We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Barry Moltz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Barry, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

I started my second company with two guys I found in the classified section of the Chicago Tribune. It seemed like a cool business. When my “partners” kicked me out of the company a year later, I realized who you are doing it with is more important than what you are doing. My next company I started was with the spouse of a college friend. I didn’t find the business fascinating but really liked my new partner.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a small business expert, I help companies get unstuck. Many owners have had some success but not at the level they dreamed of; they are stuck and don’t know how to move forward. We start to focus typically on marketing, sales, people or money. One of my specialties is helping family businesses since their personal relationships complicate running a company. I also focus on helping small businesses sell their company when the time is right.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

I sold my own business in July 1999 during the Internet bubble. The timing was perfect. Now I help other small business owners sell theirs. It’s a very difficult and personal process. I guide them through getting ready for the sale, finding the right buyer and ensuring the transaction happens after due diligence. The lessons I learned is that: 1. An entrepreneur needs to know what they will do the day after they sell their business (or they are not ready to sell). 2. Good financials are power in the transaction 3. The buyer will call your business “ugly” and are they ready for that?

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

I remember arriving at the office of one of my companies early in the morning and seeing a chained lock over the doors. There was a sticker from the State revenue department closing us down because we had not remitted payroll taxes on time. The lesson I learned here was that 1. The government is very serious about collecting the money you deduct from employees payrolls for them. 2. Never do your own payroll. Hire a company so they remit this money to the government automatically.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.barryMoltz.com
• Instagram: barrymoltz
• Facebook: barrymoltz
• Linkedin: barrymoltz
• Twitter: barrymoltz
• Youtube: barrymoltz

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