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.
Here’s a good way to evaluate the progress of your company: see which how-to articles in this annual special edition make it onto your to-do list.
For the fourth year, we’ve included articles contributed by local experts on a wide variety of topics.
Last year you may have learned how to export products, or how to diversify your personal and business assets. Use the articles in this edition to learn how to:
• Concentrate on the projected exit value of your company to have the greatest impact on investors, says Kevin Spreng of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi. He shows you how financiers do the math when deciding where to invest.
• Avoid jargon when choosing keywords for a pay-per-click advertising campaign, says Miki Dzugan of Rapport Online. She offers a step-by-step guide to creating yours.
• Use three tech tools to communicate with millennials: instant-messaging, blogs and portals, says Tom Salonek of Intertech. They’ll work for customers and employees, he insists, but not for convincing teens to clean up their rooms.
• Set up an employee stock ownership plan to retain your workforce, but be careful of costs, says Kevin Weise of Bremer Trust. His company has an ESOP, and he helps his customers set them up, so he knows the pros and cons from both points of view.
Thanks to these and many other experts who give practical advice to the owners of growing companies. As always we include contact information so you can get in touch with these resources.
We’ve again included real-life profiles of people who are doing the work. From them, you’ll learn to:
• Change your business model if Plan A isn’t working. That’s what radio personality Ruth Koscielak did. The victim of a high-profile firing, she started her company with a business model that didn’t include enough revenue. She tells our writer Liz Wolf how she fixed it in time.
• Attract customers from around the world, as Nate Westgor does at Willie’s American Guitars. He’s become an expert in rare and vintage instruments that attract a famous clientele.
There’s a lot more to do, so get busy. Keep this edition nearby all year for help.
— Beth Ewen
Editor and co-founder
Upsize Minnesota
be***@*******ag.com
