Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
*******@**********al.com; www.inletmedical.com
DEAR INFORMER:I’m broadening my array of products, many of which I sell on my Web site. Meanwhile, I have an established name for my company and Web site that is well known but focused on the original, more narrow, product line. How can I get new business without losing the old?
DEAR EXPANDING: It can be tricky to make such a change, but it’s imperative to do so with the long-term future of the company in mind, says Elin Raymond, president of The Sage Group in Minneapolis.
She recommends changing one step at a time. First, survey customers to find out what words they type into Google when they’re looking for information about products and services they need.
Create a new, second URL, keeping in mind those keywords, so you increase your chances of coming up high on search engines. Think as broadly as possible, searching for words that encompass the widest range of your products.
Meanwhile, continue with the old name for as long as it takes to make the transition. You can discontinue it some day if it falls out of use, but there’s no harm in simply doubling up, even for years if needed.
Or consider using the old name in a tag line down the road. You can play up the grand history of the company by using something like, “maker of the original X.”Elin Raymond, The Sage Group: 612.321.9897; er******@*****rp.com; www.sagegroup.com
DEAR INFORMER: I’ve been convinced I should form a board of directors, but I don’t know whom to ask. And I can’t help but think, who would want to be on my board? I’m just a small business doing OK.
DEAR INFERIORITY COMPLEX:
Lots of people enjoy being on boards, for a variety of reasons. They may have vast business experience and see board service as a way to give back to others.
They may be younger executives who have not yet served on a board but have considerable management experience, and see board service as a coup for their careers.
They may have a vested interest in your company, either money backing it or services provided to it, and want to add to the probability that you'll succeed.
They may have heard about you or your company in the community, and are curious about how you do things.
Companies with good boards of directors tend to do better than those without, says Michele Vaillancourt, an attorney with Winthrop & Weinstine in Minneapolis, who advises privately held firms.
Boards can hold the CEO accountable for decisions and deadlines, and can fill gaps in expertise, or help the CEO identify those gaps on the management team. The more control and ownership resides with one person, the more important it is to have directors. One-person fiefdoms are vulnerable.
Always start with an evaluation of why you want a board, and what types of people you want on the board. Write these things down, along with practicalities such as how often the board will meet, for how long, and how much you'll pay for each meeting.
Fees needn't be high, especially for a small company; a few hundred dollars each meeting should be fine. But prospects will be more likely to serve if they see you have a detailed plan for your board. They won't want to participate if they think you're not taking it seriously.
Then, start asking everyone you know for names that fit your needs. Attorneys, accountants and bankers are excellent sources for this. So are chamber groups, peer counseling groups and networking events, school and church groups, tennis clubs.
Michele Vaillancourt, Winthrop & Weinstine: 612.604.6681; mv***********@******op.com; www.winthrop.com
Ben Cowan now has two Snap Fitness operations open in St. Paul, with plans for one or two more perhaps in six months. He thought he'd be up and running there in 2006.
About five years ago, the owner of Swat Solutions decided to invest in an onsite lab, in Plymouth, to perform quality assurance testing of software for customers. Today that decision is paying off, says John Fox, vice president of professional services.
