Greetings!
Welcome
to the July 2010 Edition of 'To the Point'. In this edition we
introduce you to the concept of a "sell-able" business. This is
especially important if you are one of the many small business owners who are
planning to sell your business in the next 3 to 5 years. The
New Year will be here before you know it and time spent planning now can
only help you position your business for a better 2011. Get some encouragement - read our advice section. We hope you enjoy our brief newsletter. Feel free to send any comments or thoughts, we would love to hear from you!
Regards, The
Valens Point Team |
Feature Article
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Is Your Business Sell-able?
There
are
between 7 and 8 million small business owners in the US. Nearly 50%
of these owners have stated that they would like to sell their business
in the
next 3 to 5 years. It would be a good guess to say that nearly 100% of
the owners would like to improve the performance of their business in
some
way. It should be no surprise that these two outcomes, selling your
business and the performance of your business, are closely tied.
What is surprising is that many business owners don't have good or well thought out strategies
for affecting either of these outcomes. The obvious questions: - Are
you happy with the
progress your business is making?
- Is your plan to sell
your business about five words - "I plan to sell my business"?
Many
business owners think their businesses are doing okay but could do
better and
harbor hopes of selling (or be able to sell) for no less than $_____(you
fill
in the blank). For most business owners the reality is quite
different. While they are very good at what they do (the service they
deliver)
they could use some help with the business end of things. Many
are also disappointed to find when they start making inquires about
selling
their businesses their expectations regarding the value of their business
is far greater than the value arrived at by the business brokers using standard valuation models. In fact
if you spend any time talking to business brokers they will tell you
that one of the biggest challenges they face is 'helping' prospective
sellers
come to terms with the actual value of their business. Many don't and
just disappear.
The
Point...
Valens
Point is founded on a very simple notion; If you want to sell your business
your business needs to be sell-able. To become sell-able you need to
transform your business into one that can demonstrate financial success
independent of the owners. To achieve this kind of transformation
you need plans that are simple, actionable, and measurable. These plans do not
have to be complicated. In fact, the more simple your plan the more
likely you will succeed in achieving your goals. At the very least your
plan needs to include these areas;
1. Revenue Generation (marketing and
sales)
2. Growth and Profit
3. Key Employees and Staffing
4. Financial Impact
What is
more important is that your plan is actionable and that you can measure
progress. For Valens Point, these
are core principles and how we operate and how we believe small businesses
should too. In the future editions of To The Point we'll explore
how three core values of Valens Point; Simple, Actionable and Measurable
affect our business and can positively affect yours.
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Simple Advice: Making you business better
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Planning for 2011
It's never too early to begin your planning for the
future. While 2011 is still months
aw ay, now is the time to dust off your plans and strategies and
ensuring there still in tune with your business. We're not the only ones. In a recent article posted by SmallBizTrends they site evidence that
a business plan doubles your chances for success (read
here). Frequently testing your business
assumptions and refining where necessary will ensure you have a clear path to
accomplishing your goals. Begin by
testing your target market and answering the following; ·
Has the market changed? ·
Is your company continuing to provide a product
or service that is important to the market? ·
Are there new opportunities in this market that
you can meet? Frequent updates to your business and marketing plans can
mean huge increases in your business performance. Now is the time to prepare for 2011 so it can be the best
year ever. |
In The News...
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Valens Point Expands their Leadership teamEstablished in
2007 and Headquartered in Reston, Virgina the leadership team now includes
Debra Mendes, David Smith and Martin Steinhobel. Their individual
backgrounds and experiences enable them to bring unique strengths to Valens
Point which have combined into a clear vision of bettering the lives of small
business owners. More information about the Valens Point team can
be found on the our website. |
Upcoming Events
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 Referral Engine Power Groups
Referral Engine
Power Groups enable participants to learn and implement systems to manage
referrals. These popular group learning sessions are based on the John
Jantsch book The Referral Engine and are guided by Valens Point Duct Tape
Marketing authorized coaches.
The next session will begin August 25, 2010
and enrollment is limited. Read more about our program or register here.
Valens Point Supports Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure Each year a team of women walk 60 miles in 3 days to support finding a cure to end breast cancer. On July 30th team "TOP Stepn For The Cure" will hold their annual Golf Tournament fundraiser. They have a goal to raise $15,000 this year. Valens Point is proud to be a gold sponsor this year. For more information or make a donation visit www.HelpCureBreastCancerNow.com |
