by theEmother | Apr 29, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, BUY a Business, Buy a Mother of a Business, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, growth by acquisition, Sellability Score, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
www.sellabilityscore.com.au
Further to my post of yesterday, lets explore the first of the elements to gaining a more favourable “Sellability Score” i.e. a more saleable asset. That is, “operating in a growth industry by being in the “right place at right time”.
It goes without saying that you want your business to be in a growth industry! But what if it’s not?
Maybe it was when you started but the market has since shifted the goal posts. As unfair as that is, it happens. So what do you do?
Find the growth in the industry you know and rework your business accordingly, in the quickest possible time frame…
If you want an asset that someone else can see themselves running into the future, sitting at the helm, then you really have no choice. Actually you do and that is to sell it for what the market values it at today, with the perception being that there is no real potential. By doing so, you’re then relying on finding a buyer who knows how they will use it and turn it around, but they won’t of course pay you a premium for that privilege.
For example, some will say that the print industry is in decline. And for the same some, they may be right. But printing is still being done isn’t it? So who needs it done and what do they need done regularly? Answer these questions and your reworked business model starts to take shape, doesn’t it?
Still not sure how to broach this? Google it!
Let your fingers do the researching and find out what’s happening.
Ask around.
Talk to your colleagues.
Attend events.
There will be something you can do that not many others are able to do and more often then not, that is relationship based. What relationships have you built over the time that have relied in you in the past, enabling it to be easier to rely on you in the future. Want to know what they want? ASK them.
Yes, the human factor strikes again!
Maybe there’s something you can buy that will catapult your business out of its obscurity and right into current operating procedures. You just need to know what you’re looking for and how you’re going to fund it.
Shake your findings together, give them a good stir and see what wonderful cocktail you can come up with your the future of your business. You might just surprise yourself..
by theEmother | Apr 28, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, EXIT execution, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, 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, the business model
sellabilityscore.com.au
Based on the latest worldwide trends tracked from typical users of $1mil – $20mil in revenue businesses of the Sellability Score Tracker, reporting for Q1 2014, the following is highlighted:
The sale of a business demands higher offers when it is under management and of a larger size.
The average multiple for such beasts is 3.61.
To facilitate a premium for your business at sale time, these apply:
- operating in growth industry i.e. being in the “right place at right time”
- geographical scalability is an option
- less ongoing customisation is required i.e. there is a standard formula used for all clients
- size matters; the larger company the better = past $3mil in revenue gets better multiples
- under management, not run by owner
- growing companies i.e. showing a growth rate of 30% or more
- monopoly control is obvious i.e. what’s the barrier to entry, how is it actually unique
- score 80 or above
In the time we at Hurst Partners having been running the Sellability Score questionnaire, we are yet to see a score of 80 or above… seems like there’s a lot of work to be done to use your business as a saleable asset.
I’ll go more into detail for each of these over the next posts…
by theEmother | Apr 25, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, buy | sell websites, BUY a Business, 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, 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…
So this week saw me sitting with an Accountant, a Financial Planner and their clients, a Couple, talking all things “Sellability Score”.
Typically, these Small Business Owners had got some of it right and had neglected other parts that may have contributed more to the ongoing positioning of the business. Yet again, they didn’t know what they didn’t know!
Nor had they ever had their business dissected and presented in the way I did it on Wednesday i.e. with my Buyers Goggles on. The questions I asked, the altered slant on the same construct, the “salesmanship” (for use of a better word) around the business they had before them and what its future could hold from an outsiders perspective.
At intervals, I could almost detect renewed excitement that wasn’t there when we first started.
It will be interesting to see what comes of the meeting, once they finish talking to their “A” team and sleep on it over the weekend…
GOT A WEBSITE FOR SALE?
If you want to do sell a website or you’re looking to buy a website (excellent bolt-on possibilities), please email me at dhall@businessbrokers.com.au
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
4 interested parties, with an update of the IM being done and a reenergised campaign. Still waiting on the revised figures. Maybe they don’t look as healthy as first intimated.
BS49 Home Help…
Fact and logic have been presented on both sides. The next step is to sit down and nut it out, especially if the potential Buyer is brave enough to do so. Next week should see this move rather quickly.
BS53 Balloons! and all that goes with them…
Going to touch base with competitors now and see what can be generated.
Such corporate appeal, so untapped.
BS59 Niche Service Provider in Building Trade
via Sellability Score. It’s all systems go! IM has been drawn up and in the process of being finalised. A advertisement has been drafted. Once signed-off, we go to market.
BS60 Advertising and Events agency
(via Sellability Score)
Authority signed. IM finalised, adding in updated numbers. New website good to go. Almost ready to pull the trigger!
BS72 Niche Bookseller and Training Provider
Authority signed. Draft IM in process.
Training provider
Assisting colleague by introducing the perfect buyer for his selling client. This should be a no-brainer, as long as the vendor is sensible, which is not always something we can guarantee! And this one is being particularly unhelpful so the Buyer will have to decide what it’s worth to their business to buy it as opposed to what it’s worth… be interesting to see where this ends up.
It’s all happening….
Others I’ve talked too.. are you interested in?
- a particular event
- sales and services
- magazine
- specialty bed linen
- facilities management
- speciality giftware
- technology reseller
- specialty children’s products x 2
- overseas medical procedures
If yes, let me know as these revealed themselves…
Exploring the Sale Option?
GET YOUR SCORE…
Onwards and Upwards!
by theEmother | Apr 17, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
Back to looking for is an “inch-wide, mile-deep” niche. That means it needs to be something very specific, that lots of people like your clients are looking for. Something they obsess about or would if they knew about them.
So, what do you know about your current clients that you can use to inspire you to come up with new products…
If you’re still at a loss, you can always ask them!
Why not survey them, make some calls, get a third party to interview a few to find out a thing or two.
Mind you that said, allegedly Steve Jobs was reported in saying, “the iPhone would never have been invented if we had listened to the focus groups”.
This is a great way to find out what your clients wants and what may also work in the greater market, even if you have no idea how to do anything about it what they’re telling you just yet. BUT – you can use it to come up with new ideas. And then do some strategising in how to convert what they’re telling you into something saleable for your clients.
Ideally adding beautifully to the profit. After all, that’s what buyers are looking for…
by theEmother | Apr 16, 2014 | build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, exit strategy, Finish Unfinished Business, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
Really? I hear you cry…
Yes, really. Instead of selling more things to a few customers, concentrate on selling a few things to a lot of customers.
What you’re after is “an inch wide, mile deep” niche.
In other words, you’re after a very specific product/service that a defined group of people care deeply about, enough to put their hand in their pocket.
For example, the entrepreneurial mother specialises in getting Business Owners out, that’s all.
The problem is, it can be hard to find niches and/or new ways to keep the business growing.
You need to always be on the lookout for ideas and opportunities.
There are many ways of doing that, using Google Trends and Google Alerts for example.
Some other sources of inspiration include:
* hobbies, and those of family or friends
* work
* personal interests and problems
* magazines and newspapers
* TV shows, especially current affairs or niche channels
You can fall into the reverse i.e. “the inch deep, mile wide” trap innocently enough: you do great work and a customer wants more of you. But it’s a trap that will eventually choke off your growth. The way out is to focus on selling less stuff to more people.
