A few years ago, an owner sold his business for what I’m told was a fabulous sum.
Want to know his secret?
Thought you might…
I can’t share the details of what they did or who they were, but I can tell you what happened so you can learn from his secret.
The company had a fabulous product range, cleverly designed, well packaged, and highly effective. They were highly innovative, with lots of new products rolling into production. Operations ran a tight ship and produced cost effectively.
However, they struggled to make the breakthrough sales they needed.
Marketing was non-existent. They’d some great salespeople but sales leadership was weak. They didn’t invest to develop those skills in-house from the (mistaken) belief that the product would sell itself.
Which is why turnover had barely grown in real terms in ten years.
However, they manufactured at full capacity to keep unit costs low and the price competitive. Profits looked good, but there was a lot of unsold product sitting on their warehouse shelves.
Things weren’t looking good. Much of that product was reaching the end of its shelf life, and the company was looking at multi-million-pound stock write-offs if it couldn’t shift the product.
Then, their saviour arrived unannounced, unexpected, and unplanned.
Suddenly their product was in huge demand.
Stock flew off the shelves and they rapidly increased production to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Profits more than doubled.
Twenty months later the business was sold for what I’m told was a fabulous sum.
Fair dues to the owner, it was his life’s work, and his products were fabulous, but he got lucky.
If Covid hadn’t hit, it could have been a very different story and a very different valuation.
He’d most likely still be running the business today, still hoping for a magical outcome.
A Black Swan event gave him his lucrative exit, but it happens for very few.
Waiting for a Black Swan is not a strategy, it’s hope and clutching at straws.
Building the value and saleability of your business is a strategy. Structuring your business so you can happily own it forever, but easily sell it tomorrow is a strategy.
If you want to exit happy, wealthy, and regret-free one day (even if that’s years away), growing the value of your business must be your number one focus as an owner.
Doing it is reasonably simple and straightforward.
But not easy.
It takes work, commitment, and courage. Courage because you’ll be making difficult decisions and choices and changing how you run and lead the business.
Not many are willing to start the journey.
Even fewer succeed (like 3 in every 1,000 owners few). But for those who do, the rewards are worth it.
If you want to be one of that Elite 0.3%, get the ball rolling by ...
Arranging a chat now with me here
Maybe a Black Swan event will give you a fabulous valuation and exit. But, if that’s your strategy to have enough money to fund the next phase of your life, (and, sadly, it is most owner’s default strategy), you’d be better setting up a DD for the Euro Millions lottery. They’re both as equally likely to happen.
Anyhow… if you’re not willing to accept those odds, and you’re ready to focus on growing the value and improving the saleability of your business … get in touch and tell me a bit about your business and where you’re at, and we can have a chat about how to get you what you want. To get the ball rolling …
Warmly,
Richard
PS: The chat is free as I’ve no idea if I can help you until I know a bit more about your business. It’s not a “discovery” call, and it’s most definitely not a pick my brains call. If you’re serious about breaking the mould and controlling your destiny by building a valuable and sellable business, we really should chat…