— Maximise & Exit —
Business Sale Readiness
The Value Acceleration Program
Increasing the value and performance of your business through:
Well developed business strategies
A clearly defined competitive advantage
Employees who are engaged and productive
A clear focus on the most effective growth plans
Comprehensive financial reporting and analysis
Efficient and effective business systems and processes
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The Your Value Acceleration Program has been developed to provide a structured framework to strategically review a business and to create a stronger more valuable business, that gives you the option to sell, or create an ongoing passive income.
The Your Value Acceleration Program is used with successful profitable companies. It is able to transform these businesses by creating clarity about four important issues:
The purpose of the organisation. Why does it exist? Why was it established? What is your dream for your business?
The vision of the organisation. In which direction do you want to take the organisation?
What are the goals and objectives needed to achieve your desired business value?
What are your longer term personal aspirations for your life and the legacy you want to leave
The Your Value Acceleration Program provides a structured framework that transforms businesses into a highly efficient profitable and valuable asset.
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The Value Acceleration Program has been specifically designed to create stronger more valuable businesses. Ascend Business partners have developed a systematic approach, called the “Seven Steps to Successful Succession”, to work with business owners to increase the value of their business and improve their profits. This allows them to exit their business with a valuable asset they can sell, transition to the next generation, or provide them with an ongoing passive income.
The Value creation process is set out in the attached program schedule. Each of the seven steps have specific activities that create the increase in business value. You will see the results of our work together by referring to the completion of each of the activities listed in the program and at the same time watch your business value accelerate.
An important component of Value creation is with the development of a Strategic Plan that includes a detailed review and recommendations for each of the key Strategic Elements of your business:
Development of your Business Vision, Strategy, Structure and Culture
Development of your Objectives & Critical Success Factors
Work through all aspects of your Business to develop the Strategic direction that puts you and your team on the path to achieving the desired goals for your future
Work with you to determine the overall goals and milestones that we will be targeting as well as the timeframe for their achievement
Products: to ensure your customers get great value at an acceptable profit level
Marketing and Sales: reviewing and developing your lead generation activities and how you convert them to customers
Finances: how to keep track of your results and hold the key parts of your business accountable for progress toward the goals we have set
People: keeping your best asset engaged, motivated and performing at their best
Systems & Processes: to make the tasks your team performs as effective as possible
Development of Key Performance Indicators so the key aspects of the business are being monitored and manage
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The Your Value Acceleration Program will be created and implemented over a 12 month period, in conjunction with an agreed project plan.
Your Strategic Business Plan is created over a 2 month period as we work collaboratively together to develop the right strategies for each of the above areas. In this period we will undertake fortnightly meetings of approximately 2 -3 hours. The exact time in each meeting will vary depending on the topic and the degree of conversation required. Each of us will have tasks to complete prior to the next meeting.
The development of the Financial Management framework and Human Resources performance management will be created after the completion of the Strategic Plan. All the deliverables and the framework for ongoing Strategic, Financial and people management will be completed within the 12 month period, through fortnightly meetings and the completion of agreed tasks between meetings.
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Item descriptioThe outcomes of this review will be the provision of a business plan that sets out each of the strategic elements described above. The successful implementation of this plan will provide you with:
Improved Business Profitability and Value enhancement
Clear direction for the business, resulting in greater clarity for the owner, and less stress
Staff Accountability and engagement at all levels
A strong platform for growth, leveraging systems and processesn
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As a valued client of Ascend Business Partners you automatically receive the following tools to assist you in your Value Creation journey:
Software – a cloud based business performance tool for your ongoing use. Use this advanced tool to report on performance measures and track progress against your strategic objectives.
Training resources – access to videos and articles, for you and your staff, on how to improve your business in each functional area. This includes advice from over 200 of Australia’s top entrepreneurs business professionals. More details are provided at www.yourbusinesssuccess.com/resources
Mentoring – provided by myself to assist you to gain increased clarity and purpose for your business and personal goal
What is Exit and Succession planning?
“If you want to have a successful enterprise, you clearly define what you’re trying to accomplish… the extent to which you begin with the end in mind often determines whether or not you are able to create a successful enterprise.
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Exit planning is the creation of a comprehensive road map to allow a business owner to successfully exit a privately held business. An exit plan asks and answers all of the business, personal, financial, legal, and tax questions involved in selling a privately owned business.
The purpose of an exit plan is to maximize the value of the business at the time of the exit, minimize the amount of taxes paid, and ensure that the business owner is able to accomplish all of his or her personal and financial goals in the process.
Succession planning is the systematic process of reviewing all aspects of the business, determining the most appropriate method of transitioning ownership, assessing the most appropriate exit option, and then creating a detailed and documented plan to achieve the best possible outcome for all the stakeholders in the business.
Seven Steps to REFIRE
Ascend Business Partners specialise in helping business owners increase their wealth and build their business through our unique and proven “Seven Steps to REFIRE”.
We work together with business owners to increase the value of your business and improve profits, allowing you to exit the business with a valuable asset that can be sold, transitioned to the next generation, or even provide an ongoing passive income.
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The first step is to determine the position of your business in terms of value, profitability, and efficiency through an extensive review of key value drivers, operational factors, and organizational structure. This provides insight into what can be done to increase the value of your business, assesses how attractive the business is for future sale or ownership transition, and identifies any potential “wealth gaps”
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Often one of the biggest challenges for you as a business owner is to know when you will be ready to step away from your business. Identifying your personal goals will help ensure your business is set up to help achieve the desired personal outcomes and determine the exit option that best allows you to extract wealth and create your ideal lifestyle.
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Identifying and implementing premium value drivers will significantly increase the value of your business, by helping your business stand out from the crowd and be sold for a premium. The premium value drivers are: reducing business risk; minimising owner dependency; creating a sustainable competitive advantage; implementing strong governance syst; and positioning your business for strategic acquisition.
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Having a clear vision for the future of your business will not only inspire and motivate employees, but will also provide future owners with the confidence to invest and expect future returns. By capturing what the business stands for and why it exists, you are significantly more likely to achieve objectives and strengthen processes.Having a clear vision for the future of your business will not only inspire and motivate employees, but will also provide future owners with the confidence to invest and expect future returns. By capturing what the business stands for and why it exists, you are significantly more likely to achieve objectives and strengthen processes.
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Creating a high performance business requires business owners to have a clear focus on product/service innovation, growth activities, financial management, attracting and retaining good people, and being well systemised. Implementing best practice typically involves regular financial and performance reviews in which key staff take ownership of identified areas to create an environment focused on constant improvement.
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Most business owners don’t know how to fully extract the wealth created in the business. Whether you are planning to sell or transition ownership, it is important to properly prepare for this process and carefully implement the appropriate strategy. Ascend Business Partners work with you using well defined steps to project manage your business transition or business sale. Engaging professional advice and giving yourself enough time to plan and implement the required steps will be a key factor in the success of your succession.
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Taking the time to invest in a strategic succession and exit plan will allow you to smoothly transition into the next stage of your life and give you the best chance to create the lifestyle you have always dreamed about.
Why strategic succession planning?
You have invested a huge part of your life into your business, so it's worth investing time and thought into planning for the future
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Control how and when they exit
Maximise company value in good times and bad
Minimise, defer, or eliminate capital gains taxes
Retain control by generating a number of strategic exit options
Ensure they achieve all their business and personal goals
Reduce their stress and that of their employees and families
Ensure continuity of the business
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Gain a clear understanding of what your business is worth
Identify the drivers that increase the value of your business
Create a well defined Exit & Succession Strategy
Identify the strategic buyers for your business
Extract the best value of the business when you exit
A business owner who sells his business without an exit plan typically sells it for too little. Those who do nothing and let the business be sold when it’s too late usually leave a burden to their family, and the business experiences a substantial loss in value.
Every successful succession plan will also help you properly think about your personal future. One of the most important gifts you can give yourself is taking time to reflect more deeply on what is truly meaningful to you. After years of hard work there comes a time to consider your personal future and to create your unique dreams to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.
The number one benefit business owners cite is "peace of mind." Owners who have gone through the exit planning process say they have a new sense of clarity about their options, their stress level is reduced, and they are able to sleep better at night knowing that they have a plan in place to help ensure they meet their personal, business, and financial goals.