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.
UPSIZE STAGES: THE EARLY YEARS
10 :: Finding people to help.
Advisers who?ve ?seen
it all? can help owners
through adversity
Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely feeling, one that many say is hard to relate to. Many entrepreneurs won?t talk to friends or associates because they don?t want to burden them with problems. Those people need peers with whom they can work through situations.
But one common theme espoused by former start-up entrepreneurs, consultants and other advisers is that business owners don?t have to go through the battles alone.
There are mentors that have been through similar battles before that enjoy working with start-ups to help them avoid repeating mistakes. You can find them at groups like Inner Circle or Vistage, which give business owners the opportunity to meet in peer groups to discuss common issues. SCORE, formerly the Service Corps of Retired Executives, provides free consultations with retired entrepreneurs who have been through many of the same issues faced by early-stage businesses today.
Internally, you should have your own advisory board, which generally will consist of at least your attorney, a banker and an accountant. Lean on those people for advice during difficult times and advise them of potential problems before they become too big to handle.
It?s equally important that entrepreneurs have valuable people outside that circle to provide advice and talk to about problems that arise. Some small-business owners say creating a board of advisers or directors was one of the best moves they?ve made.
This doesn?t have to be made up of people you already consult with. It can consist of people whose opinions you respect, larger investors (some say you shouldn?t take money from an investor if you don?t respect them or they aren?t willing to put in some time and feedback), customers, vendors and others that can provide a sounding board for your business. Just make sure they?re all people you respect and trust.
Whether it?s a SCORE representative, a mentor or some other professional, it?s vital to have advisers that will tell you they think you are wrong or who can see things through an unfiltered lens. It?s often difficult as an entrepreneur to look past the latest problems.
While it?s good to have advisers and it?s good to keep employees informed about what is going on with the company, they should not be a part of your inner advisory team. They don?t see the company from the same perspective you do and it can create anxiety and insecurity. They can be brought into board meeting sessions to keep your team apprised of what is going on with the company, but it?s best that they not be made part of the inner team itself.
As the name suggests, Owatonna-based Kamp Automation looks for customers with a process they’d like to automate. It could be a small, inconvenient, tiny part that people can’t assemble. It could be a high-volume product so needed that the customer can’t find enough labor to produce it in the necessary quantities. “We’ll work anywhere from medical device companies to the seed industry for corn and soybeans,” says Kent Patterson, co-founder, president and CEO. “We just jump all over wherever there is custom automation.” The company started in his garage. Patterson and his partners built a machine. The company started to grow to the point where now it has 48 employees — and had a bunch of people and stuff in different locations. “We went from a garage to a shop to a shop and just kept moving to new places and signing leases,” he says. “We got to a point where it’s like, OK, this is getting big enough and sustainable — we felt that we wanted to look for our own space.’”
