A warning for ambitious owners who want to exit with smiles
and stuffed wallets
If you’re thinking of selling your business for a large pot of gold and financial Shangri-La, then gird your loins, because I'm about to share something that's going to hurt more than a boot to your proverbial …
Between 70% and 80% of businesses never get to market because there’s nothing of value to sell.
Of those ever listed for sale, only 20% sell.
And of those who sell, only 5% get the money they want (and 75% bitterly regret selling their business a year later).
Putting that all together means 997 out of every 1,000 owners are deeply disappointed with their exit.
Take a moment, and imagine just how that feels...
Can you imagine their simmering frustration? All those years wasted, the sweat, the sacrifices and sleepless nights all for nothing.
Can you feel it? That sinking feeling, like a lead weight in your stomach, especially if you've already painted a future awash in financial success and personal triumph.
Now, if you want to avoid their fate, read on to discover how to craft a valuable, long-lasting, and ultimately sellable business, create true wealth, and take back control of your life (and have fun doing it).
But, before you start, be aware this is a long message. And, make no mistake, when you've finished reading, I'm going to ask you to arrange a call where you may be asked to invest a (modest) sum of money to work with me.
Because it's a long message, you may be tempted to skim ahead.
I strongly urge you not to do that.
Instead, I urge to read and consider every word carefully. Not only will this mean your eventual decision is fully and properly informed, but what I share here is useful, educational, and benefical in, and of, itself, even if you decide not to join me.
Still, if I know one thing... I know people are impatient.
So, if you've made your mind up before you get to the end, click one of the purple buttons and you'll be carried effortlessly to the bottom where you can arrange a free chat with me.
Still with me?
Good.
Let's start by digging into why fewer than 3 in every 1,000 of owners (the "Elite 0.3%") enjoy a gratifying, lucrative and regret-free exit ...
Why your business will sell for less than you
think it's worth
Most owners naturally focus on sales growth, product quality, customer satisfaction, on cost reduction, and keeping things running smoothly.
While these are crucial for a robust business, they don't necessarily lead to a sale-ready business able to fetch a life-changing sum.
The real issue is most owners are unfamiliar with what truly adds value and marketability to a business.
They often believe selling their business is like the Field of Dreams: "I've built it, they will come."
They assume a profitable business is sufficient.
But loss-making businesses can sell for substantial amounts, while highly profitable ones may struggle to attract buyers and, when they do, often sell for only one- or two-years' worth of profits.
It's not your fault!
Unless you've been involved in buying and selling businesses, it's challenging to understand what creates value and marketability.
So, who can you turn to for guidance?
Your typical business consultant focuses on issues like lead generation, sales strategies, business systemisation, financial management, leadership, and more. But they lack insights into long-term value creation and the saleability of your business. Their advice may only cover a fraction of what's required, and sometimes, it may even harm your business's value.
Business brokers and corporate finance advisors understand what makes a business valuable and sellable, but they can't guide you through the process since they've never done it themselves. Also, their primary focus is on selling your business for their profit, not on helping you increase its value.
Most accountants are not well-versed in what creates value or saleability, and even if they were, it’s unlikely they’ll encourage you to explore them because selling your business means losing a client (as few buyers retain the seller's accountants).
Serial acquirers and private equity firms prefer to keep this knowledge to themselves because they profit by buying companies at a low price, enhancing the value drivers, and then selling them at a higher price.
My approach is distinct—I get my kicks from helping you grow your business's value and setting it up for a straightforward sale when you're ready.
I'll equip you with the tools, skills, and knowledge to ensure you get your desired price whenever you choose to sell. Until then, you'll have a business you can happily own forever.
How is this different from everything else I’ve seen?
I’m sure you can tell me how much money you have in your business bank account. You can probably tell me what your profits were last month.
If you’re really switched on, you can tell me how much free cashflow you generated last month, and where it came from.
But, if you’re like most owners, I bet you can’t confidently answer the three most important questions:
- “What’s your business worth today?”
- “Could you sell it tomorrow if you had to?”
- “If you did, would you get enough cash to fund the next phase of your life?”
The answers to those three questions tell you if you’ve built something valuable and long-lasting, something that will create generational wealth for your family and give you control, freedom and choice in your life.
The answers determine if all the sacrifices you’ve made for your business are truly worth it because you’ve created real value in your business.
Which is why we measure and relentlessly focus on improving the drivers of value and sellability for YOUR business.
Why Now?
It takes between three and eight years to complete the sale of your business. At least two of those years are involved in growing the value and preparing your business for sale.
So, if you want to exit in the next ten years, now’s the time to start!
And if you’re thinking "I can leave this for a few years", you may be making the biggest mistake of your entrepreneurial life.
Here's why...
If you're like most owners, your business is your most substantial asset, probably representing more than 70% of your net worth.
Now, imagine if one of life's Dreaded Ds — disability, disease, death, or divorce — suddenly strikes you or a close family member, and you need to sell your business. What then?
If you can't easily unlock the value in your business, if you can't swiftly convert it into cash, have you genuinely secured wealth for yourself and your family?
If selling it isn't a straightforward option, you’re in a similar situation to the landed gentry of old – asset-rich but cash-poor. History shows how thatplayed out for the aristocrats and grand estates.
To create true wealth, to safeguard your family’s future, to have freedom, control, and choices, you should start enhancing the value and saleability of your business today.
Diving a bit deeper to the really important stuff...
What’s in it for you?
We both know the challenges of building a business - the long days, stress, and relentless nature of it all.
Those sleepless nights, staring at the ceiling, with the latest in a long line of worries running riot in your mind…. "How will I cover this month's payroll?" "Should I invest in that new equipment?" "How am I going to deal with that brilliant employee who’s hacking everyone else off?" "Is it wise to hire someone with a higher salary than myself?"
The programme is designed to help you manage and eliminate (forever) those business-related frustrations. It will show you how to:
Once you’ve embedded the Value Acceleration Flywheel (my unique, proprietary methodology) in your business, you’ll have:
How do you know this is real?
In the last 8 years, I’ve helped more than 120 owners grow businesses they can happily own forever but easily sell tomorrow.
Some have sold for life-changing amounts. Some have kept their businesses and added new ones to their portfolio. Some have simply created the space to enjoy life more.
Regardless of whether they exited or not, all have seen significant increase in their company’s value.
One client saw their company’s value grow from c£5m to £44m inside three years (it’s now worth over £100m). Another has seen a 10-fold value increase in the last seven years. One client exited after three years for a double-digit profit multiple plus a substantial share in the acquirer.
Take Lecky Design, a global leader in postural support aids. In 2016, I helped James set the stage for his lucrative exit in August 2020. Here’s what he said...
"If you want help in making your business vision a reality and taking your business to the next level, then I highly recommend you engage Richard to guide you through the journey.
Working with Richard to make these changes in our business has been one of the best things we’ve ever done. It has had an amazing impact on our focus and performance."
James Leckey, Founder , Leckey Design
Why should you trust me?
Well, I could share my CV but we'd both be bored. So, let me try and break it down for you in a more meaningful way…
Back in the day, I was deep into the world of strategy consulting, and I got a real handle on things like figuring out what drives company value and making smart decisions to help them grow it. I even studied stuff like corporate finance, acquisition strategy and strategic decision making at Ashridge Management College.
During my strategy consulting days, amongst other things, I was advising big co’s like Orange on how to get a return on their £4bn investment in a 3G licence, helping Nescafe trim their product line and reposition their products to sell like, well, Starbucks coffee! And helping NatWest revive their banks in Germany and Greece and optimise their credit card pricing strategy.
During that time, I spent a couple of years as Head of Marketing & Strategy at NatWest's International Trade and Banking division, with turnover in the hundreds of millions of pounds. In just two years, we managed to crank up the profits from £124 million to £170 million, which added a sweet £440 million to the company's overall worth.
Then, in 2001, I took the reins as the Managing Director of a furniture company. During the early noughties we grew at a ridiculous 52% year on year, from £1.5m to £15m. Even after the 2008/09 financial crash hit us with a 33% sales decline, we managed to rebuild to £20 million by 2014. What's more, our employees were happier than a clam at high tide, with satisfaction levels through the roof.
As well as being down in the trenches, I’ve got the non-exec badges too. I've got a fancy distinction in Company Directorship, I'm a Chartered Director, and I used to be a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. I've even chaired three private companies, and I'm the Honorary Treasurer of Belfast Chamber of Trade – so I've got the helicopter view too.
Here's why you should care ...
You might tell me that all sounds great but your business and your sector are different. But let me tell you this, having worked in over 30 different industries with more than 120 owners, the principles of the Value Acceleration Flywheel work in every industry.
You've probably come across those textbook knowledge consultants spouting theory and the latest fad? Rest assured I'm not one of those. I've been in the trenches and in your shoes (during which I've made my fair share of mistakes and celebrated plenty of successes). My whole career has been about rolling up my sleeves and actually making businesses better, one of which could be yours.
So, when you hear me talk about the Value Acceleration Flywheel and the strategies I am asking you to plug into your business, you can trust they're not just theories – they're battle-tested in real businesses, including my own ventures (of which I’ve two on a path to sale right now).
So, if you want craft a business you'll love for a lifetime (but could easily cash in tomorrow for a happy and lucrative exit), you can sleep soundly knowing I'll bring all my experience to the table to help you.
And that's what you'll find in my Elite 0.3% Programme...
What is the Elite 0.3% Programme and how does it work?
Frankly, the Elite 0.3% Programme is the last word, chapter, and verse on how to increase the value of your business and make it easily sellable.
It’s a one-year guided programme including:
- A highly structured curriculum. Delivered monthly by online videos and supported with weekly live Q&As with me. Each module comes with workbooks and resources to take you through the exercises outlined in the videos.
- Access to the lively 0.3% Club online forum. You can chew the fat with your fellow members and get my personal help by posting your questions, challenges, and ideas in the group.
- Detailed on-boarding call. We’ll dive deep into your business, discuss your key goals, determine your value building score, estimate your current business value, and set your key objectives for the year.
- Monthly round tables. We’ll catch up monthly to review progress and use the power of the mastermind to discuss and resolve any challenges or roadblocks you might be facing.
- Quarterly in-person meetings. You’ll meet with your fellow members to hear actionable advice from myself and expert speakers – each quarter we will deep-dive into a key element of the Value Acceleration Flywheel. And there’ll be mastermind hotseats where we’ll hold you to account for achieving your value-building goals and work through your business challenges to keep you on track.
- Year-end value review. We’ll meet online one-to-one to review your value builder score, estimate the increase in net value, and create a plan for hitting next target valuation.
- WhatsApp support. Direct access to me for help in resolving urgent and important issues.
- Optional ongoing membership. After the year is up, you’ll have the opportunity to remain part of the group, with full access to everything above, with no minimum term (it’ll run month to month).
This isn’t the place to get into the details of exactly what I’ll teach you in the Elite 0.3% Programme. However, it’s worth spending a moment considering the three guiding design principles of the programme:
- Your business should be able to run without you day-to-day. We’ll be covering how you attract, recruit, and retain self-driving teams to make that happen. And we’ll dig into effective leadership so you can get the most from those people with the least effort.
- Your business should be delivering sustainable, reliable, profitable growth. You’ll discover how to create an inch-wide, mile deep cohort of evangelical ambassadors – clients who are a pleasure to deal with, pay premium prices, rave about what you do and refer you to others.
- Your business should be generating robust free cashflow. I’ll be showing you how to improve your cash generation, reduce business risks, and remove the silent killers of value.
Throughout the year, we’ll be looking at your how you think and how you make decisions. I’ll show you how to take control of your thoughts, feelings, and actions so you can put them to work in your life and business and create the results you want.
How can you get started?
If you want to increase the value of your business and make it easily sellable, you have three options…
- You can continue to do what you’re doing now and hope it all works out ok. But the odds are massively stacked against you – remember fewer than 3 in every 1,000 owners have a happy and lucrative exit.
- You can research what makes a business sellable and valuable and then apply those insights to your business. But you risk wasting time and money, making mistakes, and potentially ending up where you started, with a business no more valuable or sellable than it is today.
- Or you could let me lend you a hand and show you the proven way to build a business that ensures your eventual farewell is a flourshing finish, full of smiles and with a stuffed wallet
Look, let’s face it, you wouldn’t be here if you knew how to do this yourself.
Every day you don't have my help, is another day wasted.
It’s another day when you can’t lift your head because your business is overly dependent on you.
It’s another day when you're not growing predictably and profitably.
It’s another day when you're not generating a reliable and steady stream of free-cashflow.
And it’s another day away from having a sustainable, scalable and utlimately sellable business that's the foundation for a flourishing finish.
But I can't help you unless you take the first step by taking a step towards me.
I can lead you through the minefield, but you've got to reach out first by booking a free call with me.
What do you have to lose?
You quite literally have nothing to lose when you join us on the Elite Value Acceleration Programme because you’re protected by my unique, frankly outrageous, and definitely industry-leading “24-month money-back plus free pizza guarantee”.
100% Money Back + Free Pizza Guarantee
Here’s it how it works: if you complete the full year of the programme and implement my methods for a further 12 months and you haven't seen you business value increase by at least 50%, then I’ll give you your money back and have a fresh pizza delivered to your door (just my way of thanking you for at least trying the programme).
But… this is a conditional guarantee. Adding at least 50% to your business’s value won’t magically manifest like an episode of “The Secret”. You must put in the work to get the results.
So, my guarantee is predicated on you doing the work. Not because I want to make it difficult to claim, but because the people who do the work get the best results (strangely enough).
The conditions aren’t onerous, but I’m going to be strict, so you get the full benefits from the programme.
To claim your guarantee, you must have:
- Submitted your completed monthly Accountability Reports on time.
- Completed all the videos and exercises I give you in the programme.
- Raised any difficulties you’re having as a Red Light under the traffic light system we’re using in the Monthly Accountability Reports in a timely manner.
- Implemented the Value Acceleration Flywheel in your business.
And that's it.
I’m being upfront about this even though I know making my guarantee conditional will put some people off. Look, I could do what the vast majority in my line of work do and hide the conditions of my guarantee in the small print, but it's not my style. So, like everything I do, it’s upfront, direct, and honest.
If the conditions put you off, then it’s better we stop right now. If you’re going to balk at keeping your word and doing the work, I don’t want you as a client.
Being accepted into the Elite 0.3% Programme is contingent on your promise to keep your half of the bargain. If you do that and it doesn't work for you, then I have no qualms about honouring my guarantee on the spot.
But if you expect me to honour it when you’ve spent two years playing around the edges and not acting, then you’re in Dreamland.
So, over to you.
If you want my help growing a business you can happily own forever, or easily sell tomorrow for a happy and lucrative exit, book your chat now.
Next steps
Arranging your free call with me is easy.
All you have to do is pick a time below to talk to me.
This call is free.
Why?
Because it's to see if you're a fit for the Elite 0.3% experience.
It's not a "discovery call", and it's most definitely not a consultation where you get to pick my brain, and I get to fix your problems for free to prove my competence and "give value".
And I'll make you a promise: I promise I won't try to sell you anything, unless you ask me to.
If you're a fit for the Elite 0.3% Club, I may invite you to join; if you're not, I won't.
You should know, up-front, there will never be more than 12 people in your cohort, and places are given on a first-come, first-served basis. As most people stay with me for at least two years, you might be waiting a long time if you don’t act now.
By the way, if there are other people you need to consult before deciding whether to join us or not, then they must all be on the call, too.
Pick a convenient time below…
Warmly
PS: Quite frankly, this is the last word, chapter, and verse on how to craft a company that's a joy to own forever, but primed to sell whenever you’re ready.
Are you read to join the Elite 0.3% who make the leap?
Yes?
Then we need to talk ... click below to arrange your free chat.
PPS: Email me if you've any questions or can't get a time booked:
richard@aurelius-advisory.com