How To Get What You Want When You Sell Your Business (Part 2) – Checklist for Success

6 Checklist-for-Success Categories

Second in a Series of (at least) Two Articles

Rich-Biz Brokers - Checklist-for-Success Categories

In a previous article we promised a simple planning tool to better ensure your financial victory in the sale of your business. And here it is … your six categories Checklist-for-Success.

To enjoy the maximum value from the following, view each item and evaluate your answer in light of how it will be perceived by prospective buyers … positive, negative or neutral. Remedying negative, and even neutral, perceptions will improve the value and “salability” of your business.

CHECKLIST FOR SUCCESS

ORGANIZATION YES NO MAYBE
As owner, I make all the decisions
Everyone reports directly to me
I have a strong Management Team
BOOKS & RECORDS
I know that our I-9s are filed
I review our financial reports weekly
Our WIP is minimal
Taxes are filed every year
SYSTEMS
We use a commercial system for Financial accounting
I know the company’s financial health because I watch our checkbook
Our employees know precisely how we are to operate
POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Our employees know what to do because, as owner, I tell them
Everyone comes to me for answers because I know it all
We have a written employee handbook that is compliant
We have a written operations handbook that anyone can follow
We are legally compliant with all regulations concerning out industry
EMPLOYEES & CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS
We have a strong employee acquisition and on-boarding plan
Our employees don’t need training because we pick the best ones
We don’t need to offer benefits
MARKETING & SALES
We don’t need a marketing plan because all of our clients come to us
The only marketing we need to do is word of mouth
We have a known brand

 

Takeaways

So from the perspective of a prospective buyer, how does your business stack up? You probably have identified some deficiencies and that’s OK. The important thing is rank order all  changes you need to make, initiate the revisions … and as necessary enlist a proven professional advisory service that will work with you to groom your business for future maximum curb appeal and peak sales value.