Owner To Owner Podcast

@SaeedJoulaei talks about his experience #buyingabusiness and the big move from being an #employee to a #businessowner.It's a very topical discussion. If you've ever thought about becoming a business owner you have two main alternatives. Start your own or buy an existing #smallbusiness.  Saeed has now done both and can talk about the pro's and con's of both.He grew up in a little town in North of #Iran above his dad's little grocery shop and was a very young employee! After finishing an electrical engineering degree he co-founded his first business which for the first time brought the internet to his small hometown.  As a #startup he did a lot of all-nighters to get things moving. He still draws on those experiences today. An opportunity came up to move to Australia in 2008. He gave himself  time to get to know the culture and the environment. He worked as an employee before buying @CentrelineEngineering in 2019. In our discussion Saeed shares his personal experiences and tips on buying a business - we cover;the online search process he used to find businesses for salethe filters e.g. industry, geography he used to help sort through the thousands for salehow the maths he did on starting his own business (i.e. how long it would take to be viable, the risks etc) led him to buying an established businessremembering the feeling the moment he came to realise "you don't have to build it from scratch" - and the relief that he felt with thatthe different risks you can or can't take at different agesdealing with #businessbrokersfeeling unprepared for the buying process, stopping for a while to educate himself with any book or other material he could find to just filter through all the jargon, what the numbers mean,  and how they've come up with the number they've come up.how long the process tooktreating the search as a hobby while working as an employeethe ideal time to get professionals involvedthe importance of understanding the reason why an owner is sellingwhy it's not  always about the dollar - the business has often been someone's baby and you need to factor that inmultiples and  well-understood approaches for valuing businesses#earnoutsCentreline today - designing and #manufacturing the best #IndustrialAutomationMachinery for #Food and #Pharmaceutical Industries.#localmanufacturingthe challenges in finding a #skilledworkforcethe need to do a lot of work on yourself if you're moving from being an employee to owning a businessthe upside of tapping into your communityhaving your stakeholders 'in the loop' - communicating with your partner, your family and making sure they understand the implications - that's very important to help get through the hard times later down the track@kerrcapital  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

Bill Lang is Founder and Director of @smallbusinessaustralia.org.  He's a #HarvardMBA, and a seasoned #smallbusinessowner and operator. It started in the #foodvan industry with Doctor Dog, selling hot dogs outside of nightclubs and pubs in Melbourne in the 1980's.But more recently the businesses he's involved with are all about helping (including coaching and mentoring) owners;better use the internetbetter use digital tools to attract customersattract staff, and run their businesses more efficiently.In our wide-ranging discussion we cover;why small business is bigger than jobs and being the economic backbone that we hear politicians spoutsmall business owners are the hearts and souls of their local communities (and not the big companies) why politicians really do not understand what makes small business people tickwhy it's his concern that big business gets looked after (a number of them have quite anti-competitive tactics that drive many, many small businesses out of town)how we're now competing with millions and millions of competitors, unlike pre-internet timesturning the in-depth research from business owners across the country into particular policy initiatives and requests for governments at all three levels incentives to get people to buy local and support local businesseswww.buylocal.smallbusinessesaustralia.orgwww.businessadvantage.onlinethe #invoicingclasswhy if you've never sent an invoice and then had to chase it up, you don't really understand what it's like to be in business for yourself and your family@judobankJim Penman from @JimsGroup why the best business advisors are other people in businesswhy it's wrong to believe the best way to learn is by making mistakes - the better way to learn is by learning from other people's mistakes and thats what you can learn from other business owners that might be a few years older, maybe in different industries@kerrcapital  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@BarbaraBraithwaite is the principal #speechpathologist at @SafeSwallowingEducation in Sydney, and #founder of a couple of #smallbusinesses in or around #SpeechPathology. Barbara came into talk about her experience selling her first practice. In the episode we talk about;early-career guidance to steer her away from Accountancy and towards Speech Pathologyher love of being able to empower a client whether a child through communication, or developing their literacy skills, or an adult improving their communication skillsthe positive influence from having  a father who owned his own businessstarting out in a #CommunityHealthCenter and struggling with the long wait for clients (up to five years)becoming pregnant with her first child, going on maternity leave, and using that opportunity to start my own private practicethe source of her passion - #empoweringpeople, and #empoweringstaffher #onlineeducation program for #AgedCare staff about safe swallowing which is a massive issue in the elderlythe impetus to sell her practice so she could devote more time to educationhard, internal questions"Should I sell my practice?""What should I do?""How can I still keep within the profession?"#mentoringstaffmoving more into managing which enabled me to present the practice as a Speech Pathology practice that could continue to grow with or without megoogle searching to get the inside word on selling a businessworking with a #businessbrokerdeciding not to sell staff about the sale at the beginning for fear the whole thing falls throughwhy her practice was like another childdealing with people inquiring about my business whose names she recognised  and learning to detachwhat happened in the year or so it took to sellworking with a good buyer with intent and with credentialsher advice to start putting things in place to sell while you have the energythe emotionsthe importance of really understanding the buyer's intentionswhy buyers will have a different plan for your business and how that translates to different values for your business@kerrcapital Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@RichardShrapnel is a #BusinessStrategist and has deep experience working with the owners of #SmallMediumBusinesses. His strength is looking at how businesses are performing and where they are going. He has recently updated and published a third edition (to take account of #covid19) of Going Broke Staying Sane, a workbook to help owners facing #financialdistress to work their way through those problems.  The workbook outlines a 7-step process to help when things don't go as expected - when #cashflows dry up or when you're aksing yourself "What do I do?". It's especially relevant now following the covid-19 lockdowns and the likelihood that so many #SMEs have been hit hard.In our discussion we talk about;finding a way through but expecting scarsthe many types of businesses that have been impacted #restaurants #tourism #hospitality the apparently low number of #insolvencies to date and the potential for numbers to escalate when business people stop hanging onthe sneaking, slow, gradual  pathway to #financialdistress#DeathByAThousandCuts#hardquestions;how much do I dig into my reserves?How much do I increase the debt which I'm carrying?How much do I pull out for my superannuation to try and keep the business alive?How much do I allow the outstanding commercial rents to grow?the natural tendency for small business people to lock themselves down and not share the difficulties with their family because they don't want to take the burdens of the business at homethe importance of #connectingwithpeople around you, of #sharingtheburdenthe #sevenstepsAccept - it's not about saying it's okay, it's about acceptingClarify - getting the facts on the table - so what are my losses? Where are my assets? Where are my liabilities? Whose name is on the line? Who were site guarantees? Whose assets are exposed? What are the opportunities?Action - what are my options? What can I do? What is the exposure? How do I mitigate that exposure? What can I save?Champions - the people going to have your back. They believe in you, they want you to succeed. They have some business sense. They're honest and they'll cord as they see itBe Real - do not surrender your values. Just compare the actions and decisions you take against what is important to youCare - maintain your emotional, mental, and physical fitness.A Light - you need to look for that by creating something,  that light at the end of that tunnel, which you can hang onto and pull yourself outthe tipping point and calling it quits - it's not a failure - it is a sensible commercial decision to release yourself in the business, make a sensible commercial decision, and then take with you what you need to restart#Seekinghelp @BeyondBlueSeeking help @smallbusinessdebthelpline#reinvention#restructuringYou can buy the workbook here www.richardschrapnel.com@kerrcapital Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@JamesMurphy from @kerekere is a #social and #businessentrepreneur. At a young age, he moved over to #Fiji. The @kerekere brand was formed based on a Fijian #custom in which a relative or a neighbor can request something and it must be willingly given with no expectation of repayment.He has a track record of building businesses with a social bent.  Under the @kerekere brand he has built and successfully sold 2 of those businesses. We chat about the process of #preparingforsale and then undertaking a #businesssale.He grew up in a #familybusiness #smallbusiness environment. Both grandparents had businesses, one an electrical contractor and the other owned a #servicestation. Even from an early age they always talked to him about #values, #valuesinbusiness and the nuances of #competition and #collaboration. Our discussion covers;#smallbusinessdeciding that being an accountant (like father and two uncles) was not the path, and instead becoming a #socialworker#startingup and progressing from a #coffeecart to a #coffeekiosk to a 'proper' business  at the #BoydCommunityHub#KereKereSouth and #KereKereGreenwhat's needed to run a business #udermanagementhis two pieces of advice in terms of selling;you just got to transact regularly, because you never know sort of what's around the corneronce you start thinking, it's probably time to sellbeing #purposedriventhe reality of getting close to #burnout and losing some of the original enthusiasmhow #purpose was a  strength in the #sellingprocessgetting #saleready for someone to knock on the door and actually getting out to find that ideal buyermaking sure you leave something in for the person who buys the business.the early days of making 1000 coffees a daywhy business is very personal and turning transactions into relationships@kerrcapital Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@JamesMurphy from @kerekere is a #social and #businessentrepreneur. At a young age, he moved over to #Fiji. The @kerekere brand was formed based on a Fijian #custom in which a relative or a neighbor can request something and it must be willingly given with no expectation of repayment.He has a track record of building businesses with a social bent.  Under the @kerekere brand he has built and successfully sold 2 of those businesses. We chat about the process of #preparingforsale and then undertaking a #businesssale.He grew up in a #familybusiness #smallbusiness environment. Both grandparents had businesses, one an electrical contractor and the other owned a #servicestation. Even from an early age they always talked to him about #values, #valuesinbusiness and the nuances of #competition and #collaboration. Our discussion covers;#smallbusinessdeciding that being an accountant (like father and two uncles) was not the path, and instead becoming a #socialworker#startingup and progressing from a #coffeecart to a #coffeekiosk to a 'proper' business  at the #BoydCommunityHub#KereKereSouth and #KereKereGreenwhat's needed to run a business #udermanagementhis two pieces of advice in terms of selling;you just got to transact regularly, because you never know sort of what's around the corneronce you start thinking, it's probably time to sellbeing #purposedriventhe reality of getting close to #burnout and losing some of the original enthusiasmhow #purpose was a  strength in the #sellingprocessgetting #saleready for someone to knock on the door and actually getting out to find that ideal buyermaking sure you leave something in for the person who buys the business.the early days of making 1000 coffees a daywhy business is very personal and turning transactions into relationships@kerrcapital Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@RozCampbell is the #founder of @Tsuno a #socialenterprise that sells #bamboofiber #sanitarypads liners and #organic #cottontampons. Tsuno sells via retailers around the country and internationally, and online direct to the consumer through the business website. Half of the profits go to @OneGirl who send girls to school in #SierraLeoneHer business started in 2011 while studying Industrial Design at @RMIT in Melbourne and being on a  traditional professional trajectory to #designfurniture. But an incident in Europe while on a study tour changed that.  She got her period and asked a European friend if they a pad or a tampon? Her friend told her she did not use those and what followed was an education about the #menstrualcup. In this episode we cover;her personal experiences and lessons learned after she considered, and ultimately declined, an  unexpected offer to sell a share of her businessgetting really excited about this concept of a #reusableproduct, that you only have to buy once every ten years, that was also really good for the #environmentgetting inspired and getting back to Australia to get startedlaunching in 2014 with a #crowdfundingcampaign - like a big community project#sustainabilitythe work #onegirl does to get more #girls to #school who were not able to go to school because of a various number of reasons - #poverty #periodsa program called #LaunchPaddealing with someone essentially knocking on the door and saying, "they really like your business, and we would like to buy in?"#exitstrategy #exitplanning#bigquestions;your strengthswhy things are not changing fast enoughcould bringing someone else on board make it bettercould hand this over to someone elsewhat can I do next if I handed "my baby" over#offmarketsales#emotionsinbusinesstrying before buying (coming up with an agreement to try working together for three months before selling)@kerrcapital #businessownersdiagnosticseeing your business through the eyes of a buyergetting increased #businessvalue from making the business less dependent on the ownerrealising your business is an investment and cultivating value Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@RozCampbell is the #founder of @Tsuno a #socialenterprise that sells #bamboofiber #sanitarypads liners and #organic #cottontampons. Tsuno sells via retailers around the country and internationally, and online direct to the consumer through the business website. Half of the profits go to @OneGirl who send girls to school in #SierraLeoneHer business started in 2011 while studying Industrial Design at @RMIT in Melbourne and being on a  traditional professional trajectory to #designfurniture. But an incident in Europe while on a study tour changed that.  She got her period and asked a European friend if they a pad or a tampon? Her friend told her she did not use those and what followed was an education about the #menstrualcup. In this episode we cover;her personal experiences and lessons learned after she considered, and ultimately declined, an  unexpected offer to sell a share of her businessgetting really excited about this concept of a #reusableproduct, that you only have to buy once every ten years, that was also really good for the #environmentgetting inspired and getting back to Australia to get startedlaunching in 2014 with a #crowdfundingcampaign - like a big community project#sustainabilitythe work #onegirl does to get more #girls to #school who were not able to go to school because of a various number of reasons - #poverty #periodsa program called #LaunchPaddealing with someone essentially knocking on the door and saying, "they really like your business, and we would like to buy in?"#exitstrategy #exitplanning#bigquestions;your strengthswhy things are not changing fast enoughcould bringing someone else on board make it bettercould hand this over to someone elsewhat can I do next if I handed "my baby" over#offmarketsales#emotionsinbusinesstrying before buying (coming up with an agreement to try working together for three months before selling)@kerrcapital #businessownersdiagnosticseeing your business through the eyes of a buyergetting increased #businessvalue from making the business less dependent on the ownerrealising your business is an investment and cultivating value Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@Sir Stephen Wilkinson  is the  founder of @Good & Prosper,  a knowledge business for #entrepreneurs and #business owners. He educates #businessowners about #businessvalue by helping them become fluent in the #languageofbusiness.In our discussion we talk about; the shortcomings and opportunities related to the traditional approach to #managingfinances in a typical small businessthe upside of increasing #financialliteracyhow to understand the story your #businessnumbers are trying to tell youthe importance of always understanding and regularly assessing the value of your business value, in the same way that #listedbusinesses#confidentcapitalismhis unique pathway to #finance from studying #literature and #artsthe importance of seeking out a #mentor to teach you in those formative early years of being a #businessowner#advisoryboards and mentors in #smallbusinesswhy #owners and #advisers need to look at the #balancesheet and not just the #profitandloss the need for business owners to take responsibility and say;I want to learn this stuffI want to know how it works, andWhat I can do betterwhen the best accountancy practitioners in the world can't help you@Jack Stack and the Great Game of Business, which effectively teaches the importance of finance and sharing financial information with the entire company. in order to get everybody on board and understand how to play the game@kerrcapital  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au 

@Sir Stephen Wilkinson  is the  founder of @Good & Prosper,  a knowledge business for #entrepreneurs and #business owners. He educates #businessowners about #businessvalue by helping them become fluent in the #languageofbusiness.In our discussion we talk about; the shortcomings and opportunities related to the traditional approach to #managingfinances in a typical small businessthe upside of increasing #financialliteracyhow to understand the story your #businessnumbers are trying to tell youthe importance of always understanding and regularly assessing the value of your business value, in the same way that #listedbusinesses#confidentcapitalismhis unique pathway to #finance from studying #literature and #artsthe importance of seeking out a #mentor to teach you in those formative early years of being a #businessowner#advisoryboards and mentors in #smallbusinesswhy #owners and #advisers need to look at the #balancesheet and not just the #profitandloss the need for business owners to take responsibility and say;I want to learn this stuffI want to know how it works, and What I can do betterwhen the best accountancy practitioners in the world can't help you@Jack Stack and the Great Game of Business, which effectively teaches the importance of finance and sharing financial information with the entire company. in order to get everybody on board and understand how to play the game@kerrcapital  Thanks for listening.  Visit the Owner To Owner Podcast website to subscribe, listen back, or check out any resources or information mentioned on the show.Search @ownertoownerpodcast on your favourite podcast player to subscribe and listen to the episodes.Reach out to Michael Kerr via the website if you need personal assistance or advice for your small business.michael.kerr@kerrcapital.com.auwww.ownertoownerpodcast.com.au