Value Growth System

Exit Planning & Value Growth are broad, deep topics.  Our goal is to bring clarity to the process and our belief is that you shouldn’t be charged to learn more.  This is our chance to learn about you, your business, and what’s keeping you up at night.  Common questions include: 

• Internal planning
• Preliminary sale discussions
• Buy-sell planning
• Strategic decision-making
• Pricing exploration

The first step in the Value Growth System is a series of workshops that allow us to learn more about you and your business.  These are part Discovery and part Education.  Ultimately, they prepare us for your upcoming business assessment, which is critical in determining your bassline value. 

• Business Goals & Objectives Workshop 
  • This is our opportunity to learn even more about you and your business.  Expect to do the majority of the talking during this meeting.  Our job is to ask questions and gain understanding.  This will set the foundation for the rest of the program.
  • If you have business partners, it is strongly encouraged that they attend as well.  It is not uncommon for spouses or children to join if you choose to include them. 

• Value Growth Workshop

  • Thinking in terms of Enterprise Value, instead of Revenue & Profit is a new concept for many small business owners.  However, it is vital that you make the mental switch if you hope to grow value and eventually exit.

  • We’ll walk you through scenarios that apply to your industry to illustrate the power of Enterprise Value.  Additionally, we’ll highlight the most common Value Drivers & Value Killers, which will be critical to understand later when we review your Business Assessment.

  • Lastly, we’ll go through some exercises that will help you to understand why Value always has to be viewed from the Buyer’s perspective.

• Exit Option Workshop

  • 2 out of 3 of business owners aren’t familiar with all their exit options.  We’ll teach you about the 7 most common internal & external options.  We’ll also go through some exercises that will help you to determine which Exit Options are desirable to you and provide our recommendation.  Ultimately, the decision is yours.

  • If a particular option is of interest to you and you want to learn even more, we can assist in coordinating complimentary meetings with M&A, Private Equity or ESOP Advisors. 

Our Value Architects will conduct a thorough review of your business.  Think of this as similar to Due Diligence – which is the process a 3rd party would conduct if they were serious about buying your business.  They will ask lots of questions, dive deep into your financials and look under every stone.  While our assessment process isn’t as disruptive, it is certainly detailed.   

• On Site Visit  
  • We will ask to visit your facilities for objective analysis.  While not a requirement, it is strongly recommended. Value is always measured from the buyer’s perspective, which is part of why this step is so critical.  Expect us to spend time interviewing key personal, inspecting the facilities and meeting with you.     
• Business Assessment  
  • We will be scoring your business in a wide range of categories that will help us to determine your value.  This will require us to review customer contracts, patents, intellectual property, partnership agreements, etc.  We will guide you through the process and provide a detailed list of what we need to analyze. 
• Financial Analysis 
  • This is a deep-dive into the financial records of your business.  Our team will ask lots of questions and recast financial data based on standards.  We’ll be ranking you in various KPI’s and comparing your data to others in the industry, which will lead us to applying premiums and discounts where appropriate.  All of this work will be overseen by a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA). 

This is the where the real work begins. All of our hard work paints the picture of what you are today and the roadmap for where you’d like to be.  This phase includes several deliverables from our team. 

• Valuation Review
  • We will present you with your Certified Business Valuation which includes a Conclusion of Value.  There are many factors that go into this determination so we dedicate an entire meeting to reviewing the results.   This will include revealing your Value, Wealth and Profit gaps.  Our team will also go over your KPI scores & rankings. 
• Customized Action Plan
  • Knowing your value is great, but the true value is understanding what is driving or draining it.  As true experts in valuations, we see every risk that a buyer will see.  This is not a boiler plate plan.  It is filtered through our observations and professional experience.  Then, prioritized by importance and applied based on YOUR goals and capabilities.
  • There is no sense in recommending an aggressive expansion if that doesn’t fit your timeline, goals, risk tolerance, talent or capital capabilities.  This is truly what sets this plan apart from others who sensationalize about unrealistic targets.  This plan is authentic and achievable, for YOU.

• Management Reporting Tools

  • Our value architects have decades of experience running successful teams and data is at the heart of every informed decision.  We’ll work with you to understand what tools you have today and will build you a custom dashboard that is simple and impactful.  It will be the source you check regularly and will be the basis of our ongoing checkpoints.

• 1×1 Checkpoints

  • We’ll guide you through the action plan,  assist you when you hit road blocks and encourage you when things become difficult.  We also understand that circumstances can change and when they do, we’ll assist in recalibrating your plan to fit the new landscape. 

  • Achieving your goals is going to require change to your normal routine.  That’s why we’ll be meeting with you most frequently in the beginning to protect you from falling back to old habits.  Although we can schedule these sessions in any cadence, we recommend meeting monthly for the three months, then quarterly there after. 

12-18 months after the initial valuation, it’s time to recalibrate.  By now, you have taken significant steps towards de-risking the business and working towards value enhancement.  Although all Action Plan steps won’t be complete, this is an opportunity to measure and celebrate progress. 

• On Site Visit 

  • Our team will conduct a 2nd on-site assessment of your business.  It will be similar to the one we conducted the year prior, but will be less invasive since we already know your history. 

• Updated Certified Business Valuation 

  • You’ve made improvements to your business and we want your valuation to reflect that.  Whether you chose to continue to grow or start the exit process, having a current valuation is a powerful tool. 

• Recalibrate 

  • In addition to the updated valuation, you’ll get detailed analysis on your business’s attractiveness and readiness for transition.  We’ll also update your Action Plan based on current conditions and set you up for continued success.   

• Decide 

  • You’ll have a critical choice to make after reviewing all the information.  Do you want to continue to grow your business or start the exit process?  It’s a personal decision, and one you should make every 90 days going forward.

  • If you decide to grow, you’ve now proven yourself fully capable of marching forward.  However, if you hit a speed bump, we’re only a phone call away. 

  • If you decide it’s time to exit, we can advise your best options and connect you with professionals who can further assist with the transition.