Author: coreykupfer

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making

Obtaining Capital and Investors

Capital-And-Investors-2

For certain businesses, it is essential to raise capital to get to the next level. One of the key ways that this can be accomplished is through investors. If you don’t structure your deals with investors properly, it can turn a strong move towards growth into a significant liability. During my latest interview on the Fueling Deals podcast, I spoke with Joel Block to gain more insight into finding, pitching and structuring deals with investors to raise capital.

Joel is the CEO of Bullseye Capital as well as a venture capitalist and expert in raising capital and creating investment funds. Joel’s experience in navigating the hedge fund world is one of the many benefits he brings his clients and speaking engagement attendees. He is the master of teaching companies to “draw the shortest line to the money”.

On this episode of Fueling Deals, Joel and I discuss why so many businesses struggle to obtain capital investments, how to structure your offer so that investors can easily understand it, and how to use new tax rules to your favor to completely avoid taxes on your capital gains and 1031 exchange deals. Listen and learn how to get money from others and keep more of your own money.

Terms Matter

If you’re looking for a large source of unsecured equity for your business, there are some things you need to keep in mind. Asking for large amounts of money is a different creature from smaller investments or loans against collateral, and the strategies you employ must adapt to these differences. It’s important to know how to speak the investors’ language and inspire confidence in what you’re doing (and offering).

It is also vitally necessary to understand the terms of the deal you’re offering the investor, whether the terms were drawn up by your attorney or not. If you don’t understand the deal, how can you give good answers to a potential investor’s questions and alleviate their concerns? You don’t need to be fluent in legalese, but you should be able to explain what you’re offering in exchange for their risk.

Simplicity and Shelter

The terms of the deal you’re offering should be simple enough for a layman to understand. Your goal isn’t to convince your investor’s attorney, your goal is to convince your investor to take the risk. Structuring your deal so that it can be easily explained will go a long way in portraying both confidence and knowledge of what you’re offering.

Additionally, Joel shares some incredible information on opportunity zone tax shelters brought to us courtesy of the 2017 tax code changes. Joel explains them as the most potentially powerful tax shelter ever, and he shares how to take advantage of these new rules (as well as their requirements).

Learn more about Raising Capital and Avoiding Taxes by listening to my episode on Fueling Deals podcast.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making

Being Prepared to Acquire Another Firm

Strategist. Negotiator. Deal-Maker

For many financial advisory firms, bigger is better.

One of the best ways to increase a practice’s scale and profitability is to acquire another firm.

But just because advisers want to make acquisitions, it doesn’t mean they’re ready.

Below,…

Read the full article on the Wall Street Journal.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making

How Using Influencers Can Help You With Your Deals

During-Brainstorming-3
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Using social media influencers may not be the first strategy that comes to your mind when you think about getting more deals. However, in my most recent podcast episode, Influencer and Sponsorship Deals, Ramon Ray, a bestselling author and four-time entrepreneur, gave us some great insight into how influencers can be a big asset to your marketing strategy.

Ramon’s career has been about helping entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses. He also has personal and first-hand experience in the areas of marketing, sales, technology and personal branding. He has spoken before the United States Congress, invited by the Office of the President of the United States to speak at the White House on personal branding and produced many events including the “Smart Hustle Small Business Conference”, “Small Business Summit”, “Small Business Technology Tour”, “Small Biz Big Things” and more.

On this episode of Fueling Deals, Ramon and I talk about influencer and sponsorship deals, why they make sense for businesses of all kinds, and how they can have a powerful return on investment. Ramon shares his own experiences of closing a deal to sell his business, and he details his experience of setting up a business partnership and how it was structured. Listen to our conversation and learn why deals aren’t just mergers and acquisitions, they can be smaller arrangements… with huge results.

Why Influencers?

Social media influencers are a relatively new phenomenon, so why would you turn to one for your marketing? The answer is simple. An influencer already has an established relationship with his or her audience and has already done the work of building trust and growing their community. You can tap into that ready-made market for far less money than you would spend working with a traditional celebrity.
Social media influencers are also a great way to tailor your marketing efforts. You already know the kind of content the social media influencer is making, and you know who their target audience is. Finding and working with an influencer whose audience is your exact demographic can reap rewards you wouldn’t find with traditional marketing methods, and for far less money.

The Variety in Deals

As I have stressed before, deals aren’t just about mega-mergers and acquisitions. Working with smaller deals can provide significant benefit to your business as well. Influencer and sponsorship deals can be a powerful tool to connect your business with a premade audience, expose your products or services to new people who are more likely to be interested, and allow you to connect to your customers and build brand trust.

And that’s just one of the many types of deals at your disposal. If you haven’t done a deal before, just remember: everyone started with one deal. Perhaps working with an Instagram or YouTube star or, more applicable to some businesses, a LinkedIn Influencer is a great first deal to help give you a sense of how powerful deals can be in growing and scaling your business.

Learn more about Influencers and Sponsorship Deals by listening to my episode on Fueling Deals podcast.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making

Why Deals Are Essential To Every Business

During-Brainstorming-2
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

I’ve been working in the business of deals and negotiations for more than 30 years, both as a successful entrepreneur and as an attorney. My goal is to help you strategize, plan for, find, and complete deals that will help your company grow more rapidly and strategically. This is called “inorganic growth”, and it differs from the traditional often slow, organic growth you’re probably familiar with.

On this episode of Fueling Deals, I discuss the key concepts and important terms you need to be aware of before you consider a merger or acquisition. I outline and define the various types of other deals available to businesses of all sizes, and I discuss how each has its own benefits, drawbacks, and pitfalls to avoid. Listen and learn the difference between angel investment, private equity and venture capital, and find out how inorganic growth can fuel your business.

Deals for Everyone

No matter how big or small your business, you can benefit from deals with other companies.

There’s a type of deal for almost every situation and new opportunity. The point of my podcast is to expand your understanding of what options are available to you and give you the knowledge you need to make informed choices.

As I highlight in the episode, deals are about more than just mergers and acquisitions. Maybe you need to generate capital for your business and would consider an equity investment. Maybe you’re looking to add new talent to your team and you are in a position to acqui-hire them. Maybe there is a client vendor or industry partner with which you can enter into a strategic alliance. The multitude of options mean that you have a tremendous number of tools available to you to help you scale your business.

Definitions Matter

The business of deals has a lot of lingo. In this episode, I take the time to explain what these keywords mean in layman’s terms. I even go a step further, breaking out concepts like joint ventures into the two different types (company joint ventures and contractual joint ventures) and explain the difference.

At its simplest definition, a deal is just an agreement that (ideally) benefits both parties.

Deals can be a great way to lean into the strengths of your business, or shore up its weaknesses. I hope this episode helps you better understand the dynamic growth opportunities available to your company and gives you the confidence to take action and do deals that help you achieve your dreams and objectives.

Learn more about The Language of Deals by listening to my episode on Fueling Deals podcast.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

Categories
Authentic Deal-Making

The Differences In Deals

During-Brainstorming-1
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

In the latest episode of the Fueling Deals podcast, I interviewed David DeVoe about the ins and outs of different types of deals and how each one has its advantages and disadvantages.

David’s work with DeVoe & Company makes him a true expert on the pros and cons of deals. Through the extraordinary depth and breadth of experience his team brings to their clients, they work to smooth the process and transition of deals and to maximize the benefits their clients reap.

On this episode of Fueling Deals, David and I discuss services his company provides; everything from succession planning to governance, investment banking, and valuation services. One particular and interesting area of David’s work is in serving as an objective third party to help companies facilitate their deals in a way that benefits everyone involved – the buyer, seller, clients and employees. Listen to our conversation and learn from David’s impressive insights.

Telling the Right Story

As David explains, it is critical to have all of your ducks in a row when courting buyers. This means identifying areas where you are weak, cleaning up your records, making sure contracts are signed with all your clients, and doing the necessary background work to tell the right story.

If you are a seller, look at things from the buyer’s perspective. And tell the right story. Be clear and communicative, respond to requests for information, and be honest. Trust is a big component in any deal, and so it is important to take steps to foster trust with your prospective buyers.

Buy, Sell or Merge?

As a buyer, it is vitally important to understand the needs and capabilities of your organization. One of the functions DeVoe & Company serves for their clients is to help identify if an organization is even in a strong enough position to consider buying another firm. You need to make sure you have enough capital to complete the deal you’re looking for, and you need to be certain the seller will be a good fit for your organization.

Additionally, it’s important to be sure you’re buying another firm for the right reasons. Does the acquisition address a specific need or problem, or would you be better served by merging with another firm? Or would you possibly even be better off selling? Maybe the problems you’re trying to address can be taken care of through other strategies rather than a merger or acquisition? These questions are important, and David and his team at DeVoe & Company help their clients find the answers they need.

Listen to the full interview in David’s episode on the podcast, Greasing the Wheels of Deals.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Conversations About Difference Authentic Leadership

Is Fear Changing the Way You Do Business?

During-Brainstorming-4
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Are your fears and insecurities holding you back in business? Do you find yourself playing small and waiting for external validation before you can make your next move? If you are waiting for some sign that you are doing the right thing, then you need to take a deep breath and a step back.

Your mindset has a huge impact on the long-term success of your business. For me, I keep my mindset positive and focused with a physical reminder. I wear a bracelet with a token that has the word “freedom” engraved on it. I have not taken this off since I bought it three years ago from myintent.org. Freedom is my single highest value in life and it applies to multiple areas including everything from freedom for all people from oppression to freedom for me to create the life I want to live (it’s why I’m an entrepreneur), and the topic of this blog – freedom from fear or, at times, the freedom to face fear and have the courage to push through it.

There are some freedoms you need to work to attain. For example, I have freedom from the fear of financial insecurity not just because I run two successful businesses but, also, because I have done a lot of work related to my relationship with money and staying in abundance instead of scarcity. There are some freedoms you are given. For me that includes having freedom from fear of oppression for my sexuality, skin tone and gender because I am a cisgender straight white male but not necessarily culturally as there is still anti-Semitism and I am Jewish. I have worked and continue to work on breaking through fear in all areas of my life and am committed to using my financial stability and experience to help lift up others from a place of fear because I know what it feels like to be afraid and to come through it.

About six years ago, I was on an Entrepreneurs Organization forum retreat, and one of the things we did was rappel off cliffs. There I was hundreds of feet up with my peers, and I am there despite that I am afraid of heights. Not just afraid and uneasy; heights are a real phobia for me. I was there because every few years I force myself to do something that literally terrifies me as I refuse to be held back by fear.

After, mistakenly, waiting for several of my forum-mates to go first and letting the tension and fear build to almost unbearable levels, it was my turn. The first time I leaned back off the cliff and had to trust the rope would hold me as I went down that mountain, I was absolutely terrified. Anyone who can literally lean back off a cliff and not pass out from the fear has conquered a part of themselves that was limiting them but if you do it with something you have a phobia about, well … . I have done other things to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I’ve done ropes courses, zip lines and even jumped out of a perfectly good plane skydiving. I have even climbed a couple of hundred feet to a tiny platform and bungee jumped. Why do I keep putting myself in a position where I am frightened? Because I want to do something that breaks through those feelings of fear and then be able to call upon that in other parts of my life.

When I say break through the fear, I want you to understand that I’m still always afraid. The act of taking on my fear with a physical test, and then conquering that physical test, shows me that I can trust myself to not let my fear hold me back.

You may have fears around shifting the way you work being out of the office more, trusting others, delegating more, or of your own failure or success.. I’m going to encourage you to break through those fears. Because you can live the life you were meant to lead. I mean, I have done it, other people have done it. Why not you? There are situations in your life where you’ve had a fear of something and then you’ve done something to break through that fear and overcome it so call upon those times and apply that same courage in other parts of your life.

I use those times when I’m afraid of something in business and think back to those moments when I worked through my fears, leaning back off that cliff, leaping off that platform attached only to a bungee or jumping out of that plane. It gives me another level of confidence and not just on an intellectual level; there’s something visceral about it. If I can do those things, I can do anything.

If there’s any fear that comes up around making shifts in your business just listen, face the fear, visualize the freedom and use the experiences where you have had fears in the past and broke through them. Use the work you did on a physical challenge, for example, or other situation as the motivation to get the courage to make a change. When you do your level of success, satisfaction and happiness in business and life will increase exponentially!

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Leadership

8 Books to Help You Run an Authentic Business

During-Brainstorming-6
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

I have found that reading is one of the best returns on your investment in the business world and it is the way that I keep myself grounded and ensures that I remain authentic in my business. When you arm yourself with the ideas and innovations of the best in their industry, you will be continuously collecting tools and ideas to keep you operating authentically and at your own highest and best use.

At Authentic Enterprises, I make it a point to attend every client meeting and every team meeting with my whole self. There are several ways I remind myself of the big ideas which influence me. My time with my forums and coaches helps me center and recalibrate my goals and realign my actions and mindset with those goals. The energy I put toward self-care keeps my lifestyle sustainable and, occasionally, I reassess if my needs have changed and adjust my focus accordingly.

There are several books which have influenced me and the way I do business. Below are 8 of my favorites (in no specific order):

  1. The Birth of a Brand by Brian Smith, UGG Founder
    Brian is a talented businessman and his book explains his journey from accountant to founding the internationally known and loved UGG. He gives generously of his time and talent in The Birth of a Brand and gives a look behind the curtain at what makes an idea ready to launch a business.
  2. The Book of Mistakes by Skip Prichard
    Skip’s new release is an excellent example of learning from past mistakes. You will always make some of your own, but what you can learn from observing others’ mistakes will help set your business apart. The Book of Mistakes reminds you to move on from the past to focus on building your future.
  3. Master Your Cash Flow by Al Zdenek
    Al is a good friend and a financial wiz. This book gives business owners the knowledge and leverage they need to manage the company finances. Whether your business is a fledgling startup or has been running successfully for more than a decade, Al’s Master Your Cash Flow is worth a read.
  4. Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
    It’s no secret that I run both of my businesses based on Mike’s Profit First idea. The premise is to allocate a percentage of each incoming check to different parts of your business such as marketing, administrative, etc. The main idea of Profit First is to pay the owner first!
  5. The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles
    Many people are not aware of the work of Wallace Wattles but his work is one of the foundations of much of the personal growth work over the last century. Fortunately, as his books were written in the early 1900’s, they are now out of copyright and in the public domain. The title link is to a PDF of his book, The Science of Getting Rich.
  6. The Image of Leadership by Sylvie di Giustio
    Sylvie is a dear friend and fellow NSA NYC member. She is an expert on “People Packaging” as she puts it. Her book The Image of Leadership explains the ways that we project a message to the people around us without even trying. Sylvie rightly suggests making sure your projected image presents your product in the best possible light.
  7. Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
    It is no secret that I am a big Gary V. fan. In fact, I sent a recent Tweet offering his team free negotiating advice. Most of the advice in this well-known marketing book is timeless. Gary V. has updated his messaging to clarify that the right hook can require some more nuance and planning than cleverly placed jab. If you haven’t read Jab, Jab. Right Hook yet, you are missing out!
  8. I Can See Clearly Now by Wayne Dyer
    One of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s most wide-read books, each of his books are best sellers. In I Can See Clearly Now, he uses his memoir to share the truth and wisdom he amassed over decades of studying manifestation. For me, Wayne Dyer was a master teaching people how to connect to source and manifest in their lives from that place. He wrote countless books and gave many talks including several for PBS fund drives that are available without cost. Check out his work at www.drwaynedyer.com.

I hope you celebrate National Book Lovers Day with your fellow book lovers. I would like to know what you are reading and which books are inspiring you in your own business. Comment below or tag me on Twitter @coreykupfer.

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Conversations About Difference

Stop Checking Your Own Email if You Want to Run an Authentic and Successful Business

During-Brainstorming-7
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Do you want to know how I run two businesses and still have time for the things that are important to me? I hire great people and delegate to them. The most time-consuming task I delegate is my email.

My whole email system is based on three premises.

1. My assistant reviews my email.

When the emails come in, they get redirected to a box that I have renamed “xRedirected Inbox.” You can set this up as an automated process through Outlook, Google Mail, etc. It is “xRedirected Inbox” so I will have to scroll to get to it. It’s out of sight because of the alphabetical sorting of my folders. The beauty of this is that I can still access it if needed (e.g. when a client emails something while we are on the phone), but I don’t otherwise look at it. Instead my assistant review it every hour or so. She sorts and handles the emails that are about scheduling, sending copies documents and other things that she can handle which is more efficient and responsive for clients as well.

2. Projects get handled quickly.

Have you ever been copied on an email thread that didn’t require your immediate attention? I bet that makes up 90+% of your email. My assistant is great about coordinating with our team members to make sure that client matters are handled efficiently. By the time I would have checked my email, my team has already finished their part of the task at hand and I am ready to review and take more advanced action. The few emails that I need to know about before the end of the day get moved into an inbox that I review in real-time.

3. I get a daily briefing.

At the end of the day for any emails that didn’t require my immediate attention or that my assistant has not been able to handle, I get a simple briefing. I’ll look at that briefing at six, seven o’clock at night, and it takes me literally 15 minutes to review it at most. This is could be the distillation of what was 100-200 emails, but there are usually only 10-20 items in the briefing as everything else has been handled or consolidated in the briefing.

My email system allows me to use the time when I’m in the office to focus on my highest and best use areas. And when I’m away, I’m not worried about my email pinging and interrupting my business meeting, retreat or vacation. In fact I don’t even have notifications on because I know someone else is reviewing it. I instead just occasionally check the box where my assistant would move anything that’s crucial.

If you want to learn more ways you can build an authentic business, check out my video series Authentic Business: Retreat Edition.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Negotiating

Deal or No Deal – What is Your Bottom Line?

During-Brainstorming-8
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

Do you remember the television show Deal or No Deal? You know the one hosted by Howie Mandel and on which now Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, was a briefcase model. The premise was a contestant would choose a numbered briefcase and then have to decide whether the sum offered by the game show was worth more than the value inside that case. The participant would be able to keep asking for additional briefcases to be opened and would receive new offers. If they accepted any offer, the amount in the briefcase would be forfeited.

Viewers at home could guess how this would go. They could yell from the safety of the couch for them to take the big number offered early on rather than risk settling for a lower amount at the end of the game or to go for it but they had no more information than the contestant. In the moment under the pressure, not many contestants had clarity about the deal they would accept or knew their true bottom line.

In my law practice, I answer the same questions for my clients, “How do I know I am getting a good deal?” or “How can I get the best deal?” and “How do I know my bottom line?” I remind them to go back to the basics. Ask yourself the following questions before you start negotiating a deal:

What is my purpose? Why are you in this room making this deal with these people? If it’s just a means to an end, you may not be in the best position for a positive deal. If your purpose is to sell your company, dig a little deeper to find out why you want to sell. Get 100% clear on your why.

What is my desired outcome? Once you have established your purpose, you can spend some time defining your desired outcome. What are the main goals you hope to accomplish in this deal? How will this deal change your circumstances for the better? What, specifically, do you want to achieve?

What is the least I am willing to accept? You have a number in mind that you would be thrilled to get. If that number is realistic and appropriate for what you have to offer, great. Often your ideal number is at the top of, or above, market values. If that number does not make sense with the value you are providing in the deal, then you will, likely, have to accept less. It is crucial, therefore, to ask yourself: What is the lowest number that I would be content accepting? When you reach a number and know that not a penny less and you would still take the deal, then you have found your true bottom line.

Do I mean literally not a penny less? YES, I DO! People say come on, Corey, are you telling me that if I got everything else that was important to me in the negotiation and instead of getting for, example, the $1 million for my business that I said was my bottom line, I am offered $999,999.99, I should turn it down? YES, YOU SHOULD or else $1 million was not your true bottom line. Why should you turn it down? Because what if its $999,999.98 or $999,999.97 or . . . . You can keep going a penny less until you reach $0. So, if you do not to get crystal clear and commit to a true bottom line/not a penny less number then you have no ground to stand on, no way to evaluate what is and is not acceptable except by emotion – which never supports authentic negotiating success.

What is your bottom line? If you want a hand preparing for your next deal, I have a best-selling book on Authentic Negotiating and consult and train people on negotiating regularly. In addition to that, I negotiate for clients in my law practice pretty much every day.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!

Categories
Authentic Conversations About Difference Authentic Leadership

How to Keep Your Business Going During a Family Emergency

During-Brainstorming-9
Business team during a brainstorming in a meeting

In the month of April, I had the opportunity to travel quite a bit for work and for pleasure. If you have been reading my articles for long, you know that I am a big advocate of living an integrated life. As a business owner, I have a certain level of control in the day-to-day work that I do, but it is not always easy.

The best laid plans can fall away when a family emergency rises to the top of the list of priorities. The day I returned from a business mastermind trip in Europe, I learned my mother had fallen ill with abdominal issues. As I was back in town, I was able to support my mother in-person, take her to the hospital and spend much of last week with her.

As I write this, I am on Day 8 of being there to provide encouragement to my mother as the doctors try to figure out how best to help her. With my attention on her, it is a relief to know that my business – which is fortunately extremely busy right now – is carrying on without my having to monitor every aspect.

How can your business keep going during a family emergency? It actually came together for me while I was watching the way the hospital operates and being thankful that my business operates much more efficiently and effectively, especially when it comes to client service and satisfaction. (You can watch my video about the connection I drew between business and the hospital operations on LinkedIn or Facebook.)

The key elements your business needs to keep running:

  • Build and empower a great team and then trust them.
  • Systematize your processes.
  • Communicate regularly and transparently with clients, industry partners and other key people.
    Implement and effectively use mobile technology.

You need to have many of these things in place before a family or other emergency comes up. How does your company stack up? Are you ready in case of emergency? If not, take heart and know that you can start to take the necessary steps to improve from where you are starting today.

—

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author and professional speaker who is passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal- Ready Assessment today!