"Do not be concerned that you build castles in the sky.  That is where they should be.  Now work to put foundations under them."    - Henry David Thoreau

SUCCESS TIPS on starting a new business and making it successful:

​

• Invest your time and money wisely, but do invest

• Talk to at least 100 customers before you start

• Set a goal to earn 3x investment in year one or double the company value

• Compelling product or service starts with a great purpose

• Choose and design for what you can scale up

• Design without preconceptions or existing products to guide you

• Begin with your end goal in mind

• Consider how your business might transform its marketplace

• Design for a generous profit margin vs pricing to gain volume

• Pursue ruthless affordability by operating efficiently

• Design for last mile distribution and consider distribution at the outset

• Incorporate aspirational branding

 

BUSINESS PLANNING AND DUE DILIGENCE

​

Both tasks generally require the following types of documents:

• Financials

• Taxes

• Legal and regulatory compliance

• Environmental compliance

• Human Resources

• Contracts with customers, suppliers and service providers

• Systems and processes / IT

• Customer information

• Real estate

• Operations and assets

 

This generic list will vary based on the industry and specific requests from the buyer, capital partner, or business owner.  Still, most of these are common to any deal, so there is no reason to wait for a specific request or letter of intent to gather and organize the necessary data.

 

NEW CAPITAL

​

Raising capital is sometimes the most difficult or most important challenge for a business or new entrepreneur. To bring about the right outcome for all parties, an effective balance point between goals and needs of the business and investors is needed. We help the client by analyzing goals and needs, positioning the client company for investment, due diligence, business plan development, assisting the client in meetings with investors, and assisting attorneys and partners in negotiating agreements. 

 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

​

Do you know the top 12 rules of business development?  A few of them are: 

• Know the expectations of your prospects

• Turn service opportunities into sales

• Cultivate sales like managing an investor relationship

• First time sales are often made on an emotional or gut feel basis, not a rational one 

​​​

NEGOTIATIONS

​

When it is time to negotiate value, always add an expert negotiator and executive advisor to your team.  Mistakes to avoid include trying to do the whole process on your own.  Typically, this mistake causes you to not be thorough enough and not fully understand what drives the business valuation.  Other failures result if you change your motivations when nearing the deal closure, become too emotionally involved in the process, do not maintain strict confidentiality, or lean too much on one type of offer.

​

Adding an expert negotiator and advisor is the best way to ensure that you get the best value for your company when selling it – not only the value that has been built but the premium for the growth potential before you.  When buying, the expert will help you broaden the discussion from price to a variety of other topics and places of uncertainty.  This will help you get to the correct value that is appropriate for the risk.  The end result should be a satisfying outcome for both buyer and seller. 

​

Selling a business does not necessarily mean that the seller will need to completely leave his or her business behind. Depending on how the terms of a sale are negotiated, a business owner may continue to play an important role in a company even after it is sold, something that may be positive for business buyers as well as sellers. 

The manner of payment is also important, as higher value must be balanced against the uncertainty of different contingencies or complexities in some proposals.  You need to obtain your target price but also control capital risks.  A well-managed process achieves that.

​

Finally, remember to be patient.