Upping Business Value

As a business owner you’re constantly concerned with profitability, facing the challenge of increasing your customer base, improving profitability and attracting the best and brightest employees.

Now, throw in the fact that you may want to sell your business at some point and then you need to be concerned about its value. Meaning how much this business will be worth to a buyer.

In my work with small and medium-sized business owners, as well as those looking to acquire businesses, I’ve learned there are many things you can do to increase the value of your business and make it more attractive when you are ready to sell.

1. Ensure the business can run independently

If the business is reliant on a single owner for acquiring customers, running the operations and hiring the employees, a prospective buyer will start thinking, “So how can I run this business without them?”

Some ways to reduce dependence on a single person include developing systems and procedures to standardize operations across the organization, setting expectations with employees and providing clarity on their roles and accountabilities, and setting performance metrics that align with corporate objectives. The key is to delegate much of the decision-making to your direct reports and build a culture of empowerment where key decisions can be made without the owner’s involvement.