- June 14, 2018
- Selling Your Business
- by Rich-Biz Brokers, LLC
6 Checklist-for-Success Categories
Second in a Series of (at least) Two Articles
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.