Exit Planning Archives - Jeffrey Scott

Ensure a Better 2024 by Managing Internal & External Uncertainty

Nov 28, 2023 | Employee Retention, Employees, Exit Planning, Financial, Growth Tips, Income, Management, Planning, Pricing, Strategy

I recently spoke with Ron Edmonds, President of the Principium Group, a leading mergers and acquisitions firm serving the Green Industry. Ron and I were prepping for his talk at my Financial Master Class, chatting about how a company’s “value” is driven in part by removing the uncertainties in the business. The lower the uncertainties, the higher the value. Business Uncertainties can be split into two groups: internal and external. Our conversation on uncertainties reminded me of the Serenity Prayer: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. My version: Know what you can control internally and externally, and focus intently on those elements in your business; don’t stress on the rest. With that in mind, here are a couple examples to get your mind turning:

The Straight Dirt from the original OG, Steve Griggs

Sep 28, 2023 | Employees, Exit Planning, Growth Tips, Income, Leadership, Planning, Podcast Series: The Ultimate Landscape CEO

Steve Griggs is the founder and owner of Steve Griggs Design, based in Baluvelt, NY. He is author of the best-selling book, “Straight Dirt”. Steve is the original OG ("old guard") and very direct, and shares the straight dirt on contracting and how to work with...

Strategic Growth: How to Build Dramatic Value In Your Business

Sep 26, 2023 | Competition, Exit Planning, Financial, Growth Tips, Incentives, Income, Leadership, Mighty Oak Award, Peer Groups, Planning, Productivity, Strategy

This past week I had some thrilling conversations with my coaching clients on their growth strategies. I told a few of them “either you are buying low, or someone else is buying low, and they could be buying you!” Let me explain what I mean. Scale Determines Value. As the hype of the merger-mania floods our industry, it makes it looks sexy to sell one’s business. But unless you have achieved significant scale, you are losing out and leaving massive opportunities on the table. The scale of your business determines its value.

The Surprising Truth About “Retiring In Place”

Aug 8, 2023 | Exit Planning, friendship, Growth Tips, Leadership, Management, Peer Groups, Planning

Last year I ran a webinar on the topic of Retiring In Place. We covered why owners are going this route, and what it takes to put in place.You can watch the webinar recording on YouTube. Here are some surprising truths about this goal. The future is now. All entrepreneurs are dreamers and doers.We love building businesses and having big goals. A common dream is building a business to run day-to-day without the owner. Often these are the ten-year or someday goals. (I know this to be the case, because when I take on a new peer group client or coaching client, I inquire about their short and long term goals). Here is what I have discovered, after working with close to 350 companies:

The Powerful Role of “Grace” in Business.

Jan 24, 2023 | Employee Retention, Employees, Exit Planning, Financial, Growth Tips, Income, Leadership, Management, Planning

Grace can play a very powerful role in your business, and separate you in a crowded market.

Last week I wrote about my client and friend, Kevin Werbrich, who uses grace when firing employees and when they quit.

He reported that his grace-based “Red Carpet Exit” has created a backlog of past employees who want to return to his company.

He has filled and “re” filled many foremen and high level positions with men who have grown up and learnt their lessons.

They return better people.

It takes real vision to consistently give people the benefit of the doubt and invest in them right as they leave your firm.

Retire In Place

Aug 29, 2022 | Exit Planning, Productivity, Strategy

If you decide to hold onto your landscape business for the medium or longer-term, you may want to set it up to run without you day-to-day. I call this “Retiring in Place." This is the second of a three-part series I am writing for Landscape Management Magazine. The...

Selling Your Business Is A Bad Investment

Jul 25, 2022 | Exit Planning, Management, Strategy

Selling your business can be a bad investment, if you do it for the wrong reasons. Many people are selling right now and the industry is jumping on the bandwagon. No one in the industry is standing up and saying, “Hold on! Maybe don’t sell yet.” [bctt tweet="Selling...

Episode #192 A 35 Year Run with Brian Ham

Mar 24, 2022 | Exit Planning, Peer Groups, Podcast Series: The Ultimate Landscape CEO

Brian Ham is the previous owner of Santa Rita Landscaping, Tucson, AZ. He built the business with his brother, got crushed in the great recession, and then rebuilt the business and took on a partner, and finally sold the 20M business one week before the pandemic hit....

You Deserve a Corvette

Oct 18, 2021 | Exit Planning, Growth Tips

It’s been a hectic couple of years for sure, so how do you take care of yourself, and reward yourself? To answer that, let’s look through the lens of the Entrepreneur’s Journey. There are 3 stages that a successful Entrepreneur must go through: Struggling, Surviving,...

Lessons from a Billionaire

Sep 6, 2021 | Exit Planning, Strategy

What can you learn from a billionaire? I recently led a peer group meeting where I met two ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs. The first was a “Boat Man” - a wealthy retired gentleman who loves his boats. The second was a “Car Man” - a very active billionaire who really...

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