Creating Real Change This Year Whether you are selling your business to move to retirement, taking on a new venture, or raising capital for future business expansion, you need to have at your disposal the structures and procedures, to assist you in making clearer strategic decisions, to help you realise the dreams you have of creating a bigger future for yourself and your business. This year will be the turning point for many businesses The following are critical factors confronting small and medium businesses in Australia - Only 1 in 4 businesses listed for sale actually get sold.
- 55 % of all business exits are due to death, disability, bankruptcy, liquidation or simply closing the doors.
- Total cash deposits in all Australian banks now top $1.26 trillion.
- Baby boomers selling their businesses may not achieve their aims.
- 271,000 business owners simply intend to close their doors and walk away.
Is this going to be a positive or negative experience for you and your business? For both buyers and sellers who are prepared to think strategically this is a time of unparalleled opportunity Can you see the opportunity? Can you make use of the opportunities you are facing? Who is on your team to make it happen? Have you got your pathway mapped out to your destination? An idea ... Imagine having someone on your side who not only sees and assesses your business through the eyes of a buyer or investor … but whose sole focus is to assist you each step of the way en route to maximizing the value of your business proposition? Let's put this into perspective? Choose from one of the following Growing Your Business Funding the growth of a business can occur in the following ways - Reinvesting profits - Will this actually fund the growth you know you need to make?
- Ceasing to trade the least profitable products/services - May achieve cost savings, but will it fund your growth potential?
- Seek additional debt from your bank - Good luck
- Seek outside equity investors - Shows potential but do you know how?
- Merge or acquire another business - There is more than the numbers to consider
More about Growing Your Business | Exiting Your Business Exiting your business can be like one of the following - Just close the doors -
- Trade Out - Selling down your stock or not taking on any more work is not much different
- Advertise as is - You may get a sale but will it be of any real financial value?
- Derisk - Reducing the risky parts of your business before you begin the sale, will take a while.
- Restructure and Grow - Takes a longer term view and markedly increases your business value
More about Exiting Your Business | How to make the most of what you have and leverage that to a more positive outcome is what 2011 should be for you.
If you think of your business as a house and you want some one to buy it you will most likely ... tidy up the garden, complete the outside maintenance, may be paint some of the internal rooms, clean the carpets and wash the windows. You may even consider some minor or major kitchen or bathroom renovations. These are things that are seen to be obvious to carry out in this circumstance. - But what about a business sale?
What maintenance and renovations would need to be done to achieve a similar outcome? - What about finding a business partner or investors?
What is different about what they seek? Focus If you believe your business has substantial value – value that could be expanded and added to with some tweaks and adjustments of an expert’s eye ... then you will want to be sure that you are working with someone capable and devoted to guiding you through the intricate process of positioning, communicating and delivering that value in the most powerful proposition possible. We are not a business broker and we’re not about churning over volume. Just three (five) highly-motivated SME business owners and entrepreneurs, whose businesses cover the major industry groups of manufacturing, professional services and product development, work with us at any one time. You could be one of those. In brief, we’re about building more powerful business propositions, so that you absolutely know the value of your company and how best to position it in the marketplace to receive it. You have access to a blend of corporate and real-life business experience which provides your business with the realistic resources to make effective decisions and navigate the path to a successful sale or equity restructure of your organization. The results of our working together are: - peace-of-mind for you the business owner.
- a business that is packaged for an investor to make an informed decision.
- the optimum shot at attracting the right investor with the necessary funds and facilitating a mutually beneficial sale or capital restructure.
With a passion for helping small to medium business owners realize the fullest potential of their business vision, directedfocus is in an ideal position to intimately guide the path of selling or raising capital for your business. More importantly… WE LOVE IT. If you are looking to create a real difference in your business in 2011, with the support of a small team of passionate, committed and visionary professionals devoted to building the value proposition of your business and communicating that value to a prospective purchaser or investor, then I'd be pleased to have a conversation with you. I look forward to catching up. 
Andrew Young | 
