Business
Since the pandemic, a lot has flip-flopped including the fail rate of startup businesses vs. established businesses. Startup businesses went from having a 95% fail rate in the first five years to just 30% in the first five years. Businesses with a decade or more under their belt, on the other hand, are at a staggering 70% fail rate. To help business owners build a scalable and sellable business they love, and avoid becoming the next statistic, James and Dean welcome Michelle Seiler Tucker, a keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and co-author of Exit Rich, as this week’s guest. With small businesses making up 80% of the American economy (which heavily influences the world’s economy), Michelle is on a mission to save as many American companies as she can, by teaching them how to become sellable. She’s personally sold over 500 businesses and her company has sold over 1,000! For more than 20 years, Michelle’s been in the trenches helping create a business that works for them, rather than the other way around. She’s helped thousands exit rich! Tune in to hear exactly how to make your business sellable, including why a sellable business is your best bet even if you have zero intention of selling it. Outline of This Episode 4:01 Why established businesses are in more danger than startups 9:33 The #1 reason 70% of established businesses are failing 14:44 The most dangerous number of buyers 23:51 This determines whether a business is sellable 28:02 Where most companies go wrong with processes 33:00 Branding for a sellable business 43:21 Lack of profits is never the problem Premium Pricing For A Business That’s Not Premium? The number one reason most businesses don’t sell, according to Michelle, is probably not what you think: Denial! Business owners tell themselves, “It’s too much for me to do.” Then they burn out, or a catastrophic event hits (which is the worst time to try and sell), and they desperately need a premium price for their business. Yet they haven’t built their business to where buyers want to pay them a premium price. Businesses where the business is 1000% dependent on the business owner are a prime example of this. If you pull yourself out of your business, can it operate 100% independently? If not, you’re going to face buyer resistance to premium pricing. “This Is My Baby” A lot of business owners see their business as “their baby” instead of as an asset. When you treat it like “your baby” instead of like an asset, you’re going to miss things that would help you ensure it’s sustainable, profitable, and sellable, including the corporate veil. Even if you have no intention of ever selling your business, there are multiple benefits to structuring it like an asset instead of “your baby.” Tune in to hear these benefits (many will surprise you). You Don’t Build A Business, You Build This If you want your business to be sellable--or to continue if you need to step away for any reason--don’t build a business. Build people, because they will build the business. Michelle shares a story of a dentist, in business for 15 years, who approached her to sell his business. He was burned out and ready to be done. But because he was so mired in the day-to-day runnings and customer interaction, Michelle explained it would take two to three years before he could leave, because he built a business instead of building people. Blockbuster Or Amazon? Is your business going the way of companies like Blockbuster Video? Or is it in its prime, like Amazon? It’s really key to understand this, because if your business is going the way of Blockbuster and many other once-hugely successful companies, you’ll have a harder time selling it. Michelle shares three questions to ask yourself to help you identify whether your business, whatever its size or industry, is a Blockbuster (on its way out) or an Amazon (in its prime). The Customer Experience, Not Your Agenda Companies with the most long-term success design their business around the customer experience, not the owner’s agenda. McDonald’s is one of the most well-known examples of designing your processes around the customer experience. When they got started, the restaurant’s founders wanted to create a restaurant where a customer could get great-tasting food that’s fast and hot in under 30 seconds. Businesses who create processes around a customer experience are sustainable and sellable. Businesses that create processes around the owner’s agenda are not. Resources & People Mentioned Exit Rich book: www.ExitRichBook.com Michelle Seiler Tucker: https://seilertucker.com/ Michelle Seiler Tucker on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelletuckerinternational/ Michelle Seiler Tucker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleseiler The Exit Rich Podcast: https://seilertucker.com/podcast/ Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? 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