All successful businesses are eventually bought and sold.
Roughly 50% are due to an unexpected personal or business event.
Most are unprepared and under-sold; proper preparation can double equity & exit value.
Choosing when to sell and controlling the process can further double equity value, attracting more buyers, more offers and more competition for your biggest asset.
The key is expert preparation, and whether your exit is 1 year or 5 years away. The time to start preparing is now, and the way to start is by talking to an expert. That’s me.
I work with Australian technology owners, operators and investors to prepare for that eventual sale, based on years of experience of successful and unsuccessful deals. Knowing what to do and how to do it will ensure the process is also good for your business, helping it grow organically, freeing you from the day-to-day and building much more value with time.
As lead advisor on over 50 transactions over 15 years, I know what matters to buyers, what turns them off and makes them choose another target. I know how to direct your strategy and tactics as well as streamline your operations and record-keeping to ensure that:
- Your business is an attractive acquisition target for multiple buyers
- Buyers are aware of your business when they are seeking acquisitions
- ‘Deal breakers’ and ‘turn offs’ that can prevent a sale are removed or minimised
- Your strategic agenda is focused, clear and compatible with a potential buyer
- Finances are clean and support both company and business-and-assets transactions
- Records are clear, comprehensive and set up for simple due diligence
- The customer base is documented and contracted in the most valuable form
- Marketing and sales pipelines are effective, managed and documented
- Owners are free from day-to-day tasks which could prevent their exit
- Customer delivery and support are effective, documented and measured
- Product development has a clear roadmap, timed to suit a transaction
- Finances (balance sheet, profit & loss, cashflow, etc) and clean and managed
- Reporting is effective, with a suitable history for review
- Contracts are archived, managed, current, valued and recognised properly
- Improvement initiatives are timed to suit your transaction timeframe
- Employees organisation, relationships, roles and documentation are clear
- Owners have considered their personal and financial future and ongoing roles
- Shareholders’ agreements and other corporate documentation are in place
- …and many more lessons learned over the years.
Using the form below, ring me (direct) on +61 0414 35 35 03 or email Paul.Hauck@ICTStrategicConsulting.com. I’ll respond as quickly as possible for an initial chat.
It could be the best investment you’ve ever made in your future.