Comments on: America Runs On Small Business – Part Two

By: Bill Bartmann

Bill Bartmann — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:30:01 +0000

Cool site, love the info. I do a lot of research online on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks, :)

A definite great read..

By: Bill Bartmann

Bill Bartmann — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:07:12 +0000

This blog rocks! I gotta say, that I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,

A definite great read…:)

-Bill-Bartmann

By: Mike Clough

Mike Clough — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:25:06 +0000

What good is value if you can’t cash it in at some point in time?

But Jeff, I believe you make a good point. The very best way to build value is to run your business like you will have it forever.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:01:40 +0000

I have to disagree. People who start small businesses are not necessarily looking to sell out in the future. This was the reason for the dotcom bust of the 90′s, people were starting businesses for the sole purpose of selling them and most of the company’s “value” was based on pure speculation, (you can see this happening again with Social Networks with bloated valuations).

A company that is more focused on selling the business is not focused on creating value for the brand or for the consumer, and the foundation of any business should be creating value for all parties involved, not just for a potential buyer.

By: Mike Clough

Mike Clough — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:59:05 +0000

Jack, although I think all you have said is very true, you left out one exit strategy.

If you are capable of building enough value, you can exit through an IPO.

Several companies that I have worked for were very small when I started with them and through all of our hard work we created enough value that we could go public very successfully. McCaw Cellular is one and another was Western Wireless from which T-Mobile was born.

By: Jack Benke

Jack Benke — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:31:57 +0000

I would suggest one important reason for business failure should be noted. I believe many small businesses fail because they don’t complete their business plan at the get-go; that is, they never define an exit strategy. The shareholders really haven’t defined what they are building towards, which is the succession or eventual sale of the business.

I think the key questions new business owners should be aksing themselves is to ‘whom’ will they eventually sell the business? What can they do to create value to attract a potential buyer? It is easy to get into business, but the challenge is leaving with some money. There are really only 4 choices for selling a privately held business. You sell to a 3rd party, the employees, to family members or the business gets liquidated.