The Business Lifecycle

AUTHOR

Bruce Coudrey

The Business Lifecycle has these parts:

Start Up

Operation and Improvement

Wealth Management

Exit

Business Purchase or Start Up

Whether starting a new (or buying an existing business) the following should be considered to ensure you make an educated decision on your going into the business, including:

1. Pro's and Con's of the industry

2. Business Planning

3. Marketing strategy

4. Registration and licence requirements

5. Name registrations (including ASIC and Domain's)

6. Tax Structures and Asset Protection

7. Workplace Health and Safety (WHS)

8. Tax Office Compliance - TFN, ABN, GST, PAYG, FBT

9. Intellectual Property / Trade Marks

10. Insurances - Prof Indemnity, Contents/Building, Public Liab, Workcover, Life, Income protection, Key Man

11. Finance and cash flow requirements

12. Staff and employment requirements and obligations (HR)

13. Fixed and Variable expenses, break even analysis

14. Management and reporting systems

15. Roles and Responsibilities of staff

Operations and Improvement

Sound business operation requires the right foundations. This means access to accurate numbers and key measurements in a timely manner so you know what is happening in the business at any point in time. Business owners must be able to regularly review and monitor performance, and make changes quickly. Three main areas for business improvement include:

1. Increasing Gross Profit margins

2. Reducing overhead

3. Growing sales.

Regular meetings, monitoring and implementation of your strategies enable you to quickly see improvements to your profits. Many businesses fail because of a lack of planning. It is imperative that business owners manage, monitor and measure business performance to know where changes can be made, and to see that business plans are working.

Wealth Management

What is wealth? To be wealthy simply means you can afford your lifestyle now, and into the future. Business owners should manage their affairs to grow and build wealth – and look towards reducing input into the business, and ultimately retiring. There are many ways that this can be achieved.

Succession Planning (or exit strategy)

A succession plan will help your business transition smoothly to the new owner – and derive more value. It clearly outlines your timeframe, expected sales value and who is your targeted purchaser. It is highly recommended to plan your exit early, the sooner the better. That way you have time on your side to maximise the value of your business for sale. Once your timeline is set you can then clearly set measurable targets to reach your businesses full market potential for sale. It is important to know who your targeted purchaser is, being your family, an investor, a new working owner or your business team. There are many different strategies and planning solutions depending on your ideal purchaser.. So get planning your exit strategy – right now.!

REMEMBER…. STRATEGIC ACQUIRERS PAY MORE FOR BUSINESSES.

If you are thinking about selling your business. Send an enquiry to admin@benchmarkbusiness.com.au. One of our brokers will be happy to assist with your enquiry.