Do you dream about selling your business? Could you retire to your perfect home, take those magical holidays and generally chill out, content that you’ve got enough in the bank to see you through? Or you may fancy selling up and starting something fresh. Either way, it’s always good to have a well thought out exit plan.
James used to sit in his office dreaming his dream – a dream that required him to sell his business for £3m.
But there was a problem.
James had been equal shareholders with his ex-wife since their divorce some fifteen years earlier, and he wanted to buy her shares. Although not intentionally, because he did not have control of the business, the business had become run down. The team worked in grotty offices with a fairly low level of staff satisfaction and little drive.
Various valuations had been made by specialists and other accountants and the general consensus was that the business was worth between £800k and £1.3m in total. After a day of discussions with the ex-wife and her advisor, James bought her 50% share for around £350k.
He was now in control, but the business was far from giving James the open door to freedom he was hoping for. He did, however, knock on our door.
When we first met James, he asked what sort of accountancy work he specialised in… and when we said Strategic Business Coaching, he laughed and said something along the lines of, “Accountants should just do accounts, because they don’t understand business.” Oh yeah?
Over time we built a close and trusting relationship until, three years ago, James asked to come in for a chat. He was ready to take his business to the next level.
We started working together to restore James’s vision and goals for the business. One of the first steps was to move the firm to a new, lovely bright office. We improved the monthly financial management reporting and started setting goals – for both the business and James personally.
We then started working closely with the team on quarterly projects, so that they could work together to achieve James’s goals. We met with the sales team on a weekly basis, and together we created team-building exercises to enhance productivity. There was one month where people weren’t on track to meet their targets, so we found creative and new ways to generate leads. This in turn lead to additional sales and the team subsequently smashed their targets!
Mitch explains more about strategic business coaching in this video.
To cut a long story short (a bit too late for that!), the business sold last year for £3.2m.
James had achieved his goal of building the business to his required level and selling it, leaving him free to make some major life improvements for his whole family. We received the following text from him: “I could not have wished for a better financial outcome. Thank you again for your guidance.”
Could your business do with a similar approach? Do you fancy ousting the ex and tripling profits?
This autumn we’re offering you a free consultation to explore how strategic business coaching can change your life. Get in touch with our award-winning team to book your appointment.
