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Have you set a goal for your company in 2017?
If you’re like most business owners, you’re striving for an increase in your annual sales. It’s natural to want your company to be bigger because that’s what everyone around us seems to celebrate.
Magazines profile the fastest growing companies, industry associations celebrate their largest members, and bigger seems to be better in the eyes of just about every business student with a microphone.
But growth can come at a steep price and can even detract from your ability to build your personal wealth.
The Contrasting Exits of Michael Arrington
Let’s take a look at an entrepreneur named Michael Arrington. He started Achex in 1999. It helped facilitate payments in the early days of the internet, and was focused on growing it. He accepted two rounds of outside capital to fund the company’s expansion.
Achex was ultimately sold to First Data Corporation for $32 million in 2001. Unfortunately, because Arrington had been focused on growth above all else, he had not only raised two rounds of financing but also reduced his personal stake in the company down to next to nothing. As he told Business Insider, "When I started my first company, Achex, we raised $18 million in venture capital in 2000 from DFJ. The company later sold for $32 million, but due to a 2x liquidity preference (common in those days), the founders essentially got nothing, just a few million to not block the deal."
Arrington then went on to start the technology blogging website TechCrunch in 2005. This time he wanted to grow the business, but not at the expense of his equity. Instead, they grew the company within their means and funded the business largely out of cash flow. He still owned 80% of the company, according to Business Insider, when he sold it for approximately $30 million.
Apparently Arrington had learned his lesson—growth is good, but not at the expense of all else.
The Alternative
The alternative to focusing on sales growth as your primary objective is to focus on the value of your equity within your company. Growth will have a positive impact on your company’s value, but your growth rate is only one of the eight drivers that impact what your company is worth. As you build your business, you will be faced with many forks in the road where growth may come at the expense of both your company’s value, and your personal wealth. For example:
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You may have to dilute your personal stake in the company by taking on outside capital. Depending on the return your investors are looking for, and the performance of your company after you take on outside investors, your smaller slice of the larger pie may be worth less than a larger slice of a smaller pie.
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Cross selling your largest customer more products and services may be a relatively easy way to grow your top line, but if they already represent more than 15% of your sales, the extra revenue may dilute the value of your company because acquirers discount companies with too much customer concentration.
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Giving lazy customers 90 days to pay may keep them buying, but those charitable payment terms may detract from your working capital.
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You could choose to invest your sales and marketing resources into winning a big, one-time project that would boost your sales but this may not boost the value of your business, which may be more positively impacted by a smaller amount of recurring revenue.
Growth is important and how big your company can get is one of the eight drivers of your company’s value.
We have analysed over 22,000 businesses to find real answers to what drives business value and potential. From this study, we've empirically found the 8 fundamentals that will increase the value of your business.
These 8 value drivers are also the foundation to scale your business into high growth. Measure your business performance and highlight your potential in this 15-minute assessment.
Credit: The Value Builder System
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Work with Ruben T Miller.
I help ambitious entrepreneurs to build businesses that can run profitably without them. Get clarity, tools, and be accountable to create the business and life you desire.
- Scale and build a high growth business
- Prepare your business for a strategic sell at maximum value
- Create a business to run profitably without you
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www.rubentmiller.com
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