6 minute read
Hendo’s Soap Box — Selling Up Isn’t A Pipe Dream
SELLING UP ISN’T A PIPE DREAM
As trade business owners, we’re so proud of our businesses. It’s a direct reflection of us, and our hard work. All the hours, blood, sweat & tears put in to ensure we stand on our own two feet and succeed in this world. For some trade business owners the idea of growing the business to a point where they can sell it, is the goal, but it’s a daunting one. It seems unattainable, a pipe dream. I’m here to tell you, it’s not. I built my business “Captain Cabinets” and poured every fibre of myself into ensuring its success, so I would have the freedom to choose my own path in life. Selling the business was always in the back of my mind, but always at some time down the road, or “maybe in ten years time”…
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Then, the time came.
I’d noticed in myself that I’d taken the foot off the accelerator in the business, and I knew it was time for a change. I sat down and evaluated my priorities and values and how the next 5-10 years of my life would look and made the final decision to list the business for sale and step away completely.
My experience of selling up.
I was actually pretty critical of myself during my time running the business, always thinking that I’d never quite done enough. But once I decided to sell up, I stopped and looked at the business that I’d built and realised it was all there, ready for someone else to take over. Having all my systems and processes in place, is what I believe helped me sell the business. Most cabinet makers just sell machinery and assets, but I was able to clearly demonstrate to potential buyers that they just had to follow the processes that we already had in place and the business would continue to run smoothly. I got two valuations — one from my broker, and one from my accountant. Having a good accountant who is experienced in this field could add tens of thousands to your sale, and reduce your tax too! Then, I engaged a broker and found it’s just like selling a house. But like picking a real estate agent, do your research and find one who you think will work hard to get you the best result.
From Alex Henderson Lifestyle Tradie Business Coach
Be patient, it takes time.
Selling a business takes time. I had a few false starts and silly offers with crazy vendor finance terms, but ultimately it was in the 6-8 month range. I was actually in Italy when the offer I ultimately accepted came through! If you’re thinking about starting your selling up journey, my best advice is: Buy the Ultimate Freedom Pack! It will add so much value to your business to show any prospective buyer! From time to time I do miss being in the big chair and now that I’m working with trade business owners and I can see the potential they all have I reminisce. But I prefer the business side of things over making dust and have always got a kick out of helping others. Selling up doesn’t necessarily mean retirement. I took a long holiday, smashed out a few life goals and have now settled down into my new chapter of educating trade business owners, like you, to succeed. It’s all about doing what you love and listening to what YOU want.
THE BEST TRADE BUSINESS TRAINING!
What Is Lifestyle Tradie Live?
It’s not your fault you’re feeling stuck. You’ve never been taught how to be a business owner, have you? Lifestyle Tradie Live is a series of virtual education events for tradies in business who want to start up, scale up or sell up, presented by Andy and Angela Smith, fellow trade business owners and award-winning educators. This FREE five-hour online training is packed with practical takeaways for every trade business owner.
Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane Events
We hosted live events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in March 2021 to and caught up with some amazing trade business owners, who like you, want to get the most out of their business…. And most of all make their lives EASIER! It was all heads down as we shared trade business secrets and strategies that YOU need to know, in order to run a successful trade business.
Those who attended got the insider rundown on:
SYSTEMS
The only way to break the crazy cycle you’re in is through systemising your trade business. Systemising your trade business has many benefits, from productivity to profitability. Without systems, you’ll never be able to scale and have control. You’ll learn: • What are business systems exactly? • Get off the tools with systems • Freedom in the shape of a flowchart
PROFIT
As trade business owners, the aim is to get the most profit we possibly can from our business. The question now is, do you know if you’re making money on each job? Interested in learning more about your trade business’s profits and how to increase them? • Know the right hourly rate for your business • Key financial mistakes every tradie makes • Sneak peek into OUR financial dashboard
SALES
Consider the sales strategies you currently employ. How are they working out for you? What’s important is creating the right circumstance for buying to take place. As tradies in business, it’s up to us to equip our team with effective sales skills, like these: • 9-step call conversion strategy • How cross-selling and upselling drives sales • The art of communicating with customers
TECH
There is power in data, but you need the right tech set up to get the right data. We’re here to teach you the easy way to collect, decipher and implement a dashboard into your trade business. Easy as! We’ll take you through: • How to set up and better utilise your Job
Management System • The four types of key data you should be tracking to keep your business thriving • How to change courses and make decisions based on your data, the cold hard facts.
MARKETING
You don’t need to spend big to get results, there’s value in low-cost marketing, if you know how to do it right! We’ll give you 100+ marketing ideas for your trade business to ensure your marketing: • Attracts new customers • Delivers results • Retains previous customers.
Feeling left out?
We’ve gone virtual! Our Lifestyle Tradie Live is now being held as a digital experience. We’ve made the switch as we know how tough it can be to make it to live events, NOW you can learn everything you need to build a great trade business from the comfort of your own home! Visit our website
www.lifestyletradie.com.au/events
to find one near you. In the meantime, join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook group for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources. Check it out
www.facebook.com/groups/kickasstradies
Remember, you were set up to fail, nobody ever taught you how to run a business, so you shouldn’t be expected to walk this road alone! We’ve been there, done that so you don’t have to waste your time AND MONEY on implementing the WRONG business strategies. We’re here to help YOU succeed.
