Most small businesses never get sold. They either die or close. One of the primary reasons for this is that they don’t have systems, processes, or a list of raving fan customers who buy consistently. When people try to sell their business and they have none of the above true assets, they base the value of their company on what they believe to be assets which in reality more often than not are liabilities. Business wealth comes from liquid assets that originated from pre-liquid assets. But almost no one takes care and applies discipline to managing pre-liquid assets. Why own a business if you’re not going to maximize the pay off it can bring to you now and in the future? A business manager needs to think more along the lines of a wealth manager.
If you aren’t just ‘playing business’ or aren’t already independently wealthy, there’s only one reason to own and continue to invest your time in a business – the money you’re getting from it has to beat your next best alternative for where you could be investing that capital.This means you need to give serious consideration to how your business is performing and you need to make yourself available and open to alternatives if your money and time would be better invested elsewhere. You don’t have to be a prisoner to a business or to the way you’re doing business as of this moment. Hell, a job might even be better for you. Having an awareness of more options you can deploy in order to grow your profit by bringing more value to the world is what will allow you to have a successful business. Being aware of more possibilities with your market, your distribution and your opportunities and taking action on them can be your competitive advantage. If your business was a mutual fund, would you buy it?]]>