It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day only to miss the big picture. Consequently, opportunities can disappear as quickly as they came.
As a business Owner, this can be an easy trap to fall into. We all do it. I'm not suggesting you ignore the small stuff, just don't get personally involved in every decision. Have someone else take care of it.
Why would you hand off important and not so important decisions? Because if you and your staff continue to run the business as if you're the only one who can make the right choices or solve the problems, you will live to regret it. If you don't already.
Eventually the reality will hit you, you're not running the company, it's really running you. Instead, you should be thinking about the bigger, more important issues. Like how exactly you're going to get out.
One of the best ways to exit is to increase the value of your business. Then you can sell or transition for the most money and on your terms. All you have to do is make it desirable to Buyers and allow it to run without you.
Somewhere down the road the company will be sold or transitioned. It may be while you're still around to enjoy it or after you're gone. Either way if you're like far too many Owners, who are the epicentre of the business, it will be problematic. Your people will struggle and or a new prospective Buyer will see immediately, in the very early stages of due diligence, that without you the company cannot operate optimally.
And that my friends, is where you lose the leverage you thought you had. Value goes down and terms end up in favour of the Buyer. If you don't currently have internal resources to accept the responsibilities then grow them or hire/contract from outside.
If you run a family business and have not yet let the next generation step up completely, (you know who you are) I guarantee family dinners are about to get more heated and a lot more exciting. BTW if you are the next generation, do yourself a favour and forward this email to you know who. At the very least, you can use it to get the conversation going on a far more serious level. i.e. Look what Eric wrote this week. Sounds like our family. Pass the green beans please.
When the company is running successfully on its own you don't even have to sell. You could conceivably have the business carry-on and continue to provide income and stability to your family and employees for an indefinite period of time. It just needs to run without you. You want options.
That's right, it's your cue to move on. Not sure what you'd do with your time? Call me and we'll talk.
For the past little while I've been taking a part of my day, no not every day but many days, where I just stop for a few hours and think about the business. I'm not involved in solving small problems or day-to-day details. I'm just quietly evaluating the company, thinking about the future and the next steps required to get where we need to be and then working back from there. I'm enjoying myself more and our company continues to grow.
So slow down, hand off and enjoy more. It could make a huge difference in your future and the lives of those around you.
As always, I am available for a telephone conversation, a coffee or to guide you out of the jungle.
Eric
As a business Owner, this can be an easy trap to fall into. We all do it. I'm not suggesting you ignore the small stuff, just don't get personally involved in every decision. Have someone else take care of it.
Why would you hand off important and not so important decisions? Because if you and your staff continue to run the business as if you're the only one who can make the right choices or solve the problems, you will live to regret it. If you don't already.
Eventually the reality will hit you, you're not running the company, it's really running you. Instead, you should be thinking about the bigger, more important issues. Like how exactly you're going to get out.
One of the best ways to exit is to increase the value of your business. Then you can sell or transition for the most money and on your terms. All you have to do is make it desirable to Buyers and allow it to run without you.
Somewhere down the road the company will be sold or transitioned. It may be while you're still around to enjoy it or after you're gone. Either way if you're like far too many Owners, who are the epicentre of the business, it will be problematic. Your people will struggle and or a new prospective Buyer will see immediately, in the very early stages of due diligence, that without you the company cannot operate optimally.
And that my friends, is where you lose the leverage you thought you had. Value goes down and terms end up in favour of the Buyer. If you don't currently have internal resources to accept the responsibilities then grow them or hire/contract from outside.
If you run a family business and have not yet let the next generation step up completely, (you know who you are) I guarantee family dinners are about to get more heated and a lot more exciting. BTW if you are the next generation, do yourself a favour and forward this email to you know who. At the very least, you can use it to get the conversation going on a far more serious level. i.e. Look what Eric wrote this week. Sounds like our family. Pass the green beans please.
When the company is running successfully on its own you don't even have to sell. You could conceivably have the business carry-on and continue to provide income and stability to your family and employees for an indefinite period of time. It just needs to run without you. You want options.
That's right, it's your cue to move on. Not sure what you'd do with your time? Call me and we'll talk.
For the past little while I've been taking a part of my day, no not every day but many days, where I just stop for a few hours and think about the business. I'm not involved in solving small problems or day-to-day details. I'm just quietly evaluating the company, thinking about the future and the next steps required to get where we need to be and then working back from there. I'm enjoying myself more and our company continues to grow.
So slow down, hand off and enjoy more. It could make a huge difference in your future and the lives of those around you.
As always, I am available for a telephone conversation, a coffee or to guide you out of the jungle.
Eric
