Is Your Business Ugly or Attractive?

Ugly or Attractive

Believe it or not, there are a lot of ugly businesses out there……………. Trade Me alone has 5500 businesses for sale, sadly, most of them are too ugly to transition from one owner to the next. No one is going to pay premium dollars for an ugly business, in-fact few people will even consider looking at an ugly business, which severely limits your exit options.

Perhaps calling them ugly is a little harsh, perhaps we should be more PC and say that they are not attractive enough to a potential buyer to make them a saleable proposition. The really sad thing is that many of these businesses could be made more attractive with a little time and effort, but owners need some specialist help and support, as we all know, becoming attractive doesn’t come without lots of hard work, and little investment.

A question which always dumbfounds me is, “Why do so few people engage in exit planning in order to add to the value to one of their most significant assets?

Well, it’s mostly because they don’t know what to do or where to go for help, or they simply leave it too late and they are too burnt out to stay in the game long enough to add the value.

There is no doubt about it, it’s tough being a business owner, but we chose this path and the future success and value are in our hands…………… Business buyers are becoming more discerning and are only looking at attractive propositions, so ask yourselves this question. Am I attractive enough to seduce a buyer into taking over my business? If the answer is no, then you need to start adding value to your business and making it more attractive.

As New Zealand’s only Certified Exit Planning Advisors, we can help you add value to one of your most valuable assets.

Ross Peden
CEPA