JPAbusiness

This blog comes from our eBook Surfer Dudes, Janitors and the Ritz Carlton, featuring California-based management consultant Kevin Catlin from Insight Strategies, Inc.

Topics: staff management, business advice, Business culture, business management, Kevin Catlin, guest blogger, Parramatta, Orange NSW

Valuations are extremely useful management tools for business owners looking to maximise their current business performance and long-term value.

A valuation can help you identify what you are currently doing that is:

a) adding to your business value, and

b) detracting from that value.

My advice is that, if your business is greater than five years old, you should have it valued on a reasonably regular basis, say every 2–3 years depending on your growth track and the external environment the business is experiencing.

Topics: Business Value, Advice, Valuations, Video, business advice, business management, market appraisal, Parramatta, Orange NSW

Before you spend months trawling through business advertising sites, trying to decide which business would best suit you, first consider whether you would suit business.

In this infographic we’ve summarised 10 attributes we tend to see in successful business people.

Topics: Buying a business, infographic, Starting a business, business advice, business management, business ownership, Parramatta, Orange NSW

Clients often ask us whether they need a valuation or a market appraisal.

The answer has a lot to do with the ultimate purpose of the valuation or market appraisal. For example:

• Does the valuation/appraisal need to stand up in a court of law?
• Will the valuation/appraisal form part of a transaction/settlement process?
• Is the client seeking an indicative view of a business' fair market value and the likely factors that add to and detract from that value?

Topics: infographic, Business valuation, business management, market appraisal, business valuer

I recently put together some questions for my senior staff to consider in advance of their Annual Performance Review discussions.

We have discussed the mechanics of the performance review process in previous blogs, and a key theme was that reviews are ‘a two-way street’.

Senior staff members bring considerable experience and insight to your business so you need to ensure you use the review event as an opportunity to tap into those insights for the benefit of your business, as well as the individuals involved.

Topics: staff management, business advice, Business culture, business management, staff performance, performance review, Parramatta, Orange NSW

In our experience, the risks associated with business purchases fall into three categories:

1. People
2. Customers, suppliers and market dynamics
3. The value exchange.

In this blog we're examining how to manage the 'people risks' of a purchase.

Topics: Buying a business, staff management, business advice, Business advisor, business management, Parramatta, Orange NSW

People typically request a valuation of their business in reaction to an event, for example:

• they’ve decided they want to sell or exit, so they want to know how much the business is worth;
• they want to restructure the legal entities in the business and need a valuation for tax and/or statutory purposes;
• there is a relationship breakdown between joint shareholders or spouses and they need to transfer or split the business so one can sell to the other, so they need to know its value;
• they’re seeking finance and the finance company or bank has requested a valuation of the business.

Those are event-orientated valuation requirements and we certainly offer that service on a regular basis.

However, we also advocate using valuation as a proactive management and investment tool and we’ve been very excited to provide this service to more and more business owners over the past 12 months.

Topics: business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, business management, budgeting, valuing a business

When people think about the term ‘brand’ they often think only of a brand’s visual manifestation, i.e. the logo and livery. But a brand is much more than that.

A brand is the sum of all you say and do in relation to your products and services, plus consumers’ personal experiences with these. It is the relationship, or connection, between an organisation and its customers.

Topics: Brand and marketing, infographic, business advice, business management, brand strategy

Succession stories from the corporate world

The following business succession examples come from the international corporate world and have been well reported in business advice and human resources articles and blogs.

They provide some valuable lessons on how to – and how not to – plan for succession.

HP – The bad

Over the course of 15 years HP (Hewlett Packard) had seven different CEOs – each horridly replaced with the next.

At its core, the problem was that the incoming CEOs were not adequately educated on the innermost workings that made HP successful. They came in with sweeping changes that contradicted the soul of HP.

Topics: Succession planning, business advice, Business advisor, business management, JPAbusiness

Many people think of succession planning as an old person’s problem – something you do once you decide to exit your business. This is far from the truth, although it's not surprising the misconception exists. 

In planning this blog I conducted a quick Google search of the question 'what is succession planning?' to test the common perceptions. The first result (from an Australian government website!) provided the following answer: "A succession, or exit plan outlines the things you will do when you sell, close or transfer ownership of your business."

I beg to differ. Succession planning should not be something you do when it's time to exit: it is a young person’s pathway to building a valuable business.

Topics: Succession planning, staff management, business advice, business management, business ownership, running a business, small business