Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Daniel McCraine, Founder of McCraine Associates, Inc., located in Des Moines, IA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
McCraine Associates Inc. is a small business mentoring, advising, and consulting agency. We focus on growing the core strength of the business and accelerating profitability with an eye toward the longevity and scalability of the business. We drive toward exit planning for the business owner and creating a business that can outlast the owner!
Tell us about yourself
I started my career teaching instrumental music in school systems. After I left teaching, I worked in financial services for several years. In my first financial service job, I came to several realizations. Our economy is actually driven by small businesses, not by large corporations. Small businesses have all the needs of large corporations but not the same resources. Finally, Baby Boomers own about 1/3 of all small businesses! Those baby boomers began retiring while I was working at that company. They have continued to retire at higher rates than ever seen in our economy. I began to question what was going to happen to the businesses that those baby boomers had created. I thought about how tragic it would be if the founder of those businesses just abandoned them. I am motivated each day to preserve as many small businesses as possible. The impact of each small business on the founder, their family, their employees and their families, and the surrounding community is immeasurable!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business coach has been helping some of my smaller clients become solvent for the first time in their business history!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing for me, being a business owner, is the balancing act of finding new clients while taking care of current clients.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
As a business coach who focuses on exit planning, I would advise a start-up business to focus on making sales. Period. You have to have new revenue coming in before you run out of start-up capital! The next thing to work on to get your business up and running has the proper structure of your business. It's not really a question of whether an LLC or a corporation is best. It's more about using all of the structure opportunities to your best advantage! I'm happy to have a conversation with anyone if you have further questions about what I mean. The last piece of advice I would give a start business owner is to assemble your advisory team as fast as possible. Bring them together for regular meetings. Don't just consult with them on an individual basis. They will each give you their own piece of advice from their own perspective without hearing from anyone else's perspective. Individual advice will give you conflicting action items.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website:
https://fixthisbiz.com/
https://fixthisbiz.coach/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/McCraineAssociates
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mccraine-associates/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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