12 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Company
Table of Contents:
1. Build A Solid Management Team
A business with sales of $5 million and up needs a full complement of officers and directors. Such a team might include: a COO, a CFO, a sales manager, and, depending on the of type business, an IT director. It is also beneficial to create a Board of Directors with at least two outside members. This professionalization of management can remove the stigma of “the one man band.” Not only will this build a stronger company, it will increase the value to a possible acquirer. Smaller firms should also build a strong management team, and creating an outside advisor group is also a good idea.
2. Loyal Employees
Happy and loyal employees make for a strong company. Top management should have non-compete and/or confidentiality agreements. Solid benefits plans for all employees should be in place. A company’s greatest asset is its employees and perhaps its biggest value-increaser.
3. Growth
Some smaller companies are kept small to maximize the owner’s benefits – the proverbial “cash cows.” However, if building value is the goal, then developing new products or services, building market share, expanding markets or opening new ones, is critical. This generally requires a financial investment, but building a strong growth rate also builds value.
4. Understanding Your Market
The value of a company may be contingent on its industry, its place in the industry and the direction of the industry itself. How big is the industry, is it headed up or down, who is the competition and how big is the company’s market share? Is it time to change direction or diversify?
5. Size Counts
Companies with less than $5 million in sales and an EBITDA of less than $1 million can be perceived as small. Therefore, they may be dependent on continuing outside financing and lack the critical mass for both buying and selling power. These companies can be perceived as too small for acquisition or are penalized when it comes to value. However, over the past few years corporate buyers, as well as private equity firms, have seen the advantages of purchasing smaller firms. Companies with $10 million or more in sales and an EBITDA of $1 million or more are considered solid and able to stand on their own.
6. Changing Direction
Small companies can be very adept at changing course and implementing change. They have to be able to change and move quickly to take advantage of new markets, fill voids in existing markets, and even add or change products or services.
7. Documentation
Business plans, financial plans, and personnel plans should all be in writing – and kept current. Terms of employment agreements should be spelled out and in writing. Business planning and company objectives, etc., should also be in writing and reviewed periodically. Contracts should be reviewed and maintained on a current basis.
8. Diversification
A major problem with many small companies is that their business is concentrated on one or two major customers or clients. Ideally, no customer or client should represent more than 10 percent of sales. Expanding to new markets, introducing new products, and finding new customers must be considered without deviating too far from the company’s core business.
9. Name And Brand Identity
Nothing beats the name Walt Disney, or Kleenex® or the soft drink called Coke® – they are household names. Small firms may not have the brand or name recognition of these companies, but they can work at it. This recognition is especially powerful in the consumer product area. But franchising has expanded this name or brand recognition to many different types of businesses.
10. Taking Advantage Of Proprietary And Other Assets.
Patents, brand names, copyrights, alliances, and joint ventures are all examples of not only proprietary assets but, in many cases, valuable ones. Even equipment can be used in several different ways. Large landscape companies in cold climates put snow plows on their trucks, utilize their existing workforce, and become snow plowing companies for their regular landscaping customers — office complexes, apartment and condo developments, etc.
11. Lean And Mean
Many companies lease their real estate needs, outsource their payroll, have their manufacturing done offshore, or have UPS handle all of their logistical needs. Since all non-core requirements are done by someone else, the company can focus its efforts on what they do best.
12. Do It Now!
The owners of small firms, even large ones, have an attitude that says, “I don’t have time now, I’ll do it tomorrow” or “I’m too busy now putting out fires.” So the real challenges of building the business, and value, get sidetracked or put off indefinitely. Creating value is critical to the long-term (and short-term) success of the business.
Keep in mind that the best time to consider selling is when the business is good, the business is running profitably, and many of the above “value-adders” are in place. By contacting your local professional intermediary you can explore which of the above will add the most value to your firm, so it will be ready to sell when you are.
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Read MoreThe Key Ingredient to Selling Your Company
Business Appraisers, before beginning an assignment, like to know the purpose of the appraisal. Usually the assignment demands “bullet proof” documentation: comparables, EBITDA multiples, projections, discount rates, etc. Unfortunately, in situations where the purpose of the valuation is to establish a selling price, the business appraiser really doesn’t understand the business elements – or, since these business elements don’t figure into the numbers, they are largely ignored. However, they do have value; in some cases, significant value to a buyer.
Valuing these business elements requires that computers, adding machines and calculators be put aside. The business should be looked at from three key business elements: the Market, the Operations, and Post-Acquisition. These elements are certainly subjective, but also critically important to a prospective buyer. A buyer’s opinion of the business elements can drive the actual offering price significantly higher—or lower. In fact, the business elements such as Fundamentals and Value Drivers can impact price as much as the Financials.
Here are some important questions to consider:
Market:
Are there significant competitive threats?
Is there a large market potential?
Does the company have a reasonable market position?
Are there broad-based distribution channels?
Is there a wide customer base?
What’s the company’s competitive advantage?
Operations:
Are there significant alternative technologies?
Is sound management to remain?
Is there product/service diversity?
Are there multiple suppliers?
Many business owners feel that what prospective acquirers are looking for are quality and depth of management, market share, profitability, etc. Brian Tracy, in his book, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, states that the key ingredient is “a company-wide focus on marketing, sales and revenue generation. The most important energies of the most talented people in the company must be centered on the customer. The failures to focus single-mindedly on sales are the number one causes of business failures, which are triggered by a drop-off in sales.”
Tracy goes on to point out that company owners and/or presidents should observe industry trends, pay attention to what the competition is doing that works, and learn from them. Find out what is successful and what isn’t in your industry – trends are vital. It is important to understand that established and mature companies are generally just trying to protect their market share, while start-up companies are really attempting to gain or establish market share.
Tracy estimates that 80 percent of new businesses close down within the first two years, and 100 either fall off or join the top 500 companies in the U.S. because they are acquired, merged or broken-up, and even a few actually fold – Enron being a good example.
Tracy also mentions that problem solving, decision making and team (not individual) collaboration are key factors. However, as he points out, the best companies have the best people.