Keys

The One Number Owners Need to Stop Focusing On

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The value of your business comes down to a single equation: what multiple of your profit is an acquirer willing to pay for your company? profit × multiple = value Most owners believe the best way to improve the value of their company…
hidden face

The Hidden Downside of This Common Management Idea

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Cross selling new products and services to your existing customers may be a great marketing strategy, but if your goal is to increase the value of your business, the added revenue may do nothing for your company’s value – and may even lower…
dartboard bulleye

The Big Thing Holding Back Small Businesses

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Small businesses stay small either by choice, or because they start chasing growth in the wrong places. When you strip away the layers, it all comes down to darts. Imagine a dart board with a bull’s eye and around it is a series…
Caution

Why You Should Exit While You’re Ahead – A Cautionary Tale

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The very best time to sell your business is when someone wants to buy it. While it can be tempting to continue to grow your business forever – particularly when things are going well -- that decision comes with a significant downside.  Take…
starting plants

Starting Vs. Growing a Business

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Most company founders are good at the first stages of entrepreneurship. But in the phases that follow, they may only be average. Just because you have a knack for starting companies, doesn’t necessarily mean that those skills translate well…
Nashville

Ownership Has Its Privileges

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Walk down Nashville’s Lower Broadway any night of the week, and you can hear aspiring artists belting out cover tunes from Elton John to Garth Brooks.   In many cases, these musicians come to Nashville to be discovered but pay…
private

Run Your Private Company Like It’s Public

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Small businesses often operate as if their sole purpose is to fund the owner’s lifestyle, but the most valuable companies are run with financial rigor. You may be years from wanting to sell, but starting to formalize your operations now will…
Man cars

Being Stingy With Your Equity

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It can be tempting to offer shares in your company to finance its growth. These days, there are plenty of investors chasing promising new companies and, in today’s tight labour market, employees are getting more brazen in their demands for…
package

5 Ways To Package Your Service

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If you’re a service provider, it can be difficult to separate the service from the provider. Your customers might demand you, which means you can’t scale your business beyond the number of hours you’re willing to work. In the absence…
dependence

5 Reasons Why Your Business Is Too Dependent On You

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If you were to draw a picture that visually represents your role in your business, what would it look like? Are you at the top of an organizational chart, or stuck in the middle of your business like a hub in a bicycle wheel? The Hub &…