How Can You Increase The Value Of Your Business?

Many business owners will at some stage want to sell their business and to realise the maximise price. In order to do this it is key to focus on building value into your business as part of your business strategy now rather than leaving it until when you want to sell when it will be too late to make a difference. Equally focusing on creating value in your business will increase the sustainability of the business, lower the risk and maximise shareholder return each year.

Here are some areas you may want to focus on to increase the value of your business:

Grow your business. A growing profitable business is more valuable than a stagnant, declining or unprofitable business. Focus on profitable business growth to maximise the value of your business.

Increase recurring revenue and long term contracts. Increasing recurring revenue from your clients will increase the value of your business. Look at ways to increase long term client contracts and retainers from clients to increase recurring revenue.

Diversify your client base. Increasing your number of clients and the number of sectors your clients come from will reduce your dependency on a small number of clients, reduce your business risk on specific business sectors and increase the value of your business. Consider ways to diversify your client base.

Effective sales and marketing. Having tried and tested sales and marketing that delivers leads, enquiries and new business from both existing and new clients will increase the value of your business. Review your sales and marketing to ensure it is consistently delivering the sales to meet your plans.

Make sure the business is not dependent on you. You can increase the value of your business by stepping back from the day to day running of the business and setting the business up so it is not dependent on you. This is a very challenging area for any business owner but making the transition will significantly increase the value of the business.

Make the business efficient and effective. Having efficient and effective systems, processes and procedures will significantly increase the value of your business. Consider systemising and documenting your business processes and procedures so the business is simpler to run, less dependent on individual employees, less risky and more efficient and effective.

Employ great people, look after them and implement a structure. Your business will be more valuable if you have a proper management and organisation structure in place, you employ people who are good in their roles, take responsibility and deliver on their objectives and you have low staff turnover. Review your team, structure and management processes and make the changes required to increase your business value.

Have a long term plan and strategy. Having a clear long term strategy and plan for your business will increase the value of your business as you will be clear on where your business is now, where it is going and what you need to do to get there. This will give your business clarity, focus and direction as you can align the business to achieving the business strategy. You will be making your business strategy happen and adding value rather than letting your business drift along without purpose.

Financially manage your business. Understanding the financial position of the business is key to increasing the value of your business. Have detailed financial plans, management and financial accounts and tight cash flow management so you can effectively manage the business and add value.

Maximise customer service. Great customer service will have a positive impact on the value of your business. What can you do to improve the service you provide to your customers?

Have contracts in place for your key business relationships. Having clear and proper contracts in place for your key business relationships including customers, suppliers and staff will add value to your business. Review your business to ensure you have the appropriate contracts in place.

So which of the above do you need to change to increase the value of your business?

Author: Liz Makin
Published: September 2015

Makin It Happen has a range of personal development online courses to purchase, created by Liz Makin, including anxiety management, communication, resilience, soft skills, stress management, time management and coaching. Liz Makin also provides personalised business coaching, business mentoring and stress management services to business owners, directors, managers and professionals.

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