The very best time to sell your business is when someone wants to buy it. While it can be tempting to continue to grow your business forever – particularly when things are going well — that decision comes with a significant downside.

Take a look at the story of Rand Fishkin who started his entrepreneurial journey when he joined his mother’s marketing agency as a partner:

When Fishkin realized how much his Mom’s customers were struggling to get Google to display their company in a search, he immersed himself in the emerging field of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

He began writing a blog called SEO Moz, which led to an SEO consulting and software company. By 2007, Moz was generating revenue of $850,000 a year when Fishkin decided to drop consulting to become solely a software business.

The company began to grow 100% per year and by 2010, Moz was generating around $650,000 in revenue each month, attracting the attention of Brian Halligan, co-founder of marketing software giant HubSpot.

HubSpot wanted to buy Moz and was offering $25 million of cash and HubSpot stock – an offer almost five times Moz’s $5.7 million of revenue in its last complete financial year.

But Fishkin wasn’t satisfied. He believed a fast growth Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company was worth four times future revenue and was confident Moz would hit $10 million by the end of that year.

Fishkin counter offered, saying he would be willing to accept $40 million. HubSpot declined.

New Plans Ahead

Instead of selling Moz, Fishkin raised a round of venture capital and started to diversify away from SEO tools into a broader set of marketing offerings. The further Moz veered away from its core in SEO, the more money his business began to lose.

By 2014, Moz was in full crisis mode, and Fishkin had begun suffering from a bout of depression. He decided to step down as CEO, describing his resignation as a “lot of sadness, a heap of regrets and a smattering of resentment.”

Fishkin became a minority shareholder in a company he no longer controlled where the venture capitalists had preferred rights in a liquidity event.

A Lesson Learned

In the ensuing years since turning down Halligan’s offer, HubSpot went public on the New York Stock Exchange and had been worth nearly 20 times as much.

Fishkin revealed that today, his liquid net worth is $800,000 – much of which he was about to spend on elder care for his grandparents. The Moz stock he holds may or may not have value after the venture capitalist get their preferred return. At the same time, Fishkin estimated HubSpot’s offer of $25 million in cash and HubSpot stock would now be worth more than $100 million (based on the increased value of HubSpot’s stock).

Fishkin’s tale is a cautionary reminder why the best time to sell your company is when someone wants to buy it – a story that is shared in his book Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World.

What if an offer was made for your business today? Would you be ready to sell? Would you regret if you said no?  Frank Mancieri & GT Growth & Transition Strategies can help you prepare for the day an offer is presented and help you increase the value of your company until that time.  Call Frank at (401) 651-1585 or email him at frank@gtGrowth.com.

Read More

If you were to draw a picture that visually represents your role in your business, what would it look like? Are you at the top of an organizational chart, or stuck in the middle of your business like a hub in a bicycle wheel? 

The Hub & Spoke model is a drive that shows how dependent your business is on you for survival. The Hub & Spoke model can only be as strong as the hub. The moment the hub is overwhelmed, the entire system fails. Acquirers generally avoid these types of managed businesses because they understand the dangers of buying a company too dependent on the owner.

Here’s a list of the 5 top warning signs that show your business could be too dependent on you.

1. You are the only signing authority

Most business owners give themselves final authority… all the time. But what happens if you’re away for a couple of days and an important supplier needs to be paid? Consider giving an employee signing authority for an amount you’re comfortable with, and then change the mailing address on your bank statements so they are mailed to your home (not the office). That way, you can review everything coming out of your account and make sure the privilege isn’t being abused. 

2. Your revenue is flat when compared to last year’s 

Flat revenue from one year to the next can be a sign you are a hub in a hub-and-spoke model. Like forcing water through a hose, you have only so much capacity. No matter how efficient you are, every business dependent on its owner reaches capacity at some point. Consider narrowing your product and service line by eliminating technically complex offers that require your personal involvement, and instead focus on selling fewer things to more people. 

3. Your vacations… don’t feel like vacations

If you spend your vacations dispatching orders from your mobile, it’s time to cut the tether. Start by taking one day off and seeing how your company does without you. Build systems for failure points. Work up to a point where you can take a few weeks off without affecting your business. 

4. You know all of your customers by first name 

It’s good to have the pulse of your market, but knowing every single customer by first name can be a sign that you’re relying too heavily on your personal relationships being the glue that holds your business together. Consider replacing yourself as a rain maker by hiring a sales team, and as inefficient as it seems, have a trusted employee shadow you when you meet customers so over time your customers get used to dealing with someone else. 

5. You get cc’d on more than five e-mails a day 

Employees, customers and suppliers constantly cc’ing you on e-mails can be a sign that they are looking for your tacit approval or that you have not made clear when you want to be involved in their work. Start by asking your employees to stop using the cc line in an e-mail; ask them to add you to the “to” line if you really must be made aware of something – and only if they need a specific action from you. 

Once you understand how dependent your business is on you, you can take action to create a business that not only can exist, but can thrive without you.  This is one important factor in assessing the value of a business.  To learn more about this and other factors affecting the value of the your business, please contact Frank Mancieri, Chief Growth Advisor, GT Growth & Transition Strategies, LLC, (401) 651-1585, frank@gtGrowth.com, www.gtGrowth.com.

Read More

Run Your Private Company Like It’s Public Small businesses often operate as if their sole purpose is to fund the owner’s lifestyle, but the most valuable companies are run with financial rigor. You may be years from wanting to sell, but starting to formalize your operations now will help you predict the future of your business. Then, when it does come time to sell, you’ll fetch more for what you’ve built because acquirers pay the most for companies when they are less risky. There’s nothing that gives a buyer more confidence than clean books and proper record keeping.

Jay Steinfeld is a great example of how to run a business like a public company. Steinfeld studied Accounting at the University of Texas and joined KPMG after college. His wife owned a small retail store selling blinds and window treatments. The store was successful, but by 1994, Steinfeld had noticed a little Seattle-based outfit that was trying to hawk books online. This company with the peculiar name “Amazon.com” started to succeed in selling books online and Steinfeld wondered if he could get consumers to buy blinds online.

Soon after, Blinds.com was born.

Unlike many of the first-generation online companies that were run with little financial controls, Steinfeld grew Blinds.com like an accountant. He was determined to run his business with the same rigor as a publicly listed company. He built an experienced management team and took the unusual step of assembling an outside board of directors even though Blinds.com was private and Steinfeld owned all of the stock.

The board met quarterly and each of Steinfeld’s senior managers were asked to prepare and deliver formal presentations to his board. Steinfeld hired a big four firm to complete a full audit of his financials each year even though all he needed to satisfy Uncle Sam was a simple tax return.

By 2014, Blinds.com had grown to 175 employees and, at more than $100 million in revenue, was the largest online retailer of blinds in America. Even though Home Depot had close to $90 billion in sales at the time, Blinds.com was outperforming them in its tiny niche, which – coupled with their fastidious bookkeeping — made Blinds.com absolutely irresistible to Home Depot. On January 23, 2014, Home Depot announced its acquisition of Blinds.com.

Running your business like it’s public will make it more predictable as you grow and ultimately a whole lot more attractive when it comes time to sell.

If you would like to learn more about how to run your company like it’s a public company and other ways to increase your company value, please contact Frank Mancieri, (401) 651-1585, frank@gtGrowth.com, www.gtGrowth.com. Thank you for reading this newsletter!

Read More

If you’re a service provider, it can be difficult to separate the service from the provider. Your customers might demand you, which means you can’t scale your business beyond the number of hours you’re willing to work.

In the absence of a point of differentiation, offering generic services leads consumers to evaluate the people doing the work. Referring to your service in a generic way e.g. “graphic design services”, or “lawn care services”, means you’re lumping yourself in with the other providers of the same service.  A quick scan of your LinkedIn profile will reveal that you are likely an expert in your industry which means prospective customers will often demand you, rather than your underlings.

The secret to overcoming this dilemma is to “productize” your service. This involves marketing your service as is if it were a thing. When people start buying the thing, rather than the people providing it, you can grow well beyond the hours in your day. 

Proctor & Gamble is the granddaddy of product marketing, so grab a tube of Crest toothpaste and follow their process for productizing your service:

1. Name it

Crest is the brand name and it is always written in the same font. Having a consistent name avoids the generic, commoditized category label of “toothpaste.” Do you have a catchy name for your service?

• Write instructions for use

Crest gives customers instructions for best teeth cleaning results. If you want your service to feel more like a product, include instructions for getting the most out of your service.

• Provide a caution

The Crest bottle tells you that the product is “harmful if swallowed.” Provide a caution label or a set of “terms and conditions” to explain things to avoid when using your service.

• Barcode it

The barcode includes pricing information. Publishing a price and being consistent will make your service seem more like a product.

• Copyright it

P&G includes a very small symbol on its bottle to make it clear the company is protecting its ideas. Do you Trademark the terms you use to describe your service?

Productizing your service is the first step to separating your service from its provider and the key to getting your service company to run without you. Ultimately, this will help increase the value of your business.

Read More

The value of your business comes down to a single equation: what multiple of your profit is an acquirer willing to pay for your company.

profit × multiple = value

Most owners believe the best way to improve the value of their company is to make more profit – so, they find ways to sell more and more. As experts in their industry, it’s natural that customers want to personally engage with them, which means spending more time on the phones, on the road and face-to-face to increase sales.

With this model, a company can slightly grow, but the owner’s life becomes much more difficult: Customers demand more time and service, employees begin to burn out, and soon it feels like there are not enough hours in the day. Revenue flat lines, health can suffer and relationships get strained – all from working too much. Does this feel familiar?

If you’re spending too much time and effort on increasing your profit, you could find yourself diminishing the overall value of your business. The solution? Focus on driving your multiple (the other number in the equation above). Driving your multiple will ultimately help you grow your company value, improve your profit and reclaim your freedom.

What Drives Your Multiple

Differentiated Market Position

Acquirers only buy what they could not easily create, so expect to be paid more if you have close to a monopoly on what you sell and/or are one of the few companies who have been licensed to provide the specific product or service in your market.

Lots of Runway

Most founders think market share is something to strive for, but in the eyes of an acquirer, it can decrease the value of your business because you’ve already sopped up most of the opportunity.

Recurring Revenue

An acquirer is going to want to know how your business will do once you leave – recurring revenue assures them that there will still be a business once the founder hits eject.

Financials

The size and profitability of your company will matter to investors. So will the quality of your bookkeeping.

The You Factor

The most valuable businesses can thrive without their owners. The inverse is also true because the most valuable businesses are masters of independence.

So, if you see yourself in any of these scenarios, it’s time to not just focus on profits, but to also focus on the risk factors that help drive business value.  If you’d like assistance in identifying the ways your company can improve its multiple (the other “number”), please contact Frank Mancieri, (401) 651-1585 or frank@gtGrowth.com for a free initial consultation.

Read More

Companies like Netflix, UrthBox, and Amazon are leveraging the subscription business model to discover what their customers want next.
In a traditional business, the customer buys your product or service once, and it is up to you to try to convince them to buy again in the future. You often have no idea if they liked what they bought and what would have made them buy more, so you’re left having to guess or invest in costly market research.
In a subscription business, you have “automatic customers” who agree to purchase from you into the future, as long as you keep providing your service or product.

Long-term, direct relationship
Unlike a transactional business model, subscribers are opting into a long-term, direct relationship with you. You know who your customers are and which of your products and services they use, so you have a much better understanding of their preferences than an industry competitor relying on a traditional business model.

A subscription business gives you a direct relationship with your customers and an ability to track their preferences in real time. It’s how Netflix knows which television series to produce next and how Amazon figures out what products their Prime subscribers are dreaming of buying next.
But you don’t have to be a sophisticated media giant or billion-dollar e-tailer to track customer preferences through the subscription model. Look at subscription-based ContractorSelling.com, run by Joe Crisara. In return for a fee of $89 per month, you can subscribe and get information, tips, and advice on how to run a successful contracting business. Plumbers and electricians subscribe to ContractorSelling.com for Crisara’s insight, and as they start to read articles and contribute to the forums, Crisara can see what’s on his subscribers’ minds.

That’s important because Crisara also makes money from conferences. Seeing which articles are most popular and controversial among his members gives Crisara insight that helps when he’s picking speakers and topics for his live events.
UrthBox

For $20 a month, UrthBox offers a monthly selection of hand-picked, natural, GMO-free goods to try. UrthBox asks subscribers what they think of the products in each box and rewards them when they respond or refer a friend. Each referral earns points that the subscriber can then use in the online store.
UrthBox then offers the manufacturers of the samples a custom online portal where marketers can see how UrthBox subscribers rated each product. UrthBox uses the data to select merchandise for its online store and prominently displays the products customers like best.

One of the hidden benefits of turning customers into subscribers is the ongoing, direct nature of a subscription relationship, which means you can watch and ask your customers for feedback, ensuring they stay subscribers and buy more over time.

Creating a recurring revenue model for your business is a great way to increase company value. If you’d like some help thinking through some strategies, please contact Frank Mancieri at (401) 651-1585 or frank@gtgrowth.com.

Read More

One of the biggest mistake owners make in selling their company is being lured into a proprietary deal.

The Definition of a Proprietary Deal

Acquirers land a proprietary deal (or “prop deal”) when they convince owners to sell their businesses without creating a competitive marketplace. Acquirers running a proprietary deal know they don’t have any competition and tend to make weaker offers with more punitive terms because they know nobody else is bidding.

Many founders become the target of a proprietary deal without even knowing they have been duped. First, someone senior from the acquiring company approaches the founder, complimenting them on their business. The acquirer suggests lunch, and then high-level financials are exchanged. Soon, the owner starts going down a path that is difficult to come back from.

As the parties in a proprietary deal get to know one another, founders often share information with the acquirer that puts them in a compromised negotiation position. The interactions are set up as friendly exchanges between two industry leaders, but many founders reveal key facts in these discussions that end up being used against them when negotiations turn serious. Business owners also become more emotionally committed to selling the more resources they invest in the process and the more time they spend thinking—perhaps dreaming—of what it would mean to sell their business.

How to Avoid Getting Taken In By a Proprietary Deal

Savvy sellers avoid the proprietary deal by creating a competitive process for their company. Take for example Dan Martell, the founder of Clarity.fm, among other companies. When Martell decided to sell Clarity, he knew the likely buyer was one of five New York-based companies. Instead of negotiating with one, he invited all five to an event he hosted in New York. The five CEOs, all of whom knew one another, saw a room full of their competitors and realized that if Clarity went on the market, they would have to out-bid the other buyers in that room.

Hosting the event was Martell’s way of communicating to all the potential buyers that a proprietary deal was off the table and that if they wanted to buy Clarity, they would have to compete for it.

It’s flattering to receive a call from an executive at a company you respect. Just know that if you accept their invitation of lunch, you run the risk of becoming the latest casualty of the proprietary deal.  If you’d like to get serious about planning and preparing for a future sale of your business, please contact Frank Mancieri, frank@GTgrowth.com, 401-651-1585.

Read More

If you’re wondering what your business might be worth to an acquirer, there is a simple calculation you can use.

Let’s call it “The Build vs. Buy Equation”. 

At some point, every acquirer does the math and calculates how much it would cost to re-create what you’ve built. If an acquirer figures they could buy your business for less than they would spend on both the hard and soft costs of re-deploying their employees to build a competitive product, then they will be inclined to acquire yours. If they think it would be less costly to create it themselves, they are likely to choose to compete instead.

The key to ensuring that what you have is difficult to replicate is focusing on a single product or service and building on your competitive point of differentiation. When you create a product that is unique and pour all of your resources into continuing to differentiate it from the pack, you can dictate terms, because re-creating your business becomes harder the more you focus on one thing.

The worst strategy is to offer a wide range of services and products only loosely differentiated from others on the market. Any acquirer will rightly assume they can set up shop to compete with you by simply undercutting your prices for a period of time and driving you out of business.

C-Labs Focuses On Building an Irresistible Product

Chris Muench started C-Labs in 2008 to go after the burgeoning opportunities presented by the Internet-of-Things (IOT). He began by writing custom software applications that allowed one machine to talk to another. In 2014, he got the industrial giant TRUMPF International to acquire 30% of C-Labs, which gave him the cash to transform his service offering into a single product.

By the end of 2016, Muench’s product was showing early signs of gaining traction but C-Labs was running out of money.

In the end, TRUMPF acquired C-Labs in a seven-figure deal that could stretch to eight figures if Muench is successful in hitting his future targets. Why would a large, sophisticated company like TRUMPF acquire an early-stage business like C-Labs? Because they knew that re-creating Muench’s technology would cost much more than simply writing a seven-figure check to buy it outright.

In other words, TRUMPF used The Build vs. Buy Equation and realized that buying C-Labs was cheaper than trying to reproduce it.

Selling too many undifferentiated products or services is a recipe for building a business that—if it is sellable at all—will trade at a discount to its industry peers. By contrast, the trick to getting a premium for your business is having a product or service that is irresistible to an acquirer, yet difficult for them to replicate.

To avoid eventually selling your business at a discount, GT Growth & Transition Strategies, LLC can help keep you on track to building a differentiated and more valuable business.

Frank Mancieri, 401-651-1585, frank@gtGrowth.com, www.gtGrowth.com

Read More

If you’re trying to figure out what your business might be worth, it’s helpful to consider what acquirers are paying for companies like yours these days.  

A little internet research will probably reveal that a business like yours trades for a multiple of your pre-tax profit, which is Sellers Discretionary Earnings (SDE) for a small business and Earnings Before Interest Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for a slightly larger business.

Obsessing Over Your Multiple

This multiple can transfix entrepreneurs. Many owners want to know their multiple and how they can jack it up. After all, if your business has $500,000 in profit, and it trades for four times profit, it’s worth $2 million; if the same business trades for eight times profit, it’s worth $4 million.

Obviously, your multiple will have a profound impact on the haul you take from the sale of your business, but there is another number worthy of your consideration as well: the number your multiple is multiplying.

How Profitability Is Open to Interpretation

Most entrepreneurs think of profit as an objective measure, calculated by an accountant, but when it comes to the sale of your business, profit is far from objective. Your profit will go through a set of “adjustments” designed to estimate how profitable your business will be under a new owner.

This process of adjusting—and how you defend these adjustments to an acquirer—is where you can dramatically spike your company’s value.

Let’s take a simple example to illustrate. Imagine you run a company with $3 million in revenue and you pay yourself a salary of $200,000 a year. Further, let’s assume you could get a competent manager to run your business as a division of an acquirer for $100,000 per year. You could safely make the case to an acquirer that under their ownership, your business would generate an extra $100,000 in profit. If they are paying you five times profit for your business, that one adjustment has the potential to earn you an extra $500,000.

You should be able to make a case for several adjustments that will boost your profit and, by extension, the value of your business. This is more art than science, and you need to be prepared to defend your case for each adjustment. It is important that you make a good case for how profitable your business will be in the hands of an acquirer.

Some of the most common adjustments relate to rent (common if you own the building your company operates from and your company is paying higher-than-market rent), start–up costs, one-off lawsuits or insurance claims and one-time professional services fees.

Your multiple is important, but the subjective art of adjusting your EBITDA is where a lot of extra money can be made when selling your business.  GT Growth & Transition Strategies, LLC can help you identify the “adjustments” that will bring added value to your business.

Frank Mancieri, 401-651-1585, frank@gtGrowth.com, www.gtGrowth.com

Read More

John McCann sold The Bolt Supply House to Lawson Products (NASDAQ: LAWS) at the end of 2017.  

McCann’s strategy involved learning from the acquirers who knocked on his door. He invited would-be buyers into The Bolt Supply House and listened to what they had to say. He was not committed to selling, but instead wanted to know what they liked and what concerned them about his company.

One giant European conglomerate, for example, approached McCann about selling, but after a thorough evaluation, they backed out of a deal, worried about McCann’s central distribution system.

McCann thanked them for their time and set to work turning his distribution system into a masterpiece. Eventually, Lawson cited this as one of the many things that attracted them to The Bolt Supply House.

When it finally came time to sell, McCann commanded a premium, arguing that he had built a world-class company he knew would be a strategic gem for a lot of businesses. He ended up getting five competing offers for The Bolt Supply House and eventually sold to Lawson.

When a big sophisticated acquirer approaches you about selling, the temptation is to decline a meeting if you’re not ready to sell, but hearing what they have to say can be a great way to get some superb consulting, for free. The investment bankers and corporate development executives who lead acquisitions for big acquirers are often some of the smartest, most strategic executives in your industry and—provided you don’t get sucked into a prop deal—hearing how they view your business can be an inexpensive way to improve the value of your company.

If you need help handling and navigating these inquiries, or just continuing to build you company value, please contact Frank Mancieri, Chief Growth Advisor at GT Growth & Transition Strategies, (401) 651-1585, frank@gtGrowthcom.

 

Read More

If your goal is to grow your business fast, you need a positive cash flow cycle or the ability to raise money at a feverish pace. Anything less and you may quickly grow yourself out of business.

A positive cash flow cycle simply means you get paid before you have to pay others. A negative cash flow cycle is the direct opposite: you have pay out before your money comes in.

A lifestyle business with good margins can often get away with a negative cash flow cycle, but a growth-oriented business can’t, and it may quickly grow itself bankrupt.

Growing Yourself Bankrupt

To illustrate, take a look at the fatal decision made by Shelley Rogers, who decided to scale a business with a negative cash flow cycle. Rogers started Admincomm Warehousing to help companies recycle their old technology. Rogers purchased old phone systems and computer monitors for pennies on the dollar and sold them to recyclers who dismantled the technology down to its raw materials and sold off the base metals.

In the beginning, Rogers had a positive cash flow cycle. Admincomm would secure the rights to a lot of old gear and invite a group of Chinese recyclers to fly to Calgary to bid on the equipment. If they liked what they saw, the recyclers would be asked to pay in full before they flew home. Then Rogers would organize a shipping container to send the materials to China and pay her suppliers 30 to 60 days later.

In a world hungry for resources, the business model worked and Rogers built a nice lifestyle company with fat margins. That’s when she became aware of the environmental impact of the companies she was selling to as they poisoned the air in the developing world burning the plastic covers off computer gear to get at the base metals it contained. Rogers decided to scale up her operation and start recycling the equipment in her home country of Canada, where she could take advantage of a government program that would send her a check if she could prove she had recycled the equipment domestically.

Her new model required an investment in an expensive recycling machine and the adoption of a new cash model. She now had to buy the gear, recycle the materials and then wait to get her money from the government.

The faster she grew, the less cash she had. Eventually, the business failed.

Rogers Rises from the Ashes with a Positive Cash Flow Model

Rogers learned from the experience and built a new company in the same industry called TopFlight Assets Services. Instead of acquiring old technology, she sold much of it on consignment, allowing her to save cash. Rogers grew TopFlight into a successful enterprise, which she sold in 2013 for six times Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) to CSI Leasing, one of the largest equipment leasing companies in the world.

Rogers got a great multiple for her business in part because of her focus on cash flow. Many owner think cash flow means their profits on a Profit & Loss Statement. While profit is important, acquirers also care deeply about cash flow—the money your business makes (or needs) to run.

The reason is simple: when an acquirer buys your business, they will likely need to finance it. If your business needs constant infusions of cash, an acquirer will have to commit more money to your business. Since investors are all about getting a return on their money, the more they have to invest in your business, the higher the return they expect, forcing them to reduce the original price they pay you.

So, whether your goal is to scale or sell for a premium (or both), having a positive cash flow cycle is a prerequisite.  If you have extensive growth plans or are struggling with cash flow due to existing growth, GT Growth can help you plan your cash flow and help you secure an adequate supply of cash.

Read More

 Where do you sit on the doer vs. dealmaker continuum? On one hand, you have business owners who are really good operators. They have a plan, know their numbers and work that plan. They look for small improvements every day and hesitate to entertain new strategies because they know what works.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have the dealmakers. They quickly bore of the doing and are constantly on the prowl for the next big idea. They are always on the lookout for a business they can buy, a new concept they can negotiate the rights for or a partnership they can forge.

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs can be equally good at being both doers and dealmakers, and most business owners have a little bit of both personalities, with a tendency to tilt in one direction or the other. However, problems occur when you lean too far in one direction.

Let’s take for example, U.K.-based Jonathan Jay, a twenty-year veteran of the start-up world. Jay got his start publishing magazines, but quickly wanted out, and he sold his publishing company by the age of 27. He then started a coach-training business which competed with one other provider. His competitor ran into trouble and Jay decided to buy his business after less than a week of diligence. Jay then sold the combined entity for a seven-figure payday.

Bored after a week or two of retirement, Jay started a digital marketing company. He found client acquisition a challenge, so he partnered with a marketing guru who had a pre-existing following of customers. Jay gave his new partner 50% of his company in exchange for access to the marketing guru’s list, but he skimped on writing the partnership agreement because he was resentful of the legal bills he was paying to defend an unrelated claim.

Soon after merging, the partners fell out and Jay had to wrestle his shares back without the help of a formal partnership agreement. Unbowed by partnerships, he then found another distressed marketing agency to buy, which he did by assuming its debt and putting virtually nothing down. He put the business into bankruptcy after carving out the one piece that had value and merging it with his marketing company. Within a year of buying the business, he sold the combined entity for another seven-figure exit.

Jay’s story is exhausting. It’s a high-wire act of high-stakes negotiation, success, mistakes and eventual triumph. You can’t help but wonder if he would have been even more successful—and a lot less stressed—if he had been a little more of a doer and little less of a dealmaker.

Whether you are more dealmaker or doer, it’s worth asking yourself whether you’re tilting too far in one direction.  As you find yourself swaying (or stuck) in one direction, you might seek the help of an outside advisor to help you stay on a more even plan.  Contact me to help you build a plan and strategy, (401) 651-1585, or frank@GTgrowth.com.

Read More

A great business is bought, not sold, so, if you look too eager to sell your business, you’ll be negotiating on the back foot and look desperate—a recipe for a bad exit. 

But, what if you really want to sell? Maybe you’ve got a new idea for a business you want to start or your health is suffering. Then what?

As with many things in life, the secret may be a simple tweak in your vocabulary. Instead of approaching an acquirer to see if they would be interested in buying your business, approach the same company with an offer to partner with them.

Entering into a partnership discussion with a would-be acquirer is a great way for them to discover your strategic assets, because most partnership discussions start with a summary of each company’s strengths and future objectives. As you reveal your aspirations to one another, a savvy buyer will often realize there is more to be gained from simply buying your business than partnering with it.

Facebook Buys Ozlo

For example, look at how Charles Jolley played the sale of Ozlo, the company he created to make a better digital assistant. The market for digital assistants is booming. Apple has Siri, Amazon has Alexa and the Google Home device now has Google Assistant built right in.

Jolley started Ozlo with the vision of building a better digital assistant. By 2016, he believed Ozlo had technology superior to that of Apple, Amazon or Google. Realizing his technology needed a big company to distribute it, he started to think about potential acquirers. He developed a long list, but instead of approaching them to buy Ozlo, he suggested they consider partnering with him to distribute Ozlo.

He met with many of the brand-name technology companies in Silicon Valley, including Facebook, which wanted a better digital assistant embedded within its messaging platform. They took a meeting with Jolley under the guise of a potential partnership, but the conversation quickly moved from “partnering with” to “acquiring” Ozlo.

Jolley then approached his other potential partners indicating his conversations with Facebook had moved in a different direction and that he would be entering acquisition talks with Facebook. Hearing Facebook wanted the technology for themselves, some of Jolley’s other potential “partners” also joined the bidding war to acquire Ozlo.

After a competitive process, Facebook offered Jolley a deal he couldn’t refuse, and they closed on a deal in July 2017. Jolley got the deal he wanted in part because he was negotiating from the position of a strong potential partner, rather than a desperate owner just looking to sell.

So, keep in mind that a great business is bought, not sold.  Consider a “partnering” offer to another party that you would like to acquire your business, and build on that.

Whether or not you are actively looking to sell your business, you should always be working on building your business value.  Understand the value drivers in your business and industry, and understand the risks to a future buyer.  Contact me to help you build a plan and strategy to get you to a higher value, (401) 651-1585, or frank@GTgrowth.com.

Read More

How do you avoid not being disappointed with the money you make from the sale of your company?

Perhaps you’ve heard that companies like yours trade using an industry rule of thumb or that companies of your size sell within a specific range, and you want to get at least what your peers have received.

While these metrics can be useful for tax planning or working out a messy divorce, they may not be the best ways to value your company.

The Only Valuation Technique That Really Matters

In reality, the only valuation technique that will ensure you are happy with your exit is for you to place your own value on your business. What’s it worth to you to keep it? What is all your sweat equity worth? Only when you’re clear on that will you ensure your satisfaction with the sale of your business.

Take Hank Goddard as an example. He started a software company called Mainspring Healthcare Solutions back in 2007. They provided a way for hospitals to keep track of their equipment and evolved into a slick application that hospital workers used to order supplies.

Goddard and his partner started the business by asking some friends and family to invest. The business grew, but there were challenges along the way: Goddard had to fire his entire management team in the early days, product issues needed to be solved and operational issues needed to be resolved.

At times, it was a grind, so when it came time to sell in 2016, Goddard reasoned that he had invested more than half of his career in Mainspring and he wanted to get paid for his life’s work. He also wanted to ensure his original investors got a decent return on their money.

He was approached by Accruent, a company in the same industry, who made Goddard and his partners an offer of one times revenue. Accruent had recently acquired one of Goddard’s competitors for a similar value, so presumably thought this was a fair offer.

Goddard brushed it off as completely unworkable. Goddard had decided he wanted five times revenue for his business. Even for a growing software company, five times revenue was a stretch, but Goddard stuck to his guns. That’s what it was worth to him to sell.

A year after they first approached Goddard, Accruent came back with an offer of two times revenue and, again, Goddard demurred.

Mainspring had developed a new application that was quickly gaining traction and he knew how hard it was to sell to the hospitals he already counted as customers.

He told Accruent his number was five times revenue in cash.

Eventually Goddard got his number.

Being clear on what your number is before going into a negotiation to sell your business can be helpful when emotions start to take over. Rather than rely on industry benchmarks, the best way to ensure you’re not disappointed with the sale of your business is to decide up front what it’s worth to you.

If you are looking to plan your exit or stick with it awhile and increase your business value, contact Frank at 401-651-1585 or frank@gtGrowth.com.

Read More

Stephanie Breedlove started Breedlove & Associates in 1992 as a way to pay her nanny. The big payroll processors weren’t interested in dealing with one person’s wages and doing it themselves was complicated and time-consuming, too much for the then overwhelmed Breedloves.

 

Breedlove saw a business opportunity and started a payroll company for parents who needed to pay their nannies. By 2012, Breedlove & Associates had grown to $9MM in revenue and then she received a $54MM acquisition offer.

To give you some context of how incredible it is to sell a $9MM business for $54MM let’s look at the numbers. Through The Value Builder System™, more than 25,000 business owners have completed the Value Builder Score questionnaire, part of which asks about any acquisition offers they may have received. The average multiple offered is 3.76 times pre-tax profit. Even the best-performing businesses, those with a Value Builder Score of 80+, only get offers of 6.27 times pre-tax profit on average. Breedlove got close to six times revenue.

What did Breedlove do right? We’re going to look at the five things Breedlove did—and that you can do—to drive up the value of a business.

1. Sell Less Stuff to More People

When Breedlove hit $30K per month in revenue, she quit her job at Accenture (formerly Anderson Consulting) and devoted herself to Breedlove & Associates full-time. To grow, she had a choice: sell more to her existing customers (e.g. busy couples often need lawn-care, house-cleaning, or grocery-delivery services) or stick with her niche of paying nannies. Most consultants and experts would say it’s easier to sell more to existing customers (and they’re right), but it doesn’t make your business more valuable. Breedlove decided to stick to her niche and find more parents who needed to pay their nannies, and that decision laid the foundation for a more valuable business.

Investors from Warren Buffet look for companies with a deep and wide competitive moat that gives the owner pricing authority. When you have a differentiated product or service, we call it having The Monopoly Control and companies with a monopoly get significantly higher acquisition offers.

Rather than selling existing customers generic services in commoditized markets, Breedlove focused on selling one thing to as many customers as she could find.

2. Strive for 50%+ Net Promoter Score

One feature that interested acquirers look for is your customer satisfaction levels. Increasingly, they are turning to the Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a measure of this. NPS was developed by Fred Reichheld and his team at Satmetrix, who discovered that your customers’ willingness to refer you to their friends or colleagues is highly predictive of your company’s future growth rate.

The NPS approach is to ask your customers how willing they would be to refer your company to a friend or colleague, on a scale of 0 to 10. They are then categorized into Promoters (9s and 10s), Passives (7s and 8s) or Detractors (0–6s). The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Promoters from the percentage of Detractors. Most businesses achieve an NPS of 10% to 15%, while the very best companies (think Apple and Amazon) get scores of 50% or more.

Breedlove obsessed over her company’s NPS and realized the key to driving it up was perfecting the first few interactions with a new customer. When you call a big payroll company looking for a service to pay your nanny, the response can be underwhelming. With only one person to pay, you are often relegated to the most junior staff member and even they would rather be dealing with a larger client.

When you call Breedlove, by contrast, you get a team of professionals totally focused on setting you up. You’re not an afterthought. You’re not passed on. Instead, you get the best onboarding talent the company has to offer.

This set-up team was a big part of how Breedlove achieved an astonishing 78% NPS.

3. Create Recurring Revenue Streams

The third thing that made Breedlove’s company attractive was recurring revenue.

Regardless of what industry you’re in, recurring revenue models give acquirers more confidence that the business will keep going strong after you leave.

By 2012, Breedlove & Associates had grown to $9MM and, given the nature of the payroll business, 100% of their revenue was recurring.

4. Reduce Reliance on Customers, Employees and Suppliers

Breedlove’s company was also attractive to buyers because she had a highly diversified customer base with no single customer representing even close to 1% of her revenue. If more than 10% to 15% of your revenue comes from one buyer, you can expect prospective acquirers to ask a lot more questions.

Customer concentration is one of three factors that make up The Switzerland Structure Module. The Switzerland Structure measures your business’ dependence on a single customer, employee or supplier.

5. Find an Acquirer You Can Help Grow

By 2012, Breedlove & Associates was growing 17% per year, which is good but not blow-your-mind good. So how did she attract such an incredible acquisition offer? The trick was showing her acquirer how they could grow.

In Breedlove’s case, she sold her company to Care.com. Think of Care.com as the Angie’s List of care providers (e.g. child care, senior care, etc.). If you need someone to care for your kids or an elderly relative, you enter your address into their website and Care.com will give you a list of vetted caregivers in your area.

At the time of the acquisition, Breedlove had 10,000 customers and Care.com had seven million members. Breedlove argued that if just 1% of Care.com’s members used Breedlove’s payroll service, it would equate to 7X growth in Breedlove & Associates almost overnight.

In 2012, Care.com acquired Breedlove & Associates for $54MM—an outstanding exit made possible by Breedlove’s focus on what drove her company’s value, not just their top-line revenue.

To get your Value Builder Score and begin understanding what drives value in your business, please chick here: https://gtgrowth.com/value-builder-score

Read More

 Have you ever wondered why some mature companies stop growing? Sometimes they run out of potential customers to sell to or their product starts losing market share to a competitor, but there is often a more fundamental reason: the founder(s) lose the stomach for it.

When you start a business, the assets you have outside of your business likely exceed those you have in it, because in the early days, your business is worthless. As your company grows, it starts to have value and becomes a more significant part of your wealth—especially if you’re pouring your profits back into funding your growth.

For most business owners, their company is their largest asset.

Eventually, your business may become such a large proportion of your wealth that you realize you are taking a giant risk every day that you decide to hold on to it just a little bit longer.

95% of His Wealth in One Business

In 2000, Etienne Borgeat and Olivier Letard co-founded PCO innovation, an IT consulting firm. The company took off and, by 2016, PCO had 600 full-time employees and offices around the world.

As the business grew, Borgeat and Letard started to become uneasy about how much of their wealth was tied up in their business. By 2015, the shares Borgeat held in PCO represented 95% of his wealth.

That’s about the point that aerospace giant Boeing came calling. Boeing wanted PCO to take on a very large project and Borgeat and Letard turned down the opportunity reasoning that the project was so large it could risk their entire company if it went wrong. In the early days, the partners would never have turned down a chance to work with Boeing, but the partners had changed.

That’s when Borgeat and Letard realized the time had come to sell. They agreed to an acquisition offer from Accenture of over one times revenue.

The success of your company is probably driven by your willingness to put all your eggs in one basket. You’re all in. However, at some point, you may find yourself starting to play it safe, which is about the time your business may be better off in someone else’s hands.  GT Growth & Transition Strategies can help you continue to grow your buiness and help you start planning for your eventual transition, something that should be done well before your actual transition date.  Call Frank at (401) 651-1585 or email him at frank@gtGrowth.com.

Read More

Most people think of starting a business as risky, but unless you invest a significant amount of start-up cash in your venture, you’re not really risking much other than your time. 

That changes if you’re lucky enough to get your business off the ground. As your company grows, you start to risk more and more of your wealth because the business you’ve built is actually worth something. The longer you hang on to it, the more you have to lose.

This phenomenon makes owners become more risk averse as their business grows, potentially squeezing off growth to avoid risking what they’ve created. This can mean the owner goes from a company’s great asset to its biggest liability.

Cigar City Brewing

For an example of how growth can impact an owner’s appetite for risk, let’s look at the case of Joey Redner, the founder of Florida-based Cigar City Brewing. Redner’s craft beer operation started off in 2009 with the relatively modest goal of selling 5,000 barrels of beer per year.

Cigar City proved popular with the locals and Redner was able to sell 1,000 barrels of beer in his first year of business.

Cigar City Brewing continued to grow but was thirsty for cash, eventually forcing Redner to take on an SBA loan. Redner quickly surpassed his 5,000-barrel goal, and by 2015, had scaled all the way up to 55,000 barrels per year, at which point he ran out of capacity in his brewing facility.

To get to the next level, Redner would have had to find another $20 million for a major expansion, but he was tired of the feeling of being “all in” at the poker table. He had built something successful and wanted to enjoy financial security rather than having to roll his winnings into even more debt that he would have to personally guarantee with the bank.

Redner decided to sell even though his business was still growing and he had built a brand Floridians loved.

And therein lies one of the hidden reasons owners decide to sell. They are tired of shouldering all of the risk. Most of us have a limited appetite for risk, and as the Bob Dylan song goes, “When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose.” Start-ups aren’t risking much, but when you build something successful, every day that you decide to keep it is another day you have all (or most) of your chips on the table, and no matter how strong your hand, eventually we all decide to cash in.

Read More

Jay Steinfeld built Blinds.com into a $100 million e-tailer before selling out to Home Depot. Here are five things that made it a spectacular exit. 

 

 

Win The Make vs. Buy Battle

Companies like Home Depot have a “make or buy” decision when they see a competitor winning market share. They can opt to buy the competitor or choose to simply re-create what they have built.

An acquirer will likely opt to buy your company if you are so dominant in your niche that recreating what you have built would take too long and cost more than acquiring it from you.

Blinds.com got acquired, in part, because they were a big fish in a small pond. At more than $100 million in revenue, they were the largest online retailer of blinds in America by a long shot. Even though Home Depot has close to $90 billion in sales, Blinds.com were outperforming them in their tiny niche and that made Blinds.com irresistible to Home Depot.

Run It Like It’s Public

At the time of the Home Depot acquisition, Blinds.com had 175 employees, yet Steinfeld had been running the company as if it were public for years. He had put together a top-drawer management team and taken the unusual step of assembling an outside board of directors. He had quarterly board meetings with formal presentation decks, and Steinfeld hired a Big Four firm to complete a full audit of his financials each year.

Steinfeld credits this rigorous approach to running a relatively small company as a major reason Home Depot was interested in Blinds.com and able to close on the acquisition so quickly.

Keep Most Of The Equity

Steinfeld invested $3,000 of his own money into a basic online presence for his blinds store back in 1993 and grew Blinds.com to more than $100 million in sales without diluting himself by taking three or four rounds of institutional investment, as would be typical of an internet start-up. Steinfeld took a small investment from friends and family and used bank debt to help him buy distressed companies for pennies on the dollar. It wasn’t until 2012—almost 20 years after starting the business—that he accepted his first round of “professional” money from a private equity firm who wanted to invest more, but Steinfeld refused, only taking enough to buy out a few of his original investors and pay off some debt.

Keep Investors Aligned

One of the reasons Steinfeld accepted an investment from a private equity group was that he had become misaligned with two of his original investors. The investors saw the success of Blinds.com and wanted Steinfeld to start declaring regular dividends. Steinfeld, by contrast, was focused on building a growth company and needed the cash to fuel his 25% per year growth. After a while, his investor’s expectations got so far out of whack that Steinfeld opted to buy them out.

Share The Love

One of Steinfeld’s best memories is the day he told his employees Home Depot had acquired Blinds.com. Steinfeld had made sure every one of his 175 people had Blinds.com stock options and so stood to gain financially from the sale. Steinfeld went further and gave each employee $2,000 of his own money to start an investment account as a personal thank you for all they had done.

Read More

Are you trying to time the sale of your business so that you exit when both your business and the economy are peaking?

While your objective to build your company’s value is admirable, here are five reasons why you may want to sell sooner than you might think:

1. You May Be Choking Your Business

When you start your business, you have nothing to lose, so you risk it all on your idea. But as you grow, you naturally become more conservative, because your business actually becomes worth something. For many of us, our company is our largest asset, so the idea of losing it on a new growth idea becomes less attractive. We become more conservative and hinder our company’s growth.

2. Money Is Cheap

We’re coming out of a period of ultra-low interest rates. Financial buyers will likely borrow money to buy your business so—at the risk of over simplifying a lot of MBA math—the less it costs them to borrow, the more they will spend to buy your business.

3. Timing Your Sale Is A Fool’s Errand

The costs of most financial assets are correlated, which is to say that the value of your private business, real estate and a Fortune 500 company’s stock all move in roughly the same direction. They all laid an egg in 2009 and now they are all booming. The problem is, you’ll have to do something with the money you make from the sale of your company, which means you will likely buy into a new asset class at the same frothy valuation as you are exiting at.

4. Cybercrime

If you have moved your customer data into the cloud, it is only a matter of time before you become the target of cybercrime. Randy Ambrosie, the former CEO of 3Macs, a Montreal-based investment company that manages $6 billion for wealthy Canadian families decided to sell in part because he feared a cyber attack. Ambrosie and his partners realized they had been under-investing in technology for years, at a time when cybercrime was becoming more prevalent in the financial services space. Ambrosie decided to sell his firm to Raymond James because he realized the cost for staying ahead of hackers was becoming too much to bear.

5. There Is No Corporate Ladder

In most occupations, the ambitious must climb the ladder. Aspiring CEOs must methodically move up, stacking one job on the next until they are ready for the top post. They have to put in the time, play the right politics and succeed at each new assignment to be considered for the next rung.

By choosing a career as an entrepreneur, you get to skip the ladder entirely. You can start a business, sell it, take a sabbatical and start another business and nobody will miss you on the ladder. Your second (or third) business is likely to be more successful than your first, so the sooner you sell your existing business, the sooner you get to take a break and then start working on your next.

It can be tempting to want to time the sale of your business so that the economy and your company are peeking, but in reality, it may be better to sell sooner rather than later.

Bottom line: be prepared to exit on your terms.  Meanwhile, keep working on building value in your business.  For a quick view into where you stand, take this self-assessment. CLICK HERE

Read More

You can now buy a subscription for everything from dog treats to razor blades. Music subscription services are booming as our appetite to buy tracks is replaced by our willingness to rent access to them. Starbucks now even offers coffee on subscription.

Why are so many companies leveraging the subscription business model? The obvious reason is that recurring revenue boosts your company’s value, but there are some hidden benefits to augmenting your business with a subscription offering.

Free Market Research
Finding out what your customers want is expensive. By the time you pay attendees, rent a room with a one-way mirror and buy the little sandwiches with the crusts cut off, a focus group can cost you upwards of $6,000. A statistically significant piece of quantitative research, done by a reputable polling company, might approach six figures.

With a subscription company, you get instant market research for free. Netflix knows
which shows to produce based on the viewing behaviour of its subscribers. No need to
ask viewers what they like, Netflix can see what they watch and rate.

For you, a subscription offering can allow you to test new ideas and gives you a direct
relationship with your customers so you can see what they like first hand.

Cash Flow
Subscription companies are often criticized for being hungry for cash. Many charge by
the month and then have to wait months—sometimes years—to recover the costs of
winning a subscriber.

That assumes, however, that you’re charging for your subscription by the month. If
you’re selling your subscription to businesses, you may get away with charging for a
year’s worth of your subscription up front. That’s what the analyst firm Gartner does,
and it means they get an entire year’s worth of cash from their subscriber on day one.
Costco charges its annual membership up front, which means it has billions of dollars of
subscription revenue to float its retail operations.

Loyalty
Customers can be promiscuous. You may have a perfectly satisfied customer but if they
see an offer from one of your competitors, they might jump ship to save a few bucks.
However, if you lock your customers into a subscription, they may be less tempted to try
a competitor since they have already made an investment with you.

One of the reasons Amazon Prime is so profitable is that Prime subscribers buy more
and are stickier than non-Prime subscribers. Prime subscribers want to get their money’s
worth, so they buy a wider swath of products from Amazon and are less tempted by
competitive offers.

The obvious reason to launch a subscription offering of your own is that the predictable
recurring revenue will boost the value of your company. And while that’s certainly true,
the hidden benefits may even be more important.

Recurring Revenue is just one of the many factors that help increase a company’s value.  Learn about several others factors and how your company rates, by completing a 13-minute free questionnaire called The Value Builder Score™.

Click Here: https://gtgrowth.com/value-builder-score/

Read More

Business valuation goes beyond simple mathematics, but to get some idea of what your business might be worth, consider the three methods below.

Your business is likely your largest asset so it’s normal to want to know what it is worth. The problem is: business valuation is what one might call a “subjective science.”

The science part is what people go to school to learn: you can get an MBA or a degree in finance, or you can learn the theory behind business valuation and earn professional credentials as a business valuation professional.

The subjective part is that every buyer’s circumstances are different, and therefore two buyers could see the same set of company financials and offer vastly different amounts to buy the business.

This article provides the basic science and math behind the most common business valuation techniques, but keep in mind that there will always be outliers that fall well outside of these frameworks.

These are strategic sales, where a business is valued based on what it is worth in the acquirer’s hands. Strategic acquisitions, however, represent the minority of acquisitions, so use the three methods below to triangulate around a realistic value for your company:

Assets-based
The most basic way to value a business is to consider the value of its hard assets minus its debts. Imagine a landscaping company with trucks and gardening equipment. These hard assets have value, which can be calculated by estimating the resale value of your equipment.

This valuation method often renders the lowest value for your company because it assumes your company does not have any “Good Will.” In accountant speak, “Good Will” has nothing to do with how much people like your company; Good Will is defined as the difference between your company’s market value (what someone is willing to pay for it) and the value of your net assets (assets minus liabilities).  Typically, companies have at least some Good Will, so in most cases you get a higher valuation by using one of the other two methods described below.

Discounted Cash Flow
In this method, the acquirer is estimating what your future stream of cash flow is worth to them today. They start by trying to figure out how much profit you expect to make in the next few years. The more stable and predictable your cash flows, the more years of future cash they will consider.

Once the buyer has an estimate of how much profit you’re likely to make in the foreseeable future, and what your business will be worth when they want to sell it in the future, the buyer will apply a “discount rate” that takes into consideration the time value of money. The discount rate is determined by the acquirer’s cost of capital and how risky they perceive your business to be.

Rather than getting hung up on the math behind the discounted cash flow valuation technique, it’s better to understand the drivers of your value when you use this method. They are: 1) how much profit your business is expected to make in the future; and 2) how reliable those estimates are.

Note that business valuation techniques are either/or and not a combination. For example, if you are using Discounted Cash Flow, the hard assets of the company are assumed to be integral to the generation of the profit the acquirer is buying and therefore not included in the calculation of your company’s value.

A money-losing bed and breakfast sitting on a $2 million piece of land is going to be better off using the Asset-based valuation method; whereas a professional services firm that expects to earn $500,000 in profit next year, but has little in the way of hard assets, will garner a higher valuation using the Discounted Cash Flow method or the Comparables technique described below.

Comparables
Another common valuation technique is to look at the value of comparable companies that have sold recently or for whom their value is public. For example, accounting firms typically trade at one times gross recurring fees. Home and office security companies trade at about two times monitoring revenue, and most security company owners know the Comparables technique because they are often getting approached to sell by private equity firms rolling up small security firms. Typically you can find out what companies in your industry are selling for by asking around at your annual industry conference.

The problem with using the Comparables methodology is that it often leads owners to make an apples-to-bananas comparison. For example, a small medical device manufacturer might think that, because GE is trading for 20 times last year’s earnings on the New York Stock Exchange, they too are worth 20 times last year’s profit. However, if one looks at the more than 13,000 businesses analyzed through the The Value Builder Score, it’s clear that a small medical device manufacturer is likely to trade closer to five times pre-tax profit.

Small companies are deeply discounted when compared to their Fortune 500 counterparts, so comparing your company with a Fortune 500 giant will typically lead to disappointment.

Finally, the worst part about selling your business is that you don’t get to decide which methodology the acquirer chooses. An acquirer will do the math on what your business is worth to them behind closed doors. They may decide your business is strategic, in which case back up the Brinks truck because you’re about to get handsomely rewarded for your company. But in most cases, an acquirer will use one of the three techniques described here to come up with an offer to buy your business.

Curious to see what your business might be worth? Get a free valuation here: https://gtgrowth.com/value-builder-score/

Read More

Imagine you’re a farmer and you’ve been tending to your crops all year. It’s harvest season and finally time to collect the spoils of your labor.

You start harvesting your crops only to find out that pesky rodents have been quietly eating away at your fields. You’re devastated as you come to the realization that much of what you have been working so hard to cultivate has already been taken.

Feeling like there is not much field left to harvest is what acquirers and investors are trying to avoid as they evaluate buying your business. Metaphorically speaking, acquirers want to know that if they buy your business, there will be plenty of fresh farmland left for them to till. 

Addressable Market

Investors call it your company’s “addressable market” and it is one of the main factors buyers will look at when they evaluate the potential of acquiring your company.

Business 101 tells us we should strive for market share so we can control pricing. Market share is a worthy goal if your objective is to maximize your profits. However, if your primary objective is to increase the value of your company, you want to be able to communicate that you have relatively low market share across the entire addressable market. In other words, there is plenty of field left to plow.

Consider the following ways you might expand the way you are currently thinking about the addressable market for what you sell:

Demographics

Demographics involve segmenting a market by objective measures like gender, income, age and education level. Marriott is a hotel chain but they have created a variety of brands to address the various demographic segments they want to serve. Ritz Carlton is a Marriott brand that appeals to affluent travelers, but if all you want is a basic room, you could opt for a Courtyard Marriott. It’s the same company, but they have expanded their addressable market by focusing on different demographic segments.

Psychographics

Psychographics involve segmenting your market according to the way people think. Toyota produces the Prius, which gets 50 miles per gallon and is a favorite among environmentalists. Toyota also produces the thirsty Tundra pickup truck and, at just 15 miles per gallon, attracts a different psychographic segment.

Geography

Success in your local market is good but if you want to really boost the value of your company in the eyes of an acquirer, you need to demonstrate that your concept crosses geographic lines. McDonald’s has more than fourteen thousand locations in the United States but they have also demonstrated that the golden arches can draw a crowd in other markets. McDonald’s has nearly three thousand stores in Japan, two thousand in China and more than a thousand locations in each of the European countries of Germany, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

You don’t actually have to become a global giant like Marriott, Toyota or McDonald’s to increase your company’s value but you do need to be able to communicate that your concept could work in other markets and that there is still good land left to plow.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Would you like to learn how to potentially increase the value of your business by up to 71%?  

Click Here

Read More

If you have resolved to make your company more valuable in 2017, you may want to think hard about how your customers pay.

If you have a transaction business model where customers pay once for what they buy, expect your company’s value to be a single-digit multiple of your Earnings Before Interest Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA).

If you have a recurring revenue model, by contrast, where customers subscribe and pay on an ongoing basis, you can expect your valuation to be a multiple of your revenue.

Buyers pay up for companies with recurring revenue because they can clearly see how your company will make money long after you hit the exit.

Not sure how to create recurring revenue? Here are five models to consider:

Products That Run Out

If you have a product that people run out of, consider offering it on subscription. The retailing giant Target sells subscriptions to diapers for busy parents who don’t have the time (or interest) in running to the store to re-stock on Pampers. Dollar Shave Club, which was recently acquired by Unilever for five times revenue, sells razor blades on subscription. The Honest Company sells dish detergent and safe household cleaning products to environmentally conscious consumers and more than 80% of their sales come from subscriptions.

Membership Websites

If you’re a consultant and offer specialized advice, consider whether customers might pay access to a premium membership website where you offer your know-how to subscribers only. Today there are membership websites for people who want to know about anything from Search Engine Marketing to running a restaurant.

Services Contracts

If you bill by the hour or the project, consider moving to a fixed monthly fee for your service. That’s what the marketing agency GoBrandGo! has done to steady cash flow and create a more predictable service business.

Piggyback Services

Ask yourself what your “one-off” customers buy after they buy what you sell. For example, if you make a company a new website, chances are they are going to need somewhere to host their site. While your initial website design may be a one-off service, you could offer to host it for your customer on subscription. If you offer interior design, chances are your customers are going to want to keep their home looking like the day you presented your design, so they might be in the market for a regular cleaning service.

Rentals

If you offer something expensive that customers only need occasionally, consider renting access to it for those who subscribe. ZipCar subscribers can have access to a car when they need it without forking over the cash to buy a hunk of steel. WeWork subscribers can have access to the company’s co-working space without buying a building or committing to a long-term lease.

You don’t have to be a software company to create customers who pay you automatically each month. There is simply no faster way to improve the value of your business this year than to add some recurring revenue.

So are you ready to drive up the value of your business?  Take this 13-minute assessment to learn where to focus your efforts on driving value.

START BY CLICKING HERE

Read More

Are you tempted to re-sell someone else’s product to boost your topline revenue?  

On the surface, becoming a distributor for a popular product can appear to be a simple way to grow your sales—simply find something that is already proven to be successful elsewhere and negotiate the rights to sell it in your local market.

While distributing someone else’s product may be a relatively easy way to grow your topline, all that revenue growth may do little for your company’s value. A typical distribution company will be lucky to sell for 50% of one year’s revenue, whereas if you control your product or service—and the brand that embodies them—you should be able to do much better.

How Nike Became One of the World’s Most Valuable Companies

For an example of the dangers of not owning your own products, take a look at the evolution of Blue Ribbon Sports into Nike Inc. As Nike co-founder Phil Knight describes in his recent autobiography Shoe Dog, the company started off by negotiating the exclusive rights to sell Tiger running shoes in the United States. Knight’s company was called Blue Ribbon Sports and he imported the shoes from Onitsuka, a Japanese company.

Despite their exclusive agreement with Blue Ribbon, Onitsuka started to court other American dealers. When Knight protested the obvious breach of their contract, Onitsuka threatened a hostile takeover of Knight’s business or to shut him down outright. Knight’s company was tiny at the time and so deeply reliant on Onitsuka for supply, he could do virtually nothing to enforce their agreement.

Given its dependence on Onitsuka, Knight’s company would have scored close to zero out of a possible 100 on what we call The Switzerland Structure, a measure of your company’s reliance on a supplier, employee or customer. The Switzerland Structure is only one of eight value drivers we measure, but abysmal performance on any one factor can be a significant drag on the value of your business.

Onitsuka’s snub became Knight’s impetus to start Nike, which gave him control of his marketing, supply and product development. Instead of simply re-selling someone else’s shoes, Nike developed their own designs and contracted the manufacturing of their products to other factories. By owning its own products and brands, Nike has become one of the world’s most valuable companies and regularly trades north of 20 times earnings.

To see how your business performs on The Switzerland Structure and the other seven factors that drive your company’s value, take 13 minutes and complete the Value Builder questionnaire now.  CLICK HERE

Read More

When it comes time to plan and execute a business transition, there are several common “traps” that business owners fall into that end up either killing a potential transaction or otherwise harming the process. Like most things in life, the sooner that you can recognize these issues, the easier it will be to avoid them. This newsletter is written for owners who are thinking about planning for a future transition from their company and would prefer not to make the obvious mistakes that other owners have made, time and again, in the past.

Five traps:
1. Believing That Your Exit Will be Easy
2. Believing That You Can Do It Alone and Without a Plan
3. Believing That Selling the Business is the Only Way to Exit
4. Procrastination
5. Leading with the Business, not the Personal Concerns

1. The First Exit Planning Trap to Avoid is Believing That Your Exit Will be Easy
Getting out of business can be as difficult, if not more difficult, than getting into business. Difficult questions need to be answered, such as: Who will own the business after you? What is it worth? How will you get paid? Will your employees, vendors, customers, and family be OK? When should this transaction take place?
On this final point you need to consider that if you leave the business too early, then you have not brought the company to its maximum earning power and efficiency under your watch. This could mean that you get less money or don’t complete your building process. However, if you hang on too long (which is the most common problem with owners) then you’ll be trying to move your asset to someone else who may no longer want to own it.

Timing is only one of the difficult considerations to consider. The toughest issue, however, may be letting go – i.e. are you really ready to get out of the game? And do you know what you will do next to fill your time in a productive manner?

Building your business was not easy – it required a plan, and the ability to adapt and compete in your marketplace. Successfully exiting your business could prove even more challenging.

2. Believing That You Can Do It Alone and Without a Plan
All too often exiting owners believe that their success in business qualifies them to design and execute their own business exit. Just because you have proven successful in one field does not make you an expert in all fields. Most successful owners recognize that when they built their businesses, they had quality individuals and advisors who provided assistance. When it comes time to plan and execute a business transition, the right team and a well-thought-out, written plan can have the same, or likely a greater impact, to your goals as the team and planning process that helped you with your success and you can avoid this trap.

3. Believing That Selling the Business is the Only Way to Exit.
Selling your company to a competitor may seem like the most logical way that most owners would want to exit. However, a sale transaction is only one of the several options for a future business transition. While not simple to understand, it may be possible to bring an investor into your company, experience a successful management buyout, create an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP), and / or gift shares of your company to others. Once all options have been explored, an informed exit decision can be made and you can avoid the trap of thinking in only a linear manner about only a sale transaction.

4. Procrastination
With so much information to process, it is easy for owners to put off creating an exit plan. The truth is, however, that an exit strategy should ideally be created along with a business plan, and assessed and adapted as necessary over the life of the business. Creating an exit plan will provide an “end goal” to strive toward through meeting smaller “mini” goals, and allow for progress towards those goals. If you put off beginning your exit planning now, it may, unfortunately, quickly become too late.

5. Leading with the Business, not the Personal Concerns
As stated in issue #1, business owners often fail to adequately consider their emotional attachment to the business or to the stature, and time consumption that owning a business entails. Many owners will resist accepting a seemingly strong offer for their business if they do not have their next stage of life charted out. Remember that there is little getting past the fact that an exit is a highly personal and emotional event and if you begin the planning process from a personal perspective, you are likely to get a better result.

Concluding Thoughts
No matter where you are in your business life-cycle, creating and routinely adapting a written plan for your business exit / future transition is a critical part of the planning process. Through examining these key five (5) traps to avoid you will be able to recognize and hopefully navigate these issues when it comes time for your own exit. Remember that your business is an investment, and as with any investment, you must study and plan in order to create the most financially, and emotionally, profitable outcome.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2015

Read More

Many owners of privately-held businesses are not pro-active in planning for their exit and the company’s transition.  This is true mostly because the ‘exit planning industry’ is nascent and many owners are simply not aware that a service exists to help owners with this complex issue.  This newsletter is written to advocate the position that owners should be pro-active and should actively lead their exit plans by involving those that help them manage the business.  An owner’s successful exit is an entry point for another owner to take the company to the next level, creating potential opportunities for the leaders in your organization.  However, without leading the process, it is not something that you can rely on without proper planning.  You might get lucky, but luck is rarely a solid strategy.

Exit Planning & Mountain Climbing

Let’s first examine how leading an exit is different from growing a company.  We will use a helpful analogy – mountain climbing.

Climbing up a mountain requires determination, focus, strength, and management of many obstacles.  The ascent is often arduous, creating doubt in the mind of the climber as to whether they will reach the pinnacle.  There is a summit that can be identified and a specific point at which one turns to begin the equally, if not more so, challenging act of descending down the mountain.

On the way down a mountain a different skill is required.  One’s weight is now working against them.  There is a different need for balance and coordination of activities.  In fact, Sir Edmund Hillary is not so much known for his ability to be the first Westerner to scale Mount Everest.  Rather, he is famous because he was the first to survive the descent.  Will you, and your business, survive your exit?  The answer to this question may depend upon the new leadership skills that you learn.

First Set the Path for Your Exit

Before the climb and descent begins, a plan is established to reach milestones as well as the ultimate goal – you don’t climb a mountain in one day.  It takes months, if not years, of preparation and the climb and descent requires careful planning.

A strategic, long-term plan for the business – including alignment of key employee’s incentive compensation with that plan – is an excellent start to setting the right path.  When you take the time to formulate a strategic plan as well as align key people, you put the Company on a path to [eventually] succeed without you.  When you can define a vision both for the Company as well as for yourself, you can work faster towards being the leader that your organization needs you to be to more effectively handle your exit plan.  Without direction, there is no catalyst for positive momentum forward.

You Need to be a Leader in Your Exit, Not Just a Manager of the Exit

Your exit will require a different skill set than growing your business, the same way going down a mountain requires different skills than going up.  You need to adopt a leadership mindset towards your exit.  In fact, it will mostly be your ability to let go of the responsibilities that you have grown so attached to that will define the success of your exit.  In order to let go you need to build a team who can assume your responsibilities.  And in order to build that team effectively, you need to become a leader.

Empowering Others – An Unselfish Act

As you set your company plans remember that you are leading, not managing these tasks.  For example, management is more about getting a task done, often with the self-centered objective of successfully driving a result.  Leadership, however, is about the empowerment of others.

When you move from management to leadership, you focus on the strength of your team and begin to more effectively work yourself out of your job.  Your overall strategic plan should have you working hard to eliminate yourself from the day-to-day running of the business.  This is not so much to put you out to pasture but more to increase the transferability of your Company to someone else in the future.

Your Team Will Help Your Future Owner Manage the Business

Your exit will depend on your team because that team will lead your company into the future.  Think of the situation in these terms – no matter how you decide to exit, it is the company that will pay for the value.  Simply put, if the ‘golden goose’ stops laying eggs then an exit cannot be financed.

It will be the team that you develop and lead to self-sufficiency that will run and grow that company into the future.  This is true whether you exit via sale to an outsider, or whether you exit via internal transfer to managers, family or employees.  Someone has to run the business and be empowered to do so.  The team that you build and lead will be that catalyst for the future and will define your exit.

Are You Developing Your Talent on a Regular Basis?

A leader is able to see out over the horizon and prepare for changes within the marketplace and the business.  The success of your exit will depend upon your ability to replace yourself in this regard.

Do you have a process for recruiting new talent and assessing existing talent within your organization?  Are you able to let go of large responsibilities and trust that they will be handled well by those that you lead?  These are critical questions to ask and answer in advance of your exit because turning over the reins of a business is often an emotional event for an owner.  Working through this emotion and putting the right people in place is an unselfish act that is done for the long-term growth and survival of the business.

Concluding Thoughts

You worked hard to establish your position in your company, industry, and community.  Now you need to work just as hard to replace yourself in that role.  This unselfish act (or more appropriately, series of acts) sets the stage for a successful exit because you are building your own replacement by leading the organization to a whole new level.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2016

 

Read More

The success of exiting a business depends greatly upon the mental perspective and preparation of an owner during the exit process.  Business owners tend to fixate their thoughts only on running and growing their business.  However, there is a tremendous amount of value in seeing the ‘big picture’ with your exit and thinking about the future and where you would like both the company, and yourself personally, to end up.  The owner who is able to see the larger picture, and understands that stepping out of a business is an opportunity to move both themselves and their company toward a new stage of life, will be best prepared to execute a successful business transition.  This newsletter is written to help owners think through the ‘big picture’ and align their thinking and resources towards a successful exit.

The Transfer Timing Slots

One of the first ‘big picture’ concepts that owners should grasp is the idea of ‘timing slots’.  Much like a slot machine, you want to see if you can match up three (3) critical areas – (1) personal timing, (2) company preparedness, and (3) market timing.  A solid ‘big picture’ of an exit considers all three.

Let’s Begin with Market Timing

Markets run in cycles and timing is important.  If a business is performing well because there is a favorable economy, all things being equal, this can be an optimal time to consider an exit.  Valuation is high, employees are engaged, and – often times – buyers / investors have a high degree of interest and activity.

As the chart below indicates, the last three (3) decades have followed a similar market cycle and this decade is following suit.

 

Therefore, if you believe the information above, your ‘big picture’ in terms of market timing indicates that the next few years are ideal in terms of market timing.

Company Preparedness

The 2^nd ‘big picture’ concept for an exit is Company preparedness.  In other words, your business needs to be [at least somewhat] transferrable to have a successful exit.

There are a large number of items that can lead to poor timing for an exit and lack of company preparedness.  For example, you may have recently had a departure of a key manager or you may have lost a key customer and need time to replace that revenue.  Alternatively your CFO or controller may not have your finances in order or you may have a law suit pending that should really be resolved before moving ahead with a transfer of the business.

While timing can rarely ever be perfect, it is important to think through the current and forecasted profitability and valuation to see that your company’s preparedness is optimal for a successful transaction that will result in a valuation and deal structure that works for you personally.

Personal Timing

The final ‘big picture’ concept – and the third consideration in the timing slots of an exit – is personal readiness.  In fact, it probably makes sense to begin the ‘big picture’ thinking of an exit with personal planning.  The reason is that this can be the most complex and take the most amount of time to navigate.  Also, how an owner thinks about an exit is what is most likely to drive the exit process.  In other words, the market and company can be perfectly positioned for an exit, but if the owner does not want to leave, it is possible that an exit process will not begin.

A Vision for a Personal Future Without the Company

Prior to considering any of the various options for exiting your business, you must be able to recognize two key elements within yourself:

• Realization of where you are right now, and
• A clear vision of where you want to be after the exit

As a successful business owner, you realize that you have created self-worth and profit for both the company and those around you, including your family members.  In building a company, you have built a personal identity, perhaps the only one which is recognized by some family, friends, and business associates.  Many owners, without properly considering their new, post-exit identities will be unable to successfully pursue a business exit because of their continued attachment to the business.  In order to ensure a smooth transition, you want to be able to articulate both where you are in your business today and the personal challenges associated with getting you to where you want to be.

Developing Exit Skills

The key to achieving the vision – or the ‘big picture’ – for your exit is an understanding that the tools and skills which have enabled you to build your business will likely be of limited value in planning your exit from the business; you’ll need to learn new skills.  If you are using the same tools, skills and thoughts that you used to run and grow your business, it is very difficult to move on to the next phase.  The primary reason why this is true is that the development of business value is not entirely consistent with the development of fulfilling personal needs and values.

A ‘big picture’ look at your situation will have you begin to ask questions about ‘why’ it is important to design an exit plan that meets the needs that you have defined.

Concluding Thoughts

Seeing the “big picture” in your exit involves taking the time to reflect on goals of the business, the timing of the market, but most importantly, your interests and objectives outside of the business.  Exploring your personal goals allows you to confidently move forward to the next phase of life, which may or may not include continued involvement with the company.  As in so many aspects of one’s life, perspective is key to ultimate success.  By viewing your exit as an opportunity to a begin a new lifestyle instead of as a loss of your business identity, you can begin develop a ‘big picture’ for your exit.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2016

Read More

Owners of privately held companies often times have the majority of their wealth tied to their business.  These owners are well served in understanding the challenges faced in converting an illiquid asset into cash.  For example, unlike the valuation and liquidity for a publicly traded company, the value and ability to cash in a privately held business is a more subjective and complex matter.  This newsletter is written to highlight the differences between public ‘liquid’ and private ‘illiquid’ securities.  By having this level of understanding, owners can more accurately understand the differences between private and public stock ownership and the challenges faced with turning their illiquid business stock into cash that they can use in retirement. 

No Open Market Exists for ‘Illiquid’ Shares

The most obvious difference between ‘liquid’ and ‘illiquid’ company shares is the lack of an established ‘open market’ through which shares can be traded for cash.  When a company’s shares are owned by the investing public and there are shares traded on an exchange, then liquidity has been achieved and the owners of those shares can cash in at any time, based on the current market price.

Privately held businesses do not have this luxury.  In fact, the owner of a privately-held company needs to, in effect, create their own market for the sale of their shares.  Buyers need to be identified and a valuation will be based on a negotiation that takes place during that process.

Private Ownership = Ultimate Control

So, while there is a sacrifice to liquidity for a private business owner, the advantage is being able to enjoy the benefits of control over their business.  In fact, private company owners often do not report the performance and activities of their business to anyone except for the government and, perhaps, their bank.  By contrast, if your business was publicly traded there would be requirements to report on a regular basis the company’s performance to non-controlling shareholders.

Private Business Ownership Limits Portfolio Diversification

A private business owner pays a certain price for control in the form of personal risk.  That owner has a concentration of personal financial risk within one investment, their business.  By contrast, holders of publicly traded shares can buy and diversify their holdings, creating an investment portfolio that insulates their wealth from industry/segment-specific fluctuations.

A Lifestyle vs. an Investment

An important difference between public and private ownership is in the management of a business and the owner’s motives.  Public company management motives are fairly simple—increase shareholder wealth by producing the highest possible profit in order to increase the price of the stock.  To the public shareholder, the entity is a mere investment.

By contrast, private company managers and owners are usually one and the same.  And ownership represents a whole lot more than an investment; it’s a personal wealth builder.  For instance, the private manager will often-times look to ‘suppress’ the profitability of a company in order to manage his or her personal tax liability.  Beyond tax savings, the owner enjoys lifestyle benefits, such as a company car, additional compensation, premium benefits, extended vacations, and the personal satisfaction that comes with complete control over the entity.

Balancing the Benefits of Private Ownership with the Need for Liquidity

So the advantages of control and privacy are off-set by a lack of liquidity.  These contrasting points come to a head when it is time to design and execute an exit plan from the business.

In order to attract a buyer for your company’s shares, an owner will need to disclose how their business is run – this includes the good, the bad and the ugly of how you handle your company’s management, strategy and finances.  The owner also needs to accept that many of the perks of running the business will come to an end for them someday.  For many owners, it is a challenge to share with others how your privately held business is run.  Think of the analogy of selling your home – the place where your family lives and memories are made – and then the uncomfortable process of having strangers parade through your living area with judging eyes determining if they too want to live there one day.

The way that an owner can balance the privacy that they enjoy with the need for future liquidity is to set a plan for their future exit and understand how and when certain items will be disclosed.

Concluding Thoughts – Making Your Private Business Marketable to Someone Else

The exit planning process is about anticipating the needs and demands of your future owner so that you can prepare yourself and your business for this transaction and transition.  An effective exit plan recognizes both the benefits and limitations of private business ownership.  A well-prepared owner will not only understand these differences but will be in a position to explain them to a future buyer – much the same way that public companies disclose their business dealings.  Such preparedness helps to assure the protection and preservation of the wealth that is ‘trapped’ within your privately held business.

We hope that this newsletter has helped you to see some of the challenges faced in designing an exit plan by comparing your privately-held business with that of a public company security.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2016

Read More

Did you set a goal for your company this year? 

If you’re like most business owners, you’re striving for an increase in your annual sales. It’s natural to want your company to be bigger because that’s what everyone around us seems to celebrate.

Magazines profile the fastest growing companies, industry associations celebrate their largest members, and bigger seems to be better in the eyes of just about every business pundit with a microphone.

But growth can come at a steep price and can even detract from your ability to build your personal wealth.

The Contrasting Exits of Michael Arrington

For example, let’s take a look at an entrepreneur named Michael Arrington. Arrington started Achex in 1999. It helped facilitate payments in the early days of the internet, and Arrington was focused on growing it. He accepted two rounds of outside capital to fund the company’s expansion.

Achex was ultimately sold to First Data Corporation for $32 million in 2001. Unfortunately, because Arrington had been focused on growth above all else, he had not only raised two rounds of financing but also reduced his personal stake in the company down to next to nothing. As he told Business Insider, “When I started my first company, Achex, we raised $18 million in venture capital in 2000 from DFJ. The company later sold for $32 million, but due to a 2x liquidity preference (common in those days), the founders essentially got nothing, just a few hundred thousand dollars to not block the deal.”

Arrington then went on to start the technology blogging website TechCrunch in 2005. This time Arrington wanted to grow the business, but not at the expense of his equity. Instead, they grew the company within their means and funded the business largely out of cash flow. Arrington still owned 80% of the company, according to Business Insider, when he sold it for approximately $30 million.

Apparently Arrington had learned his lesson—growth is good, but not at the expense of all else.

The Alternative to Growth at All Costs

The alternative to focusing on sales growth as your primary objective is to focus on the value of your equity within your company. Growth will have a positive impact on your company’s value, but your growth rate is only one of the eight drivers that impact what your company is worth. As you build your business, you will be faced with many forks in the road where growth may come at the expense of both your company’s value, and your personal wealth. For example:

• You may have to dilute your personal stake in the company by taking on outside capital. Depending on the return your investors are looking for, and the performance of your company after you take on outside investors, your smaller slice of the larger pie may be worth less than a larger slice of a smaller pie.

• Cross selling your largest customer more products and services may be a relatively easy way to grow your top line, but if they already represent more than 15% of your sales, the extra revenue may dilute the value of your company because acquirers discount companies with too much customer concentration.

• Giving lazy customers 90 days to pay may keep them buying, but those charitable payment terms may detract from the value of your business because an acquirer will have to fund your working capital.

• You could choose to invest your sales and marketing resources into winning a big, one-time project that would boost your sales but this may not boost the value of your business, which may be more positively impacted by a smaller amount of recurring revenue.

Growth is important and how big your company can get is one of the eight drivers of your company’s value. But growth is only one of eight factors—to learn about the other seven, get your Sellability Score. https://gtgrowth.com/the-sellability-score/

Read More

There is an old saying that goes “show me how I am paid and I’ll show you how I’ll behave”.  The issue is simple for business owners – the right incentive plans help to grow the value of your company while the wrong (or no) incentive plans leave key employees with little direction as to help you, the owner, grow the company to the next level.

When it comes time to think about a transition or exit, often times key people are, rightfully so, the initial consideration.  People issues can be some of the toughest that you will face in your role as manager, owner, and leader of your private business.  The key is not only to attract these value-add managers but also to retain them and, perhaps also align their efforts with what drives value through your Company.  If done properly, aligning your key people can not only result in a more profitable business, but also a more transferable company as well.

Typical Compensation Plans

Owners will often-times set up compensation for key executives in a few different ways.  First there is base compensation and next there is some form of ‘year-end’ (or quarterly) bonus, based upon the performance of the business.  The 2^nd part of the compensation formula is often times the least well developed.  The reason is that owners do not want to make a financial commitment that is not aligned with the performance of the company, so owners take a wait and see approach to determine what is available to pay at the end of a measuring cycle.

The challenge with this form of subjective compensation planning is that it leaves too much to the owner’s discretion, which, in turn, leaves room for the wrong interpretation from the key person.  Moreover, when bonus plans are subjective, the key person does not feel like they have control over their income and that many times their positive efforts (which should be rewarded through a bonus) are being off-set by non-performers in the Company.

A Path Toward Alignment

So, owners who want to more closely tie the performance of the company to the compensation of their key people should start to focus on the key performance indicators in their business.  “KPIs” are the metrics that are measured to determine the business’ success.  Now, many owners will go right to revenue and cash flow as key metrics.  That is natural because both of those items are critically important to making payroll and meeting other financial obligations.  However, other key metrics that drive operational performance as well as help the company with its marketing efforts are equally, if not more important because those items set that stage for tomorrow’s revenue.

Alignment in a compensation plan considers both the short-term and the long-term.  It thinks through the behavior that the owner wants to see versus the behavior that exists today.  This is a highly customized approach that varies by different departments and job functions.

A Warning Regarding Profit vs. Value

Owners who are moving in the direction of aligning key executive compensation with Company performance should be forewarned not to focus only on revenue and cash flow.  Rather, owners are well served understanding what drives value in a privately-held business and striving towards incentives that encourage behavior that produces more value-creating activity and not simply more revenue and cash flow.

The Starting Point for Alignment

So in order to get started with aligning your key people, you need to think through the overall goals of the company.  If you ‘begin with the end in mind’ you can think through a future destination where you want the business to arrive, and then set a roadmap, through the incentive plan, to help reward the key people who get you to that destination.

However, this is where most owners fall short with longer-term planning.  The reality of business ownership is that too much focus is on ‘working in the business’ and not ‘working on the business’.  A lack of a strategic plan and forward thinking goals prevents the build-out of a comprehensive incentive plan that details the path forward.

Sharing the Build-out of the Alignment Plan

For owners who undertake to design an incentive compensation plan, you are well served in making your key people a part of the design process.  This is a far better approach than simply creating a plan and delivering it to the key people.  By discussing the details of an incentive design with your key people, they can feel a part of the process and also get a sense of ownership of the plan that is designed to help benefit both the company and their individual efforts.  Take feedback.  Involve key people in the process and you’ll end up with a better plan that has stronger buy-in.

Incentives that Lead to Growth and Eventual Exit

A well designed incentive plan will challenge both you and your company.  It will put folks in control of their incomes and assure that increased income for key people first benefits the company.  When you can do this, you begin to make the business less dependent upon you and increase the transferability of the company.

The alignment of your people therefore is key to the success of your exit.  The overriding point is that you need to build a strong management team and design incentives that excite and challenge them.  In doing so you will be personally challenged with ‘letting go’ of many responsibilities.  When faced with this struggle, simply remember that the highest and best use of your talents lies beyond the day-to-day running of your business.  Align your people to build a successful exit plan.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2016

Read More

When business owners think about transitioning out of their companies, some of the first thoughts that come to mind relate to the sale of their business.  In fact, many business owners believe that in order to exit their business they need to sell it to someone else.  As a result, the term ‘exit planning’ is often misunderstood and interpreted by owners as a ‘sale’ of their company.

This newsletter is written to help owners to see that developing an ‘exit plan’ for their eventual transition from the business is not the same as the sale of the business.  In fact, as the ‘exit planning industry’ continues to develop, a strong track record is being developed that demonstrates that owners who plan for their eventual exit fare better than those who simply view an ‘exit plan’ as a sale of the business and wait until the last minute to take action.

This newsletter seeks to differentiate selling a business from establishing an exit plan so that owners can consider the benefits of a plan for their exit as a way to protect and harvest the value that is inside your privately-held company.

Ten (10) Differences between Selling and Establishing an Exit Plan

The table below was created to provide ten differences between selling a company versus establishing a plan for an eventual exit.

Sell The Business	Develop an Exit Plan
Advisor motives rule	Owner motives rule
Advisors are transactional	Advisors are relationship-based
Goal is ‘sale of business’	Goal is to achieve business owners’ stated goals
Process includes ‘finding buyers’	Successors/buyers are found or ‘created’
Sales process at ‘mercy of market’	Transfer process is controllable
Outside party necessary for deal	‘Internal’ transfers considered w/ external
Company is ‘shopped’ to market	Company examined for various transfer options
Negotiations center around price	Discussion include various transfer methods
Large advisory fees & taxes paid	Taxes & fees can be controlled and managed over time
Company sale – primary consideration	Personal and corporate objectives considered

 

As the chart indicates, there is a great difference between the sale of a company and the strategic development of a plan for an exit.  As the chart illustrates, the benefits that an ‘exit strategy’ can provide include:

– Evaluation of various transfer options

– Potential for creation of a buyer

– A controllable process happening over time     

 – Enhanced management of taxes and fees

– A comprehensive and objective process that includes both personal and corporate objectives to drive the overall decision-making process 

These combined differences make the larger point that an ‘exit strategy’ can be developed and executed over a long period of time without the time-sensitive influence and pressure that comes from the sale of a business.

So given these large differences, let’s discuss the merits of a well-developed exit plan and show how the sale of your company may or may not be one of the last action items in the overall plan.

A Well Developed Plan for an Exit

Owners who engage in an exit planning process may or may not sell their company in the future.  However, before any decision is made to sell, a process can be followed to determine an owner’s goals and the readiness of that owner to reach those goals.  Further, owners are educated on different options during an exit planning process whereby the pros and cons of different exit alternatives are evaluated to get to the one that works best to help you achieve your goals – within the time frame of your choosing.

The benefits of developing an exit plan long before any consideration is given towards the potential sale of your business are many and great.  Most of all, you as an owner will achieve a certain amount of clarity that the transaction that you are choosing will be the one that is best for you – this may or may not include selling the company to an outside buyer.

Concluding Thoughts

Consider the formation of an exit strategy from your business today and join the growing number of business owners who are learning that ‘selling’ is not their only option.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2016

Read More

Most owners of privately-held businesses have the majority of their wealth trapped in their illiquid business.  What this means is that without a path to turn the value in your business into cash, your overall wealth will continue to stay concentrated in your ownership of your business.  So the fact that your business provides for a solid income and lifestyle is separate and distinct from considering how and when you will be able to turn that illiquid wealth into cash.  This newsletter is written to help owners see that a business exit plan can be a vital first step towards diversifying your overall portfolio while also protecting the wealth that resides in your illiquid, privately-held business.

The Basics of Diversification

There is an old saying that applies to many business owners – that “in order to get rich, you need to own a lot of one thing, but in order to stay rich you need to own lots of different things.”  Many business owners today ‘got rich’ through the ownership of their privately-held business.  However, in order to stay rich, many owners will need to diversify their personal wealth through the transfer of ownership of their companies.

If you are like most business owners, your business comprises the majority of your wealth.  Also, like most owners, your business is likely highly dependent upon you.  Therefore, if you want to protect your overall wealth through the process of diversification, you can consider planning for the eventual transition of your business, whereby a point in time will come for you to turn your illiquid wealth into cash.

Why Plan to Sell Something So Valuable?

Many owners understand the logic of diversifying their wealth through an eventual exit but they do not take immediate actions because they have a very good thing going with the success of their company.  For owners who agree with the logic of diversification but perhaps have not taken any action in this direction, we offer another question to ask yourself:

• “If I sold my business today [for a reasonable price] would I turn around and invest all of those proceeds back into the same business or into a single stock that does not have an actively traded market?

The answer for most owners to both questions is a resounding ‘no’.  Not only would most owners not turn around and repurchase the business that they just sold but they would also not be looking to reinvest in a concentrated, single asset for the same sale proceeds.  The obvious reason for not repurchasing your business or to re-concentrate your wealth is because the RISK of only owning one stock – after achieving liquidity – is too high.  There is a single point of failure with that financial plan because the investment dollars are not DIVERSIFIED.

This is the financial reality of many owners of privately-held businesses today.

Why Most Owners Do Not Begin the Process of Diversification with a Plan

An exit plan is a written document that assists an owner with consideration of different ways to diversify their wealth by eventually becoming liquid from a transfer of ownership.  Given that the sale of a business is the largest and most emotional transaction for most owners, it makes sense that a plan would come before an action that is taken.  However, we find that most owners do not take action to plan for their diversification for a variety of reasons.  Many business owners offer a number of reasons, listed below, for their lack of planning, including:

1. “I don’t perceive my business to be a RISK” or
2. “I am not ready to SELL the business so I cannot DIVERSIFY, or
3. “I bought plenty of life insurance to take care of my family if something should happen to me (in other words, ‘my demise is the only RISK that I really perceive to exist regarding the future profitability of my business’) or
4. “I am DIVERSIFIED. My business sells many lines of products and/or services”

In each instance we see that the owner’s ‘plan’ is quite limited and does not actually diversify the owner’s family’s wealth.  Perhaps somewhere in this list of common responses you see one that fits your reaction to this question of planning for diversification?

The Psychology of ‘Selling’

If there is so much logic behind diversifying wealth through an exit plan, then why don’t more owners do it?  One answer lies in the psychology of an exit.

As an owner of your business you are the master of your own destiny.  You have survived the odds against ‘making it’ in business and continue to fight them each and every day.  For the most part, thinking about an exit strategy plan cuts against the grain of thoughts of business growth and expansion.

So, given this gap between logic and action, how do you begin to turn this bridge, this divide and start developing an exit strategy plan that protects all of the wealth that you have accumulated?

Seeking Help is the First Step in this Planning Process

The most successful owners know that they do not climb a mountain all by themselves.  Rather they surround themselves with a team that knows more than they do about areas that they are venturing into.

The same process holds true for planning for a business exit.  We advise that you seek out professionals with experience in this area to help you begin the planning process that ultimately leads to the protection of your illiquid wealth.

Concluding Thoughts

In closing, most business owners will make up their minds to do something when they are good and ready to do so.  Therefore, we can only continue to impress upon the millions of business owners out there that diversification is a key component to securing the success that you have worked a lifetime to achieve.  In this regard, one can say that it is never too soon to begin thinking about an exit plan, but without a plan, it could one day be too late.  We hope that this newsletter has assisted you in thinking about your overall wealth and how an exit plan can begin the process of helping you protect it.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2016

Read More

With each New Year comes thoughts of new beginnings and resolutions.  For businesses, this also comes with planning for the year ahead.  This newsletter is written for business owners who run their own companies and have the majority of their personal net worth tied to that illiquid business.  2016 may be the opportune time for you to begin planning a future exit from your business.  Listed below are eight (8) reasons why you should consider planning your exit in 2016.

1. The Timing is Right

In real estate, the saying is ‘location, location, location’ – with business transition planning, it is ‘timing, timing, timing’.  Just as timing was important as you built your business, it is critically important during your exit.  If you are ready to exit within the next three to five (3-5) years, then 2016 could be an ideal time to plan for, and potentially execute your exit.  To put this in perspective, let’s look at the transfer spectrum chart below which indicates that we are currently in the middle of a prime selling time.

If you are ready to exit your business then you may want to take advantage of the fact that the chart forecasts another three (3) years of prime selling time in the transfer cycle. If you do not exit in this ‘window’ you will likely have to wait another eight (8) years (until 2023-2028) when the next ‘exit window’ opens.

 

2. There is Still Good Demand Today for Solid Businesses to Be Purchased by Private Equity Groups

Investment groups, called private equity groups, are continuing to purchase solid companies today.  These investment groups exist to purchase private businesses and add value to them.  As a result of thousands of these groups being in the market today, there is solid demand for good companies.  If you can catch this wave of buyers you may be advantaged in achieving a higher value for your exit.  There are two (2) caveats to this statement.  First, the demographics show that a large number of owners will want to exit their business, and second, interest rates may be higher.

3. The Supply and Demand of Exiting Owners is About to Shift Dramatically

The oldest members of the Baby Boomer generation started turning 69 this year. This means that over the next five (5) to ten (10) years, roughly 3.6 million business owners per year[1] will be looking to exit their business via a sale to a future owner.  Simply put, there will be more sellers than buyers in the marketplace.  Therefore, in order to stay ahead of this cycle, you might consider 2016 as a starting point for your exit planning before too many businesses create a large supply of sellers.

4. Interest Rates Could be on the Rise

Interest rates are likely to begin to creep upward after a decade of historically low levels.  When interest rates rise, borrowing costs increase.  When this happens, a segment of the market that finances acquisitions with debt, i.e. the private equity groups mentioned previously, is impacted as these buyers have more expensive debt.  When the cost of borrowing increases, generally speaking, this reduces the levels of value that these buyers will pay for a business.  As a result, some of the buying demand that exists today could begin to wane when borrowing costs rise.

5. The Role of the U.S. President is Unlikely to Reduce Uncertainty

By the end of 2016 we will have a new President, but one has to ask ‘what is really going to change?’  Uncertainty stems from a number of different factors, from economic to geo-political to global threats.  Whether a Republican or a Democrat occupies the White House, there will still be challenges to the overall economy that will impact your exit through continued uncertainty that exists in the world.

6. The Entire Tax Code is Set for an Overhaul After the Next Election

The last time that the tax code was overhauled was in 1986 under President Reagan.  These overhauls occur approximately every twenty-five (25) years.  And, since the United States is burdened with $19 trillion dollars in debt, it is unlikely that tax rates and / or deductions and loopholes will continue to be available to those who are going through a large liquidity event, such as a business sale.  It is hard to predict what the tax code changes will look like, but again, if you are early with your planning, you may be able to take advantage of certain tax benefits that may be going away with a tax code overhaul.

7. Your “Lifestyle Business” May Not be Providing you with the Lifestyle You Expected

If you are like many owners of privately-held businesses you probably have a lifestyle business, meaning that the business provides for your personal lifestyle.  With tax rates having increased and the marketplace changing, you may not be experiencing the same lifestyle that you once did.  Planning for your exit in 2016 may help you focus on your post-exit lifestyle and assesses your current ability to define and meet your post exit objectives.  If your business value is higher today because of increased profitability, then perhaps an exit plan can help you pull the pieces together.

8. Your Business Likely Showed Improved Performance in 2015 – Hence A Trend Towards a Higher Value

The future owner of your business will ultimately care about two (2) financial components related to your company’s performance: (i) the future cash flows and (ii) the [perceived] risk of receiving those cash flows into the future. Therefore, each additional year that you can show a trend towards improved performance is one more arrow in your ‘negotiation quiver’ to argue for – and defend – a higher value for your business exit.  This is particularly important if you need that additional value to meet your personal, financial goals, as presented above.

Concluding Thoughts

This newsletter was written to inform, educate, and provide a template and some rationale for thinking about your plans for an exit from your business.  It is our hope that this objective was met and that you are further along in your thinking about forming an exit plan in 2016.  Contact Frank Mancieri @ GT Growth & Transition Strategies for a free consultation as you first step in the process toward your ultimate goal.

[1] Source: Pew Research Center   https://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/baby-boomers-retire/

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2015

Read More

While most business owners focus on the annual profit or cash flow of their business, it is less common devote time and attention to an equally important measurement, your business’ return on investment. An ROI measurement can help an owner determine whether their business is not only providing them with a solid lifestyle, but also whether or not they are keeping pace with the competition and making the most of their ‘risk adjusted’ returns for all of their wealth. Do you know if the risk-adjusted return on your business is high or low?  Do you know if you are getting the return that the market would require for the risks that you take in your business?  These are important questions because if you want to exit your business someday, a prospective buyer will base his or her buying decision on their expected ROI from the purchase of your business.

Has Your Business Provided a Return to You?

The ROI of your business can be a measurement by the financial gain provided to you over the years that you own the company.  A simple calculation, provided on the following chart, can assist with understanding an answer to your company’s ROI to you.

As demonstrated in the chart, the owner of a business that can sell for $8,000,000, which had an initial cost of $200,000, has an annualized return on investment of 27%, when also factoring in the ‘excess salary’ each year.  In this case, the exiting owner grew the business over a 15 year time period while also generating ‘excess compensation’ (compensation as an owner, not as a manager) for each of the years of ownership.

Will the Same Business Provide a Suitable ROI for a Buyer?

The same ROI calculation can used to measure whether or not a business will generate a return for the next owner.  As an exiting owner, it is helpful to look ahead to show a buyer/successor the type of return that they can expect to get by owning the business.  Having this knowledge will help you argue for a higher value when the time comes to engage with a future owner.

Put simply, a buyer or successor for your business is interested in what future return the business can generate for them, not necessarily what the business has provided for you in the past.  As an exiting owner, you can improve their positioning in the succession planning process by determining what the buyer or successors’ future expected returns will be and then describe the risks involved with generating those returns.

Knowing Your Buyer’s Motives

One of the most effective ways to get comfortable with engaging buyers is to understand their motivations and the math behind their calculations.  Because buyers and successors have many options for investment opportunities, an exiting owner needs to understand how and where they can be a competitive investment for the buyer.

Minimum ROI requirements for prospective buyers can vary by buyer type or fluctuate depending on other business deals available to that specific buyer.  If a buyer has, for example, a 25% return expectation for your business, then they will adjust their pricing to get to that level of return.  In order to reduce the potential to have a buyer lower their valuation, an owner can look to demonstrate a higher ROI by projecting what will happen in the future and selling that future story to the buyer.

How to Get Paid for A Future ROI

Owners often make the mistake of overvaluing their businesses because of their emotions and the potential that they see in the company.  These owners need to change their thinking to accept that an investor will have his or her own expectations and goals for future growth.  And just because your business has provided you with a nice lifestyle, this does not mean that your future buyer will see it the same way.

The ultimate question then for you, the exiting owner, is not ‘has my business provided me with a great lifestyle over the years?”, but rather ‘can my business meet the return criteria of a potential buyer or successor in my industry so that I can both get a deal done and get paid the value that I would like to receive?”

Concluding Thoughts

Understanding your ROI and the ROI that a future buyer can expect from owning your business is a valuable tool in designing a plan for your eventual business exit.  It is therefore crucial for an owner to objectively, accurately, and fairly portray the company’s ROI, both for himself and for potential successors. This is an important way that an owner can determine the true value and health of his or her business, and that a potential successor can make an informed decision to buy your business.

We hope that this newsletter has helped you to see that the exit from your business is the beginning of someone else’s investment.  The better job that you can do in explaining a buyer’s ROI, the higher the likelihood will be of having success in your exit process.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2015

Read More

There is an old saying that ‘there is no return without risk.’  Business owners accept certain risks as a part of their day-to-day existence because there is risk in owning and running any privately held business.  Understanding how to measure and compare these risks can assist in understanding how to compare the risks in your business with other risks.  In the context of planning a future exit, this is particularly helpful because it helps to shed light on the potential manner in which value will be placed on your business by a buyer or successor

Different forms of Risk

Risk is measured in many different ways including business risks, risks of product obsolescence, competitive risks, credit risks, market risks, as well as ‘opportunity cost’ risks – to name a few.  However, the most important risks to evaluate are those that an outsider will use to evaluate your company.

Numb to the Risk

Too many business owners, because they ‘live in their businesses’ are under the false illusion that the risk in their business is ‘controlled’.  However, the riskiness of any business, as a whole, should be measured more accurately by examining what a buyer or successor would be willing to pay for a controlling stake in that privately held business.

An exiting owner should ask:

• How would an outsider view the risks in my business, and
• What would my business’ return on investment be to another buyer?

Outside buyers do not understand the inner-workings of a private business.  Therefore, they see risk at every turn.  As a result, these investors are typically looking for annualized average returns on investment from a privately-held business of sixteen (16) to thirty-five (35) percent.  In fact, sometimes greater returns are required for earlier stage companies.

Converting Return Expectations into Multiples to Get to Value

Another way to look at the expected returns of an outside buyer is to translate the 16% to 35% expected returns selling multiples cash flow, or EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization).  Here, the expected returns of 16% and 35% convert into multiples of 2.8 times to 6.25 times the company’s cash flow.  What this means is that depending upon how much risk a buyer sees in your business, they will adjust their cash flow accordingly.

The Conversion Process

In order to arrive at the conversion of a return expectation to a multiple, you simply divide 100% by the percentage return required.  For example, if a buyer expects a 25% annualized return, this converts into a four (4) multiple.  However if the buyer sees less risk and only requires a 20% annualized return, then the multiple jumps to a five (5) multiple.  This is by no means a comprehensive formula for calculating the value of a business.  However, this simplistic method is a helpful way for owners to see how risk converts into what someone will pay for your company.

Why Buyers Lower Valuation When They See More Risk

So why does the buyer of a privately-held company require a 16% to 35% return from owning privately held stock?

There are a number of reasons but the easiest way to understand the high expected returns are due to the illiquid nature of privately-held businesses. Unlike publicly traded companies, there is no ‘ready market’ for the trading of shares of private businesses.  Therefore, there is no liquidity for these investments – which raises the risk associated with owning the business.

As a part of the illiquid nature of private businesses, there is also a lack of transparency.  In other words, privately-held businesses have no requirement to disclose information about their company to anyone except the government and, perhaps, their bank.  In fact, business buyers look at their role as needing to uncover issues that they cannot see before they will take ownership of the company.  Experienced buyers look to identify risks before an investment and when they see risks they either lower their valuation or they walk away from the deal entirely.

Concluding Thoughts

Business owners are well served in knowing what the marketplace of buyers thinks of the risks that will be perceive in their business.  As an owner, you can create a greater opportunity to achieve a higher value for your business if you can focus on reducing the perceived risk in your business.  And, regardless of the ultimate exit option that you choose, being well informed when heading into any transaction is solid advice for any owner.

In conclusion, exit planning can be a complex endeavor for many exiting owners.  These plans are not a part of the typical ‘business building’ that many exiting owners are so good at achieving.  Applying some of the basic concepts of finance to your privately-held business helps in the process.

We hope that you found this newsletter helpful towards assisting you in thinking through a future exit from your business.

Pinnacle Equity Solutions © 2015

Read More

Today’s newsletter is written to address an important topic in planning for an owner’s transition, namely, ‘how to get to the equity in your business?’  We’ll look at how business owners view their companies and then offer some planning-base suggestions as to how to draw the equity out of your business over time, assuming that you are not selling to an outsider.  We hope that this newsletter content inspires you to begin planning for how you too will get to the equity in your business.

Getting to Income vs. Equity

There are two very different aspects to getting the money out of your business.  On the first hand, there is the income that you draw from the business in terms of salary, personal/business expenses, and bonuses that you pay to yourself and/or retirement plan savings. All of this constitutes money that’s coming to you from the cash flow of the business going towards the lifestyle that you have built for yourself.  The second and potentially much more important aspect, is getting to the equity – the illiquid part – of your business.  The equity is your ‘owner’s value’, the reward for growing your enterprise and taking the risk as a shareholder and investor.

Leading with Personal Planning, Measuring the Value Gap

As a part of the process of tapping into your equity value, it is helpful to first know your Value Gap – i.e. how much money you need to extract from the business in order to maintain your lifestyle without the business.  The chart below helps to illustrate this point.

We see that Bill Brown has $1,000,000 saved for retirement but needs $7,000,000 to maintain his lifestyle.  Bill’s Value Gap is $6,000,000.  The question becomes, ‘How can Bill get to the equity in his business in order to close this Value Gap?’

Like most business owners, Bill is focused on running and growing his business.  Bill has some money saved for retirement.  However, as we can see, it is nearly impossible for Bill to extract enough ‘income’ from his business, at his age, to meet his personal financial goals – Bill needs to get to the equity in his business.  The question that Bill is looking to answer is, ‘how can I plan to tap into my business equity, over a long enough time period, to draw it out to meet my personal goals (without hurting my company’s cash flow)?’

The Many Paths to Harvesting Equity Value

The first step is to realize that there are many ways to get to the equity in your business.  You can find a buyer, groom a successor, or even create a buyer for the shares of your company’s stock.  The most important part of this planning process is to recognize that any one of these options requires a process.
(more…)

Read More

It has been said that ‘timing is everything’. Well in business transition planning, timing is important, but so is transferability. Today’s newsletter discusses both and is intended to provide you with some guidance as to how you can begin to design a plan for a successful business transition, which includes growing the transferable value of your business towards an exit that is a number of years into the future.

Gaining an Exit Perspective

Setting a plan for an exit requires a perspective on what you are trying to achieve and when it is possible to attain such an outcome. An important consideration for every business owner is that of ‘exit windows’, or, how to time your exit to meet your business and personal goals. Once you understand the timing of your exit, there is an opportunity for you to begin planning and making decisions today based upon achieving this future exit. Without this type of planning, you are likely to be without direction for your exit, and possibly missing the next exit window.

Exit Windows

The chart below illustrates the cycle of business exits and shows that the next likely window for exit is within the next few years. According to this ‘ten year transfer cycle’ chart, in 2015 we are inside of a window for exit that may last for another three (3) years or so – see below

 

So, how can you grow into your exit? Well, you can begin with the end in mind. You can begin by understanding when you would like to exit and then build the business around that timing.

Three Concepts Relating to a Transferable Business

In order to manage anything in life and in business, you need to be able to measure it. A measurement of your current value becomes very important. A plan to grow that value as you approach your exit becomes a critical part of the exit planning process. There are three (3) concepts that you should be looking at when thinking about growing into your exit. They are:

1. Profitability
2. Sustainability
3. Transferability

(more…)

Read More