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Gary Meyn

AI for Work and Life

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AI has been under development for decades.  Recently, AI has taken a hockey stick trajectory into the mainstream with the development of new and ever evolving AI tools.  At 67 years old, I have not been the most informed on technology over the years.  As I speak with others at our HLSA Networking events I KNOW there are useful and evolving benefits for AI.   But many have a self-imposed roadblock on learning new technology.

Whether you are just starting your career or if you are a seasoned executive there will be a place in your toolbox for AI which will enhance your career or just assist you in becoming more efficient and familiar with the technology and its tools.

As a result of my shortcomings in technology I decided to become more familiarized with AI and its current development.  I did so by enrolling in a free certificate course from the University of North Florida (UNF). The course is currently free for a limited time thanks to NLP Logix who has sponsored the program.

This program is designed to help professionals, students and lifelong learners understand and apply Artificial Intelligence in practical, everyday contexts – both in the workplace and beyond. The program is fully online and consisted of 8, self-paced modules with an approximate 10-hour duration total timeline.

I started Module 1 on October 23rd and completed Module 8 and received my certificate on November 16th.  The Course was facilitated by various experts and leaders in AI development in a number of various platforms.

The introduction to AI was the catalyst for starting the program and was interesting and thought provoking.  It fueled my ambition to learn more. The course then moved onto highlighting a number of AI Tools, how to use them and incorporated a demonstration on how these tools can be accessed and utilized for your work or life benefits.

In my opinion, the module on the Art and Science of Prompting was the most valuable as this is the key to getting your desired results from any AI tool.  The program then progressed into the rising ethical challenges that AI brings.  Narrow AI vs Large Language Models (LLMs) were discussed along with the pitfalls of each.  AI is not perfect so there are necessary guidelines you need to know about when engaging with AI tools.

The program then addressed AI in key industries such as Medicine, Law and everyday life and progressed into how AI has and may affect our world as it continuously develops and evolves.  The material covered make me think about the possibilities and cemented my decision to take this valuable beginner’s course.

I can enhance my newly gained knowledge further by engaging further with the utilization of AI tools and learning how to make AI enhance my work & everyday life.  Jumping in and utilizing various AI tools will ultimately determine the extent of knowledge I will gain.  I would suggest that any beginning student or seasoned executive with limited knowledge take a beginner’s course which may possibly inspire you by going into deeper context through the many programs that are developing on the Topic of Artificial Intelligence.

 

by Gary Meyn, LFACHE

 

 

Preparing to Sell Your Business- Advice from Gary Meyn

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Preparing to Sell Your Business:
For those of you who own or know of somebody who owns a privately owned and profitable business, following are some things you should know as you plan for the future.

1. Have an Exit Plan in Place – Whether you started the business yourself or if you
acquired it and scaled it up over time, the time will come when you have to decide when
you and any partners must exit the business. Making a simple plan is recommended with
details to follow as you get five years from removing yourself from the business. Include
yourself and any partners in your exit plan. Maybe you plan on handing the business off to a family member.     Maybe a partner or partners want to buy you out. Or you may need to consider selling it. Either way your exit plan needs to be in place for a smooth transition once that time comes.

2. Financial Stability of the Business – Is your business profitable? Do you want it to be at
a certain level when you transition? Maybe you use your goal for the business as leverage
and motivation to scale your business up to a specific level during the time you have before
your exit. There have been many occassions where I have connected with an owner who wants to sell
their business and it is a shell of what the business once was. In these cases the owners
have grown to the point where they don’t want to work as hard and begin to ramp the
business down or just neglect it. In these cases the business will sell for a fraction of what
it once was. If you want to get the most out of the sale of your business make your plan to sell at it’s
financial Peak. This will garner more interest from potential buyers and bring a higher
asking price which will br more likely to stick at closing.

3. How Much Should I Ask For My Business? – Main Street to Lower Mid Market Businesses typically sell for a multiple of the Net Cash Flow or SDE (Sellers Discretionary Earnings). You should have good financials kept by a reputable bookkeeper and Accounting firm which will keep year to year financials on your Business. IE: Profit & Loss
Statements and Balance Sheets are common documents most buyers will want to see. Business Tax Returns will reflect your financials as you have submitted in each tax year and are generally the preferred document to review by potential buyers. Particularly those who will seek a lender to acquire the business. I have helped many business owners by reviewing their P&Ls and identifying valid add backs which increase the bottom line Net Cash Flow therefore enabling them to ask a higher multiple for the asking price.

For this article I have touched on some generalities and will elaborate in more detail and additional topics in future HLSA Newsletter Articles. Please call me for a free consultation or to learn about our Vested Business Brokers generous Referral Program.

Gary J. Meyn, LFACHE
Vested Business Brokers, Ltd.
Cell: 210-912-0120
Email: gmeyn@vestedbb.com

Vested Business Brokers

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My goal for HLSA is to learn what our attendees seek to improve their business or to acquire their next position. As a co-founder of HLSA we have put together a dedicated board that will provide the guidance and networking required to help you reach your goals. As a Business Broker I utilize the Vested Business Broker platform. Vested is the largest, non-franchised Business Brokerage in the Country. We have over 125 Brokers Nationally and do business in 35 States. Our top priority is for the complete confidentiality of our sellers as we assist them in listing and then finding qualified buyers for their respective businesses. Our procedures are set up to incrementally qualify buyers for acquisitions of businesses we list. Those procedures are unique but will provide any buyer with full
disclosure of all aspects of the business they are interested in. Our processes must be followed by contract with our Sellers. These processes have been honed over 25 years and over 3500 businesses sold. They work well for both our sellers and our buyers. These procedures are the main reason our sellers list with Vested Business Brokers. I make a living by helping people buy and sell privately owned, profitable businesses. Building my practice takes networking. That networking is how HLSA operates and why it was founded. I would like to partner with anyone who may seek to acquire or sell a profitable business. We have a generous referral program to solidify any partnerships.

Vested Referral Program– Referrals are a main source of growing my brokerage practice. I would love to have more listings across the country, regionally and locally, so if you know of anyone looking to sell or buy a privately owned, profitable business please consider referring them to me. See our referral program info below. Thanks and all the best! I would like to introduce you to our Vested Referral Program. Simply refer the name, address and contact information of the seller of a privately owned, profitable business or an interested buyer and you will be eligible to receive a percentage of our commission upon closing of a sale with that referral. This is no small amount depending upon the business purchased and the final sales price. Please see the link below with more information!

Link to Vested Referral Program: https://www.vestedbb.com/referral.html

Vested Business Brokers Website: https://www.vestedbb.com/

Thank you for your consideration!
Gary J. Meyn, LFACHE
210-912-0120
gmeyn@vestedbb.com