Embrace the Wild in your Dog with Bryan Bailey

Sled dogs are known as #1 source of transportation in the winter, and if you grew up in Alaska, you would be no stranger to these beautiful dogs. As a young boy, Bryan Bailey found himself up close & personal with wolves in the wild. The more time Bryan spent with these animals, he discovered the similarities between the wolves & his dog! This turned into a lifelong fascination for Bryan. Tune into this episode to hear about the amazing work that Bryan has done & continues to do throughout the world. Bryan’s passionate and powerful work is truly showcased in this episode! IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: [00:04:22] How is Bryan’s Training Programs Different from the Rest? [00:14:59] Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Trainer [00:29:15] Advice For Dog Owners [00:34:31] Dog Pharmacotherapy: What is it? [00:46:26] Bryan’s #1 Favorite Transformation Connect with Guest Name: 1. Follow Bryan on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram & Twitter 2. Find Bryan on his website 3. Purchase Bryan’s Book here 4. Listen to Bryan’s Radio Show here 5. Check out Bryan on YouTube 6. Shop Taming the Wild here

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What Your Birth Certificate Says About Your Transition Strategy Plan

In our experience, your age has a big effect on your attitude towards your business and how you feel about one day getting out. Here’s what we have found about transition strategy plan and age:

Business owners between 25 and 46 years old

Twenty- and thirty-something business owners grew up in an age where job security did not exist. They watched as their parents got downsized or packaged off into early retirement, and that caused a somewhat jaded attitude towards the role of a business in society. Business owners in their 20’s and 30’s generally see their companies as means to an end and most expect to sell in the next five to ten years. Similar to their employed classmates who have a new job every three to five years; business owners in this age group often expect to start a few companies in their lifetime.

Business owners between 47 and 65 years old

Baby Boomers came of age in a time where the social contract between company and employee was sacrosanct. An employee agreed to be loyal to the company, and in return, the company agreed to provide a decent living and a pension for a few golden years.

Many of the business owners we speak to within this generation think of their company as more than a profit center. They see their business as part of a community and, by extension, themselves as a community leader. To many boomers, the idea of selling their company feels like selling out their employees and their community, which is why so many CEO’s in their fifties and sixties are torn. They know they need to sell to fund their retirement, but they agonize over where that will leave their loyal employees.

Business owners who are 65+

Older business owners grew up in a time when hobbies were impractical or discouraged. You went to work while your wife tended to the kids (today, more than half of businesses are started by women, but those were different times), you ate dinner, you watched the news and you went to bed.

With few hobbies and nothing other than work to define them, business owners in their late sixties, seventies and eighties feel lost without their business, which is why so many refuse to sell or experience depression after they do.

Of course, there will always be exceptions to general rules of thumb but we have found that – more than your industry, nationality, marital status or educational background – your birth certificate defines your transition strategy plan.

If you’d like some help to manage these ratios and figure out the next steps in a business transition strategy, contact Value Growth Partners to see how we can assist you in knowing and growing your business value before the transition - (312) 525-8382.

The Factors that Shape Your Succession and Exit Transition Plan

Preparing your exit transition plan from your business takes a great deal of forethought, analysis, and often outside expert counsel. Business owners often underestimate the time involved in the succession planning process, and because of that, the intention to ‘retire in a few years’ gets passed by. What’s needed is a clear business exit strategy, with defined goals at specific junctures. 

Preparing your business exit transition plan is essentially creating the plan for finalizing your official status with the business, and wrapping up your full involvement in the company.

Once you fully commit to this strategy, you will see yourself starting to make different decisions around the company’s operation. 

You may start to delegate more of the nuts and bolts of operational aspects to others in the company. You may step back from hand-holding certain clients. You may inspire others to create new products to carry the company forward after you leave the firm. You may start to consider the aspects of selling your business at a high valuation. 

It is 2021. Over 50% of baby boomer business owners are 64 or older, and three-quarters or more of their wealth is tied to their businesses. According to the Exit Planning Institute, about half of these business owners are looking to exit from their businesses in the next five years.  

If you are over 65 and thinking of your transition into retirement in five years, the time is now to start planning a transition exit plan. It will take this amount of time to analyze all the different aspects of a successful transition. 

The Key Factors in a Succession and Exit Transition Plan

Some of the key factors involved in a successful business exit transition plan involve knowing the answers to a set of personal and business questions. 

First, there are personal questions that should be thought through and answered:

• Where are you in your life plan? What’s Next? In 5 yrs? and 10 yrs? 
• Do you have the right people in place to continue the legacy of your business? 

• What retirement wealth plans need to be fulfilled in a transition?

There are business transition questions, like:

• What are my options for transitioning the business? Who is the right next leader?

• What is the business worth today? How does this fulfill your retirement plans?

• How does one prepare a business for an exit transition plan? 

Your age may be another consideration. You’ve heard baby boomers say “Age is just a way of keeping score” and similar phrases. And it’s true. Your energy, ideas, vitality, and enthusiasm for your business count for a lot more than the number on your driver’s license. It’s crucial to determine the answers to these questions when determining your next steps. 

The Timing Advantage

The stock market is strong. Your business revenues are up. You ask yourself, “Can it last forever?” To those of us who aren’t Jeff Bezos, the answer is no, it can’t. That’s why keep abreast of market conditions for a potential transition or sale should be top of mind for business owners.

A 2018 UBS Bank report on business ownership found that more than 40% of business owners expected to leave their business in the following five years. The pandemic of 2020 may have hastened the plans for some of them. But as these business owners are getting close to retirement age, they are feeling the pulse for a new chapter in their life.  

But selling the business in the right market with strong financial headwinds is important to them too. The report found that among the business owners who were considering an exit, more than half of them planned to sell their businesses, and another 20% hoped to leave the business to family members. Less than 20% planned to close the business and another 10% were unsure of their plans. 

If you have been building growing value and revenues in your business, and you’re looking ahead to that next phase in your life, then it’s time to look at succession planning. Succession planning is a good business strategy for always being ready for what’s next! 

Financial Targets

You may have certain stock option plans that kick in at a certain age. Your revenue targets may be on track for a successful windfall. These are the factors that can shape your exit strategy and determine your next steps in moving away from the business and handing it off to your management team. 

Freedom for the Future

Many business owners, when in their later ages, on the back nine, start to feel the tug of a more restful lifestyle, warmer climates, or perhaps a full change of life into retirement. To those, this is a certain type of freedom.  Age plays a large part in these feelings. Your body may be slowing down, and you find you are a little less tolerant of the stresses or the daily fires of a business.  

Planning for Success 

A successful transition means preparing the person and the business for a transition in leadership and/or ownership. If a sale is part of the transition plan, a well-organized business transition strategy becomes an asset, often adding higher value to the selling price and greatly reducing risk for the buyer. This increase in value adds greater wealth to retirement accounts reduces the time to transition a business to the right buyer, and creates more sustainable businesses to carry on the legacies of the founders.   

If you are a CEO or founder of a successful business and are beginning to think about your personal and business exit transition plan, then call us at Value Growth Partners.  We would be happy to share best practices to assist you in developing your unique personal and business transition strategy. Call us at (312) 525-8382 or learn more on our website.

Biofuel Jet Fuel and SAF News Roundup

There is solid momentum happening behind the scenes for Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels LLC, as we move ever closer to the construction of a facility to produce and supply Delta Air Lines with 60+ million gallons of biofuel jet fuel annually.

As we continue to forge new partnerships with world-class engineering firms to fill the role of Owner’s Engineer, Project Manager, and eventually Construction Manager, the SAF and biofuels world continues to grow. Here are a few recent news stories that are indicative of the future growth we will all see in this sector.

Agriculture & Biofuels Industry Group Pushes for SAF Tax Credit

A group of biofuel and agriculture industry associations teamed up recently to send a letter to the U.S. Senate members to outline their recommendations for the SAF tax credit.

The undersigned groups are:

• American Farm Bureau Federation

• Growth Energy

• National Biodiesel Board

• National Corn Growers Association

• National Farmers Union

• Renewable Fuels Association

The letter comes at a time when the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are considering legislation to establish a tax credit to promote and develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) this year.

New Partnerships in SAF

The SAF biofuel jet fuel industry has notched another high-profile partnership, helping its credibility to grow. In late July, Boeing, SkyNRG, and SkyNRG Americas announced a partnership to help grow the use and availability of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) globally. Boeing will also invest in SkyNRG Americas’ SAF production project.

White House targeting 2050 for all jet fuel to be from renewable sources

The White House administration is said to be targeting 2050 as the year for all U.S. airlines to fly on 100% jet fuel from renewable sources. To do this, CNBC reports that

“The Biden administration is contemplating incentives to support private-sector production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as it searches for ways to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in the hard-to-electrify aviation industry.”

The article continues to note that “Global demand for jet fuel currently totals roughly 200 billion liters a year, but airline trade group IATA estimates just 100 million to 120 million liters of SAF will be produced in 2021 – just 0.05% of overall fuel.”

COVID 19 Impact on Biodiesel Demand

A new market research study predicts that the global biodiesel market could hit $50.1 billion by 2027. This is despite the devastating COVID-19 pandemic has had on our economy in the past 18 months.

The report notes that manufacturing activities and logistic operations have seen a dip in the biodiesel market due to COVID. However, once the pandemic subsides and the economy recovers, demand for biodiesel products is expected to stabilize.

These are some of the biofuel jet fuel stories that caught our eye in recent weeks. Learn more about the NWABF SAF Project, which when completed, will produce and supply 60+ million gallons of biofuel jet fuel annually for Delta Air Lines. We are a committed team that’s excited for the future of sustainable aviation fuel.

The need for renewable biofuel jet fuel sources for airlines certainly won’t be resolved in the near future, but a project like Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels LLC is developing will certainly go a long way to meet that need for the airline industry now and well into the future.

To learn more about Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, LLC on our website.

Around the World of SAF and Biojet Fuel Companies

The market for sustainable aviation fuel is still young and growing, but is gaining momentum by the day, with new projects, new funding, and new partnerships moving it forward. Here are a few news stories that are glowing proof of the growth of renewable biofuels, biojet fuel companies, sustainable aviation fuels. 

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $61 Million for Biofuels Research to Reduce Transportation Emissions – Big news from the US Dept. of Energy announcement of allocating more than $61 million for technologies and processes that produce low-cost, low-carbon biofuels. This is important news in the run-up to bring America up to net-zero emissions by 2050. Biofuels are made up of renewable resources that can power heavy-duty jets and trucks used to decarbonize the transportation sector as a whole. Biofuels are produced by converting biomass from waste resources into sustainable aviation fuel and other liquid fuels to use in place of fossil fuels. 

In biojet fuel companies news:

Total starts producing SAF for French airlines – In Europe, oil producer Total has begun producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its La Mède biorefinery in southern France and its Oudalle facility near Le Havre. The biojet fuel, made from used cooking oil, will be delivered to French airports starting in April 2021. These sustainable aviation fuels will be made from animal fat, used cooking oil and other waste and residue sourced from the circular economy. Total will not use vegetable oils as feedstock.

Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels LLC is moving ahead with plans to develop 2nd-generation cellulosic renewable bio-jet fuel refineries, with the first project being developed in the Pacific Northwest. NWABF has assembled a world-class team of expert engineering companies, bio-fuels experts and 2nd generation technology companies to handle front-end gasification, syngas cleaning and treatment, back-end Fischer-Tropsch fuel conversion, and lastly, fuel upgrading to premium renewable SAF. Investments have been announced and NWABF is excited about the future. 

SAF to be used between Frankfurt and Shanghai for Lufthansa cargo flights – Lufthansa Cargo will now operate a weekly cargo flight from Frankfurt to Shanghai using SAF to run completely carbon neutral and with zero carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions. DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo launched the carbon-neutral in early April. The use of SAF will save approximately 174 metric tons of conventional fuel each week.

These are some of the stories from biojet fuel companies that caught our eye in recent weeks. Hope they are of interest to you. To learn more about the NWABF SAF Project, which will produce and supply 60+ million gallons of SAF annually for Delta Air Lines. We are a committed team that’s excited for the future of sustainable aviation fuel. 

CEO Exit Strategy Tips From One Of The Top 40 Under 40

Wind Mobile founder Anthony Lacavera has started 12 businesses, six of which he has exited. His exits have ranged in value from the $6 million he got for one of his recent start-ups to $1.3 billion when he sold Wind Mobile. He did it by following two key CEO Exit Strategy tips.

•           Understand what kind of company you are running

Lacavera has owned hyper-growth unicorns and lifestyle businesses and urges entrepreneurs to be clear about their long-term prospects. Lacavera started a business supplying hotels with internet access and understood the company would be a good cash generator, but would never sell for a mint. He ran the business for almost two decades and used the cash it generated to fund various other ventures. Recently, he finally sold the business, which was generating $1.5 million in pre-tax profit, for $8 million—a relatively modest 5 times earnings, which was fine by Lacavera, because it had served its purpose of funding other companies along the way.

•           The role of CEO and owner are not the same

Lacavera encourages entrepreneurs to separate the role of CEO and business owner. Even though they may be the same person, they have different functions and, at some point, your business may be better served by separating the two roles. Entrepreneurs who are comfortable handing the reins to a professional manager may do better in the long run than those who need to control everything.

Lacavera had great success, which is visible in the fact that he has won just about every business award there is, including 2010 CEO of the Year, Top 40 Under 40, Deloitte Technology Fast 50, and Canada’s Fastest-Growing Company. One of the top secrets to Lacavera’s success — knowing when to bring in a CEO to replace himself in any of his ventures.

For more information on the Value Growth Partners ceo exit strategy, contact us today at (312) 525-8382 or visit our CEO Exit Strategy page.

Four Cornerstone Principles Of A Successful Marketing Strategy That Monetizes

While fully embracing the right mindset is the first step towards transforming your business into a marketing machine, there are four key principles that you must understand in order to impact your success. These are so important to your business success in this new economy that unless you build your marketing strategies upon this solid foundation, you will have a 99% chance of failing.

Therefore, it is critical that you take time to learn these four cornerstone principles and implement them into your business.

LET’S GO OVER THEM BELOW

Cornerstone #1:

Calculate the Lifetime Value of Your Customer

When business owners hire us to help turn their business into money-makers, one of the first things we do is calculate the lifetime value of their customers. The lifetime value (LTV) of a customer is the amount of sales and profit each customer brings on average to your business over the course of their buying lifetime.

No, that number is not the equivalent of how much you sell your product or service for.

However, unless you keep great records, you should probably hire a bookkeeper to dig through receipts and calculate the numbers for you.

Why is this an important metric?

The reason why the lifetime value of a customer is so important is because it gives you an idea of how much you should invest in marketing to get the customer in the first place.

Now think about that for a minute. Remember our discussion of S.O.S.? If you know the LTV of a customer, then the next time you run across a “great” marketing product/concept/service/idea, you will be able to determine how “great” this is for your business based on the facts of your specific customer’s LTV. It takes out one part of the guess work and can keep you focused on the best tools for your company.

BREAKING IT DOWN:

Let’s use the following simple way to calculate your LTV:

Total Amount of Customers for the year	100
Average # of purchases per customer	2
Average Purchase Amount	$125.00
(100 x 2 x $125) Total Revenue	$25,000.00
Cost to produce each product or service (including parts & labor)	$35.00
Total cost to produce product for the 100 customers (100 x $35	$3,500.00
Marketing Costs for the year	$5,000.00
Total Costs	$8,500.00

Total Revenue – Costs = Gross Profit
($25,000 – $8,500)    $16,500.00

Gross Profit   $16,500.00
Customer Lifetime Value For The Year
($16,500 / 100 customers) $165.00

So in the example used above, each customer in that business represents at least $165 in profits, on average per year.

Now, multiply $165 times the number of years your customers typically stay with you and you have the lifetime value of your customer.

However, it doesn’t have to stop there. In fact, your goal should actually be to increase the lifetime value of each customer. How do you do this? One simple way to increase your LTV is to increase your transactional average, the amount they buy from you when they do, or increasing your transactional frequency, having them purchase from you more often.

Based on our example, this business owner knows that if he spends another $5,000 in marketing in the same ways he’s investing in the market currently, he can reasonably expect to double his profits. Without knowing that lifetime value of his customers, he doesn’t have the confidence to make that kind of investment in marketing. Knowledge is power. Yes, specific knowledge of your customer’s LTV will give you the power to increase the results you expect in your business.

Cornerstone #2:

Track the Source of Every Lead Coming Into Your Business

The best way to spend your marketing dollars effectively is by knowing where your customers are coming from. You do this through what’s known as tracking. If there was only one piece of advice that we would want you to remember from this entire book, it would be this: Track the source of every lead that comes into your business.

There are simple ways to do this:

• Ask clients how they found you.
• Use special phone numbers with unique extensions in your ads.
• Design special landing page websites with tracking codes or special urls for a specific sales, coupons, etc.

At the end of the day, you absolutely need to know where your leads are coming from so that you know exactly what’s working in your business. Once you know where your leads are coming from, then you can begin to invest marketing in those specific areas that are generating the best leads and customers. Without tracking your leads, you’re just throwing stuff against the wall, hoping it will stick.  You may be wasting thousands of dollars on ineffective marketing strategies.

Not tracking your results is using the MUSTA Marketing Method.  The MUSTA method is thinking that when more customers are coming into your business, then the marketing MUSTA worked.

We cannot tell you how many businesses run using this method.  We know many personally that have the capability to track and measure their results of what is working and what is not and they refuse to, because they think it will take too much time.

We are here to tell you that you cannot afford not to!  Many of these businesses who refused to track their results, are no longer in business today.  While you should always look at every cent you invest in marketing, in tough times it is even more important to create leverage through your investment in marketing and advertising.

Cornerstone #3:

Calculate Your Marketing ROI (Return On Investment

Building on the previous cornerstone, the only way to truly know your return on investment is to track the results of every marketing strategy. Once you know how much you are spending and how many customers you’re getting as a result of that spending, then you will know exactly how much each marketing dollar is bringing back to your business.

For example, if you spend $500 on a mailing campaign, which generates two new customers, who then spend a total of $4,500 in your business, the return on your investment is 900%! In terms of actual dollars, you receive $9 for every $1 spent. By most standards, that is a pretty good return, wouldn’t you agree?

Cornerstone #4:

Create Marketing Designed To Convert

Super Bowl ads may get a lot of attention, however, in our opinion, most are really a huge waste of money. The ads that run during the Super Bowl are designed to be funny and cute and win advertising awards. They make the creative departments of the ad company feel very good about how clever they can be. However, those ads rarely make their companies any real profit.  The big brand building ad should be gone with the wind! Those days are in the past. Every penny spent on advertising should be designed to convert–to create cash flow!

As a matter of fact, those commercials should be the laughing stock of the marketing industry because companies blindly line up and fork over three million dollars for a thirty second “funny” ad, believing that by simply putting them in front of millions of eyeballs, the ad will pay off. The reality is that most companies will receive little to no results in relation to those marketing dollars spent.

Over 90% of the business pay for regular advertising, which does not have the same powerful impact that education based marketing has. Education based marketing is designed to engage your prospects, to hook them by providing value while positioning your business as the solution to their problems and challenges, so they want to become your clients.  If you go online and Google “education based marketing”, you will find over 100,000 entries with lots of examples to choose from. Business Week magazine said, in regards to educating your clients: “Don’t just pitch to your prospects—cast a wider net and offer useful information. You’ll out market your rivals and boost sales.”

When it comes to advertising, you either need to know how to write great education based marketing pieces or hire a great education based copywriter. The focus has to be on understanding the pain of your prospects and communicating clearly how you can solve this pain for them.  Study good education based copywriters, even if you won’t write the copy yourself, so that you understand what should be included and recognize great copy. This education based information is the cornerstone, as you will utilize it in all of your marketing pieces, customer interactions, sales presentations, etc.

Although not exhaustive, here are some basics that you should consider when creating any marketing piece:

Here are the basics to consider:

• Use a compelling headline that will attract, then hook and engage potential customers.
• Think of the market-based information that you can use to educate your prospective customers on why you, your product, service, concept, or idea will impact and/or bring value to them.
• Share existing customer testimonials wherever possible
• Where it makes sense, utilize a compelling offer.
• Insert testimonials from past customers for social proof, wherever possible.
• Include a “no-brainer” guarantee to reduce resistance.
• Make it unique so it stands out from your competitors.
• Focus on customer benefits, not company vanity.
• Have only one goal for each ad, which is to get customers to visit your business, pick up the phone, and call or request FREE special information.
• Get straight to the point and be easy to understand. A clever ad may be clever, but that doesn’t mean that the customer is going to “get” the joke.

At this point, you may be thinking that these cornerstone principles seem like a lot of hard work. So here’s a little bit of encouragement for you — most change is difficult in the beginning. Once you understand your customers’ wants, needs, desires, and challenges, then you can utilize your specialized or researched information to educate them on why you are the solution. You will transition your focus from ‘selling’ to ‘educating’ and it actually becomes fun! You start to build a relationship with your prospects and customers and they come to appreciate you for the value you add to their lives.

Just like so many other things in life, building that solid foundation upon which you will build your empire (or legacy) does take design, some planning, and a bit of work. Your willingness to actually implement these strategies on a consistent basis is one of the most important factors that will contribute to your success in business.

Build a solid foundation for your marketing and everything else will fall into place.  Are you ready to build that solid foundation?

READY TO MONETIZE?

By the way, if you are ready to monetize your business more effectively and accelerate your business results, let’s connect. I know we can help.

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NWABF Selects Black and Veatch as its EPC of Record For Aviation BioFuel Initiatives

Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels (NWABF), known for its expertise to produce sustainable jet fuel capacity for the financial marketplace and lender communities, announced that it has selected Black & Veatch, the global engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm as its EPC of record for its sustainable aviation fuel project. Black & Veatch is also being hired to complete the FEL2 and Front-end Engineering and Design Study, (“FEED”), for the Project, prior to the Construction phase. During the FEED, B&V will assemble the Technologies to process up to 3,000 dry tons per day of woody biomass into approximately sixty million, (60,000,000) gallons of Sustainable Aviation Fuel annually.

“We are excited to move forward with Black & Veatch as we progress on our sustainable aviation fuel project,” says Dave Smoot, Manager of Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels. “Black & Veatch is a well-respected company with great experience for these types of projects, and we look forward to combining our expertise with theirs on our sustainable aviation fuel project.”

Black & Veatch will be an integral part of the project, working as the technology and engineering quarterback to vet and validate all milestones and benchmarks for productivity, efficiency and scalability in the aviation biofuel project.

“We are excited to work with Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels throughout the entire project,” said Gary Martin, Associate Vice President, Black & Veatch. “As one of the most diversified contractors in the industry, Black & Veatch offers seamless integration of its project engineering, design, procurement, and construction teams, Black & Veatch is uniquely positioned to offer NWABF a thorough and comprehensive project approach on the sustainable aviation fuel project.”

Project Background

NWABF will be the primary provider of sustainable aviation fuel to help Delta Air Lines become carbon neutral in the years ahead. The sustainable aviation fuel Offtake Agreement and partnership with Delta Air Lines involved the airline investing into NWABF’s Project in 2019 to develop sustainable aviation fuel, (SAF), as well as making carbon offsets.

For more information on the NWABF aviation biofuel project, please contact us at Chris Whitworth, Project General Manager Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, LLC at www.nwabiofuels.com

Bio Jet Fuel Initiative Under Development for Major Airline

The next step in the race to find renewable energy sources to power our global economy is sustainable aviation fuel, and one company has taken a big first leap toward that goal: Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, LLC (NWABF). In a recently announced $2 million partnership with a major airline, NWABF is currently working on Phase 1 of a feasibility study to create that bio jet fuel from wood residue deposits and wood slash on forest floors known as woody biomass.

Providing Solutions for Air Lines with West Coast Operations

With the Phase 1 “Advanced Planning Study” of a bio jet fuel production facility underway, NWABF is already planning for a Phase 2 Front-end Engineering and Design Study that will allow the Project’s world-class Engineering and Construction Partner to design and construct the renewable bio jet fuel facility in Washington State. First deliveries are planned for the end of 2023 for use of the renewable jet fuel in this airline’s operations up and down the West Coast.

This single project will help with the goal of reducing this airline’s carbon footprint and positively impact the environment by reducing wood residuals in forests that cause fire hazards and prevent the growth of future trees.

A Growing Trend

Airlines today are interested in sustainable aviation fuels.  Beginning in 2021, airlines will be required to track their carbon footprints on international flights in advance of meeting certain obligations of a global mandate. Failure to achieve reductions in airline carbon emissions through the use of renewable fuels may result in fines and penalties from a multitude of countries.

Dave Smoot, Head of Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, LLC said, “All of the woody biomass we utilize in our operations will be traceable, creating the pathways of a qualified renewal feedstock.  With qualified feedstock, supported by a recently completed $40 million 5-year study from NARA (Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance), the Project can meet the Federal Government’s sustainable aviation fuel standards and ASTM’s International fuel standards.  This will enable airlines flying internationally to meet new carbon reduction standards worldwide.”

The need for renewable fuel sources for airlines certainly won’t be resolved in the near future, but a project like Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels LLC is developing will certainly go a long way to meet that need for the airline industry now and well into the future.

To learn more about Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, LLC visit our website today.

The CORSIA Timeline

CORSIA, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, addresses the increase in total CO2 emissions from international aviation above 2020 levels.

The corsia timeline outlines the mandate which was adopted at the 39th session of the ICAO Assembly in 2016.

CORSIA’s obligations have already started. As of January 1, 2019, all carriers must report their CO2 emissions on an annual basis.

The aviation industry is committed to technology, operational, and infrastructure advances to continue to reduce the sector’s carbon emissions. Offsetting is not intended to replace these efforts. Nor would the CORSIA make fuel efficiency any less of a day-to-day priority.

It is forecast that CORSIA will mitigate around 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 and generate over USD 40 billion in climate finance between 2021 and 2035. Learn more about the CORSIA timeline today.

https://www.iata.org/policy/environment/Pages/corsia.aspx

Contact Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, LLC to learn more about our sustainable, cellulosic, commercial scale, ASTM compliant designer aviation biofuel in Washington State, using a voluminous supply of woody biomass from local feedstock suppliers.

How To Find The Best Affordable Cryptocoin For A Great Investment?

How Easy Is It To Find The Best Affordable Crypto coin For A Great Investment?

The transactions are often made in the absence of middle men, such as banks. The underground trade is also enjoying the anonymity afforded them by block-chain technology. There is the legal issue in not being able to determine if the asset is really yours or not. Bitcoin systems are currencies that were created in the year 2009

In July 2010, the price of bitcoin was just 8 cents and the number of miners and nodes was quite less compared to tens of thousands in number right now. Thus there are many cryptocurrency exchange clone scripts providers are competing to make their cryptocurrency exchange platform to stand unique among other exchange platforms. Everyone is curious as to what bitcoin is and how one gets to earn it and spend it. Their Professional developers offers the best clone scripts within a week along with many new features and add ons to make your exchange stand unique in the crowd. AML/KYC -Local bitcoins offer a total answer for KYC and AML including ID check, revealing, and re-accommodation the board

The creation of Bitcoins are based on increasingly complex mathematical algorithms and its purchase is made with standard national money currencies. Poloni ex is a pure crypto-crypto exchange platform that offers advanced trading options with maximum security for traders. We have already discussed a lot of stuff about why PHP will be the best choice to develop a bitcoin exchange website. and located in Hong-Kong. There exists various types of cryptocurrency wallets to allow users store and access their digital currencies in different ways

If many are having a buying spree, bidding up the price of Bitcoin on their local exchanges, it can be a challenge for people selling Bitcoin in other currencies to capitalize on the arbitrage opportunity. An apparently leaked internal document indicates that the site may have been the victim of a major theft, in which perhaps more than $300 million worth of Bitcoin "disappeared" from the exchange's accounts. Mine to speed transactions for others when you have an economic advantage to do so

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Are You Planning to Sell a Business? Avoid These Traps

It has been said that some business owners have been known to refer to due diligence as “the entrepreneur’s proctology exam.” While this is a crude analogy, it is a good representation of what it feels like when a stranger pokes, prods, and looks inside every inch of your business. 

Most professional acquirers will have a checklist of questions they need to be answered if they’re considering buying your company. They’ll want answers to questions like:

• Do you have consistent, signed, up-to-date contracts with your customers and employees?
• Are your ideas, products and processes protected by patent or trademark?
• What are the loan covenants on your credit agreements?
• How are your receivables? Do you have any late payers or deadbeat customers?
• Do you have any litigation pending?

In addition to these objective questions, they’ll also try to get a subjective sense of your business. In particular, they will try to determine just how integral you are personally to the success of your business. 

Subjectively assessing how dependent the business is on you requires the buyer to do some investigative work. It’s more art than science and often requires a potential buyer to use a number of tricks of the trade, such as:

#1: Juggling calendars

By asking to make a last-minute change to your meeting time, an acquirer gets clues as to how involved you are personally in serving customers. If you can’t accommodate the change request, the acquirer may probe to find out why and try to determine what part of the business is so dependent on you that you have to be there.

#2: Checking to see if your business is vision impaired

An acquirer may ask you to explain your vision for the business, which is a question you should be well prepared to answer. However, he or she may ask the same question of your employees and key managers. If your staff members offer inconsistent answers, the acquirer may take it as a sign that the future of the business is in your head.

#3: Asking your customers why they do business with you

A potential acquirer may ask to talk to some of your customers. They will expect you to select your most passionate and loyal customers and, therefore, will expect to hear good things. However, the customers may be asked a question like ‘Why do you do business with these guys?’ The acquirer is trying to figure out where your customers’ loyalties lie. If your customers answer by describing the benefits of your product, service or company in general, that’s good. If they respond by explaining how much they like you personally, that’s bad.

#4: Mystery shopping

Acquirers often conduct their first bit of research behind your back before you even know they are interested in buying your business. They may pose as a customer, visit your website, or come into your company to understand what it feels like to be one of your customers. Make sure the experience your company offers a stranger is tight and consistent, and try to avoid personally being involved in finding or serving brand-new customers. If any potential acquirers see you personally as the key to wooing new customers, they’ll be concerned business will dry up when you leave.

If you are thinking it is about time to sell a business Chicago, then it’s time to contact Value Growth Partners. We can help you build your business value before you sell a business. Call us for a no-fee initial consultation at 312-525-8382.

5 Ways That Your Website Is Costing You New Business

Why Your Website is Costing You New Business

With technology growing at an alarming rate over the last decade, the Internet has been at the forefront of each and every single one of these advancements. Smart phones and tablet devices are now a part of everyday life. You can even use them to do your banking and to pay for items and services. Yes, technology is most certainly king and for that reason, if you want to stand any chance of succeeding within the business world, you need to embrace it and get with the times.

The size of your business is irrelevant. The simple fact of the matter is that if you want to stand any chance of succeeding, you will need to own a website for your business; and if you want your business to flourish in these new times, your website will need to do more than the days of old.  Your website will need to work for you. If your website is outdated, neglected, or just simply poorly designed, this could potentially be costing you thousands in lost revenue every single month.

If your business is suffering and you’re not quite sure why, maybe, just maybe, your website could be to blame? Here’s a look at 5 ways in which your website could potentially be costing you new business.

Your site does NOT have a clear call to action

One of the best ways of actually getting what you want is to ask for it, and in simple terms, that is essentially exactly what a “call to action” is. On your site it is your job to encourage or even to direct your customers towards exactly what it is that you would like them to do once they’ve finished browsing your services and/or products.

Exactly what you require them to do will of course depend on what your business is all about.  Do you want them to sign up for a free trial? If so, a simple hyperlink linking to the “free trial” page with the text “Click here for your free trial” is all that you need to do. Do you want them to browse your service or products? If so, “Click here to browse our full range of products/services.” Place these clickable links strategically throughout your website, ensuring you don’t overwhelm the customers with too much text or content.

It’s essentially the same as using bait while fishing. A few carefully placed links with simple call to action text will bait customers into clicking them, seeing your products, seeing something they like the look of, and purchasing it  — while making you a tidy profit in return.

Your site layout sucks

On average, a new visitor to your website only spends six seconds evaluating whether to stay on your site or to click the back button and go somewhere else.  If your website’s most important information is buried under the fold, then there is a pretty good chance it’s not being seen. The layout of your website is arguably one of the most important factors to consider when creating a new site for your business. Although there are a number of “create your own” websites out there that cost little to nothing at all, it is advisable to always hire professional web designers to create and design your website for you.

You should think about what you want each page to say, and then look for ways of saying it using as minimal text as possible. Hey, if you have a talent for writing, that’s great – that’s what your blog is for.

Most of your potential customers will be visiting your website to browse your products and services, not to read long walls of text. They want to be able to find what they’re looking for as quickly and as easily as possible. Make sure you keep the text to a minimum, don’t try to include too many images, and make sure each page is well balanced.

Your design is outdated

A great website design can validate to consumers that your business is a legit, professional business that they want to patronage. It can either boost your reputation or turn potential consumers away.

If you’re trying to save money by doing it yourself, you could actually be losing potential customers, and in the end, losing money. By taking design into their own hands, small business owners cause themselves more headaches and risk by ending up with a poorly designed and planned out website.  Not surprisingly, 41% of small business owners who are unhappy with their current website say design/aesthetic is one of their top priorities.

Word of advice – do it right the first time. Hire a professional web design company and make sure your website looks contemporary, attractive, and allows customers to easily engage with your business.

You don’t have any social networking links

Social networking is now a part of everyday life, and whether you like it or not, it looks set to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

First of all, if you don’t have several social networking pages created for your business, you need to consider getting them set up ASAP. Social networking is ideal as it’s a great source of free, or very cheap marketing and advertising, millions upon millions of people use these pages, and it’s a great way of potentially drumming up more business.

After you create your first several social networking pages like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest etc., you will then need to ensure that you provide links to each page from your website. Linking to social networking pages is ideal because it allows you a way of keeping in touch with potential customers, and keeping them up to date with what’s going on. So let’s say you are having a sale.  People love sales, right? By promoting your sale through social networking sites you have a direct line of communication to people who are already interested in what you’re selling.

Your friends, fans and followers then see the amazing deal you’re offering and will likely take advantage of it because you’re speaking directly to your target audience. We spoke about calls to action earlier, and social networking links are prime examples of how effective a call to action can be. Simple text such as “Stay informed by liking us on Facebook” with a direct link to your Facebook page is all that is required, and it’s proven to be extremely effective.

Your site is not mobile-friendly

As mentioned previously, smart phones and tablet devices are now extremely common, with close to 68% of all US citizens actually owning at least one of these devices. For that reason, more and more people are using these devices to browse the web rather than laptops or computers. If your website isn’t mobile friendly you could be missing out on a lot of customers.  This is something that you should address as soon as possible!

Websites that are not user friendly show up incredibly small on the screens of smart phones, forcing the user to have to enlarge the text and to then scroll left, right, up, and down, every few sentences. If there are any clickable tabs or links on the page, they often inadvertently get clicked by accident, which is extremely frustrating for the user. Rather than spending 10 times as long as normal to simply read a few paragraphs, the user will instead search for a much simpler alternative, namely one of your competitors with a mobile friendly website.

Mobile friendly websites recognize when a user is browsing via a smart phone and will display the text in the perfect size for your device’s screen. This means you won’t need to enlarge the text, you won’t accidentally click on the wrong page, and you won’t need to scroll left and right every few words. You simply read the text and scroll down as you go. It’s simple but it works so much better than the non-friendly alternative.

Your contact information is hard to find

Studies and expert research have both found that including your contact information on every single page of your website is the most effective way of maximizing your potential to increase and boost your sales.

Many businesses make the mistake of placing their contact information solely on their ‘contact us’ page, or sometimes not at all. Visitors don’t want to navigate through different pages just to find a telephone number or email address.  Visitors want to be able to find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible.  You can easily eliminate any frustration by listing your business phone number, your operating hours and business email address at the top and bottom of every page.

For further benefit make sure to include links to your social networking pages with your contact information. The easier you are to get hold of, the more likely you will be to land yourself extra leads and sales. You get the results you want, and so does the customer who easily finds exactly what it is they’re looking for without wasting time by navigating through page after page.

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Do You Want to Learn CEO Succession Planning Best Practices?

Did you know the ideal timeline for succession planning is 5 years? It is possible though for the unexpected to happen and if/when it does, a ceo succession planning best practices is to have a game plan i.e. a succession plan all lined up and ready to go to ensure continued success with your business.

Take a look at the CEO Succession Planning timeline here:

THE SUSTAINING PHASE

Begin this phase 2-3 years in advance. The executives are preparing to thrive under the new leadership; Right Mindset, Future Outlook, Organization's Sustainability, Updated Strategic Plan, Executive Team Assessment, and Internal Team Candidates.

THE TRANSITIONING PHASE

Begin this phase 6-12 months before the leadership transition and consider overlapping with the Sustaining Phase. The organization embarks on the executive search process for the successors that may include board members, management team, and executives. Extensive work is done with transition planning.

THE ONBOARDING & SUPPORT PHASE

The heavy lifting is completed within the first 3-4 months of this phase but the hand-off process continues over a 6-12 month period. The board and senior management team access and adjust to the new leader’s management style and leadership role.

CONTINUED SUCCESS PHASE

The succession preparation and planning process should begin as early as possible. However, there are cases when you do not have the luxury of 4-5 years to plan. In these cases, it is best to have a contingent succession plan in place in the event that an emergency arises.

Value Growth Partners is here to assist with all of your succession planning needs. Request a 15-minute consultation with Value Growth Partners now to set up your CEO Succession Planning.

Where Does Success Or Failure Begin?

Let me demonstrate just how powerful the right mindset is when you are monetizing your business. The wrong sort of thinking could even make you broke and hungry. These examples will show you how a shift in thinking can make the difference between success and failure.

The Customers Dream

Do you have any idea how long customers normally have to wait to get their furniture delivered? The standard wait time in the industry is three to six weeks for in-stock merchandise. That’s just crazy!

Then along comes AMAZON! When you can shop at night and sometimes have it on your porch the very next day! In many industries before Amazon– that was UNHEARD OF!

When Amazon began, not a single store in town was delivering furniture to a customer’s home within a couple of days let alone overnight. That was just not the way things were done. Amazon wanted to deliver in three days or less. Do you think the business owners were scorned and warned by ALL the other furniture retailers who they asked for advice? Do you think manufacturers, vendor reps, and delivery companies scoffed and swore that it couldn’t be done? Of course!

Collectively, all those furniture stores in the area had the same mindset. Even though they had the same challenges as every other furniture store, Amazon believed that they could do it better and faster… and they DID! They had the mindset that something could be done – and they believed that they could profit from their platform of shopping! Those owners had the resolve of a bear looking for honey. They were not dissuaded from their plan by what the naysayers with a negative mindset advised.

NOW LET’S TALK RESULTS

We have personally experienced that their schedule was so booked, that we had to wait two to four weeks before they could take our order for “next day delivery”! Can you imagine how much of a competitive advantage this furniture company has over every other competitor in the marketplace? It’s huge!

Their positive mindset allowed them to grow beyond belief — and during a recession! However, this would have never happened if they didn’t change their mindset BEFORE they changed their business. This is exactly what you will have to do in order to grow your business to the next level.

Now, let’s take a look at the opposite side of that coin, when people continue to do business as usual, even though business as usual is slowly bringing one to the poorhouse! Purely by habit, some businesses cling to a stubborn or poor mindset – and it limits their business’s success.

Several years ago, there were several super-high end furniture stores within miles of each other in New England. These retailers were priced so high that only two percent of the population in the entire nation could afford their furniture. As the economy turned, those retailers simply refused to change their business model to reflect the change in the economy, because that’s the way they had always done business.

As a result, within six short months, ALL but one of those retailers went out of business.

But the furniture stores were not the only ones to suffer. Unfortunately, a poor mindset has also affected many other businesses and industries that could have easily weathered the storm of this economic shift with just a few simple changes to their businesses. However, they chose to ignore the changing marketplace and, consequently, went out of business.

What is needed to survive and even thrive in the New Economy? It starts with developing the right mindset.

Four Monetizing Mind Shift Pillars of Success:

1. Believe

There is still money in your local marketplace. Don’t buy into the negative mindset that people in your area of the world aren’t buying what you’re selling. Yes, they are! There are dozens of businesses right now in your industry or neck of the woods that are making unbelievable profits during tough times. The real questions are, “Will yours be one of these businesses? Do you believe that you can make changes in your business in order to cash in on your market during any economic condition – good or bad?”

2. Seek

Take advantage of the opportunities, no matter what is going on in the economy. Don’t hide your head in the sand. Every recession creates profit opportunities. In our furniture store example, the successful company recognized that consumers wanted furniture that could be delivered quickly. They wanted a good price, speed, and convenience. Ultimately, the key to your success will be determined by your ability to listen to your market. Then all you have to do is create a product or service to meet that need and you’ll instantly have increased profits.

3. Decide

Make decisions based on facts, not on news headlines. If you’re listening to talk radio, news reports, or another media source that’s pumping fear, doom, and gloom into your head, then turn it off right now! The majority of the media is in the business of selling fear, not hope. Fear paralyzes, it stops progress! Your focus should be on finding what your target market wants and then providing it to them, giving them great value. That’s it. Don’t let them drive you out of business by slowly breaking down your confidence and draining your will to fight.

4. Adjust

Change your business or go out of business. We’ll even go one step further to say, “Change your thinking, and change your business.” Every day we meet struggling business owners who simply refuse to do things differently. What they are currently doing is not working – they know this and yet they expect different results. According to Albert Einstein, this is the definition of insanity! You must be willing to change your staff, advertising, marketing, product and/or management, and anything and everything else that no longer works in order to survive during this new economy. That is the truth, plain and simple.

Ready to Monetize?

By the way, if you are ready to monetize your business more effectively and accelerate your business results, let’s connect. I know we can help.

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Do You Have a Business Transition Plan?

Is your business one of the 80% of businesses that do NOT have any type of written Transition Plan? 75% of Baby Boomers plan to sell their business within the next 10 years. Only 20% will leave it to a family member because 4 out of 5 do not want it. No matter what your reasons for wanting to exit your business are you need to have a sustainable growth and transition plan in place.

If you are ready to get a solid business transition plan in place for your business, contact us at Value Growth Partners today.

Founder of Value Growth Partners Now a Certified Exit Planning Advisor

Mark O’Brien, MBA, CMAA®, CEPA®, Managing Director of Value Growth Partners, a successful business growth, succession, and transition advisory firm, has added another high-level accreditation to his name and business. Mark has successfully completed the rigorous course requirements to become a certified exit planning advisor (CEPA®), as certified by the renowned Exit Planning Institute.  

Being a CEPA®, Mr. O'Brien is now certified to lead business owners in the strategic process of successful business succession, transition, and exit planning. 

“I have been blessed to know such wonderful mentors like Peter Christman, Richard Jackim, and Chris Snyder in the field of exit (succession and transition) planning,” said Mark O’Brien. “These experts have been very supportive in my goal to become a Certified Exit Planning Advisor. I am thrilled to have learned and worked with them to be certified and I look forward to continuing to assist business owners with executing successful succession and transition strategies.”

The CEPA® process emphasizes that a good exit strategy is a good business strategy. It is about building, harvesting, and preserving family wealth for generations to come and integrating best-in-class business practices into daily operations.

In order to qualify initially for the CEPA® program, an exit planning advisor must have already finished a bachelor’s degree from a college or university, and have worked 5+ years working full-time directly with business owners as a business consultant,  valuation advisor, financial advisor,  CPA, attorney, business broker, investment banker, estate planner, insurance professional, or similar professional capacity.

Learn more about Mark O'Brien and Value Growth Partners today at https://vgpltd.com/

It Stops Now! - Book Launched by HR Expert to Help Managers Deal with Harassment and Bullying at Work

Learn how to create a safe and supportive workplace environment for your employees with this HR expert's new book on the subject!

 

UK author Josie Hastings has launched a new book called ‘It Stops Now!’ to tackle workplace bullying and harassment. With over 25 years of industry experience, this harassment, bullying and discrimination specialist is well placed to help businesses, managers and employees.

 

Her book is available to download on Kindle and in audio. It is ideal for managers like yourself as it provides a practical toolkit, proven strategies, and advice to help you support your employees.

 

Josie identifies how bullying has evolved from obvious overt behaviours to more subtle actions such as micro-aggressions. Both forms are damaging to employees’ self-esteem and confidence and could have serious implications for your organisation.

 

If you are equipped to recognise and deal effectively with harassment and bullying, you can protect your business from time-consuming grievances or legal action taken by disgruntled employees.

 

Hostile and disrespectful cultures in the workplace have gained negative press in recent years as they cause workplace stress, mental health issues and a reduction in productivity.

 

‘It Stops Now!’ teaches you all the strategies required to overcome subtle, passive-aggressive bullying behaviours. These include microaggressions, put downs, sarcasm and exclusion which managers and employees find hardest to recognise, raise or address.  

 

In addition, you will learn how to carry out informal investigations into inappropriate behaviour and facilitate meetings between the parties involved. It also explains exactly how you should carry out formal investigations in serious cases.

 

Josie has launched an online course on harassment and bullying for managers and staff to accompany her book. The course is interactive and uses professional actors-coaches to illustrate how to address different forms of harassment or bullying. 

 

Josie aims to help you create a collaborative work environment that is respectful and comfortable for all. This approach can help your employees to feel valued and reduce your staff turnover.

 

‘It Stops Now!’ is available to purchase in several formats, including paperback and audiobook, which can be accessed through Audible.

 

A five-star reviewer wrote: “If you are a manager who is dealing with bullying and harassment, Josie’s book has been written for you. This book is an excellent guide - Josie draws on her extensive experience of working with managers to address bullying and harassment.”

Workplace Harassment

Dave Woodward - "A New Revelation "

From selling candy in the 5th grade to becoming the CEO of a company, today’s guest helped ClickFunnels go to 100 million dollars in revenue in less than 5 years! Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?! When you hear the saying, “anything is possible.” Believe it! Listeners, it’s time to Get Naked with David & his guest, Dave Woodward. Dave is a devoted husband, father & a successful entrepreneur. He is a ClickFunnels partner & host of Clickfunnels Radio. David & Dave share stories of how their journey with ClickFunnels began & how much fun they’ve had helping others create success. Be sure to listen to the end to find out who David & Dave’s biggest supporters are. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: [00:01:59] First Thing Dave Did to Make Money [00:08:47] How Did Dave Meet Russell Brunson? [00:19:33] How to Add the Most Impact with a Smaller Budget [00:22:47] Biggest Lessons Learned in Scaling a Company Effectively [00:30:55] Final Thoughts from Dave Connect with Dave Woodward: 1. Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter 2. Find Dave on his website 3. Listen to Click Funnels Radio here Connect with David Asarnow Find David on his website Find David on his Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook About Get Naked Podcast Welcome to the Get Naked In Business video podcast. So the big question is… how do entrepreneurs like us, who built our businesses from the ground up, who spend our own capital, who want to make a huge impact on this world, how do we do all that and create a great income? My mission for this podcast is to interview amazing entrepreneurs who are willing to get naked in front of the mirror, jump up and down, and let the real, raw insights all hang out. Insights to help accelerate your business growth. My name is David Asarnow and welcome to Get Naked In Business. I’m glad you're here… now it's time to get naked! GetNakedInBusiness.com

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