Design Your Own Information Acquisition and Action Plan

All planning and actions are about "going from where you are" to "where you want to go"...along a path on which you can execute with confidence!   To get the most benefit from this site, here are starting recommendations:

1.  Print and complete the Business/Personal Transition Planning Checklist.  Determine what you need to do from that point and begin scheduling some actions.

2.  If you have not had a business valuation performed for use as a tool to improve planning and performance, begin some research to find the right professional appraiser to complete that report and become a trusted advisor for you in the future.  In addition to this critical addition to your team, you will want to read and then go back and study a book that was be published in 2020: How Can I Increase the Value of My BUSINESS? (Turn your BUSINESS VALUATION into a Value-Building Blueprint).   (This book was written to help every business owner get the most "real value" from a valuation of their business.)  Use your new knowledge from this book and add much more by reading and studying the articles in the Business Valuation and Value Engineering Department on this site to accelerate the benefits you can accrue with the right plans and actions.  Specifically, read the "Cost of applying the wrong strategy".  It will give you a heads up on the problems and give you the courage to look at your current approach to the market place.

3.  Read the book that was specifically written to help business owners prepare for the "biggest deal of their business lives":  When is the Right Time to Sell MY BUSINESS? You will see in this book that there are several tasks for you to improve the eventual transferability of your business.  The valuation will help specifically by focusing on the areas where the greatest gains in value can be achieved.  Another important part of preparing for that "someday" ownership change is addressed in this book. It is preparing yourself for an eventual transition.  That is no small task. Use the information in the book as well as the ownership transition articles here in MergerMentor.com to begin understanding the process and how it will affect you personally.

4.  Print a copy of the "Apply Focus" business development outline and use it to help you move through these steps and to take all the important actions in a timely manner.  Couple that outline with your continued increase in knowledge on what reduces risks and increases performance in your business.  The pyramid graphic is provided here for use as a continuous reference and reminder to work on all six major business attributes.  Us the articles on ownership transfer to support your planning and to assess the results you are achieving.  

5.  Adopt a mindset to use the "Secret" to your advantage.  It is critical to recognize that doing the things that will make your business more transferable (reducing risks and increasing the reward of ownership) are the same actions that will help improve near-term operating performance and increase year over year cash flow. Don't get discouraged when progress is temporarily interrupted.  No business is easy to manage over the longer term. It takes time and focus.  Using the approach and knowledge on "what to do" and "how to do it" ... will make it much easier and help assure improved results for you and your family.