawyer. Too often they want the bulldog, the hammer, the tiger or the best lawyer money can buy. There are a lot of attorney advertisements out there and there is a lot of competition. Use it to your advantage. Most of the time you just need an attorney who will really listen and can get things done. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Derek D. Humfleet is a partner with Braden Humfleet & Devine, PLC and typically represents individuals, entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses with legal problems ranging from business and construction disputes to unfair business practices to issues with governmental regulatory agencies. He also helps creative professionals make wise choices in complex legal environments. ON THE WEB: www.bhdlaw.net
Rather than just analyze the law or prepare a document, good lawyers should give you wise counsel. — Derek D. Humfleet
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 7
Small Employers Bear The Brunt Of Osha’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program BY MELANIE KILPATRICK
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) rolled out its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”) in 2010 and has touted it as a key tool in the enforcement of sanctions against employers whom OSHA believes demonstrate indifference towards their workplace safety and health obligations. In 2015 alone, more than 100 employers were placed on the Severe Violator log, subjecting them to increased, multi-worksite inspections. According to OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program White Paper (January 2013), half of all SVEP cases concern small employers with twenty-five employees or less. This article details the SVEP and recommends actions employers should consider to ensure that they are not identified as Severe Violators.
Criteria for Selection
Any inspection that meets one or more of the following criteria will make an employer a candidate for Severe Violator enforcement: • Fatality/Catastrophe – if OSHA finds one or more willful or repeated violations or failure to abate notices based on a serious violation related to the death of an employee or three or more hospitalizations • High Emphasis Hazards – if OSHA
finds two or more willful or repeated violations or failure to abate notices based on high gravity serious violations related to a high emphasis hazard (such as fall hazards, amputation hazards, combustible dust hazards, crystalline silica hazards, lead hazards, excavation/ trenching hazards, or shipbreaking hazards) • Hazards Due to the Potential Release of a Highly Hazardous Chemical – related to petroleum refinery hazards • Egregious Violations – all per-instance enforcement actions.
Consequences of Selection
Placement in the program will trigger onerous consequences for employers. The possibilities include any of the following: • Enhanced Follow-Up Inspections – a follow-up inspection must be conducted by OSHA after the SVEPrelated citations become final; the purpose of the follow-up includes assessment of whether the employer is committing similar violations • Nationwide Inspections of Related Workplaces/Worksites – establishments that share common ownership, including corporate subsidiaries, affiliates and parents, may be targeted to determine if there is a pattern of noncompliance • Increased Company Awareness of OSHA Enforcement – OSHA will mail copies of citations and notices to company headquarters and to employee representatives, such as unions • Enhanced Settlement Provisions –
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OSHA will consider pushing Severe Violators to accept settlement terms that include: 1) hiring an independent consultant to develop and implement a compliance program; 2) applying the agreement company-wide; 3) implementing interim abatement controls if full abatement will take time; 4) providing a list of all current and future job sites for a period of time; 5) submitting logs of all work-related injuries and illnesses for a period of time and consenting to OSHA inspections based on the information; and 6) providing employer consent to entry of a court enforcement order • Enforcement Orders – OSHA will strongly consider seeking court enforcement orders in Severe Violator cases to assure compliance.
Removal from the Program
A controversial element of the SVEP is the fact that placement is based merely upon the issuance of citations, before a company has had a chance to defend itself and prove that it does not merit placement in the SVEP. Once in the program, a company has to suffer the consequences until it comes off the Severe Violator log. The only two ways an employer can come off the log are by “lining out” or by formal removal. Lining out occurs either by a settlement agreement or court adjudication that deletes or reclassifies the citations such that they no longer qualify the employer for the SVEP. As the agency has explained in its Severe Violator White Paper, lining out indicates that
the employer should not have been included in the program in the first place. The adjudicatory process can take several years, while the employer remains listed on the agency’s website as a Severe Violator and may have been the subject of a press release labeling them a Severe Violator. Such a black mark can have a negative impact on a company’s dealings with unions, employees, contractors, insurers and customers. Formal removal from the log occurs only after an employer meets certain good behavior criteria. As an initial matter, employers must remain in the SVEP a minimum of three years after they either accept the citations or the case is fully adjudicated. During that period, the employer must abate all SVEP-related hazards; pay all final penalties; abide by and complete settlement terms; and avoid receiving any additional serious citations related to the hazards that put it into the SVEP at the initial workplace or any related workplaces. This last requirement can be a tall order, especially given that subsequent inspections are conducted by inspectors who perceive the employer as a Severe Violator before they even cross the threshold.
Best Practices for Avoiding Placement in the Severe Violator Program
In 2015 alone, more than 100 employers were placed on the Severe Violator log, subjecting them to increased, multiworksite inspections.
Employers should consider implementing the following practices, with counsel: • strengthen communications among all related workplaces regarding OSHA enforcement at any one workplace • conduct periodic audits to ensure that all recent citations have been fully abated and that similar problems do not exist at related workplaces • identify job sites where high-emphasis hazards are present and periodically audit safety practices in these areas • employers who have received citations arising out of a fatality or catastrophe should consider proactive strategies to avoid future placement in the program, such as hiring an independent safety consultant • if initially placed in the program and there are grounds for doing so, contest the citations with the goal of reclassifying them so that lining out is achieved. As the old saying goes, the best defense is a good offense, especially when the odds of emerging from the SVEP are so slim.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Melanie Kilpatrick is a member of Rajkovich, Williams, Kilpatrick & True, PLLC. She practices in the areas of workplace safety, employment law, and commercial litigation. Melanie serves on the Board of Directors for the Thomas D. Clark Foundation and Radio Eye, Inc. PHONE: 859.245-1059
EMAIL: Kilpatrick@rwktlaw.com
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 9
BY ANDREW VAN HORN
At the end of the 2nd quarter this year I was working with my clients on their 90-day plans and towards the end of the day, we started a discussion about ten-year plans. Through the course of the conversation, it occurred to me that business owners tend to think too small. By that I mean business owners can get trapped into thinking about where the next sale is coming from, or what they need to get accomplished by the next week, month, or in the coming year. Each of these focuses tends to be on small. It also can rob the owner of what they could accomplish. One truth that I have come to understand is that people will overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what we can accomplish in ten. Then it is even more rare to come across the person that is thinking about influencing the next 1,000 years. Let’s look at the 1,000-year focus for a minute. If you came back to the world 1,000 years from today, who would remember that you were alive? It is doubtful that even
WHAT ABOUT THE NEXT 1,000 YEARS? our direct descendants would be aware of our existence. This question leads us to the question, “What would I have to accomplish for people to remember me in 1,000-years?’ If you asked yourself that question what are some of the things that you would stop doing or start doing? How would I plan differently if I wanted to impact countless generations to come? Given my strengths and personality, what are the one or two things that the world is waiting for me to accomplish that only I can do? Let’s travel to Japan for a moment. Japan has the five oldest operating businesses in the world, 3 are hotels, 1 is a construction company, and 1 is in machinery. The oldest one was founded in 578 AD, making it over 1,400 years old. The other 4 were founded in the early 8th century making them over 1,200 years old. In fact, of the 5,586 businesses in the world that are over 200 years old, 3,146 of them are in Japan. Why is that? I think that one possible explanation is the focus on what you can leave for the next generation. It is a thinking of not only yourself and your kids, but the next three generations after that. It is about building and doing something for all the generations that come after you. If you were to be building your business for the 5th
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generation after your children, would you be building the business differently? The main point of the article this quarter is not to give you specific actions and ideas to take, it is to get you to ask better questions of yourself. You see, the better the question, the better the answer, with better answers come better decisions and ultimately a better life and business. The chart shows you the foundation for the quality of your life. My role as your coach is to influence the teaching, education, and the quality of your questions that empower you to make better decisions and have a better quality of life. That is why this article focuses on asking you what you want to accomplish in the next 1,000 years. It requires a different thought pattern than merely looking at the next year in your business. Using the Quality of Life Chart let’s evaluate your life. Have you always had the best teachers in your life? Do you currently have someone teaching and guiding you to a better understanding? Are you reading and learning something new every day? Are you striving to educate yourself in your strengths? Do you ask yourself the tougher questions? Are you phrasing your daily language around how you can achieve
something instead of can I achieve it? The result of your teachers, education, and questions are better decisions. The result of better decisions is the quality of life that you have. Each builds on the next. Let me repeat the question to you that started this article: What about the next 1,000 years? I have a couple of mentors in my life right now, and they are tough on me because I need it. They ask me the hard questions that need asking. I sent this article to one of them for review, and he only reviewed about 25% of it before he stopped, sent it back to me, and told me my premise was completely wrong, and the rest of the paper was not worth reviewing. At first, it stung, until I went back and looked at what I had written and what it was saying. My mentor was spot on. What I had written was nothing near what I wanted to be communicating. That is the value of an excellent educator and mentor, a person that will shoot straight. He comments forced me to
evaluate not just what I thought I wrote but to look at what I wrote; there was indeed a huge disconnect. My mentor has also forced me not just to think about the next sale but the entire business as a whole: can it be profitable, does it have enough residual income potential, can it build beyond me, does the market even want what I am selling. These questions are far better than, can I make money doing this and can I support my family with this business. The focus of the question is entirely different. If you are ready to build a more impactful life, one that has a greater legacy after your death, then start asking yourself tougher questions. • How can I create a 1,000-year heritage? • What do I want that legacy to be? • Can that legacy be accomplished with the person I am right now? • In what areas do I have to grow to be a person that can leave a millennial legacy?
Ask yourself these tougher questions. I think that each of us is capable of a far larger impact on the world and our region than we believe we can have. Each of us has more potential than we realize. I encourage you to not only think about today but think about the next millennium and the positive impact that your life and business can have on that. I am always available if you need someone to ask you the tough questions so feel free to reach out. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Van Horn is best summed up in one word: Abundance. Abundance simply means having enough time and money to do the things that you want to do. As an ActionCOACH Business Coach Andrew helps owners all over the area in building a business that creates abundance for the owner that can be passed down for generations. He loves helping businesses grow into their full potential because a growing business creates jobs and money that can bring about positive change in the area. His goal is to help 1,000 businesses in the next five years achieve abundance.
ROCKPOINT Sales Marketing & Consulting LLC
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Does your business need: Help with Marketing Strong Internal & External Communication To Gather New Clients while Keeping Old Ones Faithful At Rock Point we can help you with a simple evaluation of your firm to help develop a custom marketing & communication strategy. Call today 859.489.1450 or Email brian72676@gmail.com
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 11
BY BOB WOODS
Influence & Gain Success in Social Selling Without Writing (Much)
As a speaker, author, writer, trainer and coach in the Social Selling arena, it’s pretty easy to get people interested in a system of processes and strategies that leverage social platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to build their businesses. At social events, networking events and in speeches, I mention all of the ways Social Selling works to help fill the funnel, take prospects through to the close, and gain referrals from one’s network and current client list. As I detail how, interest levels climb high. At some point, I tell them about LinkedIn’s Publishing platform. Let’s just say eyes begin to glaze over. I then mention that it’s pretty similar to blogging, but it has a defined purpose: to position yourself as the “go-to gal/guy” in your industry of profession by sharing tips, insights and thoughtful commentary. I also tell them that publishing on
LinkedIn is a part of a fully well-rounded Social Selling strategy. I’ve completely lost them at “similar to blogging.”
Busy Businesspeople
Writing can be very hard for a lot of people. For some, it’s not the difficulty that puts them off; it’s the time required. I definitely get both points. I’ve been writing professionally since college, and it can still be hard for me. There’s no doubt it can be time-consuming, too. Trying to convince people who don’t write for a living—who have high-pressure jobs to boot—that publishing on LinkedIn can help significantly increase their businesses is a challenge. Thus, I birthed a new strategy called the “unPublisher.” Simply put, an unPublisher is a businessperson (salesperson, marketer, Social Seller, etc.) who actively shares published articles from other sources on various social platforms, including and especially LinkedIn. I’m emphasizing
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“actively,” as it’s key to this strategy.
It’s All About the Share
When people usually share content from other publications, they only publish the URL of the original article. There’s no comment, no notes, no... well... nothing else. And more often than not, the content itself leaves something to be desired. unPublishers, on the other hand, enhance and even expand the content. Hopefully, the share is good enough to start a conversation with her or his followers, connections, and so on. The more people conversing about it, the better. I get very excited when people start talking amongst themselves in a share, too. An unPubliser post has three requirements: 1. The article or content in the post itself must be highly relevant to the unPublisher’s connections, followers, and audience. 2. The unPublisher must contribute additional content that expands or enhances the original article, including:
–Calling out or highlighting an important point in the article; –Summarizing the main takeaway(s) of the piece; –Challenging a point, the overall conclusion, etc. in the article. 3. The unPublisher must acknowledge and engage with those who care enough to take the time to comment, even if it is just a “Good point, [NAME]!” note. (I’ve even answered questions put to me by people making comments in my news-feed posts.) The second item is crucial in this process, as it’s where you lend your “voice” to the article or content that you’ve shared. You build your own (and your company’s) brand in this requirement. That’s why your content needs to be thoughtful and insightful. By fulfilling all three of these requirements, you’ll be providing content that others will find genuinely valuable and will brand you as the expert in your field. A side effect, hopefully, will be that your connections will share your content within their own networks, spreading your expertise even further. Performing these three steps is easy to do on most social platforms, except for Twitter. Since Twitter has a 140-character limit (for now, hopefully), you may not be able to expand or enhance the original story. Just do the best you can.
Easier than You Think
With the unPublisher strategy, you can draw from most any publication or blog for your content. Just make sure that the content you share isn’t available to paid subscribers or anything where one needs to be logged into something to see it. Any of the major platforms that offer timeline-like functionality—Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and others—make sharing especially easy. You can copy-and-paste in the Web address of the article in question, and type in your comments or observations. The Facebooks, LinkedIns, etc. even publish a preview of what the article looks like, which helps draw attention to your unPublisher post.
It Still Takes Some Time
As you can see, committing to the unPublisher strategy will take time. But tools do exist to help with this strategy. I use a combination of two tools, and I pay for the Premium versions of both (Free versions are available). Other similar ones are available, of course, but these are the ones with which I have the most experience: Buffer is a content scheduling service that is used to pre-schedule news updates for five networks: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest. The scheduling offerings available are wide and varied, and should be able to fulfill your needs. I’ve used it for a couple of years now, and thoroughly enjoy using it. Feedly is a news and content article aggregator that has powerful filters to bring you the types of items you would want to share on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and so on. I really like it because the Pro version (paid) directly interfaces with Buffer, which makes “stocking” my Buffer quick and easy. If you have your Feedly filters set up correctly, you can set up an entire week’s worth of articles to publish on LinkedIn (and the other networks to which Buffer feeds) in about an hour, once a week.
Still Try to Publish
Even though you’re now (hopefully) mentally signed-on to be an unPublisher, I recommend that you should try to write some blog articles for publication on LinkedIn. It’s a part of Social Selling for a reason. Remember that one of the integral parts of your Social Selling strategy is to have a well-stocked Profile that promotes yourself and your business as the “gotos” in your industry. The best way to do this is to offer content that contains genuine tips and advice about what your products/services. Plus, all of that content has your name on it, branding you as the expert. From a visual standpoint, the posts you publish go just below the “business card” section of your LinkedIn Profile (the box that contains your photo, name, headline and so on). That’s a very prominent
position in your Profile. Think of this area as a big-ol’ spotlight for your highly relevant content that helps potential and current clients in their respective businesses. As a bonus, I can almost guarantee that most of your competitors will not have anything here. They’re missing a valuable expertise-building opportunity; you won’t. As you can see, it takes just three articles to fill up that block area. I’d suggest trying to write those first three articles as soon as you’re able, then writing new ones every four weeks to six weeks. You can always hire someone to do the writing, too. Fiverr is a good place to start searching for those services. Even if you decide not to actually publish your own content, being an unPublisher will certainly “up” your visibility to your connections in LinkedIn. As your connections like and comment on your content, their connections will see you and your expertise. That’s one heckuva potential audience. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bob Woods is executive vice president at Social Sales Link LLC, the missing link between traditional sales training and social media. We are a business training, coaching and consulting firm that helps salespeople, sales teams and entire companies generate better leads and close more business through the use of Social Selling. You can contact Bob at 888.775.5262 ext. 705, or email him at bob.woods@socialsaleslink.com.
Promote yourself and your business as the “go-tos” in your industry. Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 13
ROCKPOINT Publishing
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HELPING BUSINESSES BUILD A SOLID MARKETING FOUNDATION by Tanya J. Tyler
I
n today’s fast-paced world, where information can be accessed instantaneously and there is fierce competition for clients and customers, businesses need to be astute about how they spend their advertising budgets. Making wise decisions about which marketing opportunity to pursue – whether it be print, online or through social media – can make a difference in a company’s ability to not just survive but thrive. Rock-Point Publishing, established in 2013, is a marketing consulting/publishing company that works to give its clients multiple marketing and business solutions to help other small business grow. “I have a heart for helping businesses succeed,” said publisher and owner Brian Lord. “My desire is always to help people reach their goals. The company is called Rock-Point because we are helping people build a solid foundation for growing a business and pointing them in the right direction to reach their desired audience. We accomplish this through positioning our niche market magazines to be the foundation for multiple marketing tools that reach our customers’ audience.” Lord has a background in ministry that led him into marketing and Website development. For several years he was also a sales manager and assistant publisher for Sampler Publications in Lexington.
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 15
www.AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com
M A G A Z I N E
®
KBQ VOL 1 ISSUE 2 THIRD QUARTER • 2015
K E N T U C K Y B U S I N E S S Q U A R T E R LY. C O M
QUARTERLY
™
LAW FIRM OF THE MONTH
GRABHORN
LAW
TOP OF MIND IN LONGTERM DISABILITY, LIFE INSURANCE CLAIMS & ERISA MATTERS
&
KENTUCKY
Sizemore Strategic Solutions PUTTING THE FOCUS ON CRITICAL FACTORS
PLEASE TAKE ONE M
A
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Vol. 13 • Issue 8 • April 2016
KIDNEY
Living WeLL
A RESOURCE GUIDE FOR YOUR GENERATION
60 Plus JAN / FEB 2016 VOL. 11 ISSUE 6
ENTERTAINMENT • HEALTH • BARGAINS • LIFESTYLE
ORGAN MOuTIVsAic TOR M
AND
KENTUCKY EDITION | VOL.4 NO. 2
is his
HEALTH
Keyboardist says playing with band and sons keeps him Living Well 60 Plus
How can you keep your internal organs functioning at their peak?
AND – what they do to keep you healthy and well.
spring 2016 • volume 8 • issue 1
Danesh Mazloomdoost, MD discusses
A Paradigm Shift in Pain From an effort to encourage compassionate care to the largest iatrogenic epidemic in history...
The United States is now the largest consumer of global opiates.
ALSO INSIDE Good Kidney Health
Home Remedies for Kidney Pain
10 Foods That Cleanse the Liver
Applying for Medicare
Keeping Resolutions
Macular Degeneration
5 PUBLICATIONS
MULTIPLE BRANDS. MULTIPLE TARGET AUDIENCES. We’re not just offering one product and it’s not ‘take it or leave it.’
Rock-Point’s team features people from all life stages and backgrounds:
Brian Lord
PUBLISHER/OWNER
Jennifer Lord
DIRECTOR OF CLIENT RELATIONS
Kim Blackburn SALES AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Barry Lord SALES
Anastasia Zikkos SALES
Janet Roy
LEAD GRAPHIC DESIGN
Tanya Tyler LEAD EDITOR
The company is called Rock-Point because we are helping people build a solid foundation for growing a business and pointing them in the right direction to reach their desired audience.
“This is where I learned a lot about how to help people with their marketing needs, to find out and customize what works for people and help them with what doesn’t work,” he said. When it comes to different marketing strategies for different types of companies, Lord says, larger businesses can often take a gamble that smaller business can’t afford to take. “Larger businesses can use broadbased marketing such as big TV ads or big radio campaigns, but both large and smaller businesses need to focus on niche marketing,” he said. This is where Rock-Point can step in. Having first published Attorney At Law magazine in 2013, Lord expanded the company’s reach in 2016 when he bought a trio of magazines – Kentucky Doc, Living Well 60 (formerly 50) Plus and Health and Wellness – published by his former employer, Sampler Publications. Each of these publications has a different target readership. “Attorney at Law is a professional business magazine for the legal community who are trying to reach other attorneys along with businesses that want to reach attorneys and bring their services to them,” Lord said. “Kentucky Doc is very similar but its target readers are licensed MDs in Lexington.” Living Well 60 Plus and Health and Wellness have a broader reach, Lord says. “Health and Wellness is for everybody in 19 counties, but it has its own a niche – not a niche readership but a niche need,” he said. “It’s designed to reach individuals who have a health concern for themselves or a loved one or they’re wanting to get healthier.” Lord is very proud these magazines are two of the largest and longest-standing local health publications in Central Kentucky. Living Well 60 Plus is more of a lifestyle magazine for a niche audience that is 60 years of age and older. Its focus is the concerns and issues of life of persons who are in that age demographic. “Each of our publications is a platform or a foundation built to help our marketers reach those particular demographics,” Lord said. “We want to be that foundation that helps build your
name, build your company and let people have an experience with you, not just your brand name, but your knowledge and expertise, along with the story of your people, passion and purpose of your business.” Having a variety of niche market magazines for different types of businesses allows Rock-Point to give individuals a variety of marketing opportunities. “We’re not just offering one product and it’s not ‘take it or leave it,’” Lord said. “We offer multiple brands and multiple different target audiences with multiple marketing tools in each magazine.” Lord says he understands what Rock-Point’s advertisers need, and he is prepared to make it available for them.
“I love to hear stories of how these companies are changing lives or helping others succeed. I believe in telling people’s stories and bringing out their level of knowledge for others to learn and grow.” —Brian Lord, Owner/Publisher
“They need more marketing solutions like educational articles, feature stories and video interviews based upon the educational articles as ways to teach people their solutions,” he said. “At Rock-Point we believe in every area of marketing – TV, radio, Web, social media and print, etc. – but we know not every form of marketing is perfect for everyone. Also, each marketing tool has a purpose and unique way it engages with the target audience. If you misunderstand what they are designed for, you will get mixed returns on your investment.” In order to use the marketing solutions Rock-Point offers effectively,
Lord and his staff make it a point to listen carefully to potential advertisers. “We sit down with our advertisers not only to give more than a sales presentation of what we offer; it’s our desire to listen to the company and hear their story, hear about their vision, their goals, hear their purpose and see if there’s an alignment with what they do with what we do,” Lord said. “I love to hear stories of how these companies are changing lives or helping others succeed. I believe in telling people’s stories and bringing out their level of knowledge for others to learn and grow. The longstanding statement is true that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. This is what we seek to do, to show people how much we care. You buy from those you trust, and you only trust the people you know. We want to help the Central Kentucky community get to know our clients.” Having a locally owned company allows Rock-Point to know the heartbeat of local business owners and the needs of its readers to bring solid content that is not generated by a larger franchise from out of state. “Being locally owned and operated allows us to build relationships with our clients,” Lord said. “Our clients are not just a sale for us. They are our friends, our neighbors, the people we go to church with and see in the grocery store. This allows us to focus on their needs, not our own.” Rock-Point has over 15 people from all life stages and backgrounds working on its team, including sales consultants, designers, writers, photographers and delivery drivers from the Lexington Metro area. The sales team consists of Kim Blackburn, Anastasia Zikkos and Barry Lord, Brian’s father. The head editor is Tanya J. Tyler, and the writers include Sarah Brokamp, Angela Hoover, Jean Jeffers, Jamie Lober, Dr. Tom Miller, Harleena Singh, Doris Settles and Dan Baldwin. The head graphic designer is Janet Roy. Kim Blackburn does the company’s photography and video work, and the Director of Client Relations is Jenifer Lord.
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 17
Staying Connected
NEWS • ANNOUNCEMENTS CURRENT EVENTS • TRENDS Bank of the Bluegrass & Trust Co. in Lexington is pleased to announce the promotion of John J. Deans “J.J.” to Chief Credit Officer. J.J. has been with the Bank for six years as a Credit Analyst and has over 10 years of experience in the Banking industry. He will be responsible for working with Executive Management and the Board of Directors in implementing loan strategies as well as continuing to analyze loans and working with loan officers. A resident of Lexington, Kentucky, J.J. graduated from the University of Kentucky and the Graduate School of Banking at LSU.
Chrysalis House awarded ThreeYear CARF Accreditation
CARF International announced that Chrysalis House has been accredited for a period of three years for its Residential Treatment: Alcohol and Other Drugs/ Addictions (Adults) program. This is the first accreditation that the international accrediting body, CARF, has awarded to Chrysalis House. “This accreditation affirms our commitment to provide the highest quality treatment to the women of Chrysalis House. We believe that communities are built one family at a time and it is our
Chrysalis House awarded Three-Year CARF Accreditation privilege to serve our clients and their children and help them reach their potential,” said Lisa Minton, Chrysalis House Executive Director. This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that
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can be awarded to an organization and demonstrates substantial conformance to the CARF standards by Chrysalis House. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has
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measure and improve the quality of their programs and services. For more information about the accreditation process, please visit the CARF website at www.carf.org.
demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality. About Chrysalis House Chrysalis House is Kentucky’s oldest and largest licensed substance abuse treatment program for women. Established in 1978, Chrysalis House has grown into a comprehensive agency with multiple residential facilities and a multi-purpose community center. In addition to substance abuse treatment, Chrysalis House provides mental health treatment, case management, domestic violence counseling, computer training, GED tutoring, vocational training and job placement assistance, access to medical care, housing assistance, and children’s services. For more information about Chrysalis House, please visit www. chrysalishouse.org. About CARF CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process and continuous improvement services that center on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF International, the accrediting body establishes consumerfocused standards to help organizations
David Ratterman Inducted into University of Kentucky College of Engineering Hall of Distinguished Alumni
Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney David Ratterman was inducted into the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Engineering Hall of Distinguished Alumni in a ceremony held on April 15. Less than one half of one percent of the College of Engineering’s graduates have received this honor. Since its inception in 1992, the Hall of Distinction has honored those alumni who have demonstrated distinguished engineering professional accomplishments, outstanding character and commitment to community service. This recognition serves to encourage exemplary achievements by current students and others. It is a symbol of the respect and admiration held by the UK College of Engineering for these esteemed individuals. Ratterman is a Member (Partner) of Stites & Harbison in the Construction Service Group. His practice focuses on
general construction law, with particular emphasis on the fabricated structural steel industry. In 2012, Ratterman received the Distinguished Service Award from the UK Alumni Association which recognizes those who have provided extraordinary service to the university and the association. He is a Life Member and current President of the UK Alumni Association, a UK Fellow, and has been a member of the UK Advocacy Network since its inception. About Stites & Harbison Stites & Harbison, PLLC is a nationally recognized, full-service business and litigation law firm with 10 offices in five states – Kentucky, Georgia, Indiana, Tennessee and Virginia. Tracing its origins to 1832, Stites & Harbison is one of the oldest law practices in the nation and among the largest law firms in the Southeast. For more information, visit www.stites.com.
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 19
What is a Corporate Refugee? BY BRIAN WRIGHT
Corporate Refugees were prevalent during the recession and they are still among us. The most desperate are unemployed professionals in their late 40s, 50s and early 60s. They were well paid, with six figures, a nice 401K plan and health benefits. So what do they do
after decades of security and success? For many, it’s either find a new career or leave town. Lexmark is the perfect and sad example of a corporate refugee’s future. Where does an engineer, communications professional or international expert find a job? Lexmark has highly qualified and specifically trained industry employees. Can they find the same kind of position in Lexington or Central Kentucky? Even if there are one or two jobs available, more than 100 employees were recently let go from Lexmark.
There is an option some Corporate Refugees may not have considered: Franchising! I was a Corporate Refugee with no serious prospects and I went into business for myself. Yes, it’s a scary option. Business ownership is not for everyone, but the opportunity is intriguing and attractive. Being your own boss with the potential to sustain the same income can be even more satisfying than the rigors of Corporate America. Now for some facts about franchising. When you think of franchising, you
Home healthcare, lawn care and home repair are low cost franchises with great income potential.
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think of McDonald’s, but fast food is the smallest category of franchise availabilities. Baby Boomer related services are big right now. Home healthcare, lawn care and home repair are low cost franchises with great income potential. Most franchises range from $50,000 to $150,000 with great financing options. So if you’re a Corporate Refugee; afraid you may be one soon, or just want a change of pace, consider franchising.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brian Wright is the owner of Brian Wright Consulting in Lexington, Kentucky. He provides corporations, small businesses, non-profits and individuals with public relations and brand management. Brian is a national award winning writer, editor and consultant. He has received awards from the National Society of Professional Journalists, The Public Relations Society of America, The American Society of Political Consultants and he has won 27 Associated Press Awards. ON THE WEB: www.brianwrightconsulting.com
focusing on the human in human resources Recruiting Sourcing Assessing Interviewing Training Developing Coaching Empowering Motivating Strengthening
859.296.2800 www.cmiconsulting.com
History. Reputation. Trust. Future.
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 21
Employee Engagement:
BY BRIAN SIMMONS
THE NEED FOR RECOGNITION AND COMMUNICATION
We recently completed an Employee Engagement Study for a local company. We’ve been working with this company now for more than 20 years and we always find it interesting to discover what is important to employees. Even though we now have 4 different generations in this workplace (Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X and the Millenials), we see some of the same recurring themes …
Why? Because people are people?
Overall, employees crave recognition and communication. Millennials especially want to feel that their work matters – and that THEY matter. While pay and benefits are very important
to employees, recognition and communication – being in the loop – are critical to employees being engaged in your business … Isn’t that what we all desire in small business? Engaged employees contributing to the success of the business? We’ve often heard the saying, “A little recognition goes a long way.” This is certainly true when we consider consistent recognition as a tool that reinforces reasons for employees to be engaged in the organization. For the most part, employees take great pride in the work that they do. Furthermore, making a positive difference in the department, business and community is very rewarding for committed and engaged employees. Although we might not directly solicit attention and recognition for a job well done, isn’t it encouraging when that spontaneous, unexpected recognition is received? It’s really about taking the time to
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offer sincere recognition to people for the contributions they give to making the company a better place. This is especially meaningful these days when job insecurities run high and employees find themselves working longer hours for less pay and fewer perks. A simple “thank you” or pat on the back has a positive impact. A recent article in the Washington Post reported the results of a recent employee survey that revealed 79% of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving. The article also went on to state that 65% of North Americans report that they didn’t receive recognition at all in the previous year. Recognition methods can and should vary in form, type and cost. There are things that could be done daily which are, in most instances, less costly - pats on the back, thank you comments, cards and gifts, handwritten notes and team lunches. These “on the spot” type of spontaneous
recognition moments aren’t extremely time consuming at all. Daily actions do make a difference when we view how they relate to our goal of keeping employees engaged. When employees know their strengths and potential will be praised and recognized, they are more likely to produce value and stay engaged. Other instances where we find opportunities for recognition are: above and beyond performance achievements, career advancement or business milestones and significant project completions. These situations typically require more in terms of time required for planning and execution of recognition events. From what employees say, though, it doesn’t have to be anything major. Something simple is better than nothing at all. The same, too, could be said about the desire of employees for stronger communications with the management team. A strong part of being engaged is being informed. Employees that are engaged take great pride in their work and the organization in which they work. A key to holding that relationship together is the free flow of information. Especially within small business, much effort should be placed on clear and effective communication due to the rapid changes in business and the workforce. We all have much to learn and plenty of information to share both internally and externally. Engaged employees enjoy being a part of the process. With the advent of modern technology, communication methods have exploded. We can now contact more people at greater distances within shorter time frames. Turnaround time for information from one person to the next can be relegated to the amount of seconds it takes to hit the “Send” or “Enter” keys. Employees realize this and crave gaining up to date information through different communication mediums. One-on-one conversations, team meetings and company town halls all provide valuable opportunities for open communication among employees. Through verbal or written communications, employees can be informed about and coached on the
company’s business focus and strategies, results of initiatives and special projects and their individual performance. Engaged employees want to know, “How are we doing as a business and how am I doing as an employee?” Even if employees do not directly ask for more communication, making sure that a strong level of communication exists within your business will help to build the level of trust that is required among employees that fall into the “Engaged” category.
A recent article in the Washington Post reported the results of a recent employee survey that revealed 79% of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving. From formal presentations to electronic messages, we can be creative in communicating with employees in the workplace. In order to communicate effectively, though, we have to be willing to listen and learn from employees. The voices and thoughts of the workforce give insight into the perceptions that exist. Whether we gain this insight through Employee Engagement surveys or in a performance management discussion, we want to make sure that we are listening to our HUMAN resources. Yes, employees have weighed in on what keeps them engaged. According to several employees that we have surveyed over the years, recognition and open communication far outweigh the compensatory benefits of their roles. By providing desired doses of recognition and communication business “prescriptions”, you will keep employees engaged. In addition to keeping current employees engaged, the business will benefit from establishing a culture that incorporates these important functional areas into your business.
Curious to know how well you are doing? We suggest conducting an Employee Engagement survey to assess the perceptions of the workforce in your business. Are your employees engaged or are they in need of a little communication and recognition? Remember, as stated earlier, a little recognition does go a long way! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brian Simmons, SHRM-CP, PHR, Human Resources Advisor has more than 25 years’ experience in generalist and specialty areas of Human Resources at all organizational levels. He has gained a wealth of beneficial experiences as a senior level executive in several fields - themed entertainment, travel, education, banking, retail, landscaping, hospitality, and healthcare. Prior to joining CMI, Brian has provided strategic planning and change management consultations, presentation skills, business service and sales training, and leadership development services to a variety of clients that include: the US Postal Service, Coca Cola Bottling Consolidated, AAA Carolinas, DuPont, Ingersoll-Rand, Bank of America, and The Home Depot. Additionally, Brian was an Adjunct Professor at Queens University in the Hugh N. McColl School of Business’ Executive MBA program (Charlotte, NC) and hosted a television series that focused on the impact of non-profit organizations in communities. He has served as a national program and keynote speaker for the National YMCA organization and the National Black MBA Association’s Executive and Management Development Institutes. His subject matter expertise areas include workplace violence awareness and prevention, change management strategies, training facilitation, associate and customer relations, employment law application and presentation delivery. Brian attended Murray State University and is a veteran of the United States Air Force. He is a Certified Professional of Human Resources through the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI). Mr. Simmons is active in supporting various nonprofit organizations and community relations activities.
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 23
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Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 25
Voice Recognition: CAN BE A BIG TIME SAVER
BY BRENT COOPER
I’m sitting in a CEO Roundtable meeting watching a friend labor over his phone as he “fat fingers” a text message. “Arrggh”, he mutters as he begins to retype at a snail’s pace. “If you don’t want to continue sounding like a pirate, have you considered using voice-to-text?” I ask him. “My phone can do that?” he replies. “Of course. Just click the mic icon and begin speaking.” The Android phone he is using correctly transcribes everything he says, and he’s hooked. “Ok, this is freaky. I feel like I’m on Star Trek talking to the computer!” he exclaims. While voice recognition technology isn’t perfect, it definitely isn’t science fiction. The technology continues to advance every year. There are voice-totext solutions that can replace typing & mouse clicking altogether. If you haven’t yet tried some of the new voice-to-text tools, you owe it to yourself, and to your business or organization to at least check them out. There are a number of benefits. Even for the fastest typists, voice-totext dictation can be 3-4 times faster.
And if you’re the kind of person that likes to walk around while you work, voice-to-text is the way to go. It is a quick tool to enhances your mobility. Finally, for those of you who are “spelling challenged”, talking to a computer and letting it make the spelling choice can be extremely efficient. (I must confess, that benefit doesn’t really help me much because I rarely make a mistke.) If you are wondering where to get started, Microsoft, Apple and Google all have significant voice-to-text offerings built into their products. For example, if you are using Windows 10, you can enable the Windows Speech Recognition software that’s built into the Operating System. With Windows Speech Recognition running, the mouse and keyboard become optional. No kidding, it is that advanced! With my Microsoft Surface Pro (running Windows 10), I quickly attempted to create an e-mail using just my voice. I enabled the Windows Speech Recognition tool and said, “Start Listening”, which activated the tool to listen for my commands. I then said,
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“Start, Open, Outlook” and Microsoft Outlook opened. Next, I said, “New E-Mail”, and a new blank e-mail message appeared. I then said the name of the person I wanted to send it to, and their name appeared in the “To:” box. Then I said, “Press tab 3 times” and the cursor moved to the subject line. I then spoke the subject of the message, and it appeared in the subject line. I then said, “Press Tab” and the cursor moved to the body of the message. Finally, I spoke my e-mail and the text for the message appeared. I even said, “Comma” and “Exclamation Point” in the proper spots, and the interjections appeared correctly. If you want to quickly confirm that you can create and send an entire e-mail using Outlook without touching the keyboard, give it a try. It is amazing technology, and can be a huge time saver. The same can be said for your iPhone or Droid. Has it already been 6 years since Siri became available? Using the built in voice-to-text software on your smart phone, you not only have the ability to safely send a message while you’re driving, you can also save a ton of time out of your typical workday. You
While voice recognition technology isn’t perfect, it definitely isn’t science fiction. can quickly get an answer to everything from “What’s the weather like outside?” to “Who is the best college basketball team?” (the answer, of course, is UK Wildcats). There are also foreign language software options that act as translators when you are travelling. Simply speak into your phone, and the software performs a translation for you. Can you quickly translate English to Spanish? “Si.” Of course, you can’t do voice-to-text all the time. If you’re on a plane, don’t be “that guy” that talks the entire flight! That said, there are a number of places (your car, your office, in a crowded Starbucks, etc.) where using your voice can make you more productive. Regardless of where you are, voice recognition technology continues to improve every year, and gives us options. If you don’t like Google’s voice recognition capability, try Microsoft’s. If you don’t like Siri, try Cortana. Arguably the most successful voiceto-text company is Nuance, the company behind Dragon NaturallySpeaking. (Apple created Siri through a partnership with Nuance.) The Dragon
NaturallySpeaking software works on both Macs and PCs, and has a variety of time saving features built-in. But the best part is its accuracy. Improved accuracy dramatically reduces revision time, which translates to improved productivity for you and your business. Now, I can’t end a column about voice recognition without mentioning Amazon’s latest entry into the marketplace. Of course, I’m referencing Alec Baldwin’s favorite tool during the SuperBowl, the Amazon Echo. Microsoft has Cortana, Apple has Siri, Facebook has M, and Amazon has Alexa. Alexa is the voice you hear through the Amazon Echo. The Echo is a voice recognition tool that also doubles as a speaker. It has become increasingly popular over the past year, so much so that Amazon recently introduced two complimentary products: The Echo Tap and the Echo Dot. The Echo Tap is a portable speaker that runs on a 9 hour battery and enables you to do voice commands from wherever you are. “Alexa, play Coldplay.” is something you might say to your Echo Tap if you were hanging out at the lake.
The Echo Tap would begin playing your favorite Coldplay songs. The Echo Dot is the voice recognition component of the Amazon Echo, without the speaker. It doesn’t have a portable battery, so most people will plug in this type of device around the house. “What time is ‘The Jungle Book’ playing at Fayette Mall” is something you might ask the Amazon Dot, especially if you have young kids that need to know that information. Combined with other “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices, you can use the Amazon Echo, and its companion products, to do everything from dimming the lights, to turning down the temperature on your upstairs thermostat. Whether you decide to try them or not, voice recognition tools on your phone, tablet, PC, or external devices like the Amazon Echo, are going to continue to improve over the coming years. Your friends, neighbors, and competitors will be using them whether you like it or not, so get ready. Before you know it, we are all going to be just like Captain Kirk on Star Trek, talking to our computer.
Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 27
Leadership:
ARE YOU SETTING THE RIGHT GOALS?
BY BRIAN LORD
Plan and Set Goals
Good leaders in business – whether they are an Owner, CEO, VP, Sales Manager etc. – plan and set goals. Benjamin Franklin once said ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ and this goes hand-in-hand with small businesses. Planning is vital as you need to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. If you aren’t planning your moves, how are you ever going to compete with those around you? Make sure you write down exactly your plan and how you are going to follow this through. Plan a reality of where you are and where you want to be. It’s your road map with an honest assessment. With this plan you also need to set goals for your business and these should
be written with your plan. Once again, if you have set no goals for your team or business, how do you know how well you are doing? Goals can be fantastic for motivation and can be easily compared to your actual performance. If you haven’t quite reached your goals you have to find ways of working harder or smarter to reach it next time. If you did hit your targets you then have motivation to push on further or repeat those goals again. Your plan and goals should work together in tangent; you should be saying ‘right, we want to get here and this is how we are going to get there’. All of the biggest companies you can think of had to start somewhere, so don’t lose motivation. Don’t get lost in the busy world that we live in; constantly strive to stand out in the crowd and you will soon find that your customer base will be strong and growing wider every single day. You do this with SMART goals.
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SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)
Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer majority of the six “W” questions: Who: What: Where: When: Which: Why:
Who is involved? What do I want to accomplish? Identify a location. Establish a time frame. Identify requirements and constraints. Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join xyz health club and work out 3 days a week.” Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. If you don’t
A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. measure then you don’t know when and where your wins or losses are. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as…… • How much? How many? • How will I know when it is accomplished? • What is the new reality going to look like? Attainable: This does not mean easy or without hard work. When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals. To attain these you need to make sure have the skills you need. What are the 3-5 most important skills you’ll need to develop to achieve this goal? How will you develop those skills?
You can attain most any goal if you have the important skills and resources. Then, you need to know how to develop those skills. When you have the skills you need, the goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable; not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them. Realistic: This is a struggle because people who do great things don’t set realistic goals. What makes us great is accomplishing what is not realistic. But, on the flip side, the majority of people aren’t major risk takers. The average person we lead needs realistic goals, and there is nothing wrong with that. When you are setting goals to grow, dream big, not realistically. The majority of those we will lead need goals that push them but are still realistically achievable. To be realistic, a goal it must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and
able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love. Timely: A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal. ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ Take time and work your plan. Don’t be afraid to set goals. Failure or success is not determined because you achieve your goals or fail to reach them, it’s because you don’t’ have a plan to reach them at all. Don’t me a dreamer, be leader. Leaders plan. Vol. 1 No. 4 Kentucky Business Quarterly™ | 29
When is the Right Time To Sell Your Business ?
In a recent article I wrote about how to get the most of the sale of a business. This a companion piece about the BY MARK SIEVERS right time to sell your business. There is no magic answer to that question but there are several factors to contemplate. This article will attempt to shed light and perspective on these factors but they generally fall into the two categories of business and personal with some overlap.
Business Considerations
First and foremost it is always a good idea to sell before you have to or need to. If there are potential looming health, personal, competitive, regulatory or other reasons it is often advisable to sell before these become issues because if you wait you may not have the luxury of being patient in the selling process therefore you may lose negotiating leverage. It is also useful to understand where your business is in terms of a business lifecycle. Typical lifecycle stages of a business include the following: 1. Start-up 4. Maturity 2. Early Stage 5. Declining 3. Rapid Growth Any business can be sold at any stage, but each stage creates nuances and dynamics of the valuation and sale process. Typically, businesses are sold at the maturity stage. These are usually attractive acquisition candidates because of solid business history which reduces perceived risk and makes the business purchase an easier deal to get done because it’s a better fit for traditional bank financing. Often it’s a situation is where someone started the business years or even decades ago and is ready to retire. A business in the declining stage will be harder to sell and will have obvious downward pressure on valuation due to the earnings trend. However, it could still be a nice acquisition candidate for someone who is a turnaround specialist or is in a related business that can bring synergy to a new combined enterprise.
Businesses in a start-up or early growth stage are harder to sell because you are selling “potential” and ot actual results. If these businesses have significant intellectual property (IP) then the valuation argument can be enhanced. A useful acquisition approach on these types of businesses includes a royalty or earn out approach where if the new owner brings the potential to fruition the seller shares in the upside. How these gets measured and funded is a subject for a whole different article but I will the technique will need to strike a balance between being too complicated and overly simple. Businesses in the rapid growth stage can be very attractive acquisition candidates and will often command higher earnings multiples due to the growth curve. However, in order to keep the business on a growth path the buyer may need extended assistance from the seller in the form of continuing involvement as part of the management team or a consulting arrangement. The term of that involvement may be restricted if the buyer is using tradition bank financing in the form of an SBA loan . If the business is a partnership then the decision to sell can become more complicated . It is very important that both or all partners be in agreement about a sale and a valuation range before starting the process. Another factor that can come into play are tax and financial planning issues . If , for some reason, it might be more favorable to sell in the current year rather than a succeeding year then the sale process should be started as soon as prudent. The seller (and key partners if any) also should be prepared to thoughtfully embrace the sale process. This will include complying with buyer due diligence, negotiations and using the right team of professional to assist the process.
Personal Considerations
If you are a business owner considering a sale for the right business reasons then you need to think through if you are mentally ready to sell. For many business owners this can be easy if they are “burnt out” or just know “it’s time”. I was involved in a business
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sale last year and after the closing I asked the seller how he felt, etc.. He responded by saying “Well, for the first time in 42 years I can now take Saturday off.” It also allowed him the flexibility to travel and spend more time with grandchildren. For others it can be a new opportunity to “scratch that itch” and go back to school, be a volunteer, or pursue a hobby. However, for some it can also be a challenging transition. Being a small business owner becomes part of your identity and defines how you think of yourself and possibly how others think of you. Without thinking this through a seller can feel a little lost after the sale. Your business life and your social life become intertwined over the course of decades so “letting go” can be difficult. Therefore, thinking though that next stage in their life is important. I know of someone who, when faced with this, said she was looking at the business sale not as a finish line but a starting lining in a new chapter of her life . Another personal consideration is the impact on the family. This is particularly important if family members are involved in the business. The impact of a business sale on all family members needs to be thought through. Some family members with have that same sense of identity with the business that the owner does. That can be especially true if the business name includes the family name. The financial impact of a business sale on the seller and his family should also be understood. In addition to the loss of salary and dividends taken from the business there can be the loss of perks from the business certain expenses, travel, etc.). In summary, a seller has to understand a combination of factors when deciding to sell. This includes not waiting too long , the pricing implications of the business stage life cycle , partnership or shareholder dynamics , and being psychologically prepared to embrace the sale process and life afterward. And finally, another way to look at it is to consider the opportunity cost of not selling in terms of other opportunities, pursuits and life goals. This perspective should help clarify the thinking in this decision.
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