Intentional Growth

#307: [Owner Success Stories] Are You Running a Lifestyle Business or Are You Creating a Valuable Asset?

Jun 30, 2022

01:04:13

Ep. #3 [THEME TWO]

We have two business owners, Rob Dube and Cindy Banchy, on the show to wrap up our second theme, “Are You Creating a Lifestyle Business or a Valuable Asset.” They share how they shifted their mindset to think about their company like an asset, what their future goals are, and how their lives - and businesses - have changed since they adapted this new mindset.

Rob and Cindy discuss the three areas they focused on to help them run their company like and as an asset: trust your people, understand your financials (using the three financial statements), and follow your vision. Both of them dive deep into those three areas and pretty much give away the start-to-finish foundational points that will allow you to turn your business into a valuable asset, create future options, and how to successfully sit in the “owner’s box” instead of the management team.

//WATCH THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE: Intentional Growth™ Podcast

What You Will Learn

What it took for Cindy and Rob to shift their mindset to view their company like a financial asset and not just a job.
Why Rob believes financials truly tell the story of the health of a business.
How each business owner views their company and their relationship with the business and management team.
Ownership roles vs. management roles and how that relates to normalized EBITDA.
How each business owner separated their ego from their business to better run their business like an asset.
How Rob and Cindy built the trust around their people so they can step away for weeks at a time.
How Rob and Cindy manage their rhythm between their managers without stepping on each others’ toes.
The intrinsic benefits of understanding the financials.
How combining the three financial statements has allowed Cindy and Rob to understand how much they can pay themselves and give out for raises.
Why culture can add asset value to the right buyer and also allow your business to better run as an asset.

// USE YOUR FINANCIALS TO CLARIFY A PATH TOWARDS A MORE VALUABLE BUSINESS: Intentional Growth Financial Assessment

Bio:

Cindy Banchy:

Cindy is the President and Regional Master for Vanguard Cleaning Systems of Minnesota, a commercial cleaning master franchise located in Minneapolis. Prior to Vanguard, Cindy was with IBM from 1989 through 2005.

Cindy loves spending time taking adventure travels to new countries, competing in long-distance triathlons, taking epic long-distance hikes, spending time with family and friends, and exploring new cities, countries, food, and crazy adventures.

Rob Dube:

From Blow Pops to Forbes Best Small Companies, Rob started his first business in high school selling Blow Pops out of his locker. In 1991, he founded imageOne with his best friend, Joel Pearlman.

ImageOne has been recognized as one of the Top 25 Small Businesses in America on the list of Forbes Small Giants, an Inc. Magazine Best Places to Work, the number one Top Workplace in Michigan, a National Best and Brightest Company to Work For, one of the Inc. 5000 Top Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America, a Positive Workplace by the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, and Crain’s Detroit Cool Places to Work.

Rob is the Visionary/CEO of The 10 Disciplines for Managing and Maximizing Your Energy, a video-based journey that teaches people ten fast, simple, powerful, and fully customizable disciplines to manage and maximize their energy and live an optimal life. He is the author of the best-selling book, donothing,™ The most rewarding leadership challenge you will ever take, and the host of the Leading with Genuine Care retreat and podcast. Rob challenges business leaders and entrepreneurs to look inward with mindfulness and meditation by sharing his own mindful leadership journey.

Interview Quotes:

04:41 - “I finally said, ‘Enough Corporate America. I’m done.’ If my family can run a business, I think I can run a business too.” - Cindy Banchy

10:53 - “I have gotten–through Arkona, thank you very much–quite educated on, not only the terminology but how to look at it from, not only a growth, but a derisking of all the aspects you can do within a business in order to make it more valuable to someone outside.” - Cindy Banchy

11:28 - “What can I do to increase the value of the business, not just by revenue but by derisking it?” - Cindy Banchy

12:24 - “As your asset grows you have to start realizing separate from you, you have this entity that you have to take care of, more than when you’re just trying to get every contract and every widget out the door.” - Cindy Banchy

14:11 - “If I’m going to look at this business as something beyond ‘providing me with a job,’ I have to make a change.” - Rob Dube

16:23 - “Management is EBITA, and ownership is normalized EBITA.” - Cindy Banchy

20:16 - “What I’ve noticed with entrepreneurs (most of the time) is that ego is at the forefront of their business. Their identity is wrapped up in it.” - Rob Dube

20:34 - “They’re needed. They’re respected. They’re looked up to. It can feel almost like an addiction, sometimes.” - Rob Dube

23:04 - “It’s about people, and how you trust them, and how you treat them. And you treat them with genuine care, everyday, every time. The recruiting is key (obviously) but once you have the right people in the right seats (as Cindy said), you don’t lose sleep over anything because you know they have it covered.” - Rob Dube

23:53 - “Drawing a box around their responsibilities and letting them get there any way they can, is smart leadership.” - Cindy Banchy

24:29 - “Often times leaders don’t really understand the power of their words.” - Rob Dube

36:24 - “When people at the company understand [the numbers] the way you do, they just make better decisions, because they have the information they need to make better decisions.” - Rob Dube

40:58 - “If you can’t see where you’re going, how do you know you’re going to get there?” - Cindy Banchy