October 2022 Newsletter
FEATURED ARTICLE

Five Scariest Moments for a Small Business CEO
by Tim Fulton


Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I can remember as a kid dressing up and trying my hardest to scare people as we walked our neighborhood gathering treats. It was fun to frighten others and also to feel frightened myself from time to time.

As a small business owner, I've had more than my share of scary moments. The first day in business was always a frightening 24 hours. Facing Hurricane Andrew was as scary an experience as I can ever remember. Closing a business sale was always nerve-wracking.

What about you? Are you ever scared as CEO of your business?

Here are five of the scariest moments for a small business owner that I can think of, along with one strategy to address each one and ease the fear.
 
Fear #1. Losing a key employee.

The labor market is as tight today as it’s ever been in modern history. The national economy is at full employment and small businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to find and retain top talent. The fear of losing a star employee keeps many small business CEOs up at night. As a result, many companies are employing a variety of strategies aimed at retaining key talent, including financial incentives, enhanced employee benefits, and opportunities for professional development.

BOOK OF THE MONTH

The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
There are certain types of work that I enjoy most. One of which is asking questions. Being curious. Exploring reality. Wondering. I also enjoy helping my coaching clients achieve success. Supporting their executive efforts. Galvanizing their strategic plans.

There are also certain types of work that I don’t enjoy as much. I am not an inventor. I am also not good at coming up with original ideas or solutions. I'm not much of an engineer or an architect. I'm also not good at finishing projects. Pushing tasks to completion. Being tenacious.

It’s taken much of my career to identify the work that I am good at and that energizes me and to determine the work that depletes or frustrates me. In fact, I wish I had more insights into both much earlier in my career. I wish I had a better understanding of my “Working Geniuses”.

Fortunately, best-selling author Patrick Lencioni’s latest book, The 6 Types of Working Genius, has arrived just in time for me to better understand both. Lencioni is one of my favorite business authors and I've reviewed several of his books previously, including 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Death by Meetings, and The Ideal Team Player. The author is great at taking complicated concepts in business and translating them into easier fixes using a fictional narrative.

SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS - THE PODCAST
A new episode is coming soon. In the meantime, we thought you'd enjoy listening to one of our most popular past episodes.

King of Pops started as a conversation between three brothers on an epic trip through Central America. Over the years, that conversation turned into a dream and when the youngest of the three, Steven, was laid off from his corporate job during the Great Recession – that dream became a reality. A few months later, Steven’s brother Nick left his job as a lawyer to become the second employee. The brothers went from layoffs and courtrooms to making people happy.

The first King of Pops sale took place out of a Mexican paleta pushcart on a neighborhood street corner in Atlanta in 2010. Today, King of Pops continues to sell their sweet treats out of pushcarts but they’ve also expanded into catering, fundraising, and wholesale. Created in response to the pandemic's impact on business, their Neighborhood Partner program helps folks start their own King of Pops biz in their communities.

SBM BOOKS
— Available on Amazon —
WORDS OF WISDOM
A LITTLE HUMOR
Walking the Dog 
 
A woman was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane was diverted to Sacramento along the way.
 
The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft the plane would re-board in 50 minutes.
 
Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind.
 
A man noticed her as he walked by and could tell the lady was blind because her guide dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight. He could also tell she had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached her, and calling her by name, said, "Kathy, we are in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?"
 
The blind lady said, "No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs."
 
All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a guide dog for the blind! Even worse, the pilot was wearing sunglasses!
 
People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!
Please let me know if I can help you in any way.

Remember, small business does MATTER.

TIM FULTON
President & CEO
Small Business Matters
(678) 427-9436
www.smallbusinessmattersonline.com

"Dedicated to Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs"