Author Archives: Don Herrmann

16 Feb

Solving Your Labor Issues Doesn’t take Rocket Science

Let’s are honest, the lack of labor is hurting many businesses.  Work is being done more expensively; huge unsupportable pay increases are being used to attract workers and yet, some of them still ghost you, leave you or simply cannot do the work at the quality level you and your customers demand.  This issue is harming your business growth AND the sustainability of your business.  You feel like you’ve tried everything and frustration is everywhere.  Your Cost of Goods Sold is increasing primarily due to excessive overtime and increasing wages to compete with your competitors who are doing the same.  What more can you do?

There is a solution.

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09 Feb

I Don’t Want to Plan My Exit From My Business

If you don’t want to plan your exit from your business then don’t.  It’s that simple.  However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work on your business.  Work on your business to make it more productive, more efficient or as I like to say, help make it recession proof.  Being prepared is part of being successful at business.

With Baby Boomers owning most US Businesses it is understandable that the focus of many business consultants is to focus on helping them transition their businesses to others.  Why wouldn’t they, with roughly 10 trillion dollars of business involved it only makes sense.   But Baby Boomers don’t own everything, and not all Baby Boomers are thinking of retirement.  We are living longer than our parents and Grandparents so staying in the business longer also makes sense.  The youngest Baby Boomers are about 53.  They could have another 20 or 30 years of working life left if they choose.  Their businesses need to do things too.

If you don’t want to plan your exit, what should you do?

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02 Feb

Successful Life After Work Means Planning

My continuing education about business, work, and the workplace recently shared an interesting piece of data with me.  That data was only 20% of businesses that go on the market are sold.  Further, of those business owners who sold their business, 72% did not know or did not think the sale of the business will impact their lifestyle.

Think about those two points.  The average business owner has 80-90% of their personal wealth tied up in their business.  About 20% of them can take physical possession of that wealth through a sale while 80% will have to find another way.  What should each of these business owners do to improve those outcomes?  What can they do to become part of the 20% and equally important, what can be done for the remaining 80%?

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26 Jan

What Happens Next With Your Business

It’s a conversation most business owners and their families don’t want to have.  The conversation about what happens next with the business.  Next as in when the current business owner is no longer working in the business.  Next, as in how do we effectively manage that transition to ensure that the investment made in the business provides the best possible return for the business owner.

So what happens next?

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19 Jan

How Do You Price Your Product or Service?

It appears to be a common practice.  A business owner figures out the price of labor and materials adds an “upcharge” and VOILA – they have the price for their product or service.  It is equally common for them to know that their competitor sells the product for $25 a pound and they meet that price.  Or, their competitor makes a product for $25 a pound and they meet that price.  No matter whether it is a product or a service the price strategy is the same…I will sell at the same rate as my competitor because that is the market.  That approach will ruin your business and easily could be decreasing your profit.

Why am I saying that?

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