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HOW TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO AGAIN & TURN YOUR BUSINESS AROUND
Have you been in business a number of years now and woken up today thinking "I'm over this. I'm tired, need a holiday, sick of the office and the burden of having all the responsibility and constantly being needed by someone for something."
You probably know some or all of the solution, but the idea of doing it just leaves you feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. You just don't have the energy to think about yet alone do it. You'd love to have someone in your corner to bounce ideas off and who can help sort things out.
Some of these problems can be minor and a quick and easy adjustment will fix it, others are more difficult and time consuming. But right now even the simplest of things is just too much. There's just so much to do and not enough hours in the day to do it all. Customers, suppliers, staff and then theirs family, all needing something. And only one of me.
This is a common problem for business owners and finding a trusted advisor/ mentor can give you the turnaround you need. Let me tell you about a client I had who was in this position when we first met. He had been in business for years, good business that over the years had provided a good income and lifestyle for him and his family. But now found himself tired, frustrated, unmotivated and wanting out. You know the "sell up and go fishing (insert your dream). At the same time the thought of doing so worried them, financially, emotionally and practically. What would I do with all that time?
It didn't take long and this had turned around. He was motivated, staff were more productive, profits were up, goals exceeded and holidays were planned and taken.
So what changed? We talked, worked out what were the greatest stresses right now that we're keeping him awake, constantly on his mind. We put strategies in place. Changed some processes. Reengaged with the staff. Developed a business that worked around the lifestyle he wanted for now and planned for the future.
Some of these changes were really simple. Greet the staff, join them at break time. Instead of being seen as aloof and distant he was now more engaged, this was one of the changes that helped change the culture making the environment more enjoyable for all.
Setting a budget. Yes I know that's boring but if you look at it from another perspective it's a great and dare I say, fun tool. Budget is your dream and goals in number form. It tells a story of where you'll like to be in twelve months and who you want to get there. Along the way you get to see how your tracking and you can make adjustments as you go. It can also show you were some of your frustrations are coming from and help you put things in place to deal with them.
Just talking through thoughts and ideas, sharing and unloading the burdens with someone who has experienced what it means to own a business can provide the the support you need to turn things around. We all need a trusted someone in our corner. The peace of mind is invaluable and the flow on effect into all areas of your life, amazing.
If you would like to talk about your situation and see if Partnering To Grow would benefit you, please call. I would be honoured to share some of your journey with you. Let's find solutions!
WHERE IS THE LIFESTYLE?
Are you a business owner who is wondering where your lifestyle is?
You know the work/life balance that everyone seems to be after these days. Yeah right, you have work/life balance, your life is work. There is little to no room for anything else. Sick of hearing about the wonderful holidays that staff, friends and family have? The freedoms and lifestyle they enjoy without all the pressure and risks that you face? Wondering why you don’t just get a job, so you can enjoy these benefits too?
Would you like to change that? Well you can but guess what, you will need to change something, maybe even a lot of somethings.
That doesn’t mean it’s hard to do, it just takes a change in mind and some all important action, and you can be heading to a brighter future.
Have you been dreaming of taking time for a holiday, a fishing trip on the boat you bought, catch-up with friends and family, maybe even get fit and relax more. Now is as good a time as any to start.
Making changes to your business and how you operate can improve your lifestyle dramatically. Freeing up time, reducing stress and demands, increasing efficiencies and productivity, improving profitability. All this are the benefits of Exit and Succession planning.
The process provides a review of your operations, looks at your goals and desired outcomes, combines with coaching, action and implementation to transform your business. For an added bonus it also adds to the value of your business providing for greater reward in the future, while enjoying the benefits now.
If you are overwhelmed, overworked and disenchanted with your business, then this is for you. Get back the life you want. After all isn’t this the reason you set out on this journey, risking all for the freedom of owning your own business?
Start your Exit plan today and enjoy the rewards.
Every business is unique and each business owner has different requirements. Complete the ‘Time to Exit’ Survey and receive your
FREE assessment.
WHAT IS EXIT & SUCCESSION PLANNING?
It is a process, best completed over 12 – 36 months, created to maximize business value. So when the time comes, you can receive the maximum value for your years of investment.
The process of exit and succession planning not only maximizes business wealth but considers the owner’s personal readiness. This allows the owner to prepare, structure the business and to gain maximum value. The process also allows the owner to maximize their personal wealth and facilitate their life after exit.
There are different reasons that initiate an owner leaving their business. It can be an incident such as sickness, family problem, divorce, downturn in market, product lifecycle end, a new opportunity, relocation or retirement. Often the decision to exit happens without planning and results in closure of business, succession or sale with little to no financial gain.
After all the years of hard work, sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears, to shut the doors and work away is a waste. Unfortunately, this is often what business owners end up doing. Proper planning can change this and give you greater options for you to choose from when the time comes to exit.
There are additional benefits short term as well. The process improves efficiencies and productivity and improves profitability. It is also designed to provide owners with a greater work/life balance. Often this is an elusive concept. One that was the goal when they set out on the journey, but sadly is often a dream and not a reality, due to constant pressures and demands.
Exit and Succession planning provides many benefits now and for the future.
Start your Exit plan today and enjoy the rewards.
Every business is unique and each business owner has different requirements. Complete the ‘Time to Exit’ Survey and receive your FREE assessment.
7 REASONS YOU NEED AN EXIT OR SUCCESSION PLAN
Having your own business can be very rewarding and potentially give you the freedom and lifestyle that you want. However, you don’t have to be in business for long to realize that a successful business requires a lot of hard work, time, energy, money, resources and sacrifice.
So, it would be a shame to risk all that you have achieved and worked so hard for. An unplanned event or even retirement could see you miss out on receiving financial rewards from a successful sale or succession plan, effectively leaving money on the table.
1. New Opportunities
You might be happy doing what you are doing now but you don’t know what the future holds. You could come across another business opportunity, or decide to relocate. Perhaps you decide to pursue a hobby. What would you do if someone offered to buy your business? Being sale ready puts you in a favorable position to capitalize on your efforts.
2.Preparing a business for sale or succession takes time.
The process of building value into a business can take 2 to 3 years. Establishing an advisory board, identifying the desired outcome, setting goals, developing an action plan and implementation are key elements required to build value and achieve a higher sale price.
3. Things don’t go as planned.
There are different reasons that initiate an owner leaving their business. It can be an incident such as sickness, disagreement, distress, disability, family problem, divorce, downturn in market, product lifecycle end, a new opportunity, relocation or retirement. Often the decision to exit happens without adequate planning can results in the closure of a business, an unprepared succession or the sale of unprepared business resulting in little to no financial gain.
4. Income does not always translate into value
Your business may have good revenue and profitability; however, the value of your business considers; the business as a whole, and the risk factor involved for the buyer. Proper planning builds value into the business as well as reducing risk.
5. Maximize value in good and bad times.
The exit planning process also improves efficiencies, productivity, increases profitability and improves the owner’s lifestyle.
6. Control how and when you exit the business
The process considers the business, stakeholder’s and the owner’s needs. Developing and implementing a plan provides the owner with the ability to manage situations instead of reacting to them. This allows for a strategic option to be chosen, improving your ability to control how and when you exit.
7. Reduces the time involved in selling the business
The sale process itself can be long and is often onerous on the business owner as they are required to prepare extensive documentation regarding the business to the buyer. As a result of the implementation of an exit or succession plan, the due diligence and documentation period of a sale can be greatly reduced.
Start your Exit plan today and enjoy the rewards.
Every business is unique and each business owner has different requirements. Complete the ‘Time to Exit’ Survey and receive your FREE assessment.
7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD START AN EXIT OR SUCCESSION PLAN NOW
Isn’t that the way? There is always something else to do! Rush here rush there, take this call, sort out this customer problem, follow-up a supplier, problem to sort out with staff. I need a coffee and a moment to breath. Ah such is the life of a business owner.
Firstly, it doesn’t have to be, but more about that later. As much as I loath to add another thing to the crazy list of ‘to do’, this is important and best to be done before it’s also urgent! In Stephen Covey’s book “The 7 habits of highly effective people” he advises we should “Begin with the end in mind”.
There are a number of reasons that this is important; to know where you are going, goal setting, to eliminate distractions, be more productive. It may seem strange to work out how to exit your business when you are just starting it but it is important. If your well on your way and have been in business for years, now is as good a time as any to start, essentially the sooner the better. Here are some reasons why:
Efficiency.
If you know where you are going and what it looks like you will get there quicker and following the best path. Often, we spend time and resources doing something only to discover it was wasted as it didn’t give us the result we expected and didn’t help us get where we wanted to. This can be avoided when we have a clear picture of where we are going. The we can evaluate each opportunity we come across and assess if it is useful to the plan. This way you won’t waste time and resources on what isn’t important. So, ask yourself “What is your End Game”?
It takes time
. To get your business ready and create value it can typically take 2-5 years to do it right. A key component of an exit or succession plan is documentation. The process takes time, Review, design, implement, assess then repeat. The better the processes and documentation are, the more value your business holds.
Risk Mitigation
. Your business may be unique, really every business is. It may be location, suppliers, concept, technology, etc. There is often a point of difference that makes your business unique. You may well think that this means your business is hard to document or build value into however there are core principles that are always relevant. When you look at a business from a risk mitigation perspective you start to see where you can develop processes and systems for documentation. This process contributes to your business value whilst providing a more secure framework for your business to operate in.
Better prepared to evaluate exit options.
Preparation is key to a successful Exit. The process provides you the opportunity to evaluate the diverse ways you can exit. This gives you a strong position to determine your path. Being able to choose the time, way, and structure makes for a more successful outcome.
Time allocated for tax planning, management succession etc
. Making sure you have the right business structure, IP protection, as well as considering the ramifications of an exit from legal, tax and financial perspectives is very important. This can take time as it involves consultation with key advisors to get the right fit for your circumstances. If the Exit plan wasn’t developed in the beginning it can take more time, especially if changes need to be made to business structure, etc.
More time to consider and plan life-after-business.
Planning your exit early gives you the time to mentally, physically and emotionally prepare for after your exit. It can be a very difficult process to suddenly wake up and you are not a business owner anymore, don’t have to be somewhere, have more spare time than you know what to do with. There can be a grieving process that follows. However, this can be avoided, or at least minimized by planning. That way you can factor in what you will do after you exit, as part of the plan. Maybe for you it will be start a new business, buy another business, take a long-awaited trip. The choice is yours but good planning helps the transition as well as ensuring you got the best outcome to fund this future.
Allows more time to become involved in the sale process.
Often a business owner can feel the sale process is outside their control. With demands for information, people coming in and investigating operations, checking documentation, this can be quite confronting. Planning and preparation, puts you in greater control. You can have all the information ready for the prospective buyer, not only does this save time but also money, and the process is more comfortable as you know you have all your ducks in a row, ready for any scrutiny.
Start your Exit plan today and enjoy the rewards.
Every business is unique and each business owner has different requirements. Complete the ‘Time to Exit’ Survey and receive your FREE assessment.
VALUE BUILDING FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
Do you know what value building is? Sounds like something nice and vague doesn’t it. Something you really don’t have time or resources to even investigate this yet alone implement.
What if I told you it is the process of building value into your business? That’s a little better but still vague.
You have a business that you have been working hard to build up and be successful. You have invested money, hours and hours of time, blood sweat and tears. Surely your business has gained value and one day will reap a reward. Right? Not necessarily. For many businesses, the value
is in any IP and YOU. Take you out of the equation and your business may only be worth the value of the second-hand equipment and stock, if you have any. There may be some good will to boost this figure but not always and often not as much as we business owners would like.
Why is that?
The biggest problem facing many small to medium businesses is you are an intrinsic part of everything, take you out of the picture and to a potential buyer there is too much risk.
Will the customers stay on, will suppliers remain and give same service delivery for the same or better price? What about the employees? As a result, your business may not be such an attractive opportunity.
This is where value building comes into play. It is a fundamental part of establishing your Exit or Succession plan, which should be established at the commencement of business and form a basis for all your strategic planning.
To ensure the value of your business you need to extract all that valuable information and resource out of you and imbed it into the business. This will help with the value and longevity of your
business. Sound like a lot of work? Already working long enough hours just doing what you are now so not interested in taking on something else?
Fair enough. But what if there was a process where with a monthly engagement you could achieve just that. Would that make a difference? What if that process also provided that added benefit of increasing your businesses productivity, efficiencies and profitability. Would that make it worthwhile for you? Now what if it also generated a better lifestyle for you and your family. How would you like to stress less? Work shorter hours? Choose the work you do? Have a holiday? Can you imagine the freedom this could bring?
Well guess what. A well implemented value plan will do this. Using a high growth web-based program, monthly coaching for accountability and project management you can achieve this.
Start your Exit plan today and enjoy the rewards.
Every business is unique and each business owner has different requirements. Complete the ‘Time to Exit’ Survey and receive your FREE assessment.
