Solomon Valley Transportation is a general public transportation service operating as a first come/first serve demand response system. SVT services Jewell, Mitchell and Osborne counties in Kansas, making consistent runs to Wichita, Kansas City and Omaha for medical specialist appointments and some airport trips. Regular trips are made to Hays, Salina, Concordia and numerous other locations for doctor, dental, and dialysis appointments and general shopping needs. They make it possible for families to connect when passengers are no longer able to drive themselves. Since its start in 2011, SVT has driven close to two million miles. They depend on, and…

Trait 1:Much has been made of business owners, excluding those in the tech world, being in the age range of 55-60 years. Usually when this is the subject of an article, the author pontificates about how dire the future is because owners, in whatever industry, will all be soon selling out. This is poppycock! The average age of business owners and farmers has been the same for at least the last 30 years. The sky hasn’t fallen yet because of this and it won’t fall tomorrow because of it. As owners retire, others take their place and the average age…

After interviewing and meeting hundreds and hundreds of salespeople, I have concluded that 80+% focus on price first, service second, and quality of product/service third. Most salespeople fall into the trap of seeing whatever it is they are selling as a commodity (which only mirrors and enhances their clients’ misconception that nothing that truly requires selling can by definition be a commodity because items requiring a true sale requires trust the product/service being sold is of the quality represented whereby a commodity sale requires absolutely no trust on the part of the buyer). So it follows then that when I…

As Bill Gates once said, ASuccess is a lousy teacher…@ Recently, a young executive made a mistake that cost his company tens of thousands of dollars. The executive was not fired nor was he even severely reprimanded. He is a good executive with a promising future. He is conscientious. He was very upset with himself for making the mistake and the mistake was so painful he will never forget it, much less ever make it again. He will also be eternally grateful to his boss for giving him a second chance. I am sure he will become his company=s most…

My experience working with small and medium privately owned business owners is that most have a difficult time planning their retirement. For a variety of reasons, most wait too long. Many owners seem to forego planning because they are having too much fun enjoying sales, their position, and the money they are making. Then, almost overnight, the fun evaporates and they decide it is time to leave. I have seen this happen many, many times. Sometimes I have, like others, seen the change coming over the owner, though the owner does not see it his or herself. So, even if…

I have not discovered a business owner yet who became an owner so he or she could manage people. Managing people was never their goal–it just came with the job and it can be tough. It is no wonder then that so many business owners consider it the worst part of their job. Tough personnel situations are time and energy consuming. Choose WiselyA great starting place for easing personnel issues is with good hiring practices. I hear a lot of business owners say, “Hire for attitude,@ and many are reporting great improvements in their teams. Be careful though not to…

Much has been written about how 2nd and 3rd generations generally lack the success of company founders. Writers have inked many pages describing how subsequent generations grew up too easy and hence do not have the drive to succeed, they do not have the work ethic, they are not tough enough, and the reasons go on and on. I have read these articles and heard these sentiments lamented at least 1,000 times. Every generation since at least Socrates bemoaned the quality of the coming generation. I even recently read how three old Crow Indian chiefs sorrowfully described the quality of…

My experience suggests the long-term strategic planning process generally does not work for many small and medium sized businesses. Today’s environment requires shorter, more immediate planning cycles. With a long-term plan, if things go wrong in the first year or two, or if the market or economy changes significantly, then much of the planning that was done is wasted and the company is not adequately answering to the to the changing landscape. The ability to adapt to new circumstances is critical in every industry in such a fast paced, innovative technology driven economy. Research supports the need for a shorter…

I have seen a full range of hiring philosophies in my clients’ businesses. Some owners place great emphasis in various personality tests, especially when hiring sales people. At the other end of the spectrum, I have seen owners that believe anyone can do the job if they just work hard enough. Hard work alone though, while obviously important, will not make just anyone a successful salesperson, or engineer, or attorney, or mechanic, or framer, or anything really. People have personalities that make them more likely to succeed in certain endeavors. For example, a math whiz is much more likely to…

Unjust rewards are the #1 issue of contention in the partnership disputes I have witnessed. In most situations, at least one partner believes his or her efforts are not being duly recognized (financially or otherwise) and/or the other partner is being grossly overcompensated for sub-par results. Either way, the build-up of resentment and frustration can crumble a business. When partners find themselves in such a situation, the first step toward resolving the problem and saving the company (if this is the goal, which is not always the case) must be a reality check. The partners must obtain an unbiased analysis…