Two Steps to Increase the Value of Your Business
By Gary Kieper, CEPA, CFBA, CJMT, CVB
Wind Mobile founder Anthony Lacavera has started 12 businesses, six of which he has exited. His exits have ranged in value from the $6 million he got for one of his recent start-ups to $1.3 billion when he sold Wind Mobile. He did it by following two key tips.
1. Understand what kind of company you are running
Lacavera has owned hyper-growth unicorns and lifestyle businesses and urges entrepreneurs to be clear about their long-term prospects. Lacavera started a business supplying hotels with internet access and understood the company would be a good cash generator but would never sell for a mint. He ran the business for almost two decades and used the cash it generated to fund various other ventures. Recently, he finally sold the business, which was generating $1.5 million in pre-tax profit, for $8 million — a relatively modest 5 times earnings, which was fine by Lacavera, because it had served its purpose of funding other companies along the way.
2. The role of CEO and owner are not the same
Lacavera encourages entrepreneurs to separate the role of CEO and business owner. Even though they may be the same person, they have different functions, and, at some point, your business may be better served by separating the two roles. Entrepreneurs who are comfortable handing the reins to a professional manager may do better in the long run than those who need to control everything.
Lacavera had great success, which is visible in the fact that he has won just about every business award there is, including 2010 CEO of the Year, Top 40 Under 40, Deloitte Technology Fast 50, and Canada’s Fastest Growing Company. One of the top secrets to Lacavera’s success -- knowing when to bring in a CEO to replace himself in any of his ventures.
How healthy is your business?
Our research shows that companies achieving a score of 90+ out of a possible 100 get offers that represent a multiple of pre-tax profit which is twice that of an average-scoring business. Research also shows companies achieving a score of 90+ are more than twice as likely to have received a written acquisition offer in the last 12 months compared to the average-scoring business.
If you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, you use your Profit & Loss (P&L) statement as your report card at the end of the year. You may even use your P&L to figure out what your company is worth by applying a multiple to your profit. But having worked with more than 40,000 entrepreneurs using The Value Builder System™, we’ve seen examples of companies that fetch up to three times more than the average price for companies in their industry.
Whether you want to sell your business – or just know that you could – you’ll learn the eight things that drive the value of your company and suggestions on how to dramatically increase the value of your business.
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About the Author
A Best-Selling author, Gary Kieper, Jr. helps his clients achieve their sales and business goals by providing sales training, coaching, exit, and transition planning. Recognized as a leading expert on sales and transition planning, Gary co-authored the Best-Seller Ready, Set, Go! with Brian Tracy and created the Selfless SalesTM Process. Gary speaks to audiences around the country on the topics of sales training, transition planning, business, and the art of storytelling.
