by theEmother | Jan 28, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, Consultant EXIT Options, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, how to sell a business, Online Strategy incl. www, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
That’s because most service businesses are started by someone with a specific skill and it does not grow beyond that person.
Sound familiar?
Maybe you’ve hired a few people, but the clients still want to deal with the most knowledgeable person in the company – and that’s probably you…
So when the time comes to GET OUT, you may think you’re left with nothing. If you’re one of the luckier ones, you may get approached by another Professional Services group who offers to “buy” your business — but you may not actually get a cheque.
And for some, that might be just fine. It may be more important that their clients will be looked after, especially knowing the transition has been handled personally and they are still in great hands.
I get it!
Over and over I have seen and continue to see Consultants and Freelancers just pack their business away because they don’t really know what options they have and have not structured their thinking nor their business model accordingly.
So how do you escape the independent practitioner | consultant | freelancer services trap? The answer, in my experience, involves “re-making” your business; starting with the end in mind, regardless how old you’ve been in business.
It all depends on how you want to continue to HELP people, like you have always done. This is what I will be exploring over the next few weeks…
by theEmother | Jan 24, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, buy | sell websites, BUY a Business, Buy a Mother of a Business, Consultant EXIT Options, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, growth by acquisition, how to sell a business, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, Sellability Score, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, TEMpting, the business model
How Saleable is Your Business in 2014?
How Saleable do you want Your Business 2014?
What are you waiting for? GET YOUR SCORE…
Slowly but surely getting into the new year. Judging by the number of queries since returning back to the office would indicate that:
a) many business owners want to explore the sell option
b) many potential business owners have gone “shopping”
It will be interesting to see how all pans out…
GOT A WEBSITE FOR SALE?
If yes, please email me at dhall@businessbrokers.com.au
And you…what does 2014 bring?
If any of the following tickle your fancy, please email me at dhall@businessbrokers.com.au, letting me know which one it is…
FOR SALE…
BS30 Online Venue Business
Completed Sellability Score
2 new inquiries have come through so lets see what happens with them
BS43 Tourism
Deposit locked and loaded. Settlement planned for February.
When it’s a good thing, it pays to act quickly.
BS49 Home Help…
This is an interesting one. Mainly because it is playing in a growth industry but the players looking at it are playing small. The revisit of the presentation certainly worked, had a great meeting this morning with a most eligible buyer!
BS53 Balloons! and all that goes with them…
Such corporate appeal, so untapped. Potential buyers have stalled a little now. It’s waiting for the savvy operator that can see past the retail component. Needs to be thought more of as a warehouse!
BS57 Online Business
Signed good to go. A true online business at that ie all is in place, it’s making money and it dropships! In the process of developing the IM now. Stay tuned.
OR
Are you interested in?
- photographic studio x 2
- skin care range and premise
- a particular event
- event management
If yes, let me know what these are what came in this week…
Exploring the Sale Option?
GET YOUR SCORE…
Onwards and Upwards!
by theEmother | Jan 21, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, Buy a Mother of a Business, Consultant EXIT Options, entrepreneurial mothers, MEinc, single parent l single mother, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind
Easier said than done, right?
As you know, we often have a lot to deal with in our daily lives and quite often, all at the same time. Many find it hard to balance business with the demands of raising a family. The good news is that striking a balance between the two is not as hard to do as you may think.
In recent times, many entrepreneurial mothers have opted for freelancing and consulting over salaried employment, as did I when I started. Some of you may have decided to quit employment in favour of starting your own businesses while others may have lost the jobs they had. Being a Consultant and Freelancing offers the flexibility of pursuing business aspirations and/or careers while still fulfilling family responsibilities.
By the same token, thanks to setting up your consultancy by freelancing, wanna-be entrepreneurial mothers no longer have to end businesses or careers once they decide to start a family.
Although starting a personal business is thoroughly satisfying, it comes with a fair share of challenges. Savvy entrepreneurial mothers learn how to meet these challenges while expanding their businesses and raising a healthy family.
Simple, general business tips for working mothers:
- Effective time management.
Mothers who run their own businesses while bringing up children need to develop effective time management skills. This calls for prioritisation of tasks and drawing up a time-schedule to ensure all important or urgent functions are dealt with first. It is also important to learn how to juggle or outsource various roles to make sure everything is done on time. The one key requirement with this is discipline!
Another vital skill for working mothers is learning how to set well defined boundaries between their businesses and their home lives. The boundary can be as simple as designating a separate room in the house as the office. Boundaries help to ensure that business duties do not spill over or interfere with running the home and vice versa. They also help the mother to make the mental switch from homemaker to businesswoman.
- Outsourcing unnecessary tasks
An entrepreneurial mother who wishes to make the most of her business should outsource some of the business functions to external third parties. This would assist in freeing up valuable time and resources to concentrate on business growth and expansion. Outsourcing also allows a businesswoman to complete tasks in a short period, leaving more time for her important business tasks and her family.
- Working with umbrella companies
Working mothers who do hire subcontractors might find it time-consuming to deal with payroll issues. This can also be the case when being subcontractors, i.e. when freelancing themselves. This is where an umbrella company comes in handy. These companies act as intermediaries between the hiring organisations and subcontractors. They effectively take over administrative and payroll duties, reducing the strain on entrepreneurs.
Additionally, they make all the necessary tax and insurance deductions from the subcontractors’ salaries, saving business owners the hassle of calculating those for themselves.
Finally, mothers who run businesses need to know how to manage their finances, both for their business’s and their family’s sake. Other than hiring accountants or financial officers to handle the accounts, a business owner should take the initiative of learning how to embrace cost-effective methods and streamline business expenditure.
Sometimes the umbrella companies will offer to do this for them. Alternatively, there are a number of Online options which may suit.
Entrepreneurial mothers also ought to seek out how to take advantage of any available tax breaks, reliefs or credits they are entitled to receive.
Having just spent the Christmas break reworking the entrepreneurial mothers® Online Mothers Group, it reminded me of just how important getting these tips right, as they are for you. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Online Mothers Group, drop me a line at info@theentrepreneurialmother.com
by theEmother | Jan 14, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, Consultant EXIT Options, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, Online Strategy incl. www, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
abstract money tree…
Back in April 2013, I asked the following questions… I wanted to check in and see how you’re going with mapping your exit?
- Are you currently working as an independent practitioner? a consultant? a freelancer?
- Is this how you see the rest of your working life playing out?
- Have you given any thought to your Exit Strategy?
- Have you even wondered whether you could have one?
- Are you saying to yourself “what have I got to sell anyway?”
Time we had a chat…
The differing business models of which I spoke have taken shape very nicely. They enable a fair and equitable option for Consultants and Freelancers alike to Exit in a far more strategic way. No surprise there’s the element on the Online leverage as well.
This is especially important for those who understand they have value in what they do, in what they’ve done but have NO idea how to extract it post the personal presence, other than a potential trade sale, which will not glean much if it’s solely reliant on the one person, as you know!
Happy to explore the options, as appropriate… you just need to contact me.
I’ll also take a bit of time exploring these options as we go too…
by theEmother | Jan 13, 2014 | business ideas & thinking, Consultant EXIT Options, entrepreneurial mothers, MEinc, single parent l single mother, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind
“Social psychologists have determined that primitive humans, in their struggle for existence, developed the ability to judge other people almost instantly along two categories of perception, which are known as warmth and competence. In fact, all humans have a primal, unconscious ability to make these two crucial judgments with a high degree of speed and accuracy: What are the intentions of this person toward me? And how capable are they of carrying out those intentions? […]
We apply these warmth and competence judgments in all our relationships, including those involving commercial transactions. Companies and brands have the same capacity to stir up these hard-wired primal passions as people do, and we engage with them on the same basis. We experience feelings of affection and admiration for companies and brands that treat us well, and we feel insult or even rage when we believe that one of those companies has given us poor service or cheated us. […]
Unfortunately, our studies show that most companies and brands fall well short of customer expectations on both warmth and competence. They are seen as selfish, greedy, and concerned only with their own immediate gain. The constant pressure for faster and larger profits raises the question of whether most of them can ever meet the standards for trust that we all unconsciously expect from everyone we interact with.”
By Chris Malone for ChangeThis.com
by theEmother | Dec 20, 2013 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, BUY a Business, Buy a Mother of a Business, Buying2give.com, Consultant EXIT Options, entrepreneur trends (past & present!), entrepreneurial mothers, events, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, growth by acquisition, how to sell a business, inspiring women, MEinc, Online Strategy incl. www, political offerings, Sell Your Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, Sellability Score, single parent l single mother, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, TEMplate, TEMpting, the business model, women in business case studies
May your stocking be filled with all your little heart desires.
Ho ho ho!
ps: 2014 is shaping up to be a ripper… look forward to sharing it with you
