Articles

It Is Sometimes Lonely At The Top!!!

It Is Sometimes Lonely At The Top!!!

June 2025

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

Something I have seen in my years of experience in advising small businesses that is often very disturbing is a business owner who is not able to identify or accept that the business either has a revenue issue or an expense issue (sometimes both) and then seeks to borrow additional money to keep the business going. There comes a point when the cash flow generated from a business operation simply can not cover the debt obligations. 

Typically loan payments are made from the profits a business is able to generate. If the business is losing money month after month, then it is not generating the profits needed to pay loan payments. Therefore, adding an additional loan payment is not the answer.

When you are a business owner, it is sometimes a lonely place to be. Let me share some examples with you, some of which you may have experienced.

You may have an employee who is key to the operation of the business and who is having some performance issues. This has caused you to lose many a night’s sleep going through various scenarios in your mind. You really can’t discuss this situation with other employees at the company because some of those employees may work for this person, and you do not want the key employee to get feedback from other employees that you are not happy with his or her performance. Further, you really don’t want to take this issue home with you and spend your family time hashing over things from work. So, what do you do?

Another issue is you may also be having some business financial issues that you don’t want to share with your employees for fear they may think they could lose their jobs if the business can’t make a payroll. Again, taking this issue home could also upset your family, so the result is – what do I do next!

Yet another issue some business owners struggle with is when do I look at an exit plan and how do I even go about executing that kind of thing. Once again, you do not necessarily want your employees to know you are thinking about selling the business; they may fear losing their jobs or someone new buying the business and making a whole lot of changes. So here you are in the same place – what now! Talking to yourself and kicking the same ideas around and getting the same unsatisfactory answers is not very productive.

In all of these situations what I recommend is the business owner seek the advice and counsel of a trusted business advisor or mentor. Typically, a business advisor or mentor has either been through all the situation heretofore described, or he or she has consulted with other clients who have experienced similar situations.

Further, with a trusted business advisor or mentor getting from point A to point B usually takes less time, and you are not typically reinventing the wheel.

If you need assistance in finding a trusted business advisor or mentor, I recommend you start by contacting the Silver Fox Advisors. Silver Fox Advisors are former or present business owners themselves, and they have experience in owning and running a business, and in some cases several businesses. We encourage you to visit our website at www.silverfox.org to select a Silver Fox Advisor and also to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, as well as our great programs and community outreach endeavors.