Building a Business with Value - Don Britton - The Impactful Leadership Show - Episode #002

Nobody starts a business with the thought of selling it, but there are many things you can do to build a business that has value for when you want to exit. Don Britton has gone through that exact scenario and is giving out the advice he’s learned from going through it. You’ll learn about what to focus on when building your business, how to craft the right team, and how to develop and manage great cultures. Get ready to start building value in your company so don’t have to worry when the time comes to make an exit.

 

Takeaways: 

• Most business exits are unsuccessful and only 30% of all businesses that are put up for sale are actually sold. Of that 30% of companies that are sold not all are sold at a profit for the entrepreneur that sold the company.
• There are many different ways to define what a successful exit means. Some people define a successful exit as coming out with more than was put in whereas, others think their exit is successful as long as they don’t go into bankruptcy or tons of debt. 
• All entrepreneurs should be focused on building a business that has value and adds value to their customer base. Many small owner/operator businesses, struggle with creating value because they are so key to the business that it can’t exist without them.
• To build value in your business, you must build it so it’s not reliant entirely on you. There are two great ways to do this, build systems and construct a great team.
• There are three factors to building the right team: 1. Use Topgrading in your interview process; 2. Use the Arbinger Institute’s processes for leadership; 3. Develop your Core Values with your team. 
• Turnover is a huge problem as the cost of turnover is 7x the employee’s salary. By limiting turnover, you help the company by providing consistency and saving money by not rehiring and retraining new employees. Hire slow, fire fast.
• Pay attention to what the goals and dreams of the people on your team are. This will help you connect better with them and help you make sure their goals align with yours and make efforts to help them accomplish their goals.

 

Quote of the Show:

• “I think every entrepreneur needs to focus on building a business that has value” - Don Britton

 

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donbritton/
• Website: donbritton.com

 

Shout Outs:

• Ann Rhoades - People Ink
• Book - The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly
• Arbinger Institute
• Adizes Institute
• Book - Corporate Lifecycles by Ichak Adizes

 

Ways to Tune In:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b9436ea0-3e54-4c2d-a555-43e6ac890787
• Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-impactful-leadership-show/id1608566236
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/39cdJjxlfGrGXreE7r8OBm
• Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2ltcGFjdGZ1bGxlYWRlcnNoaXAvZmVlZC54bWw
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/BYlCElV8UYo