Build your business like you’re planning to sell it and:
- you’ll make better longterm decisions,
- develop better processes, and
- be more likely to not try to do everything yourself (nobody wants to buy a job).
The things that make your business more likely to sell will also help you:
- stay more focused,
- waste less time,
- work with better-matched clients,
- make more money, and
- reduce stress.
Think of all the things homeowners do when they want to sell their house.
They make repairs they’ve put off for years, things like new paint, carpet, and landscaping. Many joke that they like the house so much after fixing it up to sell, maybe they’ll keep it.
Don’t let your business to be like those homes! Get the most out of it while you own it AND already have it positioned for sale. Stop being afraid of change and start winning right now!
Here are 10 tips to help you build a business that’s more valuable and marketable:
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Niche down – don’t be a “jack of all trades.”
Specialists are more valuable than generalists, so you’ll be able to charge higher prices and probably enjoy your work more. Your knowledge and experience are like nobody else’s in the world. Figure out a way to offer value based on your own unique experience.
Niching down combined with the rest of the tips in this list makes your business more attractive to a potential buyer. They’ll admire the life you’re able to lead and can imagine themselves in your place.
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Develop processes.
Even if you’re a solopreneur, processes will standardize your projects and save time. It will also make it more likely that someone else could do the work. That makes it easier to delegate and easier for a new owner to take over.
Proven processes are exactly why franchises are so popular. They remove some of the risk and help new owners ramp up more quickly.
Tip: always be willing to adapt, though. A process you develop today may not be ideal in a year.
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Productize your offerings and don’t waver from the prices or be afraid to raise them.
Productized services are easier to sell because they’re specific. They can also have a higher profit margin because you’ll get more efficient at delivering.
They can lead to exponential returns:
- decreasing the chances that you’ll take on low value work just to meet cashflow, and
- increasing demand for your other higher-value services.
Don’t give in when someone wants you to change the price, though. That gives them control over your business. Negotiating prices can also undermine perceived value since the original price may seem like an arbitrary number.
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Develop a gateway product that isn’t a large investment of a prospect’s money. It will help qualify or disqualify them.
For example, make the Discovery phase of a project it’s own product and always charge for it. That will help pre-qualify clients, and help both you and the client test the waters working together without a large investment. It also creates new revenue since so many consultants don’t charge for Discovery.
The client can always use the Discovery results to work with someone else if it becomes apparent you’re not a good match.
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Create new revenue streams and recurring revenue.
Creating new revenue streams diversifies your income and can be like getting an instant raise. Recurring revenue gives you predictable cashflow to work from. A buyer will love both.
- diversifying income can reduce risk, and
- recurring revenues make it easier to forecast.
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Create passive income.
Consulting services, especially, lend themselves to this. Books, online courses, and other products can deliver your knowledge and experience to those who need it.
You do the work once and earn money multiple times. This also creates intellectual property that may be valuable to someone who wants to buy the business.
You’re like a walking library – what you’ve learned over the years is valuable to other people. Figure out a way to package that experience as a product and sell it.
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Use the web strategically; don’t just put up a glorified brochure.
Developing your site around the way you want your business to run is invaluable. Example: automate tasks like appointment setting and client onboarding. That will save a ton of time and back-and-forth emails. And use the web strategically to do things others aren’t doing.
Investing in your company’s web presence creates an asset that potential investors can experience personally and possibly become interested in your company. I experienced this myself in 2000 when I sold a business that wasn’t event listed for sale, just before the dot-com bubble burst.
When I started developing websites in 1995, you had to have coding skills. Now, with all the platforms available, there’s no excuse for not having a nice site. It should be updated regularly with content that’s valuable to your prospects and clients.
Don’t just rely on your web designer or marketing specialist for strategic advice, though. You need a trusted advisor with knowledge of more than just technology or marketing. An outsourced Chief Web Officer can:
- analyze where your business is now and where you want to go,
- recognize opportunities for new online revenue streams and develop strategies for creating them,
- analyze how you could be using the web to improve efficiency in operations, marketing, and sales, and
- determine which platforms, services, and features are the best fit for your needs and budget.
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Don’t build your business the way everyone else does.
It’s your business, and you can make it anything you want! Building it your way will support the lifestyle you want to live while also making it unique.
And don’t be afraid to use your imagination. A unique business is more likely to catch potential buyers’ eyes.
Developing strategic collaborations that help increase your reach is another way to stand out. Just this one step can also allow you to expand without the risk and investment of doing it by yourself. For example, here’s an example of a fun, beneficial multi-partner collaboration that also incorporates cause marketing.
- Find great strategic partners with complimentary strengths & weaknesses.
- Collaborate with them to increase your reach and authority.
- Achieve exponentially more than any of you can on your own.
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Be yourself.
You only want to work with clients you’re a good fit for. If being yourself turns off someone, they’ve disqualified themselves. That’s a good thing.
Being yourself also keeps the business from being just another generic one that blends in. That will help attract the types of clients that add the value to your business that potential buyers love.
- Don’t like to have to go to meetings? Require that all be done through Zoom, Skype, etc.
- Don’t like repetitive tasks? Automate as many ongoing tasks as possible. Also, don’t offer services that involve repetitive tasks for yourself.
- Want to be able to take long vacations? Develop a business model where you have projects of a specific length. That will let you schedule vacations between projects.
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Get your messaging down and stick with it.
Develop 1-2 sentences that communicate exactly who your perfect client is and the benefit they’ll get from working with you. Instead of talking about “what” you do, talk about the value to the client. The results are what they care about.
When you have highly targeted messaging, potential clients will immediately recognize themselves and others will more easily recognize someone they should refer to you.
Whether your business is new or existing, start focusing on building and running it as though you plan to sell it. You’ll stay more focused, waste less time, work with better-matched clients, make more money, and reduce stress. And maybe one day sell for lots of money! Just one quick call will help you get started.