33 minute read
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR POTENTIAL BUSINESS BROKER.
What Is Due Diligence?
If you’re considering buying a business, you may have heard the term ‘due diligence’ being thrown around in conversation. You may have heard of the term in the world outside of business sales too – because due diligence is a common term for investigating and fact-checking legally and financial details prior to a transaction being completed.
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When purchasing a business, a buyer would be advised to conduct thorough due diligence before the sale takes place. What does that involve?
What does due diligence involve?
The process is led by the potential buyer and is facilitated by other professionals involved in the sale process (typically his Accountant and Lawyer).
Due diligence involves the review of all information provided to ensure accuracy; verifying financials and inspecting records before making a concrete and final decision to confirm the purchase.
Examples of documents that are included in the due diligence review include, inter alia:
• Financial statements (profit and loss statements etc.) backed up by tax returns • Condition reports of plant and equipment included in the sale.
Plus financial agreements in place for equipment, if any • The ownership of essential assets and intellectual property • Working capital assessments • Staff- functions and history • Checking of all legal agreements in place, including the lease for the premises • Competition in the area and industry
When is due diligence conducted?
The process begins before the sale takes place, but after the Buyer and Seller have agreed to detailed terms for the purchase of the business. These terms are often documented in a “term sheet” so that both parties are in agreement and aware of what needs to be done in the due diligence. In some instances, the parties will agree to finalising the contract of sale first, with a condition that the due diligence process be successfully concluded prior to settlement. Should the due diligence fail then the clause included would allow the buyer to end the agreement and get a refund of any deposit held in trust.
What happens if you don’t conduct due diligence?
If a buyer does not invest time and effort in a thorough due diligence process, they place themselves at risk in the business sale, as they are essentially purchasing blind and relying on good faith. Think of it this way, if you were buying a very expensive car, would you read the advertisement and believe everything it tells you without taking it for a test drive and getting a mechanic to check under the bonnet?
Think of a business sale in the same way, except instead of a mechanic checking the engine, it’s a financial advisor and lawyer checking the business from the inside out.
Roy Levy
Principal Broker & Chartered Accountant
P. 02 9413 2977 E. roy@corebb.com.au
www.corebb.com.au
Roy is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Roy was a member of the senior management team that developed the Columbia Group that was listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange in 1986. His main responsibility as a director and shareholder of that company was the development of its management consulting, training and business brokering divisions during which he consulted in the sale and purchase of companies.
Torquay Victoria
Geelong
Geelong is Victoria’s second largest city and also the gateway to the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula and the spectacular Great Ocean Road. Beautiful beaches, award-winning wineries, a fascinating heritage and an enormous range of recreational opportunities from fishing and golfing to diving and surfing, the Bellarine Peninsula is located south-west of Melbourne.
The Great Ocean Road
South of Geelong, the Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s best known road journeys. Stretching along the south coast of Victoria, this incredible region takes in seaside villages, national parks and stunning beaches. At the most eastern point of the Great Ocean Road is Torquay, an iconic surf destination and home to the world famous Bells Beach.
Apollo Bay
Apollo Bay is a popular tourist destination, offering both swimming and surf beaches, as well as a large boat harbour and marina which is home to a major fishing fleet.
Port Campbell
A colourful and lively seaside village, Port Campbell is home to restaurants and cafes with views of the beach, and plenty of vibrant shops and galleries. Sheltered by cliffs and Norfolk pines, the town has the atmosphere of a safe haven on the edge of wild nature.
Warrnambool
Warrnambool marks the western end of the Great Ocean Road and is the largest town west of Geelong hosting a large range of major events which attract interstate and international visitors. Warrnambool is a popular tourist destination and enjoys a good variety of coastal attractions including beaches, whale viewing platform, fishing, coastal reserves lined with walkways, and boasts a number of attractive parks, gardens and natural hot springs featuring an outdoor sanctuary and indoor bath house.
Rohan Pertzel 0438 918 919 rohan@crebrokers.com
Located in Torquay, Rohan services Geelong, the Great Ocean Road Region and Ballarat area.
Spending time growing up on a farm near Timboon, he has an extensive knowledge of South Western Victoria. 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, successfully owning and managing various hotels and accommodation venues, recently selling the Jan Juc Hotel after 10 years. Rohan understands the challenges and rewards of the hospitality industry. Prior to hospitality, Rohan had a strong background in sales and marketing working for large organisations for over 15 years. With his background in sales and hospitality Rohan has the knowledge and expertise to assist you with the purchase or sale of your business.
Hear from a few of Rohan’s Happy Vendors and Buyers
We have just sold our business, and Rohan was our broker.
I just need to let you know how fantastic he was in dealing with this. We had to sell due to my husband’s health and Rohan made this process just so easy from the very first meeting to sitting with us at settlement to make sure everything went smoothly. He listened to us and understood the situation we were in and just went off and did his thing. From market to settlement I think was only about 4 months and in that time he found a freehold buyer and married up a lease holder to all settle on the same day. For me, Rohan eased a huge amount of stress and I believe he needed to be recognised for this.
Dean and I recently purchased the lease of our first pub.
As you can imagine, as first time buyers the prospect of this was pretty daunting and nerve wrecking. Luckily we had Rohan from CRE Brokers taking us through the whole thing. He was absolutely fantastic and really taught us a lot about the whole process and kept us in the loop at every stage. Even when we had questions regarding other aspects of the sale he got back to us right away and definitely went above and beyond to ensure a smooth transaction. Thanks to Rohan and CRE Brokers, we are so happy with our pub!
Rohan’s recently sold listings
This is the second time Rohan Pertzel has looked after our property sales and again he was outstanding.
Rohan has a knack of understanding his clients, both seller and purchaser and again he has made this such an easy process. Leading up to settlement the office staff were in front the whole time. Thank you ladies. Highly recommend CRE Brokers and for us Rohan Pertzel is the best. Could not recommend more highly. Otway Gateway Motel – Beryl
I recently bought a hotel in country Vic through CRE Brokers.
Rohan was my first contact, we chatted about what I was after and came up with the perfect pub for me. He kept all appointments and followed up with all email requests and phone calls. 3mths down the track things are going well and I still call or email Rohan for advice or information to help me out. A valuable resource to have in my eyes, and would recommend his services. Thanks for all your help, jenny.
Camp Hotel, Eaglehawk
Otway Gate Motel, Colac Shannon Motor Inn, Geelong The Beachfront Motel, Apollo BaySOLD Queen’s Head Hotel, Ballarat Port Fairy Motor Inn, Port Fairy
Now Is The Best Time In The History Of The World To Sell Your Business
For health practice owners, 2021 has been as hard as it gets. With lockdown in Sydney from June – October …. practice owner’s fatigue & exhaustion is real. I’m sure you have felt it in the last 12-18months. Whether you are a part of either of these camps or feel like you are coping well and even growing your business by being an early adopter of new and current technologies to assist you and the practice, the questions still exist. What is the value of my practice? How do I increase the profitability and in turn the viability of my practice?
The challenges may never have been greater but with the excellent performance of the industry the market is as strong as ever! I listened to a NAB Health Insights webinar over the week for practice owners and whilst the short-term forecast, isn’t great, the mid-term forecasts are looking very positive for the Health Sectors.
How does the lockdown impact the perceived value of my practice?
Due to the ongoing success of many clinics right through the pandemic, including during the lockdown, the GP sector is as active now as it’s been in many years. With people not able to travel we are seeing their suburban GP clinics regain their patients that were potentially using a CBD GP clinic during business hours to get a item 23 processed for a new script or a referral …. the suburban clinics now can service these return patients well and support them with offering services that the patient may not have even realised they were eligible to receive via Medicare.
Practice buyers looking to purchase a practice are getting excellent options now with about 7 lenders offering up to 100% finance of the acquired business. With a lot of private investment groups looking for solid investments for their board to consider, we are seeking a lot of competition for top end businesses in the M+A sector.
It’s encouraging to see that the government too has trebled the number of international buyer investment visa which can be grated to a buyer with a view to them gaining permanent residency at the completion of the (up to) 5-year process.
Now is an excellent time to have an appraisal of your practice; even if it is to provide a benchmark for us to then use this time next year to see how much value you can add year-on-year until you achieve the sales price you are looking to achieve. It’s never too soon to think about your exit strategy. Please don’t wait til you get ill.
Health Business Sales and LINK have been supporting drs from 2004 and working in the business broking sector since 2013. I have thousands of connections built up over the last 17 years and a wide network of industry contacts on LinkedIn.
When you are in a confidential room, please call me on 0437 082 045 to discuss how we can commence the appraisal process and what documents you need to allow me to get this process done for you… usually I can get the results to you the very next day.
Please see my current listings here and should you wish to invest just a couple of minutes yourself to get an idea of the worth of your business, use this link to go to our online calculator.
Please do reach out today to book in a time with me to discuss your business – 0437 082 045 or sally.stuart@linkbusiness.com.au
Sally Stuart
Business Sales Specialist
M. 0437 082 045 E. sally.stuart@linkbusiness.com.au
linkbusiness.com.au
Sally Stuart commenced her career with LINK after working with medical doctors from a sales and recruitment perspective for more than a decade. After selling GP, Dental, Allied Health, Aged Care and NDIS businesses for the last 8 years, she is well versed in understanding the intricacies involves in a sale. Sally can be your sales ‘ringleader’ when you are ready to transition to the next stage in your professional career, be that retirement or the acquisition of a super clinic!
*Stock Image
Understanding the Best Time to
SELL YOUR BUSINESS
Your business should always be ready to sell. Preparation is the key to a great outcome.
A business buyer can come knocking on your door at any time and you need to know a fair market price for your business so you can properly consider an offer. It’s equally important to understand the factors behind this fair market price to enable you to take measures to improve your enterprise value.
Ideally most small to medium sized businesses should begin to prepare their business for sale one to two years prior to putting the business on the market and this period may be longer for large enterprises. In this way you can prepare and make your investment and financial decisions with the upcoming sale in mind. However, the reality for small business owners is a much shorter preparation time. If the business owner has not yet started to prepare, then as long as you have realistic sales price expectations and can assemble a strong business sales team (typically an accountant, business broker and lawyer) there is still a good chance of a successful exit.
Owners can significantly impact the price achieved upon sale by careful planning. A rushed or anxious seller will nearly always get less for their business.
Selling your business should form part of your business strategy. Your strategy may dictate that the time may be right to sell when you have achieved your business goals, such as:
• Achieving a certain age to continue to manage the business. E.g., retirement. • Achieving a certain Business
Enterprise Value and introducing investors and partners. • Other business, commercial or personal interests become a priority. E.g., career change, other business opportunities or relocation.
Whilst a successfully planned exit strategy is often achieved, many businesses are also presented to market unplanned, such as:
• Low profitability.
Understanding the best time to sell and a well-planned exit strategy will always yield much better results.
Establish Your Reasons For Selling
Among the first questions asked by a purchaser is, “why are they selling?”
There are many reasons for wanting to place your business on the market. The potential buyer will find your reasons for selling very compelling and will want to know that they are legitimate.
In fact, many buyers will also be trying to assess your urgency for selling. They will try to use this information in negotiations, looking to take advantage of any desire to exit quickly.
Some of these reasons may include.
BURN-OUT
Starting and growing a business takes hard work and dedication. Sometimes just as the business is becoming successful and the profits rolling in, the owners become a little worn out. Rather than letting things deteriorate, it may be time to sell the business.
Keep in mind that it is easier to sell a business with rising revenue and profits – if you can feel your energy as an owner slipping it may be better to act sooner rather than later. A good test is to take a short holiday and gauge your enthusiasm for the business on your return. If you aren’t returning with new energy and ideas burnout is a real possibility. If you can’t take a holiday in the first-place burn-out is almost inevitable.
TECHNOLOGY CHANGE
themselves wanting to sell because they are unable to understand or fully take advantage of a new technology. Perhaps a new owner, with these new world skills could take the business to the next level e.g. implement e-commerce.
PARTNERSHIP DISPUTES
You may have gone through a divorce or have a dispute with a business partner which has made it difficult to continue with the business. Partnership disputes may not be hostile, it could be as simple as an inability to agree on the strategic direction of the business. Sometimes the best resolution for this is to sell the existing business and for both partners to restart/ buy a more suitable business.
LACK OF INVESTMENT CAPITAL
There are times in a business’s lifecycle when it needs investment capital to take advantage of new opportunities. Some owners are not able to invest further in the business and give it what it needs to prosper.
RETIREMENT
Many business owners hold off selling a business for retirement just a few years too long. Keep in mind it can take longer than 6 months to sell a business and remember that it is harder to sell a business with declining revenue. If you feel yourself starting to “take your foot of the pedal” it may be worth bringing forward taking your business to market to realise it’s full value.
CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED
Sometimes circumstances such as birth of a child, illness, death, the need for family support, make running a business more difficult or just not possible. This is hard to plan for, however an empathetic business broker should be able to assist prepare the business for a A poor preforming business can be a drain on its owners. If you’re looking to exit because the business is not meeting your expectations, then you need to appreciate any new buyer will need to have confidence that they can turn it around.
Sometimes you just know the time is right for you to exit based on goals you established earlier in your business journey.
THE GOOD NEWS
Throughout the process of preparing your business for sale there is considerable support available to you. A dedicated business broker will help you understand the fair market price for your business and advise you how to maximise this value. They can work with your accountant, business partners and your key staff to ensure all stakeholders clearly understand why the business is selling.
To make use of this resource the best place to start is with a complimentary, customised business appraisal – contact the MMJ team to find out how an appraisal could work for you.
Justin Bunt
Business Sales Consultant
P. 0411 544 598 E. business@mmj.com.au
www.mmj.com.au
Start A New Business Or Buy An Existing One?
In modern times, over the past decades or even longer, business brokers and advisors have been and undoubtedly will continue to be asked this question countless of times.
Unless someone has a truly revolutionary, remarkable, completely unique idea or concept, without any reservation, my personal advice will always be to buy an existing business.
By executing such a transaction, I firmly believe that the positives will undoubtedly completely outweigh the negatives.
Before you make any decision to start your own business, it would be prudent take into consideration the following points:
• Statistically, a new business will take on an average two to three years before it’s really profitable.
When you are buying an existing business, there’s usually no such waiting time, you can potentially start making a profit from day one. • Most advisors will say that without any doubt, the most expensive part of a business is the start up. You need to invest substantially in equipment, fit out, developing systems, procedures, hiring and training staff, the initial costs are virtually endless. On top of all the planned, budgeted expenses, there will always be the unforeseen ones. There’s also the time factor to take into consideration. Setting up a new business could take a long period of time, without any income. By acquiring an existing business, you avoid most of these costs and time factors.
• Not discounting the previous paragraph in any way, but one of the main issues in a new business venture and one that might require a huge amount of capital, are the funds required to keep the business afloat until it becomes profitable. A number of new businesses will collapse during this period as the budgeted or available funds are insufficient to keep the doors open. Even if the business appears that it’s on its way to being successful if it could continue to trade for a longer period, you might be forced to close the operation due to a lack of funds.
• Another horrifying fact is that historically, on an average a least a third of new businesses will fail within the first three years of operation. The most common way to raise funds for a business venture is to mortgage the family home. What happens to you and your family if you had mortgaged your home to invest in starting a new business and it fails? By buying an existing business you can avoid the high risk and costly start up phase. You will therefore dramatically reduce the risk factor.
• Acquiring an existing business will give you access to historical financial information. Having this invaluable data will assist greatly in planning ahead with possible expansion, the ability to borrow money or secure investors.
If you seriously want to be your own boss or want to go into business because you believe that you will be in a financially better position than receiving your monthly or weekly salary, acquiring an existing business is by far the most astute path to take.
Arnold P Kelsey
Business Broker
M. 0458 073 621 E. arnold@absbrisbane.com
absbusinesssales.com.au
With over 20 years of experience as an owner operator of his own Manufacturing business, Arnold gained a thorough understanding of the complexities associated with being a business owner. Arnold has a thorough understanding of accounting principles and is able to appraise financials with excellent acumen. His MBA has also helped refine the skills needed so he can confidently assist you with either selling or buying a business.
There are over 1,000 business brokers or agents currently working within Australia selling businesses or franchises. Deciding which business broker is the best option for you and your business is the top question on most business owners minds. It can make a big difference in how the sale progresses, whether you find the right buyer, obtain a fair sale price and ultimately sell your business.
Why you Need to Compare Business Brokers
Not all brokers are created equal. Well in saying that, not all have the same experience and skills. Business Brokers tend to have had previous careers before undertaking the necessary training to become licensed business brokers. It is very rare to find a broker without previous experience in one of the following:
D Business Ownership D Accounting D Financial Planning D Marketing D Sales D Business Coaching
The benefit of this history? They understand business and numbers. As business owners, we know our business is different. It has competitors and similar businesses, but no other business has all of our systems, team, IP, lease agreements, products, services, work environment etc. No two businesses are the same, maybe in principle like assessing profitability and reviewing financial statements. But your business is still unique, and so will your buyer be. A business broker needs to have good communication skills and an understanding of business if they ever hope to market, negotiate and sell your business. You want to find the right business broker for YOU and YOUR business. That will take some investigations.
Why it’s Never About the Commission Rate
When it comes to selling a house, you will often choose a real estate agent based on their experience and the ‘best deal’ you can get. We
all know how real estate agents advertise and drive enquiries via the big real estate portals and their databases. Selecting an agent to sell your home versus selecting a business broker is very different. Choosing the brokerage or company with the ‘best rates’ may be a bad decision for you and your business.
The commission is a % of the sale price that the brokerage will earn when they sell your business. Keywords: ‘when they sell’. Whilst business brokers are driven to sell your business, they are also working to obtain more clients and get more exposure. Finding the right buyer for your business is harder than finding someone to buy a property. The new buyer needs to have an understanding of your business and ideally the industry as well as the necessary capital and skills to buy the business and continue to operate successfully.
Business Broking is a very niche industry, with only around 15,000 businesses for sale in all of Australia - compared to the millions in real estate. A business sale on average takes 6-12 months, whilst real estate properties are currently selling in Australia in just 30 days. There is a big difference!
When you sign on to sell your business, you are looking at a much longer time frame and you also risk exposing confidential information and affecting your final sale price, if you go with the wrong business broker.
We have put together a full guide to help you choose the right business broker.
If not commission rate, then how do I choose a Business Broker?
One of the first things you will want to look for in a prospective business broker is a verifiable track record. A good broker should have positive testimonials or vendors they can connect you with. Business Brokers work in a B2B environment, building strong connections with the business community is important for their success. A good business broker will be well known.
The best way to assess a business brokers skills is to have a conversation with them. We have put together a list of 15 questions you could ask a business broker to get to know them and their services. One of the most important roles of a businessbroker is to effectively communicate between the buyer and seller, so communication skills are very important.
Business Broker Checklist
Ask these 15 questions to your potential business broker - find out who is the right fit for YOU and YOUR business. There are some great business brokers in Australia who work hard for their clients to achieve an optimum price and successful sales. Choosing the right business broker for you is the challenge.
> Business Broker Directory > Find a Business Broker > Guide: How to Choose the
Right Business Broker > Meet Brokers in the Bsale
Magazine
Best of luck with your journey to finding the right business broker!
Vanessa Lovie
CEO
P. 02 8006 7558 E. vanessa@bsale.com.au
bsale.com.au
Camy’s Chargrill Chicken Prepares To Fly
Camy’s Chargrill Chicken has announced plans to open new locations in Sydney and across the country, after successfully launching three company-owned restaurants over the past five years and building their brand presence in the capital city of New South Wales.
Camy’s Chargrill Chicken is a quick service restaurant delivering a passion for food through chargrill chicken, salads, burgers, wraps, drinks and delicious artisan products with hush hush ingredients.
Sydney-siders will be delighted that the family-run and popular eatery will be popping up in new locations throughout Australia over the next two years.
Founder Cameron Khilla is ecstatic to be branching out and firing up the grill in new cities, saying that; “We’ve always believed in our product and are really excited that we will now be able to share our happiness and passion with more people, while spreading our flavours and traditions in more places”.
The Camy’s team have been planning their expansion strategy since March, after meeting the DC Strategy Franchise Group at the Sydney Franchising and Business Opportunities Expo held at the ICC Sydney, in Darling Harbour. After a few discussions and online video calls, together, they hatched a plan to start the franchising journey.
After engaging DC Strategy to conduct a full franchise development program, Camy’s is now ready to launch their franchise business offering to owners ready to benefit from a simple and proven business model, as well as full training, ongoing support, years of refining processes and creating a one-of-a-kind menu that’s not easily replicated.
James Young, Head of Franchise Development believes that, “Camy’s Chargrill Chicken brings a new era to the casual dining food space and paves the way for a young generation of franchise owners. Cameron has built a successful business operation and created a humbling work environment for his family and staff, all while being in his mid-twenties!”.
Camy’s has continued to operate throughout the lockdown restrictions, providing peace of mind to interested investors knowing that the multiple income stream business is a pandemic resistant business model and can be easily adapted to takeaway or delivery.
They have reinforced their place as a popular and delicious high-end chicken shop selling cooked chargrill chicken, believing in the opportunity for their brand to leave a mark, and have high hopes of racing to the number one spot for chargrill chicken.
DC STRATEGY
P. 0488 064 866 E. holly.barnes@dcstrategy.com
dcstrategy.com
Founded by Rod Young in 1983, the Australian end-to-end consulting, legal, recruitment and brand and marketing firm was created to assist entrepreneurs from start-ups and SMEs to NGOs, government bodies and large corporates to develop sustainable franchise networks.
Online Fitness Xtends Business Offering!
Despite lockdown and the continued effects of COVID-19, Xtend Barre has raised its performance levels in Australia, while maintaining key revenue streams across all states.
Owned by Collective Wellness Group, Xtend Barre Australia has introduced online classes, called Xtend @ Home. It’s an online workout program that builds strength and confidence, while delivering results. With studios closed in some states along the Eastern Seaboard, the fitness brand turned its focus to virtual classes, empowering their members to stay active while at home and offering a new dynamic expansion to their business model.
In fact, September 2021 saw 39,161 attendances to 999 online classes, with 925 of those being first time visits.
Head of Franchise Sales and Development at Collective Wellness Group, Jason Stubbings emphasises that members have enjoyed the change of pace and flexibility, explaining that, “85% of our first timers are coming back for more, with 33% of our virtual members doing over 10 classes per month.”
The overall weekly visitation comparison between in-studio vs. @ Home classes per member is up 66% on average, demonstrating significant member engagement through their Live classes.
As restrictions start to ease across New South Wales and Victoria, the team are eager to open their doors again. They are also confident that their new online offering, which is included with every Xtend membership, provides more choice for members and additional income streams for franchise partners.
Recent surveys, conducted by the Xtend Barre head office, have found 69% of members from NSW, VIC & ACT will continue to use Xtend @ Home as part of their membership post lockdown. On the other hand, 64% of surveyed members will continue to use Xtend @ Home in combination with their studio experience. One of their member’s survey responses said, “I never thought I’d say this, but I really do think I will continue with the online classes even after the lockdown ends. I’ve found it a brilliant way to start the day and very easy to slot into my schedule. Under difficult circumstances, the instructors have been simply fantastic - always so positive and incredibly welcoming.”
As more Australians turn their focus on health and wellbeing, there are also significant opportunities to re-evaluate careers and business goals. Owning an Xtend studio provides flexibility, where franchise partners can work their own hours by taking control of their own path.
If you’re interested in finding out more about owning an Xtend Barre Studio, please get in touch!
DC STRATEGY
P. 0488 064 866 E. holly.barnes@dcstrategy.com
dcstrategy.com
Founded by Rod Young in 1983, the Australian end-to-end consulting, legal, recruitment and brand and marketing firm was created to assist entrepreneurs from start-ups and SMEs to NGOs, government bodies and large corporates to develop sustainable franchise networks.
Systemise your Business to Sell with Google Sites *Stock Image
Abusiness that is well systemised is easier to sell. When you are going to exit your business or provide training to the new buyer, the more systems you have in place, the easier the transition will be.
Luckily it is 2021 and there are thousands of programs that can help you to systemise your business. One of the most popular ways is with Google Sites.
Benefits of a Google Site
• Easy to set up and edit • Easily syncs to Google
Workspace allowing you to link google docs, sheets etc • Easy to embed videos, audio,
PDFs, • Is included in your Google
Workspace Package (there is also a free version). • You can control who can access the Google Site.
Why use a Google Site?
A Google Site is like a file room, it can contain all the training and resources for your team, or can direct them where to find it. It’s a modern system that can be accessed from anywhere and isn’t reliant upon folders of paperwork.
One of the best features? It’s powered by Google search functions, which means finding the section to help you is even easier. It is basically an internal website just for you and your team.
> Visit Google Sites
How can I systemise my business to make it ready to sell?
Steps:
1. Decide on your main sections.
You will have sub-sections under each of these. Here are some suggestions:
• Introductions:
Introduce new team members to your business, learn about the company and how to use the Google Site. TIP: Create a
Welcome Video and introduce yourself and the vision for your business. • Policies:
All your internal policies such as work health and safety, privacy policies etc. • Administration:
Tasks related to various software used by the business • Clients:
Details of your types of clients and packages • Delivery:
The client’s journey through the business and how each step is processed. • Marketing:
Guides, templates, social media plans etc. • Sales:
Process, Templates, Guides etc.
2. Make a list of 200 systems you need to create within your business, it can be anything from ‘how to collect the mail’ to ‘how to post to Instagram to
‘processing the BAS’.
3. Decide how you want each page laid out - keeping the pages consistent makes the training experience easier.
Suggestion: • Images • Links (documents, websites etc) • Next (link to next section of the training)
4. Set up your folders in Google
Workspace. You will want to create a ‘Training’ folder where you can place all the photos and videos that can be embedded onto the Google
Site. It will be worth organising into sections as well.
5. Allocate tasks to a team member. This can be done via a Google Sheet, or a more sophisticated task management software such as Asana,
Teamwork, Monday etc... The more people you have creating systems, the faster it will be.
You can have 1 person who inputs the information or make a team member responsible for an entire section, such as
Marketing. Every time a team member completes a task such as ‘collecting the mail’ they need to document it, take photos, write steps and create a video. This is then put into the Google Site for everyone to see and understand.
TIP: Create a system in multiple formats such as written, photos and videos. Everyone has a different way of learning, so if you cover all these 3 bases once, it can be learnt multiple times by different people.
The goal of creating the systems is so you never have to train someone in it again and if systems change, your google site can simply be updated. The information will be there for everyone. Reducing the need for the business owner to continually answer questions and repeat tasks. When selling your business, you want to remove yourself from the business so it Creating systems takes time, it may seem quick at the start and you may think there aren’t that many things, but there are a lot. As a business owner, you know all the aspects of your business especially if you started it from scratch, or have been running it for many years. When you start to unload all that information from your brain, you start to realise just how much information you were holding onto. The goal of any business owner should be to empower their staff and be focused on growing the business. This cannot be achieved if you are still collecting the mail, or telling a team member how to order coffee pods.
A well-systemised business not only makes it easier for your team and onboarding new team members, but it also makes it much easier to sell. A buyer can easily step in and operate the business by looking up sections in the Google Site.
If you’re thinking about selling your business, it’s important to have an exit plan. Speaking with a professional business broker or advisor can help you in preparing the business for sale. There may be areas of your business you need to address to ensure you receive an optimum sale price, this is where systemising your business can assist you in your sale.
Vanessa Lovie
CEO
