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American Business Brokers & Advisors Founder & President MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS BUSINESS VALUATIONS
JUNE 2025
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Am I Going Crazy, or Is the World Going Crazy?
Okay, I think I am about to my limit with all the chaos and crazy stuff that is going on in the world — or at least in my world. One of the only good things about being older is that you have the opportunity to look back on the years before you and reflect on what you have experienced and what the world was like during those years. Of course, there were bad times, good times, and even some great times. That is the way it is supposed to be because life is supposed to be about the journey. But recently, it appears that the world is getting crazier than what I have experienced in my lifetime. Now, to be completely transparent, there is a good chance I may be the problem. Maybe I am the one who is going crazy because, in trying to educate myself, I have in turn created a cynical and jaded outlook toward people and the times we are living in, because of what is happening around us. I read three newspapers a day (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and my local paper, The Naples Daily News, which is owned by the USA Today Company). Plus, I watch about 15 minutes of Fox News and CNBC Squawk Box. I do all of this to try to stay informed about what is going on in the world so I can communicate
were being shut down, people were losing their jobs, churches closed their doors, and the government was giving away free money. If you tried to talk to somebody before it happened and explain what I just shared, there was a good chance people would have either thought you were on drugs or needed to be on drugs. Then the price of crude oil dropped to a negative ($37.63), something I never knew was possible, and I would have to pay the oil company to take my oil. Then, I got to experience not only a Category 5 hurricane but also discover what kind of damage it can do to not only your home but also your pocketbook when dealing with FEMA and insurance companies. And to make sure I got a good education about hurricanes, I got to experience two more hurricanes right after Hurricane Ian in September 2022. (I know this one was my fault because I could have moved, but being the stubborn individual I am, I decided to stay living in Florida. Duh!) There was also the presidential election of a lifetime, when one president won the election and the old president didn’t want to leave. They all got together and staged a rally/fight, which got everybody all stirred up for years. Next, we have our so-called intelligent politicians (and I use the word “intelligent” loosely) whine, gripe, complain and act like complete imbeciles instead of using common sense about getting along and working together, all while trying to see who can spend the most money on the dumbest things you could possibly think of. (Here is another thing I have learned since I have gotten older: People love to spend money,
especially when it is somebody else’s money and not their own money.)
But wait, the madness continues with a change in the presidency, the House of Representatives, and the Senate; the chaos not only continues, but we have taken it to a new level. Here again, I never paid any attention to tariffs, no more than I knew what a pandemic was. But now I have had the pleasure of seeing the price of eggs explode to an unbelievable high, as have all of the foods we eat. Then, when the prices went up at my favorite restaurant, McDonald’s, that was the last straw. (Yes, McDonald’s is my most frequently visited restaurant, so don’t make fun of me because one thing about McDonald’s is that they are consistent. The cheeseburger (if that is what it really is) tastes the same in Florida as it does in Wisconsin or Kansas, and I was taught that surprises are only good at Christmas and for birthdays, never in business.) Who wouldn’t start to get a little cynical and jaded, having experienced what we have experienced? So, revisit the past five years with me on what I have shared with you, and you decide. Am I going crazy, or is the world I am living in going crazy? The bottom line of what I have shared with you is that if things get too crazy, then people will get fearful. This fearfulness can be created by stirring things up in the media, thereby creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of fearfulness. When people get fearful, they don’t do anything. They don’t buy, they don’t sell; they just sit like deer in the headlights, and that is never good. –Terry Monroe
better with my clients and supposedly be knowledgeable about my surroundings.
And what I have discovered is that I think the world is going crazy. First, we had this thing called COVID-19, which morphed into something I had never heard of, which was a pandemic. Now, wasn’t that a cluster mess? Businesses
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The Perfect Employee Story
Years ago, in an earlier life before I decided to sell my business and work in the mergers and acquisitions of convenience stores, I owned a lot of businesses and employed more than a couple thousand employees. I was a typical employer. I would complain about how hard it was to find good employees, and then when I found good employees, I would complain about how I couldn’t get them to do everything I wanted them to do the exact way I wanted it done. Even though that was many years ago, the struggle to find good employees and train them has not changed from when I was utilizing employees in my business, and it actually may have gotten worse. The people I talk with today who have employees are saying the same things to me that I was saying when I had employees. So, how does someone find the perfect employee? The answer is: You don’t. The whole idea of finding the perfect employee changed for me one day when I owned and operated about 100 video rental stores. (Here is a side note to show I am dating myself. Recently, I mentioned to a young man I was having a conversation that I used to own over 100 video rental stores, and he looked at me and cocked his head and said, “What is a video rental store? Is it like a Redbox?” To which I responded by saying yes, it was like a Redbox but inside a building.) Anyway, back to my perfect employee story. Whenever you have a business, you need to market and advertise to grow your business. I had come up with a new marketing idea and needed my idea put into print for distribution, and I wanted to make sure the marketing piece was put together right. Even though I had a marketing department and someone who took care of the marketing for the company and was good at what they did, I didn’t trust them to do it the way I wanted it done because I thought only I could do it correctly. So, I took the marketing piece to my local printer and began explaining to them how I wanted the piece laid out and printed and how many of the pieces I wanted printed. Then,
while I was giving a dissertation about how I wanted the marketing piece created, out from the back office of the print shop came the owner, with whom I had gone to school and knew very well. He knew I owned a lot of video rental stores, and his company had been doing all our printing for years, and looked at me and said, “What are you doing here?” I explained to him how I had this new marketing piece and how I needed it laid out and printed and how I wanted to make sure it was done right, and I didn’t trust my marketing employee to get the job done the way I wanted it done and that was why I was at his print shop. I remember him looking at me, shaking his head, and telling me, “Terry, you don’t get it when it comes to employees. There is no such thing as a perfect employee. What you need to strive for is to find an employee who can do the job 75% of the way you want it done, because if an employee could and would do the job you wanted done better than 75%, they wouldn’t be working for you. Instead, they would be working for themselves.” From that day forward, it was like I had an epiphany. I still complained about how hard it was to find employees, but I never complained about finding the perfect employee; instead, I strived to find my 75% employees. The 75% employee theory may not be the best way to categorize how to obtain a great employee. But it helped me to put into perspective what I wanted in an employee and helped to remind me that employees are not mind readers and can’t read their employer’s minds, even when they have been told what to do. So, the next time you find yourself complaining or aggravated about an employee, think about taking your valuable time to perform a duty an employee could do. Think about the 75% employee rule, and it will help to put your mind at ease. I know it did for me.
–Terry Monroe
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SUDOKU (SOLUTION ON PG. 4) Take a Break!
Find out, with just three pieces of information about your business, how we can provide a convenience store operator with a market valuation showing what their convenience stores and businesses are worth in today’s marketplace. Best of all, it costs you nothing and it is entirely confidential. Simply send an email to Terry@TerryMonroe , and in the subject line, put “3 Point Market Valuation” Information is the key to everything. Don’t play a guessing game. Get the information you need. TERRY’S ‘3 POINT MARKET VALUATION’ TERRY’S QUOTES OF THE DAY “If you think your boss is stupid, remember you wouldn’t have a job if he was any smarter.” –John Gotti “Doing nothing is very hard to do because you never know when you’re finished.” –Leslie Nielsen “The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.” –Oscar Wilde
WORD SEARCH
ADVENTURE BAREFOOT
HIKING JUNETEENTH PARK PICNIC
PRIDE SANDALS SUNBURN VOLUNTEER
FATHER GEMINI
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INSIDE 7824 Estero Blvd., 3rd Floor Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931 1 Am I Going Crazy, or Is the World Going Crazy?
Sudoku Solution
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The Perfect Employee Story
Discover Terry’s ‘3 Point Market Valuation’
Steps Toward Building a Strong Business Credit Score
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Protect Your Company’s Credit Score BUILD YOUR BUSINESS MUSCLES
Building a business can require long hours growing sales, putting out fires, and driving ideas to fruition. Checking your business credit score might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but it can make a difference in your ability to achieve those other goals. A low credit score will inflate your borrowing costs and make attracting strong business partners and vendors harder. To establish business credit, register for a Dun & Bradstreet Data University Numbering System or D-U-N-S number. Your payment history, the age of your business credit accounts, the size of your debt, and trade credit extended by suppliers all affect your score. To put your best foot forward, check your score frequently with Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian. Ensure your business and financial information, revenue figures, and industry classification are accurate. Mixups happen more easily with business credit scores than personal ones because identifying information is indexed only to your business name and address. If your DBA is similar to another company’s, your business might be confused with theirs.
Also, pay your bills on time or, preferably, before they are due. The clock runs faster on business credit than on personal loans. While consumer debt typically isn’t treated as late until 30 days after invoicing, business debt payments are considered “late” if only one day overdue. Your payment history determines Dun & Bradstreet’s Paydex score and is vendors' primary information source. If you pay your bills on their due date, you will earn a Paydex score of 80 on a scale of 100. To get closer to 100, you must pay before the due date! Also, segregate your business and personal borrowing as much as possible. When starting a business, maxing out a personal credit card is a common but ill-advised strategy. Businesses typically use far more credit than consumers and can access far more credit. Following these basic rules can help you demonstrate your trustworthiness to prospective business partners and lenders, increasing your financial flexibility and opening up new opportunities!
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