Owning a business can be a fulfilling and exciting experience, but it's not all smooth sailing. Sometimes it's more akin to a trip aboard the Titanic. Or it is being stuck on one of those cruise ships where everybody gets food poisoning. It can be beautiful sunsets and neverending Pina Coladas on the upper deck. It can also be dysentery and an unfortunate starboard encounter with an iceberg. And more often than not, it's a little bit of both.

Still, no risk, no reward, right? 

There are plenty of highs and lows when it comes to owning your own business. And even knowing what we know (and what we've seen), we'd throw ourselves onto that ship every single time. But it's a decision everyone has to make for themselves. If you're just starting out or thinking about buying or starting a business of your own, keep in mind some of the high points and the low points you will encounter on the way. 

High - Independence and freedom: One of the biggest perks of owning a business...

Will that be cash or charge?

When was the last time you heard that phrase? Or - and here’s a bigger throwback for you - when someone asked if you wanted to pay by check? It seems wild that just twenty years ago, we could walk into the mall (remember those?) and leave with a new pair of shoes simply by putting our John Hancock on a slip of paper (with the logo of our favorite football team in the background) that may or may not clear once it hit the bank. 

How we pay for things continues to evolve, and as a small business owner, you must understand how these changes affect your bottom line. (Spoiler alert: It ALL affects your bottom line.) We now have cash, credit cards, debit cards, ACH payments, checks, mobile wallets, and various peer-to-peer payment and online platforms to choose from. 

So which ones should you accept? And which of them should you kick to the curb? 

The jerk-knee response is, “take them all,” right? You want to make it as...

Under promise and over-deliver.

This seems like a wise bit of advice, no?

Most of us, at one point in our careers, have made the mistake of making guarantees we had no business making. Whether from overinflated confidence, a complete lack of awareness, or just wishful thinking, you promised the moon - and then suffered the fallout when you fell short of those promises. 

Likewise, we’ve all been on the other side of the coin (or the dark side of the moon, if you will). You’ve placed your trust, confidence, and money in a person or business that promised one thing but delivered something very different. Were you a repeat customer after that? Probably not. You got burnt - and it sucks.

It’s not rocket science.

Anyone in the business of consistently overselling and under-delivering will likely not be in business very long. At least, not without the help of a very, very good marketing team.

But does this mean that doing the opposite of underpromising and...

One of the routes to financial independence is via real estate. To fully appreciate the value of real estate participation is to utilize the tax benefits associated with real estate investing.

This week we are revealing one of the best-kept secrets in America!

The benefits of a Cost Segregation Study are undeniable. Cost segregation is a tremendously beneficial and widely used tax strategy for residential development and commercial property owners. This technique can significantly reduce taxable income, which in turn increases cash flow - formerly a tool used by the largest accounting firms and real estate owners. It has become routine among almost every size business! Nearly every person who owns or operates any type of real estate can benefit from using Cost Segregation!

HOW DOES IT WORK?

By identifying and placing the various individual assets purchased in a real estate transaction into their proper shorter 5, 7, or 15-year depreciation lives (rather than on a 39-year life...

If you’re someone who hated homework in high school - we’ve got some bad news for you. 

The expression “what you don’t know can’t hurt you” might be valid for a lot of things, but when it comes to buying a business, what you don’t know is precisely what could bite you in the ass.

Performing due diligence is one of the most critical steps when purchasing a business. I don’t care if the dude you’re buying from is your brother’s best friend’s sister’s step-uncle, who you’ve known since you were in diapers. You should always, ALWAYS, do your homework before making anything official. A misrepresentation of facts or figures - intentional or otherwise - is always a possibility. Protect yourself from agreeing to a crap deal. Remember, it's not personal - it’s business.

When is it done?

Due diligence is typically one of the final phases of your business acquisition journey. You’ve already...

Your business is in a constant state of evolution. Workflows can be improved; sales increased; processes honed; client experiences enhanced. Vertically. Horizontally. Improvement is a continuous pursuit.  

The history of the Oxford English Dictionary is an ideal example of this mindset. Googling a word’s meaning or – gulp – leafing through an actual paperbound dictionary is somewhat of a luxury. When the Philological Society of London members decided, in 1857, that existing English language dictionaries were incomplete and deficient, they called for a complete re-examination of the language. While they knew they were embarking on an ambitious project, they didn’t realize the full extent of the work they initiated or how long it would take to achieve the final result.

The project proceeded slowly after the Society’s first grand statement of purpose. Eventually, in 1879, the Society agreed with the Oxford University Press and James A....

Entrepreneurs must have an ego. As at the bar during happy hour, everything in moderation, kids!

There are tons of reasons companies (big and small) fail, but it often comes down to one thing: hubris. Their leaders lack humility. Oddly, this lack of humility in the pursuit of largesse keeps them from realizing just what an enormous problem that is. It keeps them in denial of their own limitations.

There is no better example of this folly than a successful company deciding to build a new home for their operations - only to have their businesses collapse soon after that under the weight of excessive costs and overhead.

These case studies are not here because we like lists. They're offered to you because the good ones learn from their mistakes. The great ones learn from the mistakes of others. Be great.

At the height of print media and ignoring the heavy footsteps of the internet, The New York Times Company built a 52-floor monolith as the business' client base was...

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." 

Unexpected costs when running a business are going to pop up at the worst possible time (think giant zit right before the big high school dance kind of timing). It doesn't matter how carefully and thoroughly you planned your budget – Murphy's Law guarantees the one expense you didn't account for is the one you're going to incur. 

With that in mind, today, we're going to cover five unexpected costs you might encounter as a business owner. It's our way of giving you the upper hand…and giving ole Murphy the middle digit.

Equipment Failure & Maintenance

Nothing lasts forever, and at some point, everything from construction equipment, machinery, ovens, printers, and computers will need servicing or replaced altogether. Depending on the nature of your business, some of these will immediately negatively impact your bottom line. (If you have a print shop and your printers go up, you're in trouble.) 

...

All businesses have many moving parts and pieces that contribute to or detract from their overall success. Profit margins, supply chain and inventory issues, customer relations, inflation, funding, cash flow, and competition are just the tip of the iceberg.

If you don't want to sail a sinking ship, you need to keep your ear to the ground (or deck, maybe?) on each and every one of these. But for today, we're going to focus on three areas that are all interconnected and can significantly impact your business -- for good or for bad.

Finding Customers. 

Recruiting and Retaining Dedicated Employees. 

Developing Good Customer Service. 

• For a business to grow, you need to attract more customers. 
• More customers mean you need to hire more employees to keep up with the demand.
• More demand means more employee and customer interactions.
• More interactions mean more opportunities for employees to provide excellent (or not so excellent) customer service.
• Excellent customer...

Burnout: exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

If you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, you probably don't need the dictionary definition of the word; it's a reality you're all too familiar with. Starting a business -- and keeping it operational -- is no small feat. Elon Musk describes it as "eating glass and staring into the abyss. If you go into expecting that it's going to be just fun, you're going to be disappointed. It's not. It's quite painful." 

Cheery, right?

So, why do people do it? What makes entrepreneurs take the long, hard path with no shortcuts and no guaranteed success? Why the hell would someone choose to take "the road less traveled" when there are plenty of other safer, less tumultuous options out there? I know Robert Frost claimed it made all the difference, but to what end?

Because you want something more. Because you don't want to settle....