If you have being having serious doubts about how you can continue with your business (for whatever reasons), then please let me help.
The Happy NewS Year is a month in and maybe your business is not or will not be performing as intended. And that sinking feeling is slowly but surely setting in…
STOP RIGHT THERE!
Talk to me.
Let’s go through what you have and work out what your options are. This is gift to you, you only have to ask.
Completely confidently.
Make contact via the various ways noted on the site or email me at info@theentrepreneurialmother.com.au
Don’t be shy. Don’t be proud. Don’t stick your head in the sand. We’ll just start by talking. Truly…
Trying to sell your business on your own, having not done it before, can be fraught with danger!
As the old adage goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know!“. There’s always the chance that you luck your way through, and all hail to you if you manage to do so.
But what I know for sure is, as an experienced Business Broker, is that most do not sell, or sell well.
You (as the owner) eventually use a Broker after trying unsuccessfully.
In many cases, all that’s unfortunately been achieved is that it takes a whole lot longer to sell and by potentially taken your eye off the business ball, the numbers may then reflect the distraction (which is not good for sale purposes)…
So why consider using a Business Broker from the outset?
We are licensed to assist in the buying and selling of businesses, at the State level
We have insights, gleaned over many years, into specific industries or type of businesses
We maintain confidentiality of buyer/seller
We act as a buffer between the buyer and the seller
We have a working knowledge of accounting, financing, legal, marketing etc to avoid unnecessary surprises in a transaction
We play the role of the “conductor of the orchestra” and even the “project manager”.
If trying yourself is what you want to do first, then watch out for these common mistakes to avoid when exiting. Not:
Focusing on the bigger picture
Doing your own research of your own market
Thinking through the “risks” – almost impossible to be “risk free”
Entertaining a willingness to accept risks •Example: Special conditions that can “kill the deal”
Regarding the probability of things going wrong
Reviewing the seriousness of quantifiable damage
Budgeting for upfront costs
Adapting “generic due diligence checklist/template” to your needs or size of the transaction •Example: Using a checklist suitable for multi-million dollar enterprise on small businesses
Deeming it worth the extra expense to seek input from accountants and solicitors with your particular industry expertise, while maintaining an existing relationship with your accountant or solicitor.
Being sure of who or what professional to seek appropriate advise from
Understanding the limitations of what the professional advisors can provide
Giving appropriate instruction to the professionals engaged
The following are 5 tips to help enhance the sale price of your business… by answering these 5 questions, you are seeing your business popping on Buyers Goggles.
Is it:
Profitable?
Renovate-able?
Automate-able?
Scalable?
Saleable? (i.e. not revolving around you)
If the answer is no to any of these, then you/we have got work to do. Contact me.
Warren Buffett famously invests in businesses that have what he calls a protective ‘moat’ around them – one that inoculates them from competition and allows them to control their pricing.
Big companies lock out their competitors by out-slugging them in capital infrastructure investments, but small businesses have to be smarter about how they defend their patch. Here are four ways to deepen and widen the protective moat around your business:
Create an army of defenders
Ecstatic customers act as defenders against other competitors entering your market, a factor that has enabled many businesses to defend their market share in their market.
Get certified
Is there a certification program that you could take to differentiate your business? For example, a RTO (Registered Training Organisation). It was a lot of paperwork and training, but the certification process acts as a barrier against other people jumping into the market and competing in the same way.
Get your customers to integrate
Is there a way you can get your customers to integrate your product or service into their operations? Can you offer your customers training in how to use what you sell to make your company stickier?
For example, like how you use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Once the CRM of choice is creating a weekly sales funnel in a CRM platform, it harder to convince you to move to another. That’s what you want your product or service to achieve.
Become a verb
Think back to the last time you looked for a recipe. You probably ‘googled’ it. Part of Google’s competitive shield is that the company name has become a verb. Now every time someone refers to searching for something online, it reinforces the competitive position of a single company.
Is there a way you could control the vocabulary people use to refer to your category or specialty?
Widening your protective moat triggers a virtuous cycle: differentiation leads to having control over your pricing, which allows for healthier margins, which in turn lead to greater profitability and the cash to further differentiate your offering.
Which makes it even more Saleable when the time comes…
Interested in knowing how your business rates at this point in time?
Opt-in (over there ->) and receive the TEMpter which will take you through a checklist to ascertain just how ready your business is to sell right now…
The powerhouse of motivating mum’s, Alli Price, invited me to speak on one of her recent Google Hangouts. Once I got the technology sorted (!), it was all systems go and it is now proudly displaying on her youtube channel. Please, go check it out…
http://www.motivatingmum.com It’s great launching and running a business but your eye should always be on the prize – selling your business successfully! Check out these great tips from Denise Hall, The Entrepreneurial Mother
On this one I talk a lot about FREEDOM.
Why did you start your business in the first place?
How well is that working for you?
What are you going to do about it if it is not working out as planned?
Imagine, as business owner, you are about to review the good, the bad and the ugly of your business. Will you be happy with what is revealed? Is it Saleable?
Here are some questions to ask yourself in evaluating your business:
Is the business in great shape – growing and profitable?
Is there a management team in place or is it completely reliant on you?
Can the business continue to operate smoothly without you?
Are there systems and procedures in place to ensure everything works post handover as it does today?
Are the financial statements clean, excluding personal expenses?
Are the agreements and contracts with clients, employees, contractors and suppliers in place? Are they up to date?
Is the business as recession-proof as possible?
Is there potential to use the existing business as a platform to grow, franchise or buy other businesses?
Do you know what your business is worth in today’s market?
Are you ready to hand it over? What will you do next?
To continue reading, this link will take you to the complete article… enjoy!
Recently, this article was published on the Australia Small Business Blog, with my contribution focused predominately on the benefits of using a Business Broker, like my good self:
“If you are going to be dealing with a business broker, make sure they are licensed with the relevant State body. The Australian Institute of Business Brokers (of which I’m a member!) has links to the various State licensing authorities. When exiting your business, you should seek some professional advice – however even an accountant or solicitor have limitations on the scope of the guidance they can offer around the valuation and sale of a business.
A qualified business broker can help in many ways. They will prepare you for the due-diligence that a buyer conducts. They know that a buyer or investor besides looking at the current profitability of the business, evaluates the extent to which it can run independently of the seller, as well as examining the scale-ability of the business. In other words, it’s capacity to actually handle growth and maintain profitability with any increase in the volume of sales generated”
