Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You.
Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You with John Warrillow. Whether you have an existing small business, or are planning to launch your first business, it’s critical that you build your business to be ready to sell. Even if you currently have no plans to sell your business.
John Warrillow is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and the founder of The Value Builder System™, a cloud-based assessment tool that business owners use to assess the “sellability” of their company. John has helped more than 55,000 business owners improve their company value by up to 71 per cent.
John is the author of the bestselling book, “Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You”, which was recognized by both Fortune and Inc magazine as one of the best business books of 2011. John’s next book, “The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry”, was released by Random House in February 2015 and has since been translated into eight languages. And his latest and soon to be released book is “The Art Of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies and Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top.”
As the host of Built to Sell Radio, John has interviewed hundreds of founders about their exit. Forbes ranked John’s podcast as one of the ten best podcasts for business owners.
Before founding The Value Builder System™, John started and exited four companies.
John lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
John Warrillow and Henry Lopez discuss how to get your small business ready to sell, including:
- John shares some highlights from his early career and the other businesses he has owned and sold.
- When did you know you wanted to be your own boss? Who were early entrepreneurial influences?
- Why did you sell your small businesses?
- Why do I need to build a business that can thrive without me?
- Some reasons may include: Retirement, Start another business, Cash for personal reasons, More time to yourself, Unforeseen life events or Partner issues, Avoid getting trapped! It’s the only way to build a business and be an entrepreneur – instead of a lower-paying job than you had previously!
- Why should I prepare my business for sold if I currently have no plans to sell?
- How does this impact me if I am just planning to start my first small business? What do I need to consider from the start of my small business?
- Ted’s Tips (selected) from John’s book “Built to Sell”:
- Don’t generalize; specialize.
- No one client makes up more than 15% of your revenue.
- Be clear about what you are selling. Own a process.
- Don’t become synonymous with your company.
- Cash Flow – charge up-front or use progress billing to create a positive cash flow cycle.
- Don’t be afraid to say no to projects.
- Ignore your P&L in the year you male the switch to a standardized offering.
- Steps to building a company that can thrive without me:
- Isolate a product or service with the potential to scale. (“…the single most important factor in driving up the value of my companies was ensuring my revenuer was repeatable, meaning customer had to repurchase somewhat regularly.”)
- Create a positive cash flow cycle.
- Hire a sales team.
- Stop selling everything else. (On of the hardest things to do!)
- Launch a long-term incentive plan for managers.
- Find a Broker.
- Tell your management team.
- Convert offers to binding deals.
- How do business owners know when it’s the right time to sell?
- What’s the biggest mistake you see owners make when it’s time to sell?
Episode Host: Henry Lopez is a serial entrepreneur, small business coach, and the host of this episode of The How of Business podcast show – dedicated to helping you start, run and grow your small business.
Resources:
Books mentioned in this episode:
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More About John’s new book “The Art of Selling Your Business”:
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Punch Above Your Weight Class When Selling Your Business. Freedom. It’s the ability to do whatever you want, whenever you want. It’s the ultimate reward for selling your business. But selling a company can be confusing.
In John Warrillow’s latest book, The Art Of Selling Your Business, he lays out a simple formula for attracting multiple acquirers and punching well above your weight class in a negotiation to sell your company.
The book is based on interviews he’s conducted for his podcast, Built to Sell Radio. Each week, John speaks to a founder who has recently sold their company. John analyzed hundreds of hours of tape — possibly the world’s most extensive collection of first-hand conversations with the sellers of privately held businesses — and summarized the smartest strategies and secret hacks of the most successful founders who’ve sold their businesses.
If your goal is to maximize the value of your business and sell it with the best deal terms possible, grab a copy of The Art Of Selling Your Business today.
- Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow
- The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry by John Warrillow
- The Art Of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies and Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top by Jon Warrillow
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