What is your long-term plan? 

You launched a business, maybe you are a bit of veteran and have been operating for several years, or maybe you are still pretty new to this.  

You decided to run your own business for the flexibility, maybe working around family, maybe you had lost your job or maybe you simply wanted to be your own boss and discovered a skill or product that you were passionate about and knew you could earn a living from it.  

Whatever the reason and however long you have been in the game, let me ask you this – what do you plan to do with your business?  

Are you in this for the long term until retirement or until a job offer is too irresistible, or are you looking to scale? What do you want your business to provide you with financially? Do you know how to achieve that?  

I recently chatted to Denise Hall, Business Value Analyst, Exit Facilitator and Business Broker and asked her what we as business owners should be doing to plan for the future and ensure our business is an asset and not simply a pastime that we pump many hours of effort into only to have nothing at the end.  

 

When should a business owner be thinking about the ‘end’?  

As a business owner, there are 3 factors to consider: 

1.       Is the business saleable? Will it fetch the price that will make me happy?  

2.       Have I worked out how I will replace the cashflow I am about to do away with by selling the business? 

3.       Have I worked out what I’m going to do next, especially if the reason I get out of bed in the morning is because of this business? 

If not absolutely clear about all of these, there’s work to do… 

 

What can a business broker offer to assist a business owner in securing their future? 

No idea in regard to securing their future. But what a worthy Business Broker should be able to do is: 

a) provide a realistic value in regard to the saleability of the business and, 
b) be able to fulfil this expectation when engaged to take the business to market (as well as facilitating the sale process etc.)

 

What can a business owner do now, to help make their business sellable?    

Refer to Question 1 firstly. 

In addition, get a line-in-the-sand Appraisal done to determine pricing as at a certain date by a Broker who has a firm understanding of the business sales market, as well as access to local comparable sales data. If the subsequent result to not what is wanted, then use the following period to rectify this based on the feedback. 

  

What information would a broker need, in order to work out the best options for a business owner to sell their business?  

What I need as a Broker to do the Appraisal today is: 

•              Legal entity which the businesses operate under.
•              Accountant-prepared Financial Statements for last 4 years; FY2017, FY2018, FY2019 and FY2020. 
•              Most current balance sheet.
•              Year-to-Date Profit&Loss from accounting software (Jul 2020 – March 2021).
•              Highlighting any government grants or special COVID subsidies.
•              “Payroll Employee Register [Summary]” from accounting software for the same 4 years – listing all employees (no names other than the owners and related parties), including owners wages.
•              Key Employees  – Roles and Pay – Also highlight who will likely be going and be staying after the sale.
•              Equipment/Asset List and value.
•              Estimated value (average) of Stock.
•              Brief details of formal supplier and customer agreements in place.
•              List of top 10 B2B customers (no names) and % split of contribution to revenue for latest financial year.
•              Copy of Premises Lease or equivalent market-price indication.
•              Website Google Analytics for 6 months (‘Overview’ and/or Admin access).

 

Any surprises there for you? Have you considered the ‘end’? Do you have a plan? I would love to hear your thoughts and you can check out Denise and her services at http://www.businessbrokers.com.au/  or au.linkedin.com/in/denisehall/ 

And if you liked this content and have a suggestion or other topics, let me know! And if you connect with Denise, tell her how you found her as although I am not paid or incentivised to refer Denise, (she is merely a long time contact and someone I respect in her field and I love to add value and educate), as marketers, I know that knowing where leads come from, is important for measuring.