Pressure can result in higher or lower output. A healthy dose of pressure can result in flow state, increased focused, and clarity of decision making and action. Too much pressure and you are crushed by the weight and stress of the situation. What’s the difference? The output is determined by how the pressure is transformed Read more about Coping Mechanisms for High Pressure Management[…]
There is a debate among small business owners regarding building your own custom software to run sales or operations versus buying or subscribing to existing tools. Well respected friends of mine argue that it’s wiser to simply buy the SaaS tool that is built for your industry or problem. They’re successful and the proof is Read more about Succumbing to Customized Software in a SMB[…]
The professional service firm is the classic engineer-to-order service business. Consultants, legal, accounting and technical consultants are people-heavy. Mikel calls these companies, “smart people who can type.” Selling these companies is often quite difficult and rarely produces a large, single payday. The reason? Lack of repeatable processes. However, rather than belabor the problems with the Read more about How to Sell Your Engineer-to-Order Service Business to an Employee[…]
We have a few new website visitors to our corner of the web thanks to this post about The State of Micro Private Equity. These 5 posts are the most visited from 2020. They serve as a good overview of where we’ve recently been. If you’re new around here, start with one and choose your Read more about 2020’s Greatest Hits[…]
I wear our company gear a lot. I estimate that about 90% of my daily wear clothing has a logo of a company I have ownership in or a non-profit where I serve on the board of directors. It’s the nearest thing I have to a uniform. But I don’t just wear the gear to Read more about Nice shirt. Are you invested?[…]
Daniel Fuller, a friend of mine, started a new podcast and invited me to be the first guest. We get into a lot of my personal journey that lead me to business ownership and Little Engine Ventures.
A few week’s ago I received a copy of Max Yoder’s book, “Do Better Work.” I’ve met Max a few times over the years. We even shared a stage once at The Combine conference in Bloomington. So that I’m familiar with Max but don’t know him super well is the point. But in those brief Read more about Do Better Work[…]
It’s not a secret that we (Daryl, Mikel, and Colin) learn by reading. In every newsletter we highlight the current book each of us is reading. We’ve joked that LEV is actually a book club that just happens to buy businesses. We’ve handed out many books over the last couple years. So we decided to Read more about 2019 Book Club[…]
A friend of mine recently broke his neck surfing. He caught a wave, rode it the distance, and essentially forgot to stop. The thrill captivated, carried and ultimately ejected him headfirst into the sand like a javelin. I still imagine the inertia of his body folding around his ears as he goes limp in the Read more about Surfing a Wave of Razorblades[…]
Today, I was referred to a potential small business buyer and manager. He has some cash but is looking for an equity partner… maybe. While I’m grateful for the referral, I also sniffed out a few problems. Being the nice guy that I am, I wanted to save the individual from some serious bruises from Read more about An Email to Executive Referral[…]