It’s the one issue that keeps you awake at night, constantly gnaws in the background and sometimes hits you smack in the face – will I get rewarded for the blood, sweat and tears of building my own business?
When you fully commit to your business everything – quite literally – is on the line: your house, your car and all your business assets. All of your intangibles are also on the line: a steady income, your reputation, your sense of self-worth and all of the other things you gave up to pursue your business dream.
Only a business owner truly understands the challenges, stress and overwhelming pressure of owning and running their own business.
The brutal facts
So should you be worried whether you will get rewarded for the blood, sweat and tears of building your own business?
Absolutely.
Here are the brutal facts:
- Most new businesses fail in the first five years, often within the first year or two. And most of those that survive, fail during the next five years.
- Few private businesses make much money or grow beyond a handful of employees. In fact, most business owners earn less from their business than they made working for a wage. On top of that you work much longer hours and endure all of the challenges, stress and pressure that go with running your own business.
- And worst of all, after working all those years thinking they were building a valuable asset, many business owners are bitterly disappointed when they come to exit their business. Many business brokers we work with tell us that out of every 10 businesses they see: - six are unsellable, three are only sellable with a lot of work and usually only one can be taken to the market without much up front work.
While these problems are widespread among private businesses, there is a solution. It’s called the Highly Sellable Business.
The Highly Sellable Business
Unlike most private businesses, Highly Sellable Businesses:
- Aren’t dependent on their owners. Highly Sellable Businesses continue operating successfully even when their owners aren’t around. This frees their owners up to focus on strategic, value adding business initiatives rather than being bogged down in the day to day grind of their businesses.
- Are different from their competitors. Their products and services provide remarkable solutions to their customers and are delivered in special, memorable ways. Highly Sellable Businesses don’t compete on price.
- Are scalable. They have been built from the ground up to grow quickly and successfully, something most businesses struggle to do.
- Have valuable business assets: intellectual property such as brands, trademarks and knowhow; systems and processes for operating all aspects of their business; strong market positioning and channels to market and a rich eco system of products and services.
- Have very satisfied customers. Customers of Highly Sellable Businesses aren’t just customers; they are raving fans.
In summary, Highly Sellable Businesses are much less likely to fail, far more profitable and are highly attractive and valuable to potential buyers.
Do you have a Highly Sellable Business?
To check how sellable your business is click here to get your Value Builder Score.
During November 2016 we will be holding workshops in the Melbourne area on how to build a Highly Sellable Business. Make sure to join our mailing list here so you don't miss out on your invite.