Sklar Technology Partners - September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019

7462 Old Hickory Drive, Mechanicsville, VA 23111 • www.sklartechnology.com • 804-730-2628

IF YOUR COMPANY HAD A VOICE, WHAT WOULD IT SAY TO YOU?

than me, even though I was better at the job.When I asked for a raise, he only agreed to give me a quarter. It drove me nuts! The thing is I don’t want my kids to struggle. I did enough struggling myself so things could be easier for them! But I know that it’s through struggle and hardships, when it’s sink or swim, that we become prepared for life’s challenges.When Jake first started working at the company, I had him outside doing yardwork for two years. He hated it, but he stuck with it. Now he’s in the marketing business, which he’s great at! Jake has studied so much Russel Brunson stuff that he could move to Idaho and work for ClickFunnels. (Don’t tell him I said that.) My son has had to struggle a lot in this business, and I’ve seen him grow so much because of it. I’m sure one day the company will tell me it’s time for Jake to run the show, if that’s something my son wants to do. I just hope I’ll be smart enough to listen.

I knew this is what the company would say, and I could see where things would end if we stayed on that old course. Giving the company a voice allowed me to take action. I was able to move past my fear of upsetting my parents and make the hard choice. One day, I walked into my dad’s office and gave him three options. Either I would buy his share of the company, he would buy mine, or I would quit and start a new business in some other field. Dad was furious at me because he knew I’d backed him into a corner. Up to that point, I had started doing more and more for the company. I was a better business manager, and I was able to grow the business faster than he could. Though he was working progressively less, Dad was terrified to let go. Ultimately, my parents took the deal and let me take over. They were pretty upset at first, but over time, they came to realize it was the best decision. Our relationship now is better than ever. ‘Don’t Make It Easy’ Today I’m on the other side of the fence. I’m running the business, and my son Jake works for me. I want Jake to run the business one day, but when I listen to what the company says, I hear, “He needs to take over the business.” I can’t just give it to him. The day has to come when he’s willing to fight for it and when he’s confident enough to know he can. This means he needs to struggle.

There’s a piece of advice I give to other business owners a lot when they’re struggling with a decision they need to make: “If your company had a voice, what would it say to you?” In other words, “What’s the best move for your company?” Running a business isn’t easy, and sometimes personal feelings can cloud your judgment. It’s tempting to put off making big decisions when we’re uncertain of the outcome. Uncertainty leads to doubt and those racing thoughts asking, “Am I really doing the right thing?”When someone reaches that point, I tell them to listen to their company. Sometimes you won’t like what your company is saying. It can be a hard truth like, “Fire your brother,” or “Change your entire business plan.” Or, in my case, “Fire your parents.” ‘You Need to Fire Your Parents’ Taking the company from my parents was not easy. We had reached a point where my dad was set in his ways, and I wasn’t able to introduce the ideas I had that would help the company grow. It was frustrating on so many levels. I saw my relationship with my parents start to erode, but I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. That’s when I thought, “Okay, what would the company tell me to do?” “We’re not growing the way we need to grow. We need to make investments, not spend all the profits. If we don’t adapt with the times, we’re going to die.”

What Does Sklar Technology Partners Have to Say?

After everything my company has gone through over the years, I believe if it could talk, it would be grateful and encourage me to continue learning and investing in what has been producing results — specifically with our marketing and content.

I think the company would compliment me on how I treat our employees and tell me to express my

My dad certainly made me struggle! Once, he made me train a new hire who was making more money

A REFERRAL IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF FLATTERY. WHEN A CLIENT REFERS FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES TO US, IT REPRESENTS AN APPRECIATION OF A JOB WELL-DONE. IF YOUR FRIENDS OR ASSOCIATES COULD BENEFIT FROM OUR SERVICES, I’D BE HONORED TO HAVE YOUR REFERRAL! Continued on Pg. 3 ...

Build a Millionaire’s Library What does every successful person have in common? They read. Avid reading is a key characteristic of the ultra successful because, through great ideas, you can learn how to achieve your full potential. If you want to be more successful in business and in life, you should definitely add these great books to your reading list. ‘Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales From the World of Wall Street’ by John Brooks Who read it? Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Famously loaned to Bill Gates by Warren Buffett himself, “Business Adventures” was written and originally published shortly after the stock market crash of 1962. In this book, John Brooks recorded the successes and failures of 12 major companies of the era, including Ford, Xerox, and General Electric. From 1903–1908, renowned German poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote letters to a young, aspiring poet. These candid thoughts from one of the greatest artistic minds offer insights on life, love, and how to fully experience the world we live in. Each letter is a valuable reminder that we should never underestimate our own artistic spirit. ‘It’s Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles From a Life at Starbucks’ by Howard Behar Who read it? Katrina Lake, founder and CEO of Stitch Fix Starbucks is known for its quick coffee and seasonally controversial cups, but that’s not what turned the company into a world-conquering success. In “It’s Not About the Coffee,” Howard Behar highlights the importance of company culture and the role business leaders play in helping their team members reach their full potential. ‘Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration’ by Ed Catmull With Amy Wallace Who read it? Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Facebook Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, is responsible for some of the most successful animated movies in the history of cinema. “Creativity, Inc.” explores the creative process behind such films and how this process can be replicated in any industry. Forbes has suggested that Catmull’s book “just might be the best business book ever written.” Book Recommendations From the Ultra Successful ‘Letters to a Young Poet’ by Rainer Maria Rilke Who read it? Jen Rubio, co-founder and president of Away

This past summer, 100,000 employees from businesses across Canada and the northeastern United States were informed they were being sued. They received this troubling news over email and were warned that they had seven days to reply before the lawsuit would move forward. The exact nature of the lawsuit wasn’t clear until the employees downloaded the encrypted document attached to the email. Unfortunately, what was hidden inside the document proved to be almost worse than an unexpected lawsuit: It was a Trojan program that installed malware on their computers. None of these employees were actually facing lawsuits, at least, not from the law offices the email claimed to be from. These emails were part of a phishing scheme, one that utilizes fear to make people act without thinking and accidentally download a malicious program. Legal threats are a popular tactic among phishing schemes today. There’s nothing like the threat of a lawsuit to make someone open an email from an unfamiliar source. While this scheme used malware, Trojans are also used to install ransomware, locking users out of their systems and forcing them to pay a ransom in order to get their >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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