Republished with permission from Built to Sell Inc.
The ultimate test of your business can be found in a simple question: would someone want to buy your company?
Whether you want to sell next year or a decade from now, you must be building an asset
someone would buy – otherwise, you have a job, not a business.
Photo by: Daphne Depasse licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
Here are eight ways to ensure you are building a company, not just doing a job:
- A job requires that you show up at work to make money, whereas a company generates revenue whether you are there or not.
- If your company is so reliant on a single customer that they can dictate how you deliver your product or service, your company is more like a job than a valuable business.
- A job is a place where your personal reputation impacts your results, whereas a company is a place where the brand is more important than the personality of the founder(s).
- A job requires you to use your personal experience and expertise to get a result, whereas a company is a place where a process – not a person – consistently produces a desirable result.
- In a job, you get fired for taking too much vacation, whereas if you own a company, the more vacation you can take without impacting your company’s performance, the more valuable your business will be.
- In a job, the harder you work, the more money you earn. In a company, the smarter you work, the more money you earn.
- In a job, you solve the problems. If you own a company, your employees solve the problems.
- If the majority of your customers know your mobile phone number, it’s likely you have a job, not a company.
If you’re not sure whether you have a job or own a business, it’s time to get your Sellability Score. Whether you want to sell now or in a decade, the Sellability Score assessment allows you to see your business as a buyer would see it, and to identify how you perform on each of the eight key drivers of sellability. The questionnaire takes about 13 minutes to complete, and after you’re finished you’ll get a customized 27-page report outlining how you performed and where you could improve the value and sellability of your company. Get your score now (link to the Sellability Score questionnaire on your site).
Why not find out now if your business is sellable?
This free online tool is the only no-risk step you can take to determine if your business is ready to get full value. Fast-track your analysis by taking advantage of this free, no-obligation free online tool.
This Sellability Score you instantly receive is a critical component to any business owner’s complete financial plan and is something that, until now, we have only made available to existing clients.
However, we recognized that there is value in knowing in advance of working with a financial planner whether or not your largest asset is ready to be exchanged for your retirement nest egg. Our view is that you are better to learn more about your businesses sellability today and find out how your business scores on the eight key attributes so that you can ensure you obtain full value.
If your business part of your retirement plan, finding out your sellability score will be the best 10 min. you could ever spend working “on” your business.
Take the Quiz here: The Business Sellability Audit
For more free information on Creating A Business Owner’s Dream Financial Plan, you can listen to a free, eight part series we did exclusively for business owners. The show is also available to subscribe to for free via iTunes.
