Question 20. Follow up to the questions where would you get your first client, your 10th client. What is your funnel for your business ( to bring in customers consistently over the life of your business) to grow? The first ten will likely be family and friends supporting you. How will you get people in the fold to know what problem you can help them with? Social Media, events, marketing campaigns, etc.
Question #20. Do you have the Sunday I have to work Monday blues every weekend? Do you dread Mondays but somehow manage to trudge through the week? Is that really a life? If you have a buyout offer and feel like this, you know what to do!
However, at one point, when I owned a business, I thought everyone should be required to own a business to learn how such is run, etc., etc... then people would learn more about capitalism, government regulations, etc., etc., and perhaps, more importantly, how to be a good employee, as well as a good employer...
I love that. I have always said that anyone running for congress should have been an employee in the private sector at some point and worked in sales or customer service first. Humbling experiences make for the best business owners.
yes!! Release the hostages! The UN, & others w/ reports of famine, however, could be a bit 'mislabeled'. The New York Times totally mislabed the starving kids in Gaza showing an emaciated 18-month-old Gazan boy in the arms of his mother, who says the boy was “born healthy but was recently diagnosed with severe malnutrition.” It was a horrific picture worth a billion words, seemingly proving the reality of a widespread famine in Gaza. The photo went viral and was republished on major news sites all over the world, including CNN and the BBC. Later reporting indicated that the boy in the photo was not a victim of famine, but rather of cerebral palsy. To make matters worse, other photos emerged online apparently showing the same mother and child along with the boy’s three-year-old brother, who looks healthy, raising the possibility that the Times deliberately hid evidence contradicting the false impression it created. The NYT, time & time again, shows its bias & lack of responsible reporting. What kind of journalist would want to be associated w/ that kind of reputation... just say'n. The readers who believe NYT, after so many times being proven they misrepresent the truth??? just say'n...
The Free Press also had another write-up about at least a dozen proven cases of kids being shown as starving in Gaza, when in fact they weren't because of the war, it was due to other illnesses, evidence before the war started &/or such starvation would not manifest itself in such a short time. These photos were being shown not only by NYT, NPR, CNN, but others, such as UNICEF for fundraising campaigns, & others...
All of this has driven the support of Israel down in the US.
Did you see the one photo of the mother holding her baby in the rubble? She has 3 arms! Not only are they pushing a fake narrative, they suck at photoshop.
BBC World News reported that a Gazan woman had died of starvation in Italy when in fact she had gone there for treatment for leukemia, from which she succumbed. Is it any wonder that Israel is on the losing end of the moral arc?
Clarification 18 August: This article's headline originally said that Marah Abu Zuhri died of malnutrition, with the introduction stating that she suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Friday. The headline has been amended to remove the reference to malnutrition being the cause of death in what the hospital described as a "very complex clinical picture".
so they can come back & do an "oopsie", kind-of... but chances are the majority of readers saw the first headline, & remember that...
Several family-related questions come to mind. How supportive is your family? Will less than full support affect your decision? How will your family be affected? …
Very good questions. I'm old, retired, and have started a few businesses in my life. One of the BIG questions I always ask in these situations is, Why am I one of the ones being offered the buyout? It's an often overlooked question which one always needs to be asking. The best and most valuable employees usually are given raises to stay in these situatiions. Am I as good as I think?What do I need to improve?
These question circle around starting a new business AND the buyout offer. I would disconnect the two and deal with first things first. You also need to clearly understand the entity’s overarching objective of the buyouts as well as your BATNA.
Manage the complexity by focusing on questions 11 and 13. If enough staff does not take the buyout then layoffs will be next. Question 20 could focus on that aspect of the decision. Taking a chance on being impacted by a RIF is a crapshoot. A buyout places you more in control and typically increases the length and benefits of the off-ramp. In the end it typically becomes an exercise in math for the entity.
great questions. I wish I had asked these and more before I left a career in an electric utility to be part of a technology startup. It dragged on for 20 more years and I took other employment to survive and feed the dream which ended. Still in all life has been good through it all. It does have consequences and adds to life baggage. Question # 20 might be - when I ask a true friend about the possibility what is their advice? Consider that answer highly. Faithful friends versus flattering foes......and other good advice from the Book of Ecclesiastes (in the Bible).
oh and remember the HR department is offering the buyout because it is saving them money. Your accumulated sick time, vacation time, other benefits that increase through age all gone. Gone from you and off their books. THEY MAKE MONEY BY GETTING RID OF YOU. Buyer beware. And their consultants will give you a glowing view of your future away from them, it's what they get paid to do.
Question #20: I worked in state and local government for my career. During buyout offers I witnessed many people who wrongly believed their position was “indispensable,” and did not take a buyout, only to find themselves laid off soon after. Be honest with yourself, can somebody else do my job cheaper, or can it be outsourced? Very rarely is that answer “no” when buyouts are offered.
Question 20. Do you want to get into your grave without having given it* a go??
*To find 'it', a business that might suit you, you can check out (free!) 258 episodes of That Great Business Show dot com podcast where we discuss small and medium sized businesses (albeit in Ireland, but the rules are the same) without any hype. We chat about business like others discuss sport, without the jargon. Basically we love business. We want you to love it too. I say, 'go for it'.
I asked all 19 questions, or variations of them when I quit my job around 1980 in the field that I was educated in to start a business in an entirely different field. Then repeated the questions again when I sold that business two years ago. Most importantly for me was asking myself the following to get my real feelings. This is not original, but after I heard it, I use this all the time.
#20. After all the "smart" questions are asked and answered, flip a coin with heads "yes", tails "no" (or reversed). BEFORE you look at the coin to see which side is up, what is your immediate secret wish for which side is up. If you are joyed or saddened by the upside, then reevaluate your decision if it differs. This is just fun to use for lots of applications.
Are you qualified to lead a business? The necessary skills are too often ignored. Are you a proven leader? Do you have the experience to recognize a good employee? Do you have a mentor? Have you mentored another employee? Can you write clearly and effectively? Do you understand a balance sheet? Can you speak in front of a group naturally? Can you ask for the order? (The last is the most critical...and the most difficult!)
A helpful test: at a party, do you tend to engage at length with one or a few people, or do you make an effort to engage with everyone? If you engage at length, you may be well-suited to selling a highly technical product. If you engage with everyone, you may be well-suited to selling a commodity product.
I omitted "conflict management." As a CEO, that was one of my most difficult tasks. In almost every instance, all parties were "right" but disagreed on how to proceed.
Question 20. Follow up to the questions where would you get your first client, your 10th client. What is your funnel for your business ( to bring in customers consistently over the life of your business) to grow? The first ten will likely be family and friends supporting you. How will you get people in the fold to know what problem you can help them with? Social Media, events, marketing campaigns, etc.
Question #20. Do you have the Sunday I have to work Monday blues every weekend? Do you dread Mondays but somehow manage to trudge through the week? Is that really a life? If you have a buyout offer and feel like this, you know what to do!
Love your questions!
I'm retired, so...
However, at one point, when I owned a business, I thought everyone should be required to own a business to learn how such is run, etc., etc... then people would learn more about capitalism, government regulations, etc., etc., and perhaps, more importantly, how to be a good employee, as well as a good employer...
I love that. I have always said that anyone running for congress should have been an employee in the private sector at some point and worked in sales or customer service first. Humbling experiences make for the best business owners.
yes!! Release the hostages! The UN, & others w/ reports of famine, however, could be a bit 'mislabeled'. The New York Times totally mislabed the starving kids in Gaza showing an emaciated 18-month-old Gazan boy in the arms of his mother, who says the boy was “born healthy but was recently diagnosed with severe malnutrition.” It was a horrific picture worth a billion words, seemingly proving the reality of a widespread famine in Gaza. The photo went viral and was republished on major news sites all over the world, including CNN and the BBC. Later reporting indicated that the boy in the photo was not a victim of famine, but rather of cerebral palsy. To make matters worse, other photos emerged online apparently showing the same mother and child along with the boy’s three-year-old brother, who looks healthy, raising the possibility that the Times deliberately hid evidence contradicting the false impression it created. The NYT, time & time again, shows its bias & lack of responsible reporting. What kind of journalist would want to be associated w/ that kind of reputation... just say'n. The readers who believe NYT, after so many times being proven they misrepresent the truth??? just say'n...
The Free Press also had another write-up about at least a dozen proven cases of kids being shown as starving in Gaza, when in fact they weren't because of the war, it was due to other illnesses, evidence before the war started &/or such starvation would not manifest itself in such a short time. These photos were being shown not only by NYT, NPR, CNN, but others, such as UNICEF for fundraising campaigns, & others...
All of this has driven the support of Israel down in the US.
Did you see the one photo of the mother holding her baby in the rubble? She has 3 arms! Not only are they pushing a fake narrative, they suck at photoshop.
yikes!!
I saw this posted:
BBC World News reported that a Gazan woman had died of starvation in Italy when in fact she had gone there for treatment for leukemia, from which she succumbed. Is it any wonder that Israel is on the losing end of the moral arc?
Clarification 18 August: This article's headline originally said that Marah Abu Zuhri died of malnutrition, with the introduction stating that she suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Friday. The headline has been amended to remove the reference to malnutrition being the cause of death in what the hospital described as a "very complex clinical picture".
so they can come back & do an "oopsie", kind-of... but chances are the majority of readers saw the first headline, & remember that...
Question 20: Can you convince one of the Shark Tank crew to invest into your business plan?
Several family-related questions come to mind. How supportive is your family? Will less than full support affect your decision? How will your family be affected? …
Very good questions. I'm old, retired, and have started a few businesses in my life. One of the BIG questions I always ask in these situations is, Why am I one of the ones being offered the buyout? It's an often overlooked question which one always needs to be asking. The best and most valuable employees usually are given raises to stay in these situatiions. Am I as good as I think?What do I need to improve?
These question circle around starting a new business AND the buyout offer. I would disconnect the two and deal with first things first. You also need to clearly understand the entity’s overarching objective of the buyouts as well as your BATNA.
Manage the complexity by focusing on questions 11 and 13. If enough staff does not take the buyout then layoffs will be next. Question 20 could focus on that aspect of the decision. Taking a chance on being impacted by a RIF is a crapshoot. A buyout places you more in control and typically increases the length and benefits of the off-ramp. In the end it typically becomes an exercise in math for the entity.
#16 was going to be my question. Are you ok, both emotionally and financially, with failure?
#20 Assuming your new business is a huge success. How much longer are you willing to work and what will your succession plan be?
great questions. I wish I had asked these and more before I left a career in an electric utility to be part of a technology startup. It dragged on for 20 more years and I took other employment to survive and feed the dream which ended. Still in all life has been good through it all. It does have consequences and adds to life baggage. Question # 20 might be - when I ask a true friend about the possibility what is their advice? Consider that answer highly. Faithful friends versus flattering foes......and other good advice from the Book of Ecclesiastes (in the Bible).
oh and remember the HR department is offering the buyout because it is saving them money. Your accumulated sick time, vacation time, other benefits that increase through age all gone. Gone from you and off their books. THEY MAKE MONEY BY GETTING RID OF YOU. Buyer beware. And their consultants will give you a glowing view of your future away from them, it's what they get paid to do.
If they don’t have enough savings from buyouts there will be RIFs regardless. It is all about the savings the bean counters need (not HR).
Question #20: I worked in state and local government for my career. During buyout offers I witnessed many people who wrongly believed their position was “indispensable,” and did not take a buyout, only to find themselves laid off soon after. Be honest with yourself, can somebody else do my job cheaper, or can it be outsourced? Very rarely is that answer “no” when buyouts are offered.
Question 20. Do you want to get into your grave without having given it* a go??
*To find 'it', a business that might suit you, you can check out (free!) 258 episodes of That Great Business Show dot com podcast where we discuss small and medium sized businesses (albeit in Ireland, but the rules are the same) without any hype. We chat about business like others discuss sport, without the jargon. Basically we love business. We want you to love it too. I say, 'go for it'.
Question 20. Is Monday morning fun?
I asked all 19 questions, or variations of them when I quit my job around 1980 in the field that I was educated in to start a business in an entirely different field. Then repeated the questions again when I sold that business two years ago. Most importantly for me was asking myself the following to get my real feelings. This is not original, but after I heard it, I use this all the time.
#20. After all the "smart" questions are asked and answered, flip a coin with heads "yes", tails "no" (or reversed). BEFORE you look at the coin to see which side is up, what is your immediate secret wish for which side is up. If you are joyed or saddened by the upside, then reevaluate your decision if it differs. This is just fun to use for lots of applications.
Are you qualified to lead a business? The necessary skills are too often ignored. Are you a proven leader? Do you have the experience to recognize a good employee? Do you have a mentor? Have you mentored another employee? Can you write clearly and effectively? Do you understand a balance sheet? Can you speak in front of a group naturally? Can you ask for the order? (The last is the most critical...and the most difficult!)
A helpful test: at a party, do you tend to engage at length with one or a few people, or do you make an effort to engage with everyone? If you engage at length, you may be well-suited to selling a highly technical product. If you engage with everyone, you may be well-suited to selling a commodity product.
I omitted "conflict management." As a CEO, that was one of my most difficult tasks. In almost every instance, all parties were "right" but disagreed on how to proceed.