Most business owners only seek a business valuation after being prompted to do so by a significant ‘event’, for example family break-up, retirement, need for business restructuring, bank lending requirement, purchase offer and so on.

My experience indicates the opposite course would be better: valuation should be considered a management tool and be done before, and separate from, such business and emotive life events.

The following case study shows how an independent valuation, carried out early, would have made life a whole lot easier for one of my clients.

Instead this client found themselves in a credit squeeze with little understanding of the true value of their business to potential financiers and the drivers that really matter to external parties.

Topics: Business Value, Valuations, Case study, Business valuation, Business advisor, business broker, business valuer, James Price, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, client case studies, Central West NSW

This blog comes from one of our most popular eBooks: Brand and Corporate Identity for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses.

The eBook was written with business branding experts Richard Amos and Mike Wilkinson.

What’s in a brand?

Comments by Richard Amos and Mike Wilkinson

We often talk about brand as a relationship, or a connection, between an organisation and its customers – it is the connection your business has with your customers’ minds.

A brand is the sum of all you say and do in relation to your products and services, plus consumers’ personal experiences with these.

Topics: Business Planning, Brand and marketing, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, business valuer, James Price, brand identity, JPAbusiness, brand strategy, Parramatta, marketing, Central West NSW, branding, brand plan

The simple answer is ‘no’, you don’t need a valuation to sell a business.

However, in terms of engaging JPAbusiness to sell your business, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’, you do need to get a valuation before you embark on a sale process.

The reason for that is part of our point of difference among business brokers. It’s based on a lesson learned early in the life of JPAbusiness, and backed by years of subsequent experience. 

Topics: Case study, business advice, selling a business, Business valuation, Business advisor, James Price, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, client case studies, Central West NSW, transaction advice, business sale transaction advisor, selling my business

Many businesses, particularly small to mid-sized businesses, rely heavily on one or two key individuals for the business to operate.

These individuals are often the business owners and they may be reluctant to delegate control and decision making for a variety of reasons.

Whatever those reasons, the result is centralised decision making, knowledge and experience, which are not easily transferable in a business sale.

Ultimately, of course, that impacts business value – and not in a good way!

Topics: Business Planning, Valuations, Template, Video, Succession planning, Business valuation, Business advisor, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, succession, business succession, scorecard, business value drivers

The following video features 5 tips that will help you take a planned and measured approach to what may well be one of the biggest financial investments of your life.

They're each important in their own way, but I must admit Tip 2 – 'Have passion for the opportunity' – is a key one for me.

Owning a business can be difficult at times, but it's easier to withstand those challenges if you have a 'fire in your belly' for what you do.

Topics: Buying a business, Business Planning, Video, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, James Price, valuing a business, Parramatta, Central West NSW, business sale transaction advisor, business value drivers

I had a chat with a prospective client the other day – a young guy in his mid-20s, with a business partner – who has embarked on starting a technology and communications business from scratch after graduating from university.

We were talking about a meeting I had had the previous day with a business owner who had started their business 30-plus years ago, and who is now aged in their 60s.

I recalled how I met up with this business owner to talk about sale, succession and business value, and, unfortunately, my assessment was that their wholesale industrial products distribution business was going to be very hard to ‘sell for value’ because of various factors.

Topics: Business Value, Business valuation, business management, business valuer, James Price, small business, JPAbusiness, valuing a business, Parramatta, Central West NSW, business sale transaction advisor, business value drivers

Business valuation is not an exact science and nor is it a simple science. However there are some factors that should always be considered when assessing a business’ value.

They are:

• repeatability of current earnings
• availability of information on the business’ performance and business model
• point of difference and competitive advantage.

We've created the following infographic to help you get started on assessing the value of a potential purchase opportunity.

Topics: Business Value, Advice, BME, infographic, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, Business maintainable earnings, James Price, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, COVID-19, coronavirus, Central West NSW, business transaction advisor

One of the lessons I’ve learnt over 35 years of running my own businesses – and also advising on and observing others – is that very little value is generated in a ‘fast foot race’.

Good things come from time, careful execution, trial and error, and patience.

I'm spending a few hours in the gym these days trying to tone and trim up a bit. As a tall guy who’s less than perfectly coordinated, there are some exercises that are a bit of a challenge – barbell squats for one. My form is not a picture of symmetry and grace.

Topics: Business Value, Business Planning, Succession planning, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, Central West NSW, business transaction advisor, sustainable value, business sustainability

We have helped some clients find the right business within six months while, for other clients, it has taken over three years.

The key phrase is ‘the right business’; I’m sure we could speed up the process if our aim was just to help our clients buy ‘a’ business, but that’s not our job.

In this video I explain why it's important not to rush into buying a business, and share four tips for managing risk during the business buying process.

Topics: Buying a business, infographic, Video, business advice, Business valuation, Business advisor, business broker, vendor due diligence, business buying funnel, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, Central West NSW, business buyer, business transaction advisor

The simple answer is ‘no’, you don’t need a valuation to sell a business.

However, in terms of engaging JPAbusiness to sell your business, the answer is ‘yes’: we always recommend clients have their businesses independently and professionally valued before they invest time and money in a sale process.

In this video I explain how our first experience of helping a client sell their business – combined with our many years of subsequent experience – has shaped this philosophy regarding valuation and its role in a successful sale process.

Topics: Business Value, Video, business advice, selling a business, Business valuation, Business advisor, Business selling, JPAbusiness, Parramatta, client case studies, Central West NSW