Hey everyone, my name is Christian Baldwin, and I am with Black Diamond Mergers and Acquisitions. I hope you're doing great today! I want to talk about a topic that's geared toward business owners, and it is regarding getting your business in top shape for organizational efficiency.
Small
Businesses in Need
Well, what
do I mean by that? When you take your car in to get it serviced, they're going
to give you a report that says, “Hey all these things are great! Here's some
things that you might want to look at in the future, and here's some things that
you need to look at now.” Maybe your brakes are completely worn out and you
need to get those fixed. At Black Diamond, we know that there are many
businesses that aren’t prepared to exit when the time comes. When they come to
us, we help them get organized and analyze all the fundamental aspects of their
business from the lens of a prospective purchaser.
Why
Should you Organize your Business?
There are a
lot of reasons why you need to organize and analyze your business. For example,
let's say your business needs a loan. How are you supposed to apply without the
required information? Once you do this exercise and go through our program, you
will have everything you need right at your fingertips, in one file location.
So, you can send all important information to your lender and your attorney
when you do estate planning or business planning. It is invaluable when you
make a succession plan. Then, when you receive an offer from a buyer, whether
it was solicited or not, you can send this information to them, after you sign
a confidentiality agreement of course! Then, they can make a quick decision on
the value of your business. Understand that the more information you have at
that point in the process, the more likely your business value is going to
increase because you're not wasting time pulling this all together. The more
time you waste trying to do that, the less interested any buyer is going to be.
They're going to move on if you can't produce documentation in a timely manner.
What to
Expect When Organizing your Business
So, what
would that entail? Well, looking at your business in a very thorough,
intentional, step-by-step method forces you to think about things one at a time
in a detailed way. This can start with the Articles of Organization or Articles
of Incorporation. Think about the operating agreement, is it signed, is it done
correctly? As you go through this process you will reach out to individual
experts, such as business advisors like your accountant, attorney, insurance
broker, or even your health benefits provider. So, you have all these
individuals or companies that you have talked to about the different aspects
that you offer as a business and the features that make your business work. You
can’t forget about the contracts with suppliers and vendors and what those
might look like for your business and potential buyers.
With our
Process, you can WOW Anybody
When you go
through these processes, you might think about how we could make this more
efficient or if there's a better angle that we can look at it. Whatever stage
of business that you're in, I really encourage you, as a business owner, to
take the time to look at all the fundamental aspects of your business. You
should do it in an organized way so that, when an opportunity knocks, such as a
loan, you are ready to go! You are going to WOW those on the other side looking
at this information. It is not uncommon for them to say, “I've never seen a
business as organized as this.” That's where we want you to be. Here at Black
Diamond, we would be more than happy to help you get there!
To learn more about how and why you need to organize your business, check out this page: Self Guided Business Preparation Program (blackdiamondma.com)
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