Some 52% of Canadians go online to research products, says the November issue of Profit magazine. If your store doesn’t have an effective web presence, you’re going to sacrifice sales, they add. And yet, many small businesses in Canada still don’t have a website. Only 36 per cent of small businesses had their own websites (compared to 91 per cent of large businesses) as of 2007, a recent CBC article reports. Surprised? I’m not.
How many of you remember Victor Kiam, the businessman who liked his Remington shaver so much he bought the company? Well, the three Inner Circles I experienced in the U.S. impressed me so much that I bought the company – at least the Canadian Master Franchise.
Are you taking, or have you already taken, a vacation away from your business this year? As a business owner myself, I know how hard it can be to step away. And provided you enjoy what you’re doing, the workload seems much lighter than it actually is. I touch on this in tips for baby boom buyers. Sometimes you don’t even notice how much energy you’re expending.
All things being equal, higher revenue and a better bottom line increase the value of a business and its appeal to potential buyers. How we get there will be the focus of our next few posts. But first, I’d like to take a short detour. I recently read Good to Great, written by Jim Collins. What follows is a summary of his concepts for taking your business and business worth from good to great.
You wouldn’t head out on a family road trip without checking your car and local weather forecast would you? There are many actions available to reduce the risks when embarking on the buying or selling of a business. Adequate protection through insurance is high on our checklist.
Buyers want a business with a proven track record of consistent financial performance with solid/growing revenue and earnings. Yet, most of us are rather flabby when it comes to fiscal fitness. Spending some time with a trainer/coach can boost your strength and health and business worth.
Do you have fun running your business? Research from The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute shows it’s more likely if you stay small. Some keep their business small by choice, finding it more personally rewarding than running a bigger company with more employees.
Do you already own a business? Is much of what you need to operate your business “in your head”? Businesses that rely on their owners for success have less value because replacing the owner is much more difficult and they are not ready for growth. Yet that’s how most small businesses still operate today.
