By Karen Turnquist

It’s true.  I am 65 years old.  Usually I would never admit that – I don’t feel it, some of you tell me I don’t look or act like it.  In truth, I feel like we (me and Cathy) can keep doing what we love doing for a really long time.  Yet something about hitting 65 registers with me as a milestone that calls for considering my purpose and priorities, and demands that I acknowledge life’s vagaries and the fleeting passage of time.  I am not so much retiring as I am refocusing.  My husband of 45 years who knows me well calls it redeploying – since I’m always on some kind of campaign.

So, in nod to the very arbitrary but perfectly relevant 65^th year of my life, on December 31, 2019 Cathy and I sold the Sage portfolio to my friends at North Mill.  My colleagues from PrinSource (now North Mill), Kristin Erickson and Rochelle Hilson made the transition go as well as possible by being their kind and capable selves.   Thanks Kristin and Rochelle.

Writing the Sage story was challenging, rewarding and really a lot of fun for me and Cathy.  Sage started as an idea and grew into a vision about helping other entrepreneurs build value.   Along the way we found other people equally passionate about helping clients build value, past and present colleagues, bankers, contract CFOs, lawyers and intermediaries of all kinds who brought their talents and wisdom to the task of growing and building healthy businesses.  We are so thankful for the people who helped us write the Sage book. The cast of characters is big and colorful and we could never thank you all.  But we are especially thankful for:

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by Cathy Sedacca

I’m easily distracted.

But I know I’m not the only one.

I’m especially susceptible to distraction when facing a task I’m not necessarily looking forward to and which requires heightened focus. It’s things like determining budgets, assembling expense reports, writing reviews, making cold call—did someone say squirrel?!—writing follow up emails and thank you notes.

In other words, it’s a lot of the glamorous things that come with life as a business owner.

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“The trouble is, you think you have time.” —Buddah

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Yet, we all too often act as if we have an endless supply of days stretching out ahead.

But what if we didn’t?

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by Cathy Sedacca

It usually starts out well.

A fun, new client with a bright future. An exciting “win” for the sales department. A promising new relationship.

But—before you know it—if you’re not careful, you may have an 800-lb. gorilla on your hands.

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by Karen Turnquist

Last week, we were at a prospect meeting with a smart, battle-worn CEO who was slightly guarded and a bit tense—the familiar stance of someone looking for help with their business.

She was joined by her newly hired CFO, who was quirky, analytical and eager to turn things around.

After a bit of small talk, they launched into an array of reports that showed a three-year pattern of downward sales and shrinking margins. They explained how they’d cut expenses and were working on new sales plans that would eventually get the company back to break-even by year end.

Despite this, their bank of 20 years was severing ties with them.

All of this is pretty standard stuff in our world. But at the end of their presentation, the CFO shifted gears a bit and turned to us:

“But what about you? What’s your story?”

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by Cathy Sedacca

As a small business owner, you have no “boss.”

You started your business and have made all the important decisions without much push back or accountability.

Odds are you’re a good utility player, comfortable takings risks and making decisions, and you like to get things done.

It’s easy to act like a commander-in-chief. “I’m the decider!” you may declare (well, at least to yourself).

On one hand, that’s the kind of freedom we all want as business owners. But on the other hand, it may not always make for the best decisions.

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by Karen Turnquist

“I’ve been a customer of my bank for 20+ years and this is how they treat me?!”

Raise your hand if it’s something you’ve uttered or heard others say in a moment of frustration.

In instances like that it can be difficult, but it’s important to remember that relationships are a two-way street. Even when we’re the customer, it’s still our job to tend to the health and stability of our relationships with vendors and service providers, including our bank.

What we’ve done—or not done—to foster those relationships plays an important role when it’s time to weather the inevitable ups and downs of any long-term relationship.

It’s something I was reminded of recently in my conversations with two business owners who contacted me to inquire about securing a line of credit from Sage.

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by Karen Turnquist

I view change as an opportunity to travel to a future where life is good and the current environment is transformed for the better.

This sounds so high brow, but let me give you an example.

A last-minute change turns an intimate brunch for four at my house into a much less intimate brunch for 12.

Scenarios like this used to make me freak out. To me, brunch used to mean a lovely meal that shows I care enough to plan, cook and serve my family.

Now (with some help from my husband), I pause and travel to the future where I pick up takeout for 12 at Fat Nats. And I spend my morning visiting with family and friends, eating awesome Huevos Rancheros y carnitas, handing out delicious mandarin oranges and pointing people to the coffee pot.

The change was simply about my perception of what brunch is about.

What’s really important is our time together, not the hours of cooking and cleaning. My ability and willingness to envision a different kind of brunch and to change my thinking about it, transformed my morning from last-minute frenzied shopping/cooking/cleaning to relaxed dining and visiting.

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by Cathy Sedacca

Stress happens.

No matter how great your office or work culture is, stress levels will rise periodically.

What really matters, and what we as leaders can control, is how we deal with that stress.

Leaders set the tone. A calm leader who maintains their equilibrium under challenging conditions creates a positive environment in which teams can function.

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by Cathy Sedacca

We talk to a lot of people who’ve started their own businesses, and even more who dream about it, but never take the leap.

We get it.

It’s not easy to leave a perfectly good job with steady pay, benefits and a proven track record to venture out on your own into “the wild.”

There are certainly risks, especially for anyone with a family who relies on their income. And we’ve all heard the statistics, including the fact that 50 percent of businesses fail within the first five years. That’s not encouraging.

When Karen and I look back on our decision-making process that lead us to start Sage, those concerns certainly entered our minds. But there were two key factors working in our favor:

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