In the fast-paced world of business, achieving happiness as a business owner can often be elusive. Based on our experience as business owners, and working with business owners, we’ve outlined two crucial steps that can lead entrepreneurs towards greater satisfaction and success in their ventures.
Step 1: Know the Value of Your Business
Most business owners want to see their business sell for a fair market price, when they are ready to exit their business. At Advantage Business, we work closely with clients to ensure that they understand the current and future value of their business, and we recommend a business valuation, at the right time, updated regularly at sensible timeframes. Why? Because operating a business day-to-day, while imperative, at times overrides the need to step back, take stock, and assess business direction, strategy and business value.
It is critical to have access to specialist professional skills, and source a cost effective, quality valuation, that will stand up to rigorous scrutiny by 3rd parties interested in purchasing your business, when the time comes to sell. We have access to these specialist professional skills.
We will work with you, to help assemble the information needed, and present it in the way that valuation professionals need, to save you time, money, and deliver a quality result.
At Advantage Business we see the results of businesses who obtain a valuation close to their sale time, and see the owner realise that an earlier valuation, regularly updated, and used as the basis to further improve and develop the business, would have resulted in a better sale price for the business.
We also see businesses who obtain a quality valuation, at the time that they sense that their business has significant value, and keep the valuation regularly updated. The results are both the motivation to continue investment and development, and also realise an excellent sale price, at the time of the owner’s choosing.
A business valuation process, completed as early as practical, regularly updated, delivers time, choice and the best price for a business owner. We see this time and time again, and this can help create a much more positive and enjoyable experience.
Step 2: Make Sure You Have the Funding in Place Your Business Needs
Every business needs sufficient funding in place to support business operations, challenges, growth and investment. At Advantage Business, a key portion of our work with clients is helping them to ensure that they have the right type and the right amount of funding, according to their needs.
The cost of funding, and its availability are key challenges for business, and we have the experience and contacts to access cost effective funding, that is tailored to your business needs.
The lowest cost of funding comes from 1st tier banks in New Zealand – i.e. BNZ, Kiwibank, Westpac, ASB and ANZ. These banks make funding decisions based on structured information, and we have the specialist skills, and the necessary contacts and credibility with banks to assist you to create the exact package of information needed, and then arrange for an introduction to the right banker, at the right bank for your needs. At times, we will engage with more than one bank, so that you are provided with a comparison of funding on offer.
Businesses who are early in their life tend to source funding from personal and family sources, and then 2nd and 3rd tier providers, who charge considerably more than 1st tier banks, and target early stage businesses. We have the expertise to reduce your funding with 2nd and 3rd tier providers, and assist you to obtain replacement 1st tier bank funding. The resulting reduction in funding cost is usually significant, and makes a major positive difference to the cashflow and profitability of the business.
We also have access to a range of non-bank funding sources, which are outside the scope of this article. Talk to us at Advantage Business to discuss your specific funding needs.
So there you have it, two steps we recommend to increase your happiness as a business owner, particularly if you’re looking at some big moves in the near future.