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AlexanderAbramson.com • (407) 649-7777 Your Business Matters October 2019 Business Horror Stories Mistakes That Will Haunt Your Company It’s amazing how fast this year has flown business in a way that makes the most eventually, often sooner than they by. It seems like we were just celebrating sense or take advantage of the same planned. Failing to ensure that you the Fourth of July, and now Faith and tax strategies as your competitors. have a plan for this departure can spell I are getting ready for the onslaught Many companies end up being like heartbreak for you, your loved ones, and of trick-or-treaters! With all the ghouls Frankenstein’s monster: an inefficient your employees. and goblins taking to the streets, I combination of mismatched parts. thought now would be a good time You should take a hard look at what to cover some scary material myself. The Phantom Partnership Agreement you want your exit to look like and plan Plenty of mistakes and missteps can All too often, when disputes between for that. Do you want to amass enough haunt entrepreneurs, but the following business partners break out, both parties wealth for a comfortable retirement? examples are terrifyingly common. make a horrifying discovery — they Are you hoping to leave a legacy for don’t have a partnership agreement in your grandkids? Do you want to see the The Curse of Incorporation place to resolve disputes. This is another business you built go on to do great This is an error that many first-time element of starting a company that gets things, even as you take a step back? business owners make right at the outset left by the wayside. Why think about All of these goals are possible, but not of their venture, and it can plague them hypothetical disputes and “unforeseen without forethought. It’s especially for decades if left unaddressed: They life events” when you could be working important to have an estate plan in place choose the wrong business entity. Amid on flashy branding and exciting in case tragedy strikes. Without one, your the excitement of launching a company, marketing campaigns? When you don’t spouse may be caught in a bitter probate it can be easy to overlook the little suffix have these important documents to ward battle for the right to run or sell your that will follow its name. Does it matter off the specter of litigation, the results business. if your business is an LLC, PLLC, or Inc.? can be disastrous. Well, yes — quite a lot. These nightmares have spelled the Not having a comprehensive partnership end for countless companies and The type of business entity you agreement between all of the owners has drained the resources of even more. form can have huge legal and tax the potential to destroy the value of your Thankfully, there’s a silver bullet that implications and can even affect how it company. Not only could the resulting any entrepreneur can use to fend off operates. Not putting enough thought legal battle eat up huge amounts of these ghastly monsters: proactive into the exact designation you want time and money, but it could also action. Whether you are incorporating a for your organization can lead to a deeply damage the business's valuation. business, entering into a partnership, or lot of headaches down the road if Worse still, disputes may become so setting your goals for the future, taking you discover you can’t structure your tangled that the state simply chooses to each of these steps carefully and with statutorily dissolve your organization. proper legal counsel will always be better than taking them quickly and alone. That A Boardroom With No Exit way, these nasty surprises can never This is a mistake made by those toward creep up on you. the end of their business cycle, but it’s a big one. Not having an exit strategy Happy Halloween, planned in advance is a risky move for any entrepreneur. As I mentioned last month, everyone leaves their business –Ed Alexander Published by The Newsletter Pro | www.TheNewsletterPro.com (407) 649-7777 1 PUT YOUR BEST CARD FORWARD A Woman’s Guide to Corporate Success Business Card Etiquette in 3 Different Countries While Mireille Guiliano is best known for “French Women Don’t Get Fat,” her book on healthy eating and balanced The business card is a nearly ubiquitous way to give your living, authorship is actually her second career. Before she name, position, company, and contact information to took up the pen, Guiliano was president and CEO of the potential clients and business partners all over the world. French Champagne brand Veuve Clicquot. She developed And while the exchange of business cards in the United Veuve Clicquot’s reputation in America almost single- States does not come with a lot of pomp and circumstance, handedly over a 20-plus year career, and now she has that is not the case in many other countries. If you find chronicled that success in her 2010 bestseller “Women, Work yourself in one of the following places, remember these tips & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility” — a about exchanging business cards. guide to climbing the corporate ladder geared specifically toward women. Japan Known in Japan as meishi, the exchange of business cards Just as “French Women Don’t Get Fat” upended the typical comes with a lot of ceremony. Present your card with both diet book format, “Women, Work & the Art of Savoir hands, as this gesture is seen as respectful. Japanese culture Faire” leaves the usual business book style behind almost places a lot of value on hierarchy and status, so make sure immediately. As Guiliano writes in her introduction, “This your title is listed prominently. When receiving a card, take isn’t another business book that tells you how to ‘succeed’ a minute to look it over and comment on it. Immediately or ‘get the corner office.’ Yes, of course, you’ll find advice on putting it away is disrespectful, and once you’re done getting ahead and getting promoted … but more than that, looking at it, put it in a cardholder, folder, or binder. you’ll find advice on being happy and living a good life, even while you are making the biggest contribution you can to the China workplace. That’s why I dare to talk about style, and clothes, In China, as in many other countries, having your credentials and food, and wine, and entertaining, and LIFE in a business and contact info in English on one side and in the local book. We don’t work in a vacuum.” language on the other is good practice. Gold lettering is considered auspicious, and if your business is relatively Guiliano is true to her word. Between the covers, readers will old, make sure the year it was founded is on your card. The find advice on topics as far-ranging as developing the perfect practice of giving and receiving cards is very similar to that handshake, choosing catering for a business dinner, dressing of Japan. Finish the exchange with a bow as a way to thank for success, and putting together an effective presentation. your acquaintance for meeting with you. Guiliano has plenty of experience to back up her counsel and shares amusing anecdotes about the food and beverage India industry, French culture, and her own journey along the way. Business cards are exchanged even in nonbusiness There are no easy three-step solutions here, only long-term interactions in India. Much like hierarchy and status are goals and strategies. valued in Japan, academic achievements are valued in India, so list your university, degrees, and honors along with your What really makes “Women, Work & the Art of Savoir other information. When exchanging cards, always give Faire” unique is that it caters specifically to women in and receive them with your right hand. This is also common pursuit of high-powered CEO or CFO jobs. Guiliano covers practice in many Middle Eastern countries. circumventing prejudice right alongside choosing a dress and tips on being the perfect lunch date. Still, both men and Exchanging business cards the wrong way probably won’t women will come away from this book with ideas about how be detrimental to your business deal, but learning the to achieve success without sacrificing the pleasures French proper etiquette in the country you’re visiting can go a long women hold so dear. way in starting a professional relationship on the right foot. 2 AlexanderAbramson.com Published by The Newsletter Pro | www.TheNewsletterPro.com Reignite Your Passion Lessons in Innovation From Henry Ford As entrepreneurs scale their businesses, there is a lot to factors that played into his success, and, if you apply them focus on: hiring the right staff, creating the most effective to your own journey, you could gain a new perspective and marketing strategies, and setting up efficient operations. be inspired to create and innovate in your industry. With so much to do, it’s easy to lose sight of your initial vision for your company. If you’re stuck in a rut, know Consumer-Focused that you’re not alone. Plenty of the most successful Ford realized cars were unreliable and unaffordable to entrepreneurs have endured the same struggles and, with a most and set out to change that. After developing the first little ambition and a lot of creativity, came out on top. Take moving assembly line, Ford lowered the price of cars and Henry Ford, for example. made them accessible for people outside the upper class for the first time.