How does it feel to look next door and know that your neighbor took $4,000 from you to buy his new car? This didn’t help business and didn’t help the country. Showrooms are now devoid of customers, repairable vehicles are destroyed, and businesses that repair vehicles lost 690,000 potential customers. If this is stimulus, I need a strong drink!

The stated price tag for [Obama-care] coverage is estimated at only $894 billion. This $894 billion dollar boondoggle is the result of trying to cover 25 million un-insured with health INSURANCE. Do the math. That is $35,760 for each un-insured. Hey, it’s a government program so what did you expect? A bargain? Consider this. The ancestors of today’s demo goons thought social security would only require $30 per worker per year. Today, the payroll tax bite for that little gem and its offspring Medicare is up to $15,300 per worker per year which is I guess just a Washington style rounding error from the original $30 per year estimate.

Even if you believe that we need to insure the uninsured, does this plan seem like a good way to do it?

Yesterday, Obama’s pay czar announced compensation changes for those bailout recipients who’ve yet to repay the money. There is logic to the argument that by taking the money these companies opened themselves up for this. As the majority shareholder, the government is exercising the kind of power that a private shareholder might exercise.

The unintended consequences might cause this move to backfire. GM is already having a difficult time finding a permanent CEO; the headaches of working with government involvement is keeping many of the best candidates away. Take away the financial rewards and there is little to attract good candidates. Should a new senior executive, not involved in the financial problems, be forced to pay the price for her predecessor’s bad decisions?

The government does not have clean hands. The loose credit that led to the financial meltdown was forced upon lenders by the government. Business leaders took advantage of the easy credit making business decisions that turned disasterous when the house of cards collapsed.

Who should bear the burden of the corporate bailouts? Help me clarify my thinking on this topic and send me your thoughts.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Many of the claims of a turn around are accompanied by qualifying statements, like “it seems”, “it’s possible”, etc. Let’s hope these predictions are true, but don’t get too euphoric just yet.

Those predictions sound more like a bottoming, or a very slight increase in economic activity. The real anchor on the economy continues to be the Obama policies of taxing the productive members of society and giving freebies to the undeserving. The proposals to pay for a universal health care is just the latest version. Cap and trade, government bail-outs, the stimulus package all create a headwind for the economy that is difficult to overcome.

Spend wisely, plan well, forge ahead and be smart with your business and, like my clients, you can remain profitable.

As an employee of someone else, you had to always be your best. After all, the boss was watching and that next promotion was on the line. Now that you’re the boss, avail yourself of a business coach and watch your performance improve. The ROI is amazing.

1. Why do you want to own a business? This is hard work, risky, and time consuming. If it doesn’t work out, you’re more stuck than you might realize.

2. What do you want to get out of ownership? Whether you want money, time, power, a legacy, make certain that the business you start can give you what you want.

3. Do you want to manage a business? Most people start a business for what the business does, not for the opportunity to manage a business. This is a recipe for disaster and disappointment.

4. Don’t think you can do it alone! Even if you do know everything you need to know, find an advisor to act as your devil’s advocate. In the corporate world, your boss and co-workers pushed you to perform better. It’s easy to get lazy and make bad decisions when your assumptions aren’t being challenged.

5. Plan for a year without income. The number one reason for business failure isn’t a bad idea or inept ownership. Companies just run out of money, then cut sales and marketing corners before establishing themselves.

Owning your own business can be the most rewarding thing you’ve ever done. But ownership is completely different than being an employee – at any level. Good luck!

There are four steps that we all go through during the change process.  Close your eyes and picture a ski jump.  It closely resembles the trip.

The first step is “Norming.”  You’re standing at the top of the hill ready to go.  You believe in the concept of change and have faith that it will be a good thing.  So you push off from the starting gate and begin.

You start heading down the hill still confident, but beginning to ask yourself if this was such a good idea.  As you gather speed and face the reality that change requires letting go of the comfort and security that “sameness” provided, you start to question your sanity for ever starting this “change thing.”  You may even want to stop and go back up the hill to where you started from.  Because this second step is a battle with self, it is called “Storming.”

You reach the bottom, level off, and start upward toward the end of the jump.  This third step is called “Forming.”  You’re letting go of the old ways and ready to “launch” into the change.  Your not certain how good it will be, but you’re beginning to believe that something exciting is about to happen.

The fourth step is “Soaring.”  You’ve successfully moved past your comfort with the “old” way, found value in the “new” idea, embraced what it has to offer and take off with confidence that you’re trip through the change process was the right decision to take.

You may be a daredevil and find the “Storming” trip to be exhilerating, or a risk-averse person who requires a strong push to head down that hill.  The process of change does not come easily nor without a rush that challenges your beliefs and pulls you out of your comfort zone.  When the time comes, you are likely to find it easier to leave the starting gate when given a little push by a business coach.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride!

Almost every business owner turns their financial information over to someone else to prepare financial statements.  If the only statements you receive are produced once a year by your CPA at tax time, shame on you.  That’s like flying a plane in the clouds without gauges.  You may get by for a while, but sooner or later you’re going to crash.  At a minimum you should be seeing quarterly statements.  Monthly statements are far better.

Don’t misunderstand, though.  It does you little good to look in the rear view mirror when you own a business.  You look at the financial reports to evaluate whether your tactics are working to achieve your goals.  The primary benefit for a business owner is the trend analysis developed with those financial statements that enables you to predict the future, and the operational changes you need to make to reach your objectives.

Ask your financial professional for assistance in developing a dashboard of key performance indicators for your company.  They should be able to help you.  If they look at you like a deer in the headlights, get another financial advisor or find a business advisor that can help you.  Just as the pilot doesn’t need to know where all the information comes from that displays on his dashboard, you only need to know how to read the “gauges” to know if you’re flying straight and true to your goals, or if you’re veering badly off course.