On Friday, April 8, Mike Anderson facilitated the 3% Club luncheon on the topic of building business value. Mike is Vice President and Coach at Leadership Resources, serving from the Omaha location. His presentation, entitled “Value for Today and Strategies for Tomorrow,” brought together a room full of 23 local business leaders and professionals.
Value is in the eye of the beholder; it’s a perception. So how do we go about defining value in a business? The group brainstormed several ideas of what defines a valuable business. It soon became evident the importance of having a value strategy. If you have no destination, any road will get you there. Choose your advisor team, understand your options, and execute your plan. Mike talked about always having a backup plan in place. What would happen to your business if you were ran over by a truck tomorrow? “Better prepared = Better value!”
“It’s always been a mystery to me how businesses are valued for sale, and now I know the basics so I can prepare my own business for sale someday,” said Kindra Foster Lindbloom, owner of Foster Executive Writing & Editing. “I learned that the first thing I need to do is make sure I have processes in place–not a natural thing to do for a one-person office, but now I have some motivation.”
Important Steps to Remember:
- Financial review
- Valuation
- Vision/strategic plan in place
- Assess management team – Are they prepared?
- Run your business as if it’s for sale (and you are the buyer)
