There is no end to articles, webinars, blog posts, podcasts (https://www.thevalueforce.com/blog/5191/accountability-starts-with-listening-to-your-employeesespecially-the-ones-closest-to-the-action/ (even our own)), that talk about accountability, what it consists of, how to make it work, etc. But, at the end of the day, who holds you, the owner, accountable? Probably just the person looking back at you in the mirror. And how honest are you with that person? But we’re talking not just about “other people,” but about following methods and systems… that you may have created, but don’t necessarily follow. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will explore what roadblocks, both internal and external, hold owners back from “being accountable” and to overcome those roadblocks by truly assessing the root cause and creating solutions that address them. They’ll show you examples of owners not listening to their own management advice and almost being blind to various situations where they are the root cause of negative situations. They’ll provide ways to use peer advisory groups to help you talk to other business owners who have “walked in your shoes,” and will objectively listen and provide another viewpoint that may help you solve a knotty problem that emanates from your office. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two. Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

Small business culture isn’t a sign on the wall or slogans. It’s framed by the beliefs and values of the founders and key people and their work history, where they worked, who they worked for, etc. Add to this is how they grew up, family, personal experience framing their value system. But how do you do it? How do you create a culture that embraces employees, customers and suppliers, while at the same time drives success? In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will give you some insights on how to create and foster a culture that is built on trust and respect for employees, that engages and motivates employees and emphasizes teamwork and risk-taking. They’ll talk about how this starts with not only how you hire, but who you hire. You always hire for the specs of the position. But it’s hiring for culture and for the best people you can find that makes the company better. They’ll show you how to create an environment of accountability, by not only defining roles and responsibilities of a position, but defining and extending the authority to carry those roles and responsibilities out. And making screw-ups (because there will be some) teachable moments. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two. Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

“Show me the money,” is one of the most classic lines, from a movie favorite - Jerry Maguire. One of the most challenging duties in operating a small business is establishing an effective compensation program. That goes beyond just calculating competitive hourly rates and salary packages. But creating a happy team, that in turn create happy customers. Compensation is always an issue. But that challenge pales in comparison to doing the same thing for family members who work in the business. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will give you some guidance about when compensation can be an incendiary issue often driven by long-simmering family feuds or non-family members earning more than long-standing family members. They’ll explore how a fair compensation strategy (for both family and non-family members) can help keep and professionally grow family members and attract non-family members, helping increase the overall value of the company. They’ll show you how an objective outside advisor can guide this process and help you develop your own compensation strategy that fits your business and is more than just dollars transferred from employer to employee. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

Business owners face a lot of tough decisions, and sometimes, even tougher ones implementing them. One of the trickier ones occurs after the company is sailing along, and it has to take the big step of replacing the owner (in that role) with an experienced sales manager. Usually, the owner serves as the sales manager, hiring and managing a small sales force of sales people. But in order to reach its full growth potential it becomes necessary to hire a professional sales manager to manage sales and your team. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will give you some indicators about when and how to make the transition during the process of hiring the right individual who fits your business, your culture and how to manage and compensate this individual. They’ll give you some guidance on how to find the right person and how to manage the screening and hiring process so that you reduce the odds of making a bad hire. They’ll show you that a compensation plan for a more experienced sales person is different than for regular sales people. They’ll also give you some tips about how to manage that individual so that the relationship, which is a huge step for an owner, can really drive growth. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

Every business owner faces it, the dreaded duty that they, especially, and even their managers, share… namely, saying Sayonara, Adios, Auf Wiedersehen, Ciao, or simply “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.” However you say it and no matter what the conditions, even the most tough-minded of owners dread dealing with it… even when it’s way overdue and 300% justified. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will talk about not the whole process of terminating an employee, but the ripple effect it has on the “terminator” and the surrounding staff. They’ll show you that as ugly as terminations can be, most of the time they can be avoided by having a solid recruiting, evaluation and selection process. But too often, even if the processes are in place, in the interest of filling a position, short cuts are taken. They’ll give you some guidance on how to make sure you address their behavioral and performance issues early in the game, or if they suddenly arise, how to address why and what you can do to help the employee get back on the right path. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

Business can be very serious stuff. Often a small business owner has much at risk, personally; and often, may feel the responsibility for the livelihoods of employees, and have deep concern that the customers are being served effectively. But, at the end of the day, if it isn't fun, for the small business owner, the employees, and yes, even the customers, the chances of success are limited. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will talk about not only are you allowed to have fun in business, but they’re going to show how you can make that happen, continuously, without losing focus on growing your business. They’ll show you how small victories are what it takes to drive success. And part of the fun in small business is to celebrate those victories, helping you to provide recognition for the hard work that brought that victory home. They’ll give you a sense of how having every employee feeling respected, valued and challenged to grow, while having fun doing provides the foundation for business growth. They’ll describe how to solidify the bond between your company and your customers by showing you that recognizing some of THEIR achievements (whether or not you had a part in them) is critical to a long-term customer relationship. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

Every small business owner needs a sounding board and somebody (or somebodies) to hold them accountable, beside the person staring back at them in the mirror. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will talk about three potential alternatives to do just that. They’ll describe the alternatives - a board directors, an advisory board and a peer-to-peer advisory board - and explain the pluses and the minuses of each depending on where a business is on their growth curve. They’ll show that there is no “one size fits all” solution and give you some guidance to help you find the solution that best fits your business and industry sector. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two. Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

Your ”end game” is about growing your business and building value that provides a return on your investment of capital, time and energy, when you are ready to exit the business and realize that value. That’s your exit plan… helping you to achieve that end game. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will talk about how to best exit your business with the right partner, the right valuation and the right transaction. They’ll take you through the selling process and how professional advisors play a role in helping you develop and execute on your exit plan, saving you time and money to say nothing of the effect on your quality of life during and after the transaction. They’ll discuss how to create a profile for potential candidates, review them, and then find your perfect partner or partners to get the best proposal from them in the shortest time. They’ll show you how the negotiation process is not unlike courtship and how you let the professionals drive this to conclusion with the right buyer. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two. Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

A plan is worthless without execution. Yet it seems it gets far less attention than planning. Action and follow up is what gets things done, so we have to be able to answer the question “how are going to make this happen? And include it in the planning process. In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc” will talk about how you can best keep to your plan and execute on it, instead of just having a series of good intentions. They’ll share with you how commitment to the plan has to start and end with the business owner and how the owner has to get their team to “own the plan,” by understanding what’s necessary from them for its execution. They’ll explain how it should be “a battle plan,” where battlefield conditions (the market, competition, etc.) can change it. And how an assessment of business’ strengths, weaknesses, roadblocks and opportunities and the resources available, will drive how effectively the plan can be executed. We invite you to enjoy this session with your personal tour guides to business freedom, the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two. Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)

In this episode, our hosts, Lonnie Sciambi and Stan Simkins, also known, respectively, as “The Entrepreneur’s Yoda” and “The Family Biz Doc,” bring on the first guest to their podcast, Mr. Karl Kringle. He introduces them to his family-run toy manufacturing and distribution business and how he and his brother, Kris, don’t quite see eye to eye on how the business should be run. He talks about the interpersonal issues that come, a great deal, in family businesses that are often based on family interactions rather than business rationale and how some of the younger siblings aren’t taken as seriously as the more senior ones. He talks about “things slipping through the cracks because of the lack of good systems and procedures. And how, without good management, prima donnas and “favorites” can evolve among the employee base, especially key ones. And finally, he covers “supply chain issues” that are plaguing even the North Pole this holiday season…and lots more! As we touched on in a previous episode, family business is fraught with emotion and the dynamic duo of Stan Simkins and Lonnie Sciambi will reinforce that emotion with this new session with your personal tour guides to business freedom. And, as always, they’ll regale you with war stories, that both carry a solid message, lesson or may bring a chuckle or two. And of course, the best of the holiday season to all of you and best wishes for a prosperous and safe new year. Find more resources and learn more about their monthly, 90-minute VIRTUAL roundtables at http://www.sbvirtualroundtables.com/ (SBVirtualRoundtables.com) And feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any feedback, questions, recommendations, or ideas for future topics of conversation. Connect With Lonnie Sciambi Website: http://www.thevalueforce.com/ (www.thevalueforce.com ) LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile (www.linkedin.com/in/lonniesciambisprofile) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp (www.twitter.com/yodacanhelp) Connect with Stan Simkins Website: http://www.capitalfamilybusiness.com/ (www.CapitalFamilyBusiness.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629/ (www.linkedin.com/in/stanley-simkins-79399629)