Trio Business Intermediaries Blog

Soon to be taking on a new business or an active part in an existing operation?

Some of the issues you may want to consider to make the new regime flow well:

• Talk, communicate, chat, email, liaise, - keep everyone feeling as though they’re informed and part of things

• Ensure everyone knows the basics – where the offices will be, where to park and how to get there, who’s moving where and when

• How any surplus team members will be deployed

• Clear responsibility for maintaining client contacts and ensuring they don’t even notice things have changed

• Another group need to be responsible for ensuring suppliers are on top of the changes and ready to integrate new locations or systems

• Who is mission-critical and what is being done to retain them?

• Any disparities between terms of employment, bonuses or perks

If you’ve decided to pass your business onto family / staff or you’re heading towards selling, you will want to maximise the value of the business.

The list of things you can do to improve that valuation is long and been discussed here before so, here are a few more big ticket items:

• Put the sale or succession on the agenda – monthly meetings, accountant’s review, business plan

• Identify the personal expenses and assets in the business (we call them the ‘boats n benzes’!)

• Take a holiday – a long holiday – without being in touch.  Fix whatever falls apart in your absence so that you can disappear forever

• Get the tax and structure sorted – some structures are more advantageous on sale

• Focus on profits – hard profits beat blue sky every day