The value of your business comes down to a single equation: what multiple of your profit is an acquirer willing to pay for your company?

profit × multiple = value

Most owners believe the best way to improve the value of their company is to make more profit – so, they find ways to sell more and more. As experts in their industry, it’s natural that customers want to personally engage with them, which means spending more time on the phones, on the road and face-to-face to increase sales.

With this model, a company can slightly grow, but the owner’s life becomes much more difficult: customers demand more time and service, employees begin to burn out, and soon it feels like there are not enough hours in the day. Revenue flat lines, health can suffer and relationships get strained – all from working too much. Does this feel familiar?

If you’re spending too much time and effort on increasing your profit, you could find yourself diminishing the overall value of your business. The solution? Focus on driving your multiple (the other number in the equation above). Driving your multiple will ultimately help you grow your company value, improve your profit and redeem your freedom.

Lots of Runway

Most founders think market share is something to strive for, but in the eyes of an acquirer, it can decrease the value of your business because you’ve already sopped up most of the opportunity.

Recurring Revenue

An acquirer is going to want to know how your business will do once you leave – recurring revenue assures them that there will still be a business once the founder hits eject.

Financials

The size and profitability of your company will matter to investors and so will the quality of your bookkeeping.

The You Factor

The most valuable businesses can thrive without their owners. The inverse is also true because the most valuable businesses are masters of independence.

If you were to draw a picture that visually represents your role in your business, what would it look like? Are you at the top of an organizational chart, or stuck in the middle of your business like a hub in a bicycle wheel?

The Hub & Spoke model is a drive that shows how dependent your business is on you for survival. The Hub & Spoke model can only be as strong as the hub. The moment the hub is overwhelmed, the entire system fails. Acquirers generally avoid these types of managed businesses because they understand the dangers of buying a company too dependent on the owner.

The Hub & Spoke model is a drive that shows how dependent your business is on you for survival. The Hub & Spoke model can only be as strong as the hub. The moment the hub is overwhelmed, the entire system fails. Acquirers generally avoid these types of managed businesses because they understand the dangers of buying a company too dependent on the owner.

Here’s a list of the 5 top warning signs that show your business could be too dependent on you.

Most business owners give themselves final authority… all the time. But what happens if you’re away for a couple of days and an important supplier needs to be paid? Consider giving an employee signing authority for an amount you’re comfortable with, and then change the mailing address on your bank statements so they are mailed to your home (not the office). That way, you can review everything coming out of your account and make sure the privilege isn’t being abused.

Flat revenue from one year to the next can be a sign you are a hub in a hub-and-spoke model. Like forcing water through a hose, you have only so much capacity. No matter how efficient you are, every business dependent on its owner reaches capacity at some point. Consider narrowing your product and service line by eliminating technically complex offers that require your personal involvement, and instead focus on selling fewer things to more people.

If you spend your vacations dispatching orders from your mobile, it’s time to cut the tether. Start by taking one day off and seeing how your company does without you. Build systems for failure points. Work up to a point where you can take a few weeks off without affecting your business.

It’s good to have the pulse of your market, but knowing every single customer by first name can be a sign that you’re relying too heavily on your personal relationships being the glue that holds your business together. Consider replacing yourself as a rainmaker by hiring a sales team, and as inefficient as it seems, have a trusted employee shadow you when you meet customers so over time your customers get used to dealing with someone else.

Employees, customers and suppliers constantly cc’ing you on e-mails can be a sign that they are looking for your tacit approval or that you have not made clear when you want to be involved in their work. Start by asking your employees to stop using the cc line in an e-mail; ask them to add you to the “to” line if you really must be made aware of something – and only if they need a specific action from you.

Our value builder provides you with an assessment and the solutions to escape the problems of the hub and spoke; over dependency on you and all the dysfunctions that entail.

Get your assessment  and report now by clicking the link below :

Multiple Demands on your most precious asset and pressures on You

The stresses of juggling multiple demands on our time, resolving constant conflicts, and coping with competing priorities all make it extraordinarily difficult to feel in control of what is most important to us.

We spend our time doing things that others could be doing instead. We do things that are not essential to our organization’s strategic priorities. We do things that are not the most important things for us to be doing as leaders of our business or family.

As a result, we feel overwhelmed. We lose our focus and our most valuable asset. Ironically, our other assets suffer as well. We are stressed and lose energy and vitality. We do not relate as well with others, because we are distracted and cannot give our full attention. We make poor decisions that cost money.

If you also have this concern, you are not alone. Many leaders feel the same way, and there is a solution.

We Provide A Proven Methodology

At  London Coaching Services we have a proven methodology that assesses exactly how you spend your time now, and then sets specific goals for the most valuable uses of your time as a leader of your organization or business. From there, we work with you to design your day and week to redesign your time, set boundaries, and put key habits and behaviours in place so that you get back in control of your time as appropriate for your role.

Increase Performance and Results

When we work with you we bring back control, focus, and peace of mind to your work. As a result, you are more productive, you make better decisions, and you notice that your performance, as well as that of your team and your organization, improves – seemingly with less effort and hassle.

Time to spend more time with family and on what really matters to you

Download a short time assessment and get in touch

Time is indeed your most important asset. Be sure that you treat it as you would any other. Measure how you use it. Analyse your decisions. Plan better, make more strategic choices going forward. Do what it takes to set boundaries to execute those plans and choices.

Please take a moment to read more about our work on this website, and be sure to download a short time assessment that can help you by clicking here. At the same time, if you would like to discuss your situation, please call me on my personal cell phone at 07486614145 or email me at info@londoncoachingservices.com.

Before you can start your online marketing campaign you need to work through the six steps for success. This will help you flush out a plan to find success. This week you’ll take that plan and learn how to turn it into a solid foundation.

Starting with a firm foundation

Your road to successful online marketing begins with a solid foundation. One major component of that foundation is a company website. Your company website should represent the products and services your company has to offer. It should have all of the nine basic elements of a good website. These elements can take your customers from start to checkout with ease.

What should your website truly mean to you?

Your website design speaks volumes about your company. Each page on your site should reflect your company and be attractive to visitors. You can choose to spend very little on your website if you plan to do a more of the maintenance yourself. Website hosting on the World Wide Web will cost you a little out of pocket each month. You then have to decide if you will build your own website, which requires a little more knowledge. You could also choose to use a template or even hire someone to do it all. We’ll talk about the options and costs associated with this.

Once your website is up and running, you need to convert visitors into paying customers. There are a series of conversion strategies to choose. One of those strategies is to have a well-defined landing page in which customers immediately recognise why they’re on your site and what they need to do.

Why keeping an eye on your customers helps

It’s essential to keep track of your customers. Set up forms with customer information so that you can contact every customer again in the future. It is also important to measure the effectiveness of your website. You’ll learn how to measure site visits, page views, referring websites, and much more vital information. Once you have this information, you can determine where your online marketing dollars are best spent.

Next week we’re going to take a look at online presence and what it really means. You’ll learn exactly what an online presence is and how that presence can draw customers in and increase your sales. An online presence is also about building brand recognition, another major component to success in an online world.

In the last post we talked about negotiating with your big fish and how to nurture and build on the relationships you are creating. Today we’ll talk about the power your fish has and how to utilise that for your benefit.

One of the most important aspects of this is to keep your cheerleader cheering. This refers to the ally you created in the company and who needs to stay loyal to you for you to continue a profitable partnership with your fish. You can keep your champion going by offering or doing a number of things to show appreciation.

Some of these things are:

• Share the limelight.Help them;
• Thank their company with new products and services.
• Emotionally connect them to your company.
• Know when to leave them alone.
• Keep your “family” happy.
• Stay on the front lines.

Now that you have some ideas of how to build solid relationships, you need to seek out people to build these relationships with. These alliances will help you get bigger clients that stay with you forever. You can often get in the door by offering them something in exchange
for something they need:

1. Power
2. Information
3. Better work experience

These are all great ways to feed your alliance. You need to go into a relationship considering the things a big fish can offer you besides money.

These can include:

• The opportunity for your business to expand
• The opportunity to learn from the experience and find ways to grow
• The opportunity to improve your processes, systems and other means of doing business

These are some of the best ways to keep your alliances going strong and your partnerships fresh and content.

If you need help with any of these tactics, try our FREE test drive on this site or by clicking this link to make an appointment with me for great tools and resources that can help you every step of the way.

Until the next time.

There are a few things you need to do and consider to prepare for your first face to face meeting with your Big Fish or top client:

Make a list of what you want to accomplish during the meeting.

• Anticipate potential concerns from the client.
• Check to make sure you are completely prepared.
• Listen more than you talk.
• Bring support staff with you.
• Use and respect the clients’ format.
• Always follow through.
• Ask for what you need and seal the deal.
• Simplify your prospects life.
• Find ways to boost your credibility.
• Build and nurture relationships.
• Learn from “no”. Find out what didn’t work so you know how to change it for the next time.

These are all important things to do both before and during your presentation.

With confidence behind your company and product you will catch that big fish. The next step of the process is negotiation. This can seem a little intimidating but with a few tips and tricks can become natural to you.

Here are some tips to help you negotiate successfully:

1. Build a pricing strategy and stick with it.
2. Prioritise what you plan to offer. This should include what really matters to you and what you are willing to give in on.
3. Don’t give in too quickly.
4. Negotiated with a person, not a “company”. Don’t let their answer be that they  would like to, but can’t.
5. Don’t sell yourself short.
6. Mitigate your pricing. If you go to low you won’t be able to raise it back up and you need to make a profit.
7. Don’t sacrifice quality for the deal.
8. Your services should always count as costs.
9. Boost margins with add-ons.
10. Handle request for proposals with the utmost care.

These are the ways you make sure that both parties are getting the best possible situation from the partnership. Once you start meeting or working together, it’s important to continue to build your relationship so that that representative becomes a big of an ally for you. They are more likely to vouch for you and build on the partnership you have with their company.

We like to call this person a champion. They are champion for your company and can bring a stronger, brighter future to your company.

Here are the characteristics of a great champion:

• They are respected by supervisors.
• They are socially networked.
• They think in the best interest of their company’s long run.
• They are able to quickly navigate through the company to get things done.
• They are willing to give credit to another person.
• They share the same business philosophy, values and vision as you.

Now, that you know how to negotiate for what is best for both parties and build on relationships, we’re going to talk about how to use your fish’ power to the best of your benefit.

If you need help with any of the negotiation or courting process, try our FREE test drive on this site or make an appointment with me by clicking this link: to get access to a wealth of great tools and resources to help you be successful.

Until the next time.