Is Your Business a Passion Project or a Growth Machine?

In their Harvard Business Review article, “Every Business Owner Should Define What Success Should Look Like”, authors Josh Baron and Vlad Barbieri highlight and effectively describe the need for a well-defined “Owner Strategy” for an owner and their business.  The authors provide a short account of Elisa and Mark’s watch business and how they needed to decide whether the business was a “passion project or growth machine” that paints a clear picture of the importance of a thoughtful and well-defined owner strategy.

The article is concise and effective in addressing an essential but often overlooked aspect of business owner planning. Also provided is a simple yet impactful framework for creating an owner strategy for the business that is based on the personal goals of the owner for the business.  A strategy that “generates alignment among owners, board members, executives, and employees, which in turn, improves both performance and satisfaction.” And we would only accentuate their recommendation of clarifying the owner’s personal goals not directly related to the business (i.e., family, estate planning, travel, legacy, etc.). As well, add that determining how the owner eventually would prefer to leave or exit should influence an owner’s decision regarding a strategy of “Growth - Control, Growth - Liquidity, or Liquidity – Control.”

An investment of a few minutes reading the Baron & Barbieri article could have a huge impact on your future business growth and exit.

Invest 12-15 minutes in the FREE ExitMap® Assessment and get a 12-page report scoring you in four key exit planning areas: Finance, Planning, Revenue/Profit, and Operations.

Build and grow the right way...

Like most successful small business owners, George had invested much of his life and resources in his business over the last twenty plus years and realized personal prosperity and respect within the marketplace.  The business had been profitable, with revenue generally stable and increasing, and George continued to see his personal standard of living increase.  

At the same time, George had an ongoing irritant, and that was his inability to "really take a vacation".  George and his wife Susan were able to "get away" a few times each year, but it was seldom more than a week, and he most always remained tied to the business in some way or another while he was gone.  His phone and computer would still see a lot of action on "vacation".

Five years ago, George was "ready to sell the business and retire".  They now had four grandchildren they wanted to spend time with, they wanted to travel, and simply "enjoy life" while they were still very healthy.  George's transition from being "all in" to "I'm done" happened quite fast, surprising both George and Susan.  Coincidentally, around that time, George was approached by a couple of potential buyers interested in purchasing his company.  George was excited that he would now sell his company and he and Susan would be free to do all they wanted to do.

George experienced what he called "a sad awakening" when the most serious buyer made an offer that was significantly less than what George and Susan needed, along with an "earn-out" requirement.  George would have to remain on as an employee for three more years in order to earn 25% of the proposed sale price.  The potential buyer pointed to areas of risk including "the business still runs too much through you George", a lack of management team incentivized to remain during the transition, an inability to produce requested financials in a timely manner, and an unproven growth strategy as reasons for the low offer.

George had a huge decision to make, take the low offer and adjust downward the plans that he and Susan were looking forward to, or, reject the offer and invest more years in building his business the right way for a successful sale in the future.  Not an easy decision considering a few days ago both he and Susan were envisioning travel and "grandkid time" becoming reality within the next few months.  As George is now an employee working hard to earn the balance of his reduced payout, and Susan is doing much of the grandkid time by herself, he came to understand the hard way that you can never start too soon in building your business the right way for a successful exit.

 Invest 12-15 minutes in the FREE ExitMap® Assessment and get a 12-page report scoring you in four key exit planning areas: Finance, Planning, Revenue/Profit, and Operations.  

Is Your Brand a Successful Business Growth Tool?

There is one key question every business should ask when it comes to their branding:  Does your brand enable your prospective clients or customers to see themselves in your experience—in your services or products?  If your prospects see themselves in your experience—they will become part of your experience.  If your brand doesn’t accomplish this both visually and verbally then your brand isn’t doing its job. 

How can businesses ensure that their brand is accomplishing this critical goal?  This is achieved through a value proposition-based brand.  The foundation of an engaging, effective, brand that drives business growth is a company’s value propositions.  They answer the questions: 

• Why choose your company? 

• What sets you apart from the competition? 

• What unique assets do you provide to your clients or customers? 

• What unique assets do you provide to the community (the giving-back component)? 

If the answers to these questions are showcased both visually and verbally through your brand, you can be assured that your prospects will see themselves in your experience and be drawn to become part of your experience.

Engaging, effective branding combined with proven technology, compelling content, engaging design, and a results-driven outreach strategy fuels vibrant and sustainable business growth. 

Liz Johnson, President & Principal Consultant, Mountain View Marketing. If you have questions or would like additional information, please reach out to Liz at liz@mountainviewmarketingllc.com .