The Facts of Business Life (2 page)

Copyright © 2012 by Bill McBean. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
:

McBean, Bill, 1951-

The facts of business life: what every successful business owner knows that you don't/Bill McBean.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-09496-9 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-22360-4 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-26189-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-23699-4 (ebk)

1. Entrepreneurship. 2. Success in business. 3. New business enterprises. 4. Management. I. Title.

HB615.M3728 2012

658.4'09—dc23

2012017202

This book is dedicated to my mother and father, Bill and Nona McBean; my aunt and uncle, Mark and Margie Hulings; and my wife and friend, Lynnda McBean. Thank you
.

Foreword

Congratulations, entrepreneur-minded reader. In your hand is a terrific book with real-life, ready-to-use-now lessons that should help you see more success and tackle life more comfortably.

In my 40-plus years in the investment business—most of which has been as head of my own firm—I've read over 100 books on starting and running a business—some useful, others less so. Most business books fall into one of two camps: how to start a business, or personal ruminations on business leadership from some widely recognized figure. There's nothing wrong with either, and many of those are great, but if you're a would-be entrepreneur or a business owner embroiled in the day-to-day business of business, there's not much that speaks to the full life cycle of what it means—truly means—to be an owner, manager, CEO, and board chairman.

That's where Bill McBean comes in. I know Bill personally—have for years—and he's a sharp, shrewd, no-nonsense businessman. Most folks are lucky to find business success once, but Bill has met repeated success in a variety of venues, geographies, business lines, you name it. One time is luck and more than once is skill, but if you're as repeatedly successful as Bill has been, that takes serious acumen and drive. Oh, and by the way, he's a heck of a nice guy. His experience alone would probably make a good business book.

But this book isn't memoir or rule book. It's a usable, open kimono look at the nitty-gritty of what's truly required not just to start a business, but to take it from a new business to a surviving one to a thriving one. And once you've got a thriving business, he covers what few people have ever done in books I've seen—he describes how to decide whether to exit the business, when, and how. Sometimes foldin' 'em is better than holdin' 'em.

I don't want to give away too much of the book, but another important lesson Bill delivers—another I've not seen well covered elsewhere—is the need to create your company's DNA. This is a key lesson—critical—for building a business that lasts.

In fact, this is how I think about my own firm. Over the years, we've built processes to ensure that my firm's DNA is embedded in each employee so no matter how far we expand geographically and no matter how far into the future, I can be assured our clients continually get the kind of service (or better) they get now and that I've wanted them to have since the beginning—and with it, the culture gets carried forward and is self-perpetuating. If you don't build an enduring culture now that you'll be proud of in the long-term future, you'll have a long-term future with a culture that mildewed on you en route. That alone is a lesson worth the price of this book. Get that and his other Facts of Life in your bones, and this will have been time well spent.

Entrepreneurs are a special breed. They get, inherently and without effort, the myriad benefits of being the boss. They have vision—without it, you can't hope to even think about starting a firm. But where I see folks fail is in their lack of grit. Grit is what it takes—and that's what Bill takes you through in this book. It's no-holds-barred. It's not sugar-coated. And if you walk away thinking, “Nope, that's not for me,” then this, too, will have been time well spent, saving you (and your spouse, kids, next-door neighbor, and dog) the future multiple heartaches inherent in starting a new venture. But if you've truly got it in you, and my guess is you do, or want to, or you wouldn't be reading this book, then Bill gives you some clear to-do, think-this-through steps to help you on your way to success.

One more thing: In my 2008 book
The Ten Roads to Riches
, I make the point that entrepreneurship and failure go hand in hand. The most successful founder-CEOs have often failed a few times at no-go ventures. Nothing wrong with that. Failure is a great way to learn—again, nothing wrong with it, so long as you learn from it and fail differently next time and learn still another perma-lesson. But the lessons Bill gives here will help you learn still more from your failure and make a better go next time (and the time after that). And I hope you do try—and succeed—because the entrepreneur road is insanely rewarding, not just in money but in every other part of life, when done right. Bill will help.

Enjoy the read.

—Ken Fisher

Founder and CEO of Fisher Investments 28-year
Forbes
“Portfolio Strategy” columnist
New York Times
bestselling author

If you are attracted to the seductive magnet of business ownership, there are only two possible outcomes. Either you resist it, and for the rest of your life say, “It might have been,” or you give in to it. But once you choose the ownership path, you had better be prepared to say, “I gave it everything I had” or you won't succeed
.

—Bill McBean

Acknowledgments

I owe a great deal of thanks to many people who not only helped me shape this book but showed me how to become a successful business owner.

To begin my acknowledgments without mentioning Rob Kaplan just wouldn't be right. Rob started out as my editor and, over the course of our working together on the book, became my friend. I had first come to him with a rough manuscript, but despite its flaws he saw something in it that I had not seen, and he made a number of suggestions that led, finally, to the book it is today. Rob took my business knowledge and guided me through the process of writing, editing, and rewriting until, at last, I had a book worthy of a publisher like John Wiley & Sons. Every page of this book has Rob's imprint on it in one form or another, and for this I am most grateful, as I am for his friendship.

Second, I want to thank Ken Fisher for writing a flattering foreword. His encouragement and mentorship in this book's development, particularly in the beginning when his wisdom was needed the most, was invaluable. In his own way, Ken was a significant factor, because without his enthusiastic support this book may have never been published. Thank you, Ken, for all you have done.

I also have to thank John Wiley & Sons for their patience as I struggled to meet deadlines, and for their belief in this book, especially Laura Walsh, Judy Howarth, Tula Batanchiev, Sharon Polese, Jeff Gould, Melissa Torra, and Steven Kyritz.

I also want to thank the many partners I've been fortunate to be associated with, who have remained long-term friends: Bill Sterett, a great guy and a good man, who supported and helped me in taking broken businesses and turning them into powerhouses; Al McKay and Walter Wilkenson, my first partners, who believed in me and gave me the money needed to open a new business, and unselfishly allowed me to lean on them for their experience; Gil L'Hommedieu, my current partner, who has been patient with me as I dedicated so much of my time to writing this book; and Mark Hulings Sr., Mark and Janet Hulings, and Mary Sterett—each a wonderful partner in his or her own way.

One of the important factors in every businessperson's success is their competitive instincts and knowing what it takes to win on a consistent basis. I was fortunate to play for some great coaches, who led us to multiple championships and taught us how to win, overcome adversity, and be leaders on a winning team. To coaches John Mooney, Blaine Knoll, Bill Seymour, Terry Bicknell, and Lyn Bannister, thank you for teaching us how not just to win, but to win championships. Of course, coaches can't do it on their own. There were some great athletes and “character” players who have remained lifelong friends. So thanks for the great times we had to: Dr. Greg “Nick” Homenick, Bruce “Buc” Buchan, Ross “Rocky” Johnson, John “Scotor” Allen, Ron “Logie” Logan, Billy “Roomy” Thompson, and all the hundreds of players I competed with over the years, as well as enjoyed beverages with throughout the seasons. And I can't forget two good friends, Jim Peplinski and Terry Labonte, NHL and NASCAR champions, who through our friendship have shown me time and time again how great champions transcend their sports by demonstrating their class and the character that made them winners both in their sports and away from them.

Thanks, also, to my many business mentors: Jerry Gleason, Doug Spedding, Mike Maroone, Tony Noland, Bob Du'Chalard, Bruce Axleson, Gordon Mann, Richard Gallagher, Blayne Lensen, Charlie Thomas, Fritz Kern, Gordie Bell, John Spellen, and Uncles Stu and Don McBean; and gentlemen like Carlos Ledezma, Steve Hincliff, Ed Tonkin, Dave Solmun, Ron Brown, Joe Serra, John Bowman, Mike Boyer, Bob Myers, and all the fellows I was in Business Owners Twenty groups with in both Canada and the United States

Special thanks to: Pat “PJ” Johnson, Cheryl Jaeger, Brian Campbell, Debbie Elicksen, Debbie Meadows, Lynnda McBean, Shauna Butts, Scott McBean, Tony Fincannon, Dave Resendez, Sean Butts, Blair Upton, Kristy and Walter Wright, and of course, my sister, Susan Nazarenko, for helping and encouraging me in one form or another to eventually get me to the point of writing this book.

Thanks to the scores of people who taught me so much and had fun with me so often: Dorothy Cram, Harold Whitbread; Doug Grey; Bill Yard; Harry Apps; Harvey Coates; Ken Chatwin; Stone Avery; Kenny Brown; Brian Sweeney; Bob Todd; Blair Upton; Barry Kuntz; Brent Dewar; Dave Ashton; Jerry Daniels; Bill Davies; Steve Blake; Rob Hutchison; Brian McVeigh; Ken Boa; Bobby Cavanaugh; Grant Rodgers; Judge Pat Koskie; Scott Brower; the Rusnak brothers, Dave and Wayne; Wayne Jensen; Stu McFadden; Ken Chyz; Rollie Wilcox; Bruce Keith; George Marlette; Ron “Rookie” Robinson; Ed Chynoweth; Doug Lindsay; Dave “Pick” Picket; Rick “Fergy” Jackson; Don “Crapper” Harapchuk; Wayne Knowles; Brian Vasey; Dave “Kingster” King; Bill and Carol Pettus; Glynda Fincannon; Jess and Jackie Cole; Craig Dunn; John and Julie Buckley; Nick Hardcastel; Roy Nazarenko; Don Wheaton Sr., Dave Windsor; Bridget Werner; Tim Keen; Stu Esplen; John Esplen; Greg Campbell; Doug Clark; Kent Harleson; Gary Bentham; Walter Hilderbrant; Bob “Art” Faulkner; Pete “Pistol” Badyk; Orest “O” Kinderchuck; Murray Fairweather; Donny Kozak; Mel Gross; Howie Hicks; Charlie Carins; Bobby Will; Mickey Shaw; Eldon Cooke; Bob Korpan; the Houston brothers, Greg and Kirk; Dennis Breker; Paul Monarch; Steve Hyatt; Will Sodski; Cathy Peplinski; Doug “Spitz” Spitzig; Don “Crapper” Harapchuck; John Laskoski; Scott Atkinson; Mason Cox; Stanley “Frenchie” Patoine; Mike Lemire; Doug Colville; Mary Cole; Ted Oakly; Arnie and Sharon Boeyen; Ken Jaeger; Brian Vasey; Skip and Irene Kretschmar; Mike and Jane Lewis; Jeff Dyke; Ron Gall; Mitch Lanier; Ken Laxdal; Mike and Tina Jones; Ray Schmaamn; Victor and Irena Papazov; Russ Vanden II; David Dunn; Ed and Bev Bacak; Doug Balfor; Dr. Keith Crocker; Cliff Wright; Jim Gibson; Dr. George Fisher; Michael and Toni Conte; Shannon Wilde; Scott Sherman; Chris and Cindy Duval; Tom Gauley; Judy Newman; Jack and Patty Bradfield; Shirley Pagen; Jeff Amidon; Jack Powers; Carlos Keeling; Pat Kasperitis; Rick Dames; Randy Sonnier; Laurie-Anne Rusnak; Mike Collins; Mike Ferlet; Frank Gleason; Pat “Dunner” Dunn; Jim Gentry; Randy Hicks; Preston Douglas; Patti L'Hommedieu; Terry and Phyllis Cox; Dave Brown; John and Diane Doyle; Walter Meadows; Bill Goodman; Lawrence “Frenchy” LaBonte; John Hobbs; Tom Flores; Donny Orcutt; and all my employees, past, present, and future.

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