People Friction June 21, 2025 We recently took a survey of business owners at a business expo in the Dallas area. We asked what the biggest challenges were for their business. The top two answers were: Owner Reliance: The owner did so much of the work that the business could not run without the owner. Read my earlier article on that topic here. People Friction: There was always some kind of problem between the employees, with the employees, or between the employees and the owner, etc. The...
14 days ago • 3 min read
A Week With Grandkids-And Other Business Lessons June 14, 2025 This past week we had grandkids staying at our house. Without parents. Just us. Yeah. A week with two children, 7 and 10, 24 hours a day for seven days. Here’s how it went. Drive a 7 hour round trip to pick them up. A day at the splash pad. A day at the park. A day at the museum. A day at the zoo. Endless episodes of Phineas and Ferb. Shopping. Trying to guess what they would eat. Then a sad 7 hour round trip drive to take them...
21 days ago • 2 min read
The Magic Model That Produces Wealth June 7, 2025 I bet you’ve heard about the chocolate and the carrot. You need the carrot, but the carrot is not at all appealing. You want the chocolate because, well, it’s chocolate isn’t it. And chocolate makes the world a better place. So someone wants you to have something you need but don’t want so they first offer something you want but don’t need. They entice you to eat the carrot by covering it in rich creamy chocolate that melts in your mouth. Can...
28 days ago • 2 min read
Why Do This To Your Business? May 31, 2025 You know how when you go to trade in your car you give it the best washing and detailing you have ever done since you bought it? Wash, wax, polish the chrome, vacuum the interior, Armor All the leather and plastic, clean your engine for the first time and take it in for its overdue oil change. We all do it because we think it will greatly increase the value. We do the same when we want to sell our house. Clean, paint, repair, mow, etc. Polish up the...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Exit Strategies May 24, 2025 We’ve all seen experts create volumes of content on how to invest in real estate. And lately the popular topic is how to buy a business. But we seldom hear those experts talk about selling those properties. It's just as important to know how to get out of a property as it is to know how to get into it. That is true, not just for real estate and businesses, but for any type of investment. Your Job Exit It’s even true for a job. How many times have you heard the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Financial Safety Net May 17, 2025 I'm late! Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I normally schedule the email on Friday to go out on Saturday at 3 am. I forgot to do that and this morning we woke up to a neighborhood internet outage. Twelve hours later my wife says "Why didn't you use a hot spot on your phone"? Good question. No good answer. So here I am on a hot spot. Thanks to all our (hopefully patient and forgiving) subscribers. I hope you enjoy this issue! If you own a small...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Embracing Your Inner Oddball May 10, 2025 Often times increasing your financial momentum requires more than investing in real estate or buying or starting a business and making it grow. There are certain personal adjustments that need to be made. I’m talking about making changes in your mindset, your attitudes, your daily routines and your inner circle. Who Influences You A person’s inner circle has more influence on their success in business and in life than most people realize. How many...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
3 Reasons Your Business Isn't Selling May 3, 2025 You’re a small business owner and you want to sell your business. It seems that no matter what you try you are stuck with it. Your exit strategy is failing! Why? What do you do about it? Let’s Back Up A Bit There are a lot of reasons why businesses can’t or don’t sell. I’ve decided to focus on three that I think are among the biggest reasons, and also the easiest to fix. 1. The Business Can’t Run Without You. I wrote about this in a previous...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Your Expertise Is Becoming More Important April 26, 2025 It’s true. Your expertise, your knowledge, and your experience are all becoming more important and more valuable. I was reading Justin Welsh’s newsletter article on how basic content is dying (https://www.justinwelsh.me/newsletter/basic-content-is-dying). I agree with this article. And I have an opinion on the topic as well. We are being flooded with AI generated content to the extent that the content is now largely worthless. If...
2 months ago • 2 min read