Business value is a function of investment earnings, including future earnings potential, which depend on such value drivers as: 1) improve your public relations, 2) streamline your operations, 3) expand your intellectual property, 4) extend your channels of distribution, 5) broaden your product lines, 6) ensure competency of management team, 7) gain impressive board of directors or board advisors, 8) grow your enterprise using strategic alliances, 9) create an aggressive but convincing business plan, and 10) target strategic buyers (if you are selling). Our business transformation experts and strategic alliances can help you with all of this in as little as 6-12 months.

1. Improve Your Public Relations.
First, you may have to change the notion that you are not selling your business. You are always selling your business. What you sell is your vision, how you will use current tangible and intangible resources to build your business value, and your excitement about accomplishing it. Moreover, you actually need to script this for each of the value drivers listed above and practice your delivery. How to multiply your business through improving your image is detailed under Marketing & Sales Plans, Materials, & Campaigns.

2. Streamline Your Operations.
It is hard to sell an idea. Your overall business value is going to be severely depressed at the idea stage, usually much more than your cost of research and development. Plus, it is hard to assemble that exceptional management team when you don’t even have a good prototype. A first step to improving your prototype operations could be an Efficiency Audit & Internal SWOT Analysis.* We use detailed audit check lists, tailored to each situation. The result is a step-by-step action plan to increase efficiency and investigate new opportunities. One follow-up is Manuals and Training Programs, to increase consistency and facilitate transfer of knowledge and practices, which are important when you multiply. Another typical need is better consumer marketing (see Marketing & Sales Plans, Materials, & Campaigns) backed up by Market, Competitor Surveys & External SWOT Analysis. *SWOT=Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.

3. Expand Your Intellectual Property (IP).
Your business practices, manuals, and training programs are part of your IP, as are patents, copyrights, trademarks, recipes. Market, Competitor Surveys & External SWOT Analysis are used to uncover additional IP. Our seasoned executives survey industry publications, associations, suppliers, competitors, and relevant government agencies. It may require detailed business planning (see Business Plans, Valuations) and documentation (see Documents) to show exactly how a particular IP can generate revenues and increase earnings and value. When packaged, protected, and promoted properly, your IP can greatly multiply the value of your business.

4. Extend Your Channels of Distribution.
Consider distributors, franchises, affiliates, joint ventures, value-added resellers, on-line channels, or converting from one type of channel to another to increase sales and profits, reduce costs, and multiply the value of your business. Channel Strategy, Structure details how we establish preliminary feasibility and structure or restructure channel relationships. This includes Pro Forma Testing to find win-win situations. Executive, Distributor, Franchise, Advisor, etc., Searches are most useful for targeting more substantial “channel partner” candidates. Other candidates are found using more traditional lead generation and sales methods (see Marketing & Sales Plans, Materials, & Campaigns).

5. Broaden Your Product Lines.
To gain a high valuation of your resources, expertise, intellectual property, and channels of distribution, you need to plan your future products and services to grow your business. These plans should be formulated as step-by-step action plans based on both Efficiency Audits & Internal SWOT Analysis and Market, Competitor Surveys & External SWOT Analysis and included in your Business Plan.

6. Ensure Competency of Management Team.
You really don’t have a business until you can leave it for six months and come back to a better business. The owner-operator is self-employed, not a real business owner. A competent management team is an absolute must to create business value. Use Efficiency Audits & Internal SWOT Analysis to uncover needs and Training Programs, Periodic Reviews, Updates, or Executive Searches to fill them.

7. Gain Impressive Board of Directors or Board Advisors.
As with your management team, it is imperative to gain the right board (see Executive, Advisor Searches). Board members may be chosen for their insight, experience, connections, stature, celebrity, etc., and not merely for their capital contribution. They should help elevate your business “to the next level” of stature and valuation.

8. Grow Your Enterprise Using Strategic Alliances.
These range from supplier to sales relationships. Informal relationships will not do. You need actual working relationships evidenced by Documents that cover all salient points, including performance and default provisions based on your Channel Strategy, Structure. These relationships should be selected to help increase your business potential.

9. Create an Aggressive but Convincing Business Plan.
For added credibility, you need to document the steps that you have taken and will be taking to reach your goals and objectives. This shows that you have thought through the whole process, including contingencies, which reduces risk and increases value. Review Business Plans, Valuations. and start on your business plan now, but expect it to evolve as you complete each of the above steps. The financial implications must be transparent and culminate in a plausible valuation.

10. Target Strategic Buyers.
If you are seeking a buyer or financing to multiply your business, not any buyer or financing will do. The right kind of buyer is one who needs your business to accomplish a larger goal. You may have to show this buyer how acquiring your business will increase his business value beyond the purchase price. Financing, M&A Searches covers searching for capital, partners, or buyers