Recession? Soft landing? Just a mirage? Here’s What You Need to Know
VACEOs recently convened a virtual Square Table with a panel of 3 recession veterans: Sam Dibert, Melissa Ball, and David Ingram. They shared their experiences with previous recessions and downturns, and what they are doing right now to prepare for the next one! Here are some key takeaways from our panel:
- Be proactive in communicating with your banker and accountant. Talk to them regularly before you really need them.
- Know your numbers. Benchmark with peers.
- Invest in your culture. In hard times a strong culture will make you more nimble and resilient.
- There’s opportunity in every situation . . . if you and your team have that mindset.
- Ask for help early. Don’t wait.
- Don’t wait. Move fast. Trust your gut.
- Be bolder.
- Several of the veteran CEOs said that downturns led them to be more open with their employees. Openness and clarity helps them deal with difficult times better.
Finally, Sam Dibert said, “It always makes me wonder how come we don’t think of all this stuff when things are going well!”
Thank you to Ilsa Loeser for proposing and moderating this Square Table session. A Square Table is an ad-hoc meeting around a topic a member is interested in. We turn to the expertise of the VACEOs community for clarity on the matter over an hour-long Zoom meeting. If you have an idea for a potential Square Table meeting, contact Scot McRoberts.
VACEOs Hires Charlottesville Regional Executive As Org Continues to Grow
The Virginia Council of CEOs announced today that Frank Squillace has joined the staff as Regional Executive. Squillace’s main responsibility will be to assist with the nonprofit’s Commonwealth-wide focus on membership representation and growth.
“We are fortunate to add Frank to our team,” says Scot McRoberts, Executive Director, VA Council of CEOs. Adding, “He is a strong believer in the power of peer roundtables, and he understands the challenges that small business CEOs face. Highly respected and well connected in the Charlottesville area, Frank will help us serve more SMB CEOs.”
More About Frank Squillace
Frank has over 40 years of administrative experience in various positions. He specializes in uplifting customer service & work/life balance training, establishing innovative approaches to networking and providing workforce recruitment, development, and retention strategies. He has served in a number of executive management positions in the Charlottesville Virginia region including with Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, the Church of the Incarnation, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Piedmont Virginia Community College. Frank is the Managing Partner of Civil Solutions, a Virginia-based consulting firm. Over the past 35 years, Frank has served on numerous local and national Boards. Frank is a native of Syracuse, New York and holds a BS degree from Saint Bonaventure University and a Master’s degree from Duke University. He resides in Albemarle County, Virginia and enjoys spending time with his wife Jane DeSimone Dittmar, his two children, four step-children and one grandchild, reading, sports and playing cello in his rock band, 180.
About the Virginia Council of CEOs
Virginia Council of CEOs is a nonprofit organization connecting CEOs for learning and growth. Formed more than 20 years ago, Member benefits include placement in a peer roundtable group and access to a thought leader network and a robust program of events for learning and growth. This is not a networking group, but rather a group of CEO peers who are invested in the success of one another. Learn more at www.vaceos.org.
Related stories:
- “VA Council of CEOs Adapts to COVID-19 Crisis, Expands Statewide”
- “Peer Roundtables Prove to be a Port in the Storm for Many Small Business CEOs”
Virginia Economic Outlook Index Continues to Rebound; 89% of Small Business CEOs Prefer the Fed to Hold or Reduce Interest Rates; 64% view AI as a Positive Capability
CEOs Again Expect Revenue and Employment to Increase Over Next 6 Months with Capital Spending Remaining Flat
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND ─ Eighty-nine percent of small business CEOs indicate that they prefer that the Fed either reduce interest rates or hold them at the current rate with 11% preferring that rates increase further. Sixty-four percent of respondents view Generative AI as a positive capability to be embraced with only 6% seeing AI as a danger to be avoided. That’s the latest from the quarterly CEO Economic Outlook Survey conducted by the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and the Virginia Council of CEOs.
Fifty-four percent of CEOs expect revenue to increase, with 18% expecting at least a 10% increase, while 55% expect employment to increase over the next six months.
The survey found expectations over the next six months for revenue and employment were both positive with employment to grow faster than expectations a quarter ago. Expectations with regard to capital spending remained primarily flat.
More than half (54%) of CEOs indicated that they expect revenue to increase over the next six months.
- 2% expected revenue to be “significantly higher.”
- 52% expected revenue to be “higher.”
- 11% expected revenue to be “lower.”
- 36% indicated they expected no change.
Thirty-two percent of CEOs expect capital spending to increase over the next six months (up slightly from last quarter), while 21% expect capital spending to decrease. More than 46% expect capital spending to remain flat.
Fifty-five percent of respondent CEOs expect employment to increase over the next six months. Additionally, 41% expect employment to remain flat while only 4% expect employment to fall.
Taken as a whole, the results pertaining to revenue, capital spending, and employment continue the positive trend of last quarter with the overall Economic Outlook Index increasing (85.1 versus 78.2) relative to the results from the end of Q1 2023.
Additionally, CEOs were asked their preference with regard to further interest rate changes by the Fed. They reported that they preferred the following:
- Further raise rates: 11%
- Reduce rates: 40%
- Leave rates as they are: 49%
They were also asked their opinion on the potential impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (such as ChatGPT) on their businesses. They reported that they viewed these tools as follows:
- A positive capability to be embraced: 64%
- A danger to be avoided: 6%
- No opinion at this time: 31%
“The survey results suggest that CEOs continue to see a positive future. They also strongly prefer that the Fed avoid further interest rate hikes” said Rich Boulger, associate dean at the Robins School, who administers the survey and collects the responses. “The overall index continues to rise (85.1 versus 78.2 at the end of Q1 2023 and slightly up from 81.3 of a year ago).”
“The sentiment from CEOs I am talking with lately is far more pessimistic than this data. The storm clouds they are seeing must be beyond the survey’s six-month outlook!” said Scot McRoberts, executive director of VACEOs.
The Robins School and VACEOs jointly conduct the quarterly survey, which regularly asks about expectations for revenue, capital spending, and employment, plus other relevant issues, helping Virginia companies anticipate business conditions and plan for growth. The Robins School adapted the survey from the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of American companies that conducts a similar survey nationally. Rich Boulger, associate dean at the Robins School, administers the survey and collects the responses. The quarterly survey has been administered since 2010.
Fifty-five CEOs responded to the survey, which was administered Julyl 11 – 17. Multiple industries are represented in the sample although services and construction represented the majority of the respondents. The average company whose CEO responded to this survey had approximately $10 million in revenue for the most recent 12-month period. The average employment was 55.
The Council continues to expand the survey beyond its members, offering any area business owners whose companies gross at least $1 million in annual revenue the opportunity to participate. If enough businesses participate, the Council will provide survey results by industry. Participation is free, and all participants will receive copies of the survey data.
Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs) is a nonprofit organization connecting CEOs for learning and growth. Formed more than 20 years ago, member benefits include placement in a peer roundtable group and access to a thought leader network, and a robust program of events for learning and growth. This is not a networking group, but rather a group of CEO peers who are invested in the success of each Member. To qualify for membership CEOs must run a business with $1M+ revenue and 5+FTEs. Learn more at www.vaceos.org.
The Robins School of Business is the only fully-accredited, highly-ranked undergraduate business school that also is part of a highly-ranked liberal arts university. The Robins School is also home to the Richmond MBA. The school’s executive education division offers customized training and consulting to a wide variety of businesses.
Roundtable Program for Key Executives Begins in October 2023
For years, our members have been asking for a peer learning experience for their second in command. We created a peer learning experience for COOs, GMs, number twos, etc., as a pilot program earlier this year. It was a great success and we are ready to offer the program to more key executives!
Learning with peers accelerates the abilities of professionals. We know that from decades of serving CEOs in this way.
VACEOs is offering a cohort-style program for key executives from small and medium sized businesses that will:
- Create meaningful connections with other professionals. A trusted network.
- Accelerate the learning and growth of these professionals by expanding their perspectives and exposing them to others’ experiences.
- Connect them with experts from the community in a wide range of disciplines.
The next session of Key Executive Roundtables will form roundtables of 8 to 10 executives, who will meet monthly from October 2023 to June 2024. These three-hour meetings will be led by a professional facilitator and consist of two elements.
- A confidential peer roundtable experience that gives everyone the chance to share issues and opportunities, and to learn from one another’s experiences. Essentially, a condensed version of our CEO Roundtables format.
- Learning from subject matter experts on topics like strategy, execution, culture, technology, compliance, finance, HR, marketing, sales, etc.
This is not a VACEOs membership, but a program that we are offering to key executives of both member and non-member firms. Participants are expected to commit to 100% attendance.
Cost for this program is $2,350 for VACEOs members’ key execs, and $2,650 for execs from non-member organizations. This fee is billed after acceptance.
You can apply here. Deadline for applications is September 8.
If you have any questions, please email info@vaceos.org.
Hyper Sales Growth
Bring your team! The Fall Leaders Conference is open to all leaders, not just VACEOs members.
Join VACEOs on September 21, 2023, at the University of Richmond to spend the day with Jack Daly – sales growth expert, world renowned speaker and bestselling author.
Get to the top of your sales game through Jack’s Smart Selling or Sales Management workshops.
Jack will show you how to apply street-tested techniques that will make the difference, as well as reinforce and provide accountability to ensure things are getting done in his Smart Selling workshop.
Learn effective ways to recruit, coach, and train your sales force with proven sales processes that when applied consistently ensure sales success in Jack’s Sales Management workshop.
Through these engaging and interactive sessions, you will learn what it takes to reach your full selling and management potential. Jack Daly will help you get there. To register, click HERE.
Sponsors
Sponsorship opportunities are available. Please contact Scot McRoberts to learn more.
To register now, click HERE.
Schedule for the day:
Thursday, September 21
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Registration
9:00 AM – 10:30 PM: Smart Selling
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM: Break
11:00 AM – 12:30: Smart Selling continues
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Lunch
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM: Sales Management
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM: Break
3:15 PM – 5:00 PM: Sales Management continues
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Cocktail Reception
Who is this for:
This program is open to all CEOs and their teams. Click HERE to register.
About the Speaker
Jack Daly is a leading sales speaker and trainer with over 30 years of sales and executive experience. Jack’s track record is a testament to his real-world knowledge and extensive expertise in sales and sales management. He started his professional journey at CPA firm Arthur Andersen and rose to the CEO level of several corporations, building six companies into national firms along the way, two of which he subsequently sold to the Wall Street firms of Solomon Brothers and First Boston.
In addition to his comprehensive professional background, Jack holds a BS in Accounting, as well as an MBA, and was a Captain in the U.S. Army. Jack Daly is an Amazon Best Selling Author and has written and contributed to many books, including Hyper Sales Growth and The Sales Playbook for Hyper Sales Growth. Jack is a 15-time Ironman competitor and has completed over 93 marathons in 50 states and on seven continents. He achieves these goals and lives life to the fullest by following his own Life by Design techniques.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jack currently resides in San Clemente, California.
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