Over all odds I sold my company twenty years ago today. It was time to sell having operated the organization for 7 years. My family grew larger and the choice was simple with a third child on the way.
People keep asking me I was fortunate.
Lucky because I did sell my travel business. 1999 was the year, just a few months before the much-anticipated Y2K. Less than two years before the 9-11 attacks, just just three years of the first SARS epidemic that halted much foreign travel.
For certain factors too, running the company was getting more complicated. The airlines reduced our contract two years ago, in 1997, culminating in a 70 percent decrease in gross sales. This one move alone culminated in 39 percent shutting their doors to all travel agencies Looking ahead, it's no wonder there are very few bricks and mortar travel agencies left.
And I've been fortunate. And like good success there was a big dose of careful strategy and proactive intervention heading into the business sale.
Despite all odds, at a time when you couldn't offer away a travel agency, there were three factors that made me sell the company; I invested 95 per cent of my time focused ON the company, not IN it I knew my numbers and remained competitive.
Do these three items and when you're ready, you'll get the best chance to sell your firm.
Let's look at how this worked to sell a travel agency in 1999.
Do Strategic WorkWork wisely on the business Even though I was a fantastic travel agent and could outsell all of my customers, I started selling. I did this so I could spend most of my time creating a business that ran independently of me. Ultimately, working on strategy proved far more valuable than selling another cruise.
I had stopped working in my business in order to be able to focus on my business full time.
Working in my business has meant spending most of my time strategically working. This was hard for someone like me who enjoyed selling travel. It is difficult for most of the small business owners we also work with. They are good at business, and perhaps not as good at business.
The most valuable activity I have done to create a sellable business was to work on my business day by day consistently.
Strategically working has involved spending time thinking, planning and organizing. Reading market books, attending to training sessions and engaging in trade groups and activities all helped me create a stronger organization.
What set my business apart from all the other agencies was that as the owner I didn't work as a travel agent in the business. I didn't have to and the new owner does not have to either to retain the same sales. I sold my company and It was the agency where the boss wasn't the best travel agent.
Think of it in your own business. What will be the worth of your company without you operating inside it?
You need to find a way to remove yourself from being the hardest toiling, top performing employee to sell your company.
The second aspect you ought to do in order to be willing to market your company is to consider the figures. This is the only way you'll realize if the job you're doing can produce a return.
You should market a successful business. Selling a business which is losing money is challenging Knowing our numbers gave me the power to make good business decisions. It provided me the details I required to be able to communicate successfully with our manufacturers, build winning partnerships with my team and tell me where I had to drive the marketing gas pedal a little harder.
Small choices may have a Big impact on competitiveness in a small company.
For the moment, a five percent discount to a regular customer could make them satisfied but over time they might put you in the red.
For one person, a one-dollar increase per hour is equal to a total of twenty-five hundred additional dollars a year.
You carry home seems nice enough to pay off the toilet paper, except that it decreases your productivity and the tiny tax deduction would cost you even more as you decide to market.
The only true report card you get when you go to sell your company is your financials. You have to learn your numbers every month, and work for profitability.
A potential customer should look at every line item on the declaration of profits and the balance sheet. They'll search for where to get paid to pay back whatever loans they took out to buy the company.
Let's presume you don't pay a reasonable market wage for the job that you're doing in your company. Your reason is to maintain the money within the business. You mean you don't need it now or worse, you're not successful enough to allow decent payments for yourself. Think about the really uncomfortable talk that you're going to have telling a prospective customer that if they purchase your firm, they too can get to work for free!
Take time now to know your figures, raise your own pay to a reasonable level and make what ever adjustments you need to make to be competitive, before you put up the for sale sign on your company. When the results look nice, the worth of the company is better and someone would like to purchase it.
People keep asking me I was fortunate.
Lucky because I did sell my travel business. 1999 was the year, just a few months before the much-anticipated Y2K. Less than two years before the 9-11 attacks, just just three years of the first SARS epidemic that halted much foreign travel.
For certain factors too, running the company was getting more complicated. The airlines reduced our contract two years ago, in 1997, culminating in a 70 percent decrease in gross sales. This one move alone culminated in 39 percent shutting their doors to all travel agencies Looking ahead, it's no wonder there are very few bricks and mortar travel agencies left.
And I've been fortunate. And like good success there was a big dose of careful strategy and proactive intervention heading into the business sale.
Despite all odds, at a time when you couldn't offer away a travel agency, there were three factors that made me sell the company; I invested 95 per cent of my time focused ON the company, not IN it I knew my numbers and remained competitive.
Do these three items and when you're ready, you'll get the best chance to sell your firm.
Let's look at how this worked to sell a travel agency in 1999.
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Do Strategic WorkWork wisely on the business Even though I was a fantastic travel agent and could outsell all of my customers, I started selling. I did this so I could spend most of my time creating a business that ran independently of me. Ultimately, working on strategy proved far more valuable than selling another cruise.
I had stopped working in my business in order to be able to focus on my business full time.
Working in my business has meant spending most of my time strategically working. This was hard for someone like me who enjoyed selling travel. It is difficult for most of the small business owners we also work with. They are good at business, and perhaps not as good at business.
The most valuable activity I have done to create a sellable business was to work on my business day by day consistently.
Strategically working has involved spending time thinking, planning and organizing. Reading market books, attending to training sessions and engaging in trade groups and activities all helped me create a stronger organization.
What set my business apart from all the other agencies was that as the owner I didn't work as a travel agent in the business. I didn't have to and the new owner does not have to either to retain the same sales. I sold my company and It was the agency where the boss wasn't the best travel agent.
Think of it in your own business. What will be the worth of your company without you operating inside it?
You need to find a way to remove yourself from being the hardest toiling, top performing employee to sell your company.
The second aspect you ought to do in order to be willing to market your company is to consider the figures. This is the only way you'll realize if the job you're doing can produce a return.
You should market a successful business. Selling a business which is losing money is challenging Knowing our numbers gave me the power to make good business decisions. It provided me the details I required to be able to communicate successfully with our manufacturers, build winning partnerships with my team and tell me where I had to drive the marketing gas pedal a little harder.
Small choices may have a Big impact on competitiveness in a small company.
For the moment, a five percent discount to a regular customer could make them satisfied but over time they might put you in the red.
For one person, a one-dollar increase per hour is equal to a total of twenty-five hundred additional dollars a year.
You carry home seems nice enough to pay off the toilet paper, except that it decreases your productivity and the tiny tax deduction would cost you even more as you decide to market.
The only true report card you get when you go to sell your company is your financials. You have to learn your numbers every month, and work for profitability.
A potential customer should look at every line item on the declaration of profits and the balance sheet. They'll search for where to get paid to pay back whatever loans they took out to buy the company.
Let's presume you don't pay a reasonable market wage for the job that you're doing in your company. Your reason is to maintain the money within the business. You mean you don't need it now or worse, you're not successful enough to allow decent payments for yourself. Think about the really uncomfortable talk that you're going to have telling a prospective customer that if they purchase your firm, they too can get to work for free!
Take time now to know your figures, raise your own pay to a reasonable level and make what ever adjustments you need to make to be competitive, before you put up the for sale sign on your company. When the results look nice, the worth of the company is better and someone would like to purchase it.
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