You’ve Checked the Couch Cushions, Where to Look Next?

According to a survey by Wave, a bookkeeping and financial software provider to small businesses, most small businesses have less than $5,000 cash on hand. For these businesses, we’re still in a period of cash conservation. Where might we look to reduce expense and keep some of those dollars from leaving home? Perhaps you should consider reviewing the monthly check you’re writing (OK, admittedly old-school) to your landlord.

Whether you rent or own the space you’re using, the dollars you’re devoting to real estate are probably, behind payroll and benefits, your third largest outlay. My friend and colleague, Justin Rayburn of Fountainhead Commercial, a leading commercial real estate brokerage in the Denver metro area, points out that business owners looking to conserve cash or to simply reduce expense often overlook the cost of owning or using real estate – at least until it becomes a real problem.

Add to this expense some uncertainty of whether employees might continue to work remotely, and whether new employees may even be available, and the long-term commercial real estate solution is even more challenging.

Justin describes his service as “allowing our clients to not have to be an expert in my business in order to run theirs.” This may sound like an extravagant luxury to most small business owners, but Justin says he’s proud to offer “big firm” experience to small business clients. His goal is to look for the best lease terms, including termination and renewal rights, expansion or contraction options, and rent abatement deferral, and he says the small and middle market is under-represented in these areas.

With each new client and engagement, Justin and his team perform a deep diagnostic of the business’s goals and objectives and a financial analysis on the company’s real estate commitments. This helps both them and the client create a suitable real estate strategy and understand what the financial obligations are going to be moving forward. From there Justin and his team identify suitable building/space options for the client’s requirement and commence the tour and negotiation process. During deal term negotiations, Justin’s team identifies comparable properties that have recently either sold or leased to understand the market dynamics and to be able to better negotiate either a lower purchase price or the lowest possible rental rate. Justin shared that understanding what the market is doing and observing how properties are moving is one of the most important tools Justin and his team use to help their clients negotiate the best deal.

Justin shared that his favorite projects are those that have a lot of moving pieces and that allow him and his team to leverage their networks and market knowledge to find – or create – good results for the client. For example, Justin is working with a client that is in a building that is far, far too big. Justin is helping them downsize by selling the existing building and moving into a new space that is suitable for their newly projected growth. Justin is helping his client downsize from 400,000 square feet to approximately 32,000, and as a result the client will substantially reduce their real estate expenses while at the same time improving their manufacturing, logistics, and distribution processes.

In another example, Justin helped a developer assemble 3 separate retail parcels that together made up 1/2 a city block. Justin worked the town council to become actively involved in planning the project with his client, and the city participated in the project by contributing the other ½ of the city block and in return the client provided over 200 new parking stalls for visitors to the town. Justin was successful in securing purchase and sale contracts with three separate businesses and, even though several other developers and their brokers had previously attempted to assemble and develop the lots, Justin and his team were able to succeed where the others had failed.

Justin helps clients primarily with real estate needs between downtown Denver and Castle Rock and along the Boulder Turnpike between Denver and Boulder. He and his team have experience in the technology, financial, and bioscience arenas, but he shared that he’s most excited to help small and medium sized business owners, regardless of industry.

While our real estate market is improving, the office segment is still struggling to recover from COVID and the recent shift to remote working. The highest vacancy rate is in downtown office space, largely due to the slowdown in the oil and gas industry, companies going out of business, and downsizing due to the dynamics created as a result of COVID. Justin and his team help their clients figure out the best way to innovate their work environment to accommodate the challenges of tight labor markets, changing regulations, and employee demands for remote work options and flexibility.

As for what you can do for your own business right now, Justin says, “Start real estate planning early. Pay attention to your real estate holdings because they’re a costly part of your business and can sometimes make or break your company’s success. Put the right people on the bus as far as who can help you achieve your goals. Find a real estate professional who can recommend quality industry professionals and make sure you’re getting quality representation in all parts of the transaction. What you miss at the beginning will cost you in the end.”

Justin shared that the most important qualities a broker can bring to the table are integrity, market knowledge, and experience. “Our industry is one in which it’s easy for people to take advantage of a client in order to make the most money on a single transaction,” he says. “I’d rather do right for the client in all circumstances, maybe making less money today but ensuring I’m in a position to work with that client again in the future.”

If this sounds like a relationship you’d be interested in cultivating, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.

We talk about technology a lot in these newsletters, and it’s because technology daily impacts almost everything we do and how we do it. Technology, especially communications technology, can be complicated, is constantly changing, can be expensive, and sometimes stops working or doesn’t do what we need it to do! Might you want to avoid the frustration, distraction, and unneeded expense that constantly changing communications technology might bring? If so, you should turn to my friend Frank Milinazzo and his company, Skybridge Communications.

“Business technology is too big to dabble with,” Frank says. “There are so many angles. Since Skybridge doesn’t have a dog in the fight, for example we don’t have a quota to meet or a sales goal to achieve, we can focus on finding the best solution for our client.” Frank and the Skybridge team are passionate about finding the right solution, whether it may involve special promotions; free, discounted, or bulk-ordered products; or just the right service for the client’s needs.

Frank admitted to being a recovering “phone guy,” having cut his teeth in the telecommunications world in 1991. “Phone people are viewed by most others with skepticism,” says Frank. “Lots of people have suffered through experiences with equipment or service that didn’t work and they don’t want to endure it again.” Frank has participated in the evolution from voice communication to all communications systems – from choosing systems and equipment to installation and implementation. However, the Skybridge team’s goal is “to provide top-tier technology solutions that eliminate complication and hassle” in all aspects of communications technology, including installation, managed services, and systems integration.

“There are so many companies out there, and so many different ways to go about solving problems that it can be difficult for the client to know whether they’re getting a real solution and a good deal,” Frank said. “It’s all about giving the client what they need, what will fit their company and their business, and keeping their technology solutions as simple as possible.”

Frank shared that his favorite part of consulting is getting to know people and their companies – “from large corporations to ‘mom and pop’ shops, cannabis to hair ties.” Almost to a person, most people just want technology that works and is simple to use, and that’s what Skybridge does best.

Frank works hard to earn each client’s trust, and he confided that a good fit between consultant and client goes both ways. “When I’m being interviewed by a prospective client, I’m interviewing them too to make sure Skybridge will be able to give them what they need.” For example, he says, his happiest clients engage Skybridge for the entire process, from designing systems, choosing equipment, unboxing and testing gear, and network setup to continuing monitoring and maintenance services. Frank likes this approach too because it gives his team control over the network and all the moving parts, letting the team make sure everything is working to meet the client’s goals.

Skybridge begins every client engagement with a thorough analysis of the client’s technology needs, getting to know the business intimately in order to customize the team’s efforts and bring about the best results. Skybridge takes responsibility for all stages of the process, regardless of the scope of the project. They manage the entire project, including managing the people they engage to help with the job, and since they’re involved from set-up to clean-up they’re on-site to spot and deal with issues while being available to empathize with the client and what the client is going through. The Skybridge team starts its “counseling” role before the client engages with Skybridge, and they continue to serve in this role as they help the client navigate the changes and growing pains that come with adding new technology to any business.

Several examples Frank shared showcase Skybridge’s versatility in customizing technology solutions to suit an individual client’s needs. For one client, Frank revamped the way the client’s call center functioned so they could take more calls using fewer shifts, reduce call hold times, and improve efficiency. For another company, Skybridge enabled each employee to record calls (legally) on computers, phones, and other devices so the employee could later review the recording for needed details.

Skybridge was also on the cutting edge of “SIP trunking – a way of setting up multiple phone lines with different area codes – for much less cost than had previously been possible. This allowed Skybridge’s clients to offer call-in and call-back numbers with area codes that matched those being used by their customers.

Frank shared that his favorite project was one that allowed Frank and the Skybridge team to design and acquire all the needed technology and put it all together. Skybridge enabled the client’s camera system to synchronize with employees’ phones, and, using geo-tracking, trigger the cameras to record images only when an employee’s phone was within a camera’s viewing range. This technology can also be used to toggle phone functions like ‘do not disturb’ on and off based on where the phone is located so that, for example, notification blocks are toggled on when an employee is in a meeting and toggled off when the employee is in the field. “At the end of the day, it comes down to learning more about the client and how they need their technology to function – they’re the ones breathing it all day long, so they know best what they need.”

As to what you might do on your own, Frank advises companies to begin with a plan for disaster recovery. Frank advises starting by asking these questions: “What needs to happen if something goes wrong?” “Do we have guardrails up?” and “When was the last time we checked our backups?”

Next, Frank suggests making sure that your in-house technology team has regular contact with the outside world. He cautions that an internal technology expert probably knows your network really well, but if that’s the only thing they see they are likely to miss other perspectives, best practices, and new information. Frank cautions, “security needs to be evaluated more often and from many more vantage points than most people appreciate.”

When asked what he would look for in a communications technology consultant, Frank answered, quickly and confidently, “Empathy.” He would look for someone who works hard for the person who’s investing the money, who spends the money like it’s their own, who maximizes value for their client, and who is family-centric and cares about others. “People can learn what I do,” he says, “which isn’t anything extraordinary. The differentiator is a matter of being caring and empathetic and taking care of people.” If this approach to communications technology sounds like something that would help you and your business, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.

How many times have you heard or used the phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words?” Have you considered how many words a compelling video and narrative might be worth? If you could harness the power of all these words and put it use helping you achieve a business goal, what might that be worth? My friend Mike Schrader and his team of video production wizards at Moxtopia are pros at focusing this power on their client’s goals.

You might know that creating compelling video messaging isn’t easy and isn’t an exact science. By starting with an understanding of their client’s goals, Mike and his team help interpret the facts, circumstances, and developments and create a story. The creative process can involve lots of writing, recording, and travel, and Mike and his team are pros at tackling these tasks efficiently. Mike has shared with me that he loves all these tasks but that performing them allows him to enjoy his favorite aspect of his work – meeting great people, learning their stories, and helping them tell those stories.

Mike described himself as a storyteller: “We go in and use a process of discovery to understand our clients’ stories, and we help them tell their story.” This process usually involves helping the client condense lots of information – the who, what, when, where, why, and how – into a video message designed and focused to accomplish an identified and specific, goal.

This process starts with identifying what the client wants to accomplish or wants to happen. Mike and the Moxtopia crew then create the visual storytelling to make it happen. For example, Moxtopia has helped one of the nation’s largest agricultural banks communicate with clients in multiple ways that include telling the stories of their philanthropic efforts on behalf of the bank’s clients and communicating the employment experience to prospective bank employees. These video storybooks served to strengthen their banking relationships with clients and to recruit top tier talent.

If you’re like most people, you’re not sure what to expect from video communication. “Video communication isn’t always perceived as a tactic based on strategy,” Mike says, “but instead is viewed as just ‘smoke and mirrors’.” Mike explained that the Moxtopia team leads the client through a process to identify specific goals and help the client, with Moxtopia’s help, create and tell an effective story. It starts, Mike says, with getting to know the client. If the client is going to make an investment in video communication, they want the investment to accomplish something. Mike and his team create the metrics by which they and the client then measure the return on the investment. “What are you trying to move?” “Who are you asking to do the moving?” and “How far do you want to move it?” are all questions Mike and his team want to understand to help the client measure success of the story telling and understand how the storytelling fits into the bigger picture.

Mike stressed his focus on each client’s unique needs and business, and Mike and his team work hard to produce something that’s fresh and new and based exclusively on the individual client and that client’s goals. “When the video is played and the lights come up, I want to know what is the one thing the client wants the audience to be saying, thinking, or doing?” Mike says. “That’s what we want to focus on: getting that reaction.” While each client is different, all have a message they want to deliver to achieve a business goal. Whether the client is an international robotics company hoping to help its clients understand the capabilities of the newest machines or a defense contractor implementing a safety initiative among its employees, Mike and his team are expert in helping them tell the stories of what they’re doing and helping obtain the audience reaction the client wants.

While there are lots of video formats, such as animation and documentary, Mike identified interviewing clients and helping tell their own story as a Moxtopia strength. “There’s a skill and an art to interviewing for video,” Mike says. “You have to set the guest’s nerves at ease and help them comfortably and effortlessly tell their story. We guide the guest and help them tell their story naturally.”

Next, the Moxtopia team dives in to edit the and craft the product to present the story in a way that will help achieve the client’s goals. Sometimes, this product is a single communication to be delivered to one or more audiences. Other times, the product includes multiple video communications that may be replayed at an audience member’s request or even forwarded by an audience member to others.

Even, however, with all the experience and expertise the Moxtopia team brings, Mike cautions clients not to assume that any particular goal can be achieved with a single video communication or with video communication alone. A message may convey the perfect information in the perfect way for the intended audience, but it must also be presented to the audience and be presented in a way and at a time when the audience is likely to receive it and to give it their attention.  The client must also be prepared, with people and resources, to react to, manage, and support the audience reaction.

When selecting a video communication specialist, Mike advises, you should ask to see examples of the work. Many people offer video communications services, and the cost and availability of video recording and processing allows for lots of players in the market. “At the end of the day,” Mike says, “it’s a relationship, so you want to see their work and to see how their mind works. How are they going to go about telling your story?”

If you’re not ready for professionally-produced video communication, Mike recommends focusing on verbal communication skills. Being an effective verbal communicator is essential because, regardless of your business or industry, the communications skills you bring to the business are going to have big impact.

Mike shared that many of Moxtopia’s engagements involve their client’s sole opportunity to be creative. “We strive to help them feel they can be part of a collaborative team, and we take that very seriously,” said Mike.

While the Moxtopia team works with a wide variety of clients, Mike shared that he especially likes clients who allow him to do what he does best and then share and consider what needs to be tweaked to meet the client’s goals.

If you’re ready to take your company’s communications to the next level with some expertly crafted video stories and might like to get to know Mike, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.

When interviewing the professional service providers we feature in these white papers, I usually hear about specific problems, obstacles, or opportunities their clients might be experiencing. My guests usually describe an accounting, finance, human resource, technology, or other isolated, finite problem. However, when I interviewed our guests for this issue, the problems they described were vague, general, and esoteric. “Our clients often say, ‘I know something’s wrong, but I’m not sure what.’ Others give us a long list of problems that, when we dig into them, reveal themselves as merely symptoms.”

If you’re struggling to identify the real problems your business faces or have implemented endless “fixes” without improving its overall health, let me introduce you to my friends Mike Butler and Aleah Horstman, the business and leadership development gurus behind The Executive Guide.

Mike and Aleah facilitate groups of developing leader peers, help business owners and executives be more purposeful building teams and cohesive organizational cultures, and coach their executive and leadership clients. During our interview, both said that the thing they like most about what they do is seeing radical transformation in their clients.

Aleah shared that their clients are passionate about making their businesses better. Many clients “grew up” performing a trade and have created large organizations of employees who perform those services.  However, these clients frequently missed any chance to learn how to lead and inspire a larger organization, and they lack the skills needed to support their companies.

Mike’s favorite consultations involve giving business owners tools they start using immediately to solve problems and watching the leaders and their teams become more cohesive and effective.

Mike and Aleah’s clients describe their own experiences in much the same way. Each client experienced a problem, or several problems, that they couldn’t define. Their pain was great enough to make them seek relief. Most complained that they were working harder than ever but not making more money. No one knew why.

These clients were not alone. Mike pointed out that 80% of American small businesses fail within ten years. Many businesses have high turnover, low morale, or both. Many lack a business plan. Many experience communication or technical problems. Mike and Aleah guide these clients by helping them identify the problems. The simple experience of naming a problem, by itself, can provide the relief and support the client needs to be able to move forward.

A client once shared with Aleah, “I got into this business because I was passionate about it. Now it’s making millions of dollars but I’m not having fun anymore,” Aleah added that many of their clients share this feeling. However, after being on the journey with The Executive Guide, clients sing a different tune, such as, “Mike and Aleah got me unstuck and gave me tools to better deal with problems at work and at home;” “I didn’t really understand how to move my business forward, but now I have a plan;” and “This changed my life, not just my business.”

Mike and Aleah make sure that each client relationship is a good fit and that the client is ready to do the work needed for the change they seek. Aleah says, “We often hear people using words like ‘touchy-feely’ and ‘soft skills’ – but there’s nothing soft about it; this is difficult work.”

Sometimes owners and executives have to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves. For example, an executive’s ego may be getting in the way or the way a client is accustomed to managing people alienates most of their employees. Mike and Aleah are committed to helping, even when they are forced to tell a client what he or she needs to hear when it’s not what the client wants to hear. “It’s challenging,” Aleah says, “but successful people eventually lean into it. That’s when the real change starts.”

Aleah and Mike are both trained in coaching and leadership development using best practices. Both also have lived experience leading organizations. This is part of what makes them different from other consultants – many others haven’t run a business. Most of Mike and Aleah’s coaching is informed by their own experiences doing just that. They’re passionate about partnering with clients to identify problems and help them experience the transformation they need and want.

Mike and Aleah have developed and continue to perfect their own unique approach. They began with curriculum created by Patrick Lencioni more than 20 years ago and offered by The Table Group, and they paired this content with the work of Brené Brown, Adam Grant, and others. Using these resources and drawing from their own experience, Mike and Aleah created their own model. Even though they’ve developed a great process, both emphasized that the most important thing is to meet the client where they are. Mike and Aleah will adapt their process to the client’s needs – except when it comes to skipping steps. “We won’t skip steps,” Aleah pointed out, “because they’re all connected. Everyone starts at the beginning.”

One of the first things they focus their efforts on is the client’s “Clarity Statement” – a succinct, one page statement of the client’s answers to the following questions:

• Who are we?
• Why do we exist?
• How are we different?
• Where are we going?
• What are the values that guide our behaviors?

Mike and Aleah couple developing the Clarity Statement with a “values” exercise that encourages the client to come up with three to four specific core values of their organization. If the client struggles to keep their values to four or less, Mike notes, this is often part of the reason they’re struggling to find cohesiveness within their organization.

Each offered an example of one of their favorite or most meaningful projects. Aleah’s example featured a CEO with a Superman complex and a team that couldn’t function without him. The company was losing money and the CEO was working harder than ever. He fundamentally didn’t understand how to empower the leadership team. Aleah says it took about a year, but eventually the CEO could leave the office early and could take vacations knowing that his team could handle anything. The team became more cohesive, productivity went up, and the company was soon back in the black.

In Mike’s example, a young, ambitious CEO of a fast-growing engineering firm had 14 engineer employees but struggled to find the new talent necessary to continue growing. After working with The Executive Guide, the CEO transformed the organization from a “top-down” structure to a more transparent, collaborative culture. Within nine months candidates were flocking to apply to become part of the company’s great culture.

If they were going to engage someone like themselves, Mike says, they would look for someone with lived experience of what they were trying to coach. He added that while someone in their line of work must be confident in what they provide, they also have to have humility to have complete curiosity, which is necessary to meet the client where they are and craft customized advice and coaching to help each individual client. Aleah added that she would look for someone who walks in with curiosity, rather than who walks in and immediately tells people how to change everything, and someone who is passionate about paying it forward.

For their part, the clients Mike and Aleah are looking for are businesses in small to medium markets, although they’re also confident in larger markets. They have leaders who are committed to the work and a more cohesive organizational culture. To companies working toward stronger teams and better workplaces, they recommend focusing on the emotional health of their leaders and teams, and recommend two books in particular: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, and Leadership is Language by L. David Marquet. If you see a path for your company to thrive with the help of The Executive Guide, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.

Perhaps the main reason there are more accountants serving small businesses than just about any other kind of consultant is that it takes the right person to be great at it. For the rest of us – well, let’s just say we’re glad those other people are out there and available to support our accounting needs. One of the people providing great bookkeeping and accounting services is my friend Lisa Fitzgerald, owner of LF Consulting, LLC.

In addition to being passionate about helping clients, Lisa makes a point of understanding the client’s business, needs, and goals and then finding what she can take off the client’s plate and other ways she can help the most. She particularly likes helping businesses recover from a bad experience or messy accounting situation and develop a strong, healthy relationship and a clean set of books. Lisa’s clients view her more as trusted advisor rather than a service provider, and many rely on her consultation for other things besides accounting.

Before engaging with Lisa, business owners may feel helpless or that they’re facing a mess too big to clean up on their own. Maybe the books aren’t correct, processes aren’t being followed or haven’t been set up at all, or the client is in a start-up mode and is overwhelmed by too many tasks, demands, and distractions. Lisa often ties all these needs and feelings back to the numbers to help the client focus on those things that are most important or impactful, and she often helps the client improve processes in multiple areas.

One memorable client story Lisa shared involves the chief operations officer of a wealth management firm who asked for Lisa’s help after having embarked on employment with a new company. The new company previously suffered a bad experience with its accounting provider and was trying to improve its processes. Lisa worked with the client to help him make sure the company’s numbers were correct. The client used these corrected numbers to amend tax returns and was better prepared for audits. Within a short time, Lisa had helped put in place new, efficient processes and a clean set of books.

Lisa also shared that she loves the variety among her clients and their businesses. After developing a thorough understanding of a client’s business and goals, Lisa relies on software products with which she is expertly trained to manage the engagement. Lisa also provides cash flow management and budgeting tools, and she helps her clients implement these tools in ways that empower the client to use them going forward. These tools and this training have been especially helpful during the pandemic and allowed Lisa’s clients to navigate through this past year’s uncertainty.

In another example, Lisa’s client faced some difficult staffing decisions while restructuring in response to the 2008 economic downturn. Lisa used the cash flow management tools to help the client cut costs, update the business model, and retain staff while weathering the recession. Today, the client continues to use these tools and thrives.

In some situations, Lisa uses flexibility, dexterity, and business acumen in areas outside the numbers to help clients create and implement business processes or help them in other ways tailored to their unique needs. One such need involved implementing a client’s reservation scheduling and tracking software. Drawing on experience and knowledge both in and outside her accounting background, Lisa wrote a training manual and helped train the client’s staff to use the software.

Lisa starts new client engagements by reviewing their general ledger, payables, and receivables to identify any discrepancies or errors. This review creates a baseline for moving forward. Next, Lisa typically works to develop processes and procedures tailored to the client’s unique business.

If she were looking to hire a professional like herself, Lisa would look for someone who has relevant experience and is unusually responsive. Most importantly, Lisa says, “Look for someone who strives to understand your business, build a relationship, and tailor their service to your individual needs. Avoid someone that does nothing more than pay your bills and create financial statements. Such a limited scope doesn’t allow the provider to spot potential opportunities or problems before they arise.”

When asked to describe her ideal client, Lisa shared that she likes service industry clients who want consultants to be actively engaged in the business with them. She noted her ability to offer the most value depends on being part of the client’s processes and engaging with the client on multiple parts of their business. She advises all business owners to have a budget and a cash management tool to guide their decisions and track results.

If you might want to discuss whether Lisa can help improve your business, please call me. I’d be honored to connect you.