What’s your exit strategy?

George Bryan plans to create a business

to give himself a comfortable retirement

Golf pro George Bryan came to see me last week.
George has been a friend more than 20 years.
He writes our newspaper’s weekly golf column.
George is a PGA teaching professional.
He has a thriving golf academy.
He teaches golfers of almost every age.
It's fun teaching others to enjoy the game.

He’s started a new golf-related business.
His goal is to make it profitable - and sellable.
Selling it is a path to a comfortable retirement.

Do many of us start businesses that way?
If we don't, it’s a major mistake.
We are excited about creating a business.
We think about the now - not the distant future.
We need to look down the road for an exit.
None of us will live forever.
But a successful business can outlive us.
Family businesses last through generations.

All of us work hard, long hours.
What do we want to do in retirement?
Run our businesses or enjoy family time?
Without an exit strategy, we may have no options.

Our VIP Club discussed this last week.
Two of our members are building new businesses.
The questions on the table were these:

1. How long will you run your business?
2. What do you want to do in retirement?
3. How do you prepare for Option 2.

I’m as guilty of such myopia is anyone.
I love publishing books and newspapers.
I love coaching and helping business owners.
My wife and I have built profitable businesses.
We have developed a great team to help us.
We no longer work 90-hour weeks.
We spend time together traveling.
Being with my wife is the best thing in life.
Now we are planning our exit strategy.
If you are not doing this, now’s the time.

Special offer for my readers

We’re raising money for literacy tutoring.
Our immediate goal is a modest $10,000.
Our local tutoring program needs it.
Sales of my books goes to this cause.

Here’s an irresistible (I hope) offer:
Autographed copies of my books for $20 each.
• "Lead People, Manage Things" on leadership.
• "Your Life’s Great Purpose" on pursuing yours.
• "Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs".
This book contains 22 great success stories.
You’ll learn 22 entrepreneurs’ success secrets.
For a $50 donation, you get all three books.
These books will enrich your life.
Won’t you help teach others to read?
Just email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com

Customer service ambassadors

J.R. Cottle, Chris LaCoe and C.K. Kiley advocate great customer service.


How often do you suffer customer service idiots?
How often do you leave a business feeling disgusted?
Disrespected? Unappreciated? Never coming back?
The person behind the counter is having a bad day.
Cut her some slack? Not on your life.
She’s running off people who keep her in business.

Let me tell you a different story.
This is about making a difference in business and life.
Two entrepreneurs we know opened a new restaurant.
It’s their eighth — all highly successful.
Chris and J.R. aim to open 100 of them.
Theirs is Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes and Fries.

A waitress opens the door when you approach.
She smiles a radiant smile and invites you in.
The place is packed. Every booth taken.
She shows you to a booth or the counter.
She’s back with your drinks. Takes your order.
Within less than five minutes your food arrives.

Chris and J.R. are working the grill.
Their manager C.J. is keeping things moving. And I mean moving fast.
The Beach Boys are singing in the background.
The decor is straight out of the 1950s.
Looks, feels and smells like a diner.
And a very good diner at that.

What’s going on here?
This isn’t just another fast food joint.
This is a delightful experience.
On opening day, the staff was ready.
A half dozen cooks were working the grills.
Pink-shirted waitresses made you feel special.
Five lessons worth noting here.

1. They trained their people well.
Everyone was smiling. Especially the customers.

2. The owners were setting an example.
Not sitting on their butts in a back office.
When the boss works hard, everyone else does, too.
A good work ethic breeds more of the same.

3. Everyone was in uniform, an identity builder.
Girls in pink. Guys in black. All with the logo.
For employees this creates a sense of belonging.

4. No long waits for food. And good food.
Shrimp burgers. Cheese  burgers.
Philly cheese steaks as good as South Philly.
Deliver every order in less than five minutes.
That helps turn over your tables faster.
Serve more customers. Make more profit.

5. Survive and thrive on repeat business.
Create a great experience and they’ll return.
Treat every customer as if she was your grandma.
The one you love and she loves you.
Five simple steps to great ambassadorship.

Foot note: Best frozen custard ever.
Better than ice cream. Wow!
The biggest lesson in all of this:
Create Wow! experiences for your clients.

Special offer for my readers

We’re raising money for literacy tutoring.
Our immediate goal is a modest $10,000.
Our local tutoring program needs it badly.
Proceeds from sales of my books goes to this cause.
Here’s an irresistible (I hope) offer:
Autographed copies of my books at only $20 each.
• “Lead People, Manage Things” on leadership.
• “Your Life’s Great Purpose” on pursuing yours.
• “Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
You’ll learn 22 entrepreneurs’ success secrets.
All we need to sell is 500 copies of these books.
They will enrich your life. Won’t you help us?
Just email me at JerryBellune.com for copies.

Take the consolation prize

Our friend Michael Aun is a great storyteller.
His column in our newspaper last week was a gem.
It was about one of his sons and daughter-in-law.
Jason and Jennifer met as Olympic team hopefuls.
They worked hard at the Michigan training center.
Olympic athletes train 10 or more hours a day.
Neither made it — but they met each other.
That was their best consolation prize.
Next best was that they gained a great education.

Jennifer is now in medical school.
Jason earned a degree in molecular microbiology.
Wouldn’t you say those are fine consolation prizes?
They missed the Olympics but found something better.

Michael has his own story of a great near-miss.
He went after Public Speaking’s World Championship.
Toastmaster International stages this each year.
In Toronto, he ran eight seconds over time.
That was enough to disqualify him.
Michael went back through the same arduous process.
He won contests at local, state and regional levels.
Then he competed — and won — in Vancouver.

Michael learned an important lesson:
You must go through Toronto to get to Vancouver.

One of my early goals was to be a war correspondent.
It was a romantic notion, I will admit.
I wanted to write for Paris Match magazine.
They had some of the best reporters in the world.
Fortunately my college French wasn’t strong enough.
Otherwise, I might not be around today.
War correspondents lead dangerous lives.

My consolation prizes are many.
• A fine family and life on beautiful Lake Murray. • My wife-partner in newspaper and book publishing.

• Great friends in a town we love.
• Our own profitable businesses.

Think about your own consolations.
The goals you worked hard to achieve.
How you felt when you didn’t make it.
What consolation prizes God had in store for you.
Theodore Roosevelt said it well.
Better to fail at mighty things than never to have tried.

Special offer for my readers

We’re raising money for literacy tutoring.
Our immediate goal is a modest $10,000.
Our local tutoring program needs it badly.
Proceeds from sales of my books goes to this cause.
Here’s an irresistible (I hope) offer:
Autographed copies of my books at only $20 each.
• “Lead People, Manage Things” on leadership.
• “Your Life’s Great Purpose” on pursuing yours.
• “Killer Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs”.
This book contains 22 great success stories.
You’ll learn 22 entrepreneurs success secrets.
All we need to sell is 500 copies of these books.
They will enrich your life. Won’t you help us?
Just email me at JerryBellune.com for copies.

3 major marketing secrets

We have many opportunities to speak.
Too often we want to talk about us or our businesses.
That’s a major marketing mistake.
It's about them. It’s not about us.

Let me give you three quick examples of this.
I heard three entrepreneur speakers this week.
Each blew it in front of many prospects.
They talked about themselves, not their prospects.

One presented a 90-minute business tele-seminar.
I exited after 40 minutes because he had no content.
It was all about how wonderful he is.

Another hosted a webinar on book publishing.
I stuck with him for 50 minutes.
He had three guests who could have given real value.
In 50 minutes they said nothing I didn’t already know.

Our Rotary speaker made the worst mistake of all.
She could have shared her expertise in health care.
It would have established her as a credible source.
It would have given her expert authority.
Instead she gave a 15-minute business commercial.
I left after the first 10 minutes. Don’t try to pitch me.

If you have similar opportunities, remember this:
1. It’s not about you.
It’s about your audience and don’t forget that.
Make sure you know who they are.
What their interests, wants and needs are.
Why they want to hear what you have to say.

2. Target their pain, frustration, hopes or dreams.
All of us have them. We live with them daily.
Identify the pain you may be able to relieve.
Or the frustration you can help them deal with.
Or their hopes for their families and themselves.
Or their long-held, inner most dreams.

3. Share with them what they can do about this.
Use examples of your clients who have done it.
Share what they did and how they did it.
Downplay your role in all of this. No bragging.
Give them reason to want to talk more with you.

If you are selling from the back of the room:
1. Share with them what you have to help them.
2. Share with them how it has assisted others.
3. Share with them how it might help them.

Special offer to Success Strategies readers

Want to help edit my new book?
It’s a book on leadership. Its title is:
“What It Costs to Be the Boss”
Its premise is that leadership is a learned art.
It is a privilege, honor and responsibility.
Many managers. Few true leaders.
For sample chapters of the book, email me.
Jerry@JerryBellune.com
All I ask is that you give me your evaluation.
Books are made better by good readers.

Remember who you are

Jeff Bezos remembers who he is

My parents had a powerful influence on me.

My father used to say, "Remember who you are."
His son didn’t always remember.
It got him in a lot of trouble.
Now I remember who I am - and who I was.
I hope you can do the same.

The writing bug bit me early.
My mother read to us when we were children.
It fired our imaginations, gave us a purpose.
Becoming a writer was a given.

My father gave me an old typewriter.It still worked but he no longer needed it.
We went to the lumber yard one Saturday.
We bought a hollow-core door and four legs.
We went home and glued 6"x2"s to the door.
Then we mounted the legs on the 6"x2"s.
We turned the door over and - voila - we had a desk.
He helped me stain the door and I was in business.

I wrote my first story on that typewriter.I spent hours writing at that desk.
I wrote about growing up mentally and physically.
I wrote about my experiences in military school.
In the infantry in Korea. As a reporter and editor.
I followed the first elemental rule of writing:
Write about what you know.
That desk and typewriter went everywhere with me.
Through many newspaper jobs. In many cities.
Even after MacLeod agreed to marry me.
Even when we started our own publishing company.
She finally bought me a better desk.
But I miss that old door and its memories.
It reminded me to remember who I am.

I heard a story about Jeff Bezos the other day.Jeff is the visionary founder of Amazon.com
Jeff had a desk liked mine when he got started.
He was filling online orders in his garage.
It was an humble start for a great success story.
Amazon is now a powerhouse online retailer.
Jeff is a wealthy and respected entrepreneur.
But Jeff Bezos still has a door for a desk.
All his lieutenants have similar desks.
It helps them remember who they are.

Here’s a thought to take away from this:Remembering who you are keeps you grounded.
It reminds you how you came to be where you are.
It shields you from arrogance. Keeps you focused.
Makes you grateful for all God has given you.
Reminds you of the bad choices you made.
And the consequences of making bad choices.
It reminds you of the good choices you made.
It reminds you to make better choices in life.
Wherever you go or whatever you do . . .
Remember the old doors in your life.

Special note to Success Strategies readersWant a free copy of my new leadership book?
Its premise is that leadership is a learned art.
For sample chapters of the book, email me.
Jerry@JerryBellune.com