Business Review

Owning a business means that you are constantly thinking about new opportunities and worrying about things going wrong.  During different phases, the type of things you may worry about include cash, getting new customers, losing customers, staff, tax, outgrowing your premises, IT, insurances, suppliers, shrinking margins, new markets/products/services and, ultimately, succession.

Multi owner businesses have the added complexity of making sure all owners have the same goals for the business.  Also, some owners may begin to explore outside interests which can be a business risk.

Cross-generational owners have extra complexity regarding owners wanting to exit on different time frames.  Family businesses are also often more complicated due to family relationships that need to survive any business stress.

At Maclean Partners we are passionate about helping our business clients.  We offer complimentary Business Reviews that usually take around 90 minutes to 2 hours.  These Reviews provide a great structure for business owners to identify, understand, discuss and elevate any business issues that exist.

BACKGROUND

At Maclean Partners we are astutely aware that the stress of each business are unique both to that particular business and to that particular point in time.  Generally, a business will have some exposure in at least one of the following areas:

• Survival Risk (e.g. Generating sufficient cash flow)
• Consolidation Risk (e.g. "What next?"; "Do all owners have the same plan for the business?")
• Growth Risk (e.g. Identifying ways of improving sustainable profit)
• Protection Risk (both 'business' and 'personal' :- e.g. Insurances - "Is the family home protected?; Would you benefit from Key Insurances?")
• Succession Risk (Does the business model enable the business to be sold effectively? Is there a common succession plan?  Are there strategies to grow business value before you sell?)

Typically a business owner will encounter each of these Risks at some stage.

BUSINESS OWNERS

Business owners fall into one of two categories:

1. Reactive
2. Proactive

Reactive business owners wait for something to happen and then hopefully change their business model to minimise the impact.  Being reactive, they largely miss opportunities that arise.

Proactive business owners foresee 'something happening' and make the required changes beforehand to minimise any negative impact.  They are also better positioned to seize opportunities.

It is true that in a buoyant economy many reactive businesses survive and many do quite well - JFK often said "A rising tide lifts all boats".   However, not many economies stay buoyant for long and reactive businesses are the first to disappear once an economy tightens.

Contact us today for a no obligation complimentary Business Review.  Let us guide you through a structured assessment of areas such as:

MACLEAN PARTNERS BUSINESS REVIEW

Our Business Review is not a complicated nor mundane process.  It is (typically) a 90 to 120 minute meeting where we guide you through a series of key business topics.  These topics cover all areas that are critical to the success of your business.  The purpose is to identify where you and your business has 'gaps' in the following areas:

1. Structure - Is your corporate structure still appropriate?
2. Strategy - Is it clear, current and are all interested parties pursuing the same thing(s)
3. Sales - Are the owners clear on their future market(s)
4. Management - Are Management practices structured enough?
5. Profitability - Where do you underperform?
6. Risk - Where is your business exposed?
7. Succession - What succession plans do you have?
8. Personal - Hours worked, remuneration, insurances, retirement plans etc.

Many businesses 'do' a number of these areas well; hardly any 'do them all'.