One of my memories from childhood is watching my mother build and run her own business. I saw first hand how she lived the job, how seriously she took her responsibilities to her customers and employees, and how she never really stopped thinking about work. It was what she had to do to make the business successful. At the time, I didn’t always enjoy sitting at dinner and listening to my parents discuss the store finances or how to deal with a problem employee; however, I now realize that I was learning by just listening and it has helped inform my approach to working with small business owners and understanding what it takes to establish and maintain a successful business. I know how hard small business owners work. There can be so much focus on building the business and running it day to day that people often forget to address what happens when they no longer want to keep it going or can no longer work at the same pace. I don’t mean what happens when a business fails. What happens when a business succeeds? How do you transition it to the next owner? How do you protect the legacy you’ve worked hard to build?
Continue Reading What happens when a business succeeds? Estate planning for business owners.
Lessons Learned from Business Transition Planning
Lancaster County has a lot of multi-generational family businesses. You’ve probably seen countless articles like this one highlighting the “tsunami of change.” And if you’ve taken the time to read any of these articles, you’ve learned that the businesses that flourish in the second or third (or later) generations are successful largely because of the way they planned for the future. These succession plans have a number of things in common.
Continue Reading Lessons Learned from Business Transition Planning
Expecting the Unexpected: Technology Law Issues for Every Small Business – Part 3
This is the final installment of a three-part series outlining the topics of discussion from our presentation to the Southern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, October 10.
Last week, Brandon Harter and I had the pleasure of presenting to a full house of Southern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce members at the Quarryville Library. Thank you to all who attended and we enjoyed a friendly competition and lively discussion of various ways that technology law impacts every small business in 2019.
If you were unable to attend or if you’d like a brief summary of what was discussed, here’s additional information on three of the discussion topics from the event:
Continue Reading Expecting the Unexpected: Technology Law Issues for Every Small Business – Part 3
Expecting the Unexpected: Technology Law Issues for Every Small Business – Part 2
This is part two of a three-part series outlining the topics of discussion from our presentation to the Southern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, October 10.
Yesterday, Brandon Harter and I had the pleasure of presenting to a full house of Southern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce members at the Quarryville Library. Thank you to all who attended and we enjoyed a friendly competition and lively discussion of various ways that technology law impacts every small business in 2019.
If you were unable to attend or if you’d like a brief summary of what was discussed, here’s additional information on two of the discussion topics from yesterday’s event:
Continue Reading Expecting the Unexpected: Technology Law Issues for Every Small Business – Part 2
Expecting the Unexpected: Technology Law Issues for Every Small Business – Part 1
This is part one of a three-part series outlining the topics of discussion from our presentation to the Southern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce.
This morning, Brandon Harter and I had the pleasure of presenting to a full house of Southern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce members at the Quarryville Library. Thank you to all who attended and we enjoyed a friendly competition and lively discussion of various ways that technology law impacts every small business in 2019.
If you were unable to attend or if you’d like a brief summary of what was discussed, here’s additional information on two of the discussion topics from this morning’s event:
Continue Reading Expecting the Unexpected: Technology Law Issues for Every Small Business – Part 1
Your Small Business is STILL Like Professional Wrestling
Wrestlemania was this past weekend, and Linda McMahon is rumored to be stepping down as the head of the Small Business Administration. I have a rule that when those two things happen in the same week, it is time to link back to my favorite blog post: How Your Small Business is Like Professional Wrestling.
My son and I are still watching wrestling. And there are even more lessons you can learn from wrestling. Here are more to add to the list:
Continue Reading Your Small Business is STILL Like Professional Wrestling
SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon Celebrates 2018 Small Business Awards Luncheon
Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure to attend SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon’s 2018 Small Business Awards Luncheon held at Millersville University’s Ware Center. This luncheon is always a great place to hear more of SCORE’s success stories. This year was no different.
SCORE provides our community with many resources for local entrepreneurs. These include providing free business counseling through its mentors, facilitating round-table discussions among local small businesses, and teaching educational workshops on how to start and improve a small business. SCORE’s workshops hold a special place in my heart because I have helped teach one of the workshop sessions for several years now (or perhaps more appropriately, I help translate the legalese of forming a corporation or LLC into an outline of what a small business owner should know).
Continue Reading SCORE Lancaster-Lebanon Celebrates 2018 Small Business Awards Luncheon
Cost-Effective Business Resources for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners
Starting a business is a challenging job. When helping entrepreneurs make the legal side of starting and running a business less intimidating, it’s important to recognize that there are hundreds of other factors that impact whether a business will ultimately be a success. Although I work hard to learn about all aspects of my clients’ businesses and provide guidance on day to day operations as needed, you may want to round out your business team with others who can assist with the details of marketing, product development, technology infrastructure and other core needs that are also important to your success.
If you are looking for in-depth help with your business in another area, here are some of my recommendations for free or low cost resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
SCORE & SCORE Lancaster – www.score.org, lancaster.score.org – 717-397-3092
SCORE is a network of experienced volunteers that provide free, confidential mentoring, either in person or via email. SCORE also provides seminars and workshops to educate entrepreneurs and small business owners on topics such as marketing, obtaining funding and management.
If you’re located in the Lancaster-Lebanon area, you’re in luck – SCORE Lancaster Lebanon was recently recognized as the SCORE Chapter of the Year.
United States Small Business Administration – www.sba.gov
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) features blogs, in-person and online training and workshops, and a robust email newsletter that will assist small business owners and entrepreneurs in management, obtaining loans and grants, navigating health care changes, and contracting, among other topics.
Continue Reading Cost-Effective Business Resources for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners