PREPARE FOR EXTRNAL INVESTORS
Making changes in an established business to make it more attractive to external investors is not easy. Working with an experienced coach providing guidance, a sounding board and hands on help to prepare your business for sale or to raising finance from external investors will make the process less stressful and more effective.
WORKING WITH US
Not everyone is coachable, not everyone is a good fit. Here are some simple steps to go through to make sure we are a good fit:
- Size matters – your business should have revenues in excess of $250,000 per year or have the potential to reach that size within six months;
- Openness – successful coaching requires honesty. You must be willing to share financial and personal information (all of which is confidential), be open to change and constructive criticism and in return give honest feedback to us as well;
- Work ethic – coaching works best when you are willing to put in time and effort outside of our regular meetings. Your “homework” is as important as the work you do for clients. You must commit to working on your business as well as in it. We provide worksheets, questionnaires, suggested reading and guides to make working on your business as easy as possible;
- Commitment – you will need to commit to regular (initially weekly) online meetings throughout the engagement. You will benefit significantly by taking your own notes;
- Humour – clients devoid of a sense of humour should seek coaching elsewhere … no we’re serious.
Strategy Consultation – Let’s meet. Before we go any further let’s meet up for an online strategy consultation. You find out more about us and we do the same with you. Book a free hour long consultation to see if we are a good fit. If we are let’s proceed to the next step, if not let’s part friends after a virtual cup of coffee together.
Online – Almost all our clients are virtual from across North America and the UK. We use Google Meet, Zoom and Google Drive to meet and share our work. It makes meetings more efficient, eliminates travel time and allows you to record meetings if you wish.
HOW COACHING WORKS
Every business has fires big or small that need to be put out and that’s where we will focus first. Once we have dealt with the major fires (things like we’re not making any profit to how do I fire bad clients) we will focus on shaping your business for sale or raising external finance:
DISCOVERY
In the first month of working together you will be asked to honestly assess your business, warts and all. Identify areas for improvement and evaluate your personal goals, resources and timelines.
Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger.
Franklin P. Jones
PLANNING
Phase 2 is all about building a roadmap to take you from where your business is now to one which is optimized to attract investors, whether to buy outright or to provide capital to help you grow. We will map out a realistic timeline creating milestones, developing a team and tools so you can move ahead confidently.
IMPLEMENTATION
This final part is often the hardest and it is where working with an experienced coach who understands your goals reaps the greatest reward from your investment. We will take your milestones and break this down into specific goals and tasks to move you forward week by week. We provide accountability, encouragement, guidance and impartial feedback as you take the steps to build your business. During this time you can call upon our strength and depth of knowledge to help you with positioning, business development, sales processes, staffing and personnel issues, client management, understanding and using financial and management information effectively and if necessary a shoulder to cry on.
ENGAGEMENT
How long should we work together?
The optimum time, well that depends on your timeline, goals and commitment. Making a business more attractive to investors or buyers depends on the starting point of your business, the resources you have available and commitment to make changes.
There is no fixed minimum period. If your personal circumstances change, we aim to be as flexible as possible and you may drop out or come back to coaching as necessary.
The minimum ideal time is six consecutive months to see significant returns on your investment.
INVESTMENT
You should be willing to invest between $7,500 and $15,000 in the first year to see significant improvements. Our monthly retainer is $1,250, payable monthly in advance, during the Discovery, Planning and initial Implementation phases. We will review and reassess your needs regularly as life events and the needs of the business impact our plans.
If you are committed to changing your business to become more attractive to outside investors and you are wondering about working with us, book a free strategy consultation now.