Is Your Business YOU Proof?

Is Your Business You-Proof?

Whether you’re planning to sell your company sometime soon or sometime in the future; now is the time to ensure that your business isn’t all about you. From the latest Sellability Score* research involving 2300 companies from around the globe, here are two key factors that are linked to the probability of getting an offer for your business when it’s time to sell.

#1: You’re almost twice as likely to get an offer if your business can survive the “hit-by-a-bus” test.

If you were out of action for three months and unable to work, would your business keep running smoothly? The more your staff and customers need you, the less valuable your company will be to a potential acquirer. One good way to start making your business more independent is to begin spending less time at the office.  Start by not working evenings or weekends, and don’t reply if employees call. Once they get the picture, the best ones will start making more decisions independently. The shift will also expose your weakest employees, the ones that need training or that need to find another job. As for you, it might come as a shock to find out how much your business has become such an essential part of you; but if you’re going to sell your business one day, you need to look at it as an inanimate economic engine, not as something that defines who you are.

#2: Companies with a management team (as opposed to a sole manager) are getting offers at almost twice the rate.

If you don’t have a management team, hiring a 2iC is a good first move. A second-in-command can help you balance the demands of running your company and advance your targeted exit time.

Here’s a four-step plan for hiring a 2iC, thanks to advice from Silicon-Valley-based Bob Sutton, author of Good Boss, Bad Boss. 

1: Identify someone internally. “The research is clear,” says Sutton. “Unless things are totally screwed up, internal candidates have a strong tendency to outperform external leaders.”

2: Give your 2iC prospect(s) a special project, one that allows them to demonstrate their leadership skills to you and the rest of your team. If your candidate or one of your candidates excels, it will be clear to your team why he or she was selected.

3: Communicate your choice. If you pick a 2iC from an internal pool, explain your choice to the rest of your team. At the same time, wrap your arms around those you passed over and make it clear how much you value their contribution.

4: Shift from manager to coach. “The transition from manager to coach is a gradual evolution where the goal is to ask more questions, spend more time listening, and spend less time talking and directing,” says Sutton.

Please leave any comments in the box below!!

How would your business score in the sellability stakes?  take this 14min quize to find out – Sellability Score

Follow me on Twitter : @vabizcoach

James Lawson is a Business Transformation Coach and author located in Fairfax, Northern Virginia. He works with and helps business owners TRANSFORM their businesses from where they are to where they ultimately want to be.

How To Increase The Value of Your Business Through Recurring Revenue

One of the biggest factors in determining the value of your company is the extent to which an acquirer can see where your sales will come from in the future. If you’re in a business that starts from scratch each month, the value of your company will be lower than if you can demonstrate the source or sources of your future revenue.  A recurring revenue stream acts like a powerful pair of binoculars for you – and your potential acquirer – to see months or years into the future; creating an annuity stream is the best way to increase the desirability and value of your company.

The surer your future revenue is, the higher the value the market will place on your business. Here is the hierarchy of recurring revenue presented from least to most valuable in the eyes of an acquirer.

No. 6: Consumables (e.g., shampoo, toothpaste)

These are disposable items that customers purchase regularly, but they have no particular motivation to repurchase from one seller or to be brand loyal.

No. 5: Sunk-money consumables (e.g., razor blades)

This is where the customer first makes an investment in a platform. For example, once you buy a razor you have a vested interest in buying compatible blades.

No. 4: Renewable subscriptions (e.g., magazines)

Typically, subscriptions are paid for in advance, creating a positive cash-flow cycle.

No. 3: Sunk-money renewable subscriptions (e.g., the Bloomberg Terminal)

Traders and money managers swear by their Bloomberg Terminal; and they have to first buy or lease the terminal in order to subscribe to Bloomberg’s financial information.

 

No. 2: Automatic-renewal subscriptions (e.g., document storage)

When you store documents with Iron Mountain, you are automatically charged a fee each month as long as you continue to use the service.

No. 1: Contracts (e.g., wireless phones)

As much as we may despise being tied to them, wireless companies have mastered the art of recurring revenue. Many give customers free phones if they lock into a two or three-year contract.

When you put your business up for sale, you’re selling the future, not just the present. So if you don’t have a recurring revenue stream, consider how best to create one, given your type of business. It will increase the predictability of your revenue, the value of your business, and the interest of potential acquirers as they look to the future.

Please leave any comments in the box below!!

How would your business score in the sellability stakes?  take this 14min quize to find out – Sellability Score

Follow me on Twitter : @vabizcoach

James Lawson is a Business Transformation Coach and author located in Fairfax, Northern Virginia. He works with and helps business owners TRANSFORM their businesses from where they are to where they ultimately want to be.