Podcasts about value builder system

John Warrillow is the founder of the Value Builder System, a software program that helps thousands of businesses build more value for customers and investors. He is also the bestselling author of three books, Built To Sell, The Automatic Customer, and his latest, The Art of Selling Your Business, which came out in January 2021. He is also the host of Built To Sell Radio. John joined host Robert Glazer on the Elevate Podcast to talk about how to build a business that attracts lifetime customers and create your exit strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Warrillow is the Founder and President of The Value Builder System™, which offers an assessment tool to help business owners build value. He is also the Founder of VidGuide, a software that allows business owners to document SOPs using video. As an entrepreneur, author, and speaker, John hosts the Built To Sell Radio podcast and is the author of Built to Sell.  In this episode: Many businesses operate using the hub-and-spoke model, which relies on the founder to direct every company process. However, the operations fall apart when the owner needs to step away from the business. How can you separate yourself from your business? According to business value builder John Warrillow, entrepreneurs are too focused on growing revenue and don't consider the company's end goal. Founders should consistently work toward their eventual exit by building value and slowly offboarding themselves. This requires identifying your company's purpose and documenting systems and processes that promote that purpose. Well-documented systems increase value to potential buyers by relying on employees to execute operations rather than the founder.  In the latest episode of Systems Simplified, John Warrillow, the Founder and President of The Value Builder System™, joins Adi Klevit to discuss building business value for an eventual exit. John shares how systems documentation increases company value, VidGuide's video process documentation software, and how to determine your company's identity.

Take the VALUEBUILDER SCORE www.weeklywealthpodcast.com/valuebuilderscoreEmail david@parallelfinancial.com with your questions. Schedule your time to meet with David www.calendly.com/davidpf In this episode of the Weekly Wealth Podcast, host David, a certified financial planner, emphasizes the importance of business owners not neglecting their business as a major asset. He discusses how business owners often focus on increasing the value of their IRAs and brokerage accounts but overlook strategies to enhance the value of their business. David highlights three of the eight key drivers of company value: reducing the owner's direct involvement (hub and spoke), building recurring revenue, and maximizing growth potential. These strategies can help business owners sell their companies for higher multiples or make their business operations more profitable and less stressful.David introduces the Value Builder System, which he uses to help business owners assess and increase their company's value. He encourages listeners to take the Value Builder Score assessment, a tool that provides an evaluation of a business from a buyer's perspective, including scores on the eight key drivers of value. This episode provides practical advice for business owners looking to increase the profitability and sellability of their businesses, ultimately helping them achieve a better financial future.Here's something to think about:Why should business owners view their business as a significant asset?What is the 'hub and spoke' factor, and how can business owners avoid becoming too essential to their business?How does recurring revenue benefit a business compared to one-time sales?Why is growth potential important for a business's valuation?How can business owners assess and improve the value of their business?What is the Value Builder Score, and how can it help business owners?

In this episode, host Troy Trewin sits down with John Warrillow, the President of The Value Builder System to discuss the secrets behind business success. John shares insights from his own journey, highlighting the importance of strategic planning, building effective teams, and navigating growth challenges. With his wealth of experience, John offers invaluable advice for aspiring and current business owners looking to achieve sustainable success in their ventures. In his book built to sell John Warrillow provides advice on how to make your small business sellable. The best way to do this, according to Warrillow, is to build a business that can run on its own—a business that can function without you, the owner. Why would you wait any longer to start living the lifestyle you signed up for? Balance your health, wealth, relationships and business growth. And focus your time and energy and make the most of this year. Let's get into it by clicking here. Troy delves into our guest's startup journey, their perception of success, industry reconsideration, and the pivotal stress point during business expansion. They discuss the joys of small business growth, vital entrepreneurial habits, and strategies for team building, encompassing wins, blunders, and invaluable advice. And a snapshot of the final five Grow A Small Business Questions: 1 .What do you think is the hardest thing in growing a small business? John Warrillow believes that one of the toughest aspects of growing a small business is managing the people within it. He emphasizes that hiring the right individuals, particularly salespeople, can pose significant challenges. Entrepreneurs often struggle to find sales professionals who can replicate their success, leading to frustration and setbacks in scaling the business. 2. What's your favourite business book that has helped you the most? John Warrillow's favorite business book, aside from his own works, is "Small Giants" by Bo Burlingham. This book resonates with him because it focuses on the pursuit of greatness rather than just size, highlighting the value of being exceptional in business rather than merely big. 3. Are there any great podcasts or online learning resources you'd recommend to help grow a small business? John Warrillow recommends the "Prof G Show" and "All In" podcast. The "Prof G Show" is hosted by Scott Galloway and offers insightful perspectives on business and entrepreneurship. "All In," moderated by Jason Calacanis and a group of venture capitalists, provides a deep dive into tech and business topics, offering a balanced view from different political spectrums. 4. What tool or resource would you recommend to grow a small business? John Warrillow recommends using Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a tool to grow a small business. NPS is a simple yet powerful way to measure customer satisfaction, predict future growth rates, identify areas for improvement, and understand customer loyalty. 5. What advice would you give yourself on day one of starting out in business? John Warrillow advises himself to "stop planning and start doing" on day one of starting out in business. He emphasizes the importance of taking action rather than getting caught up in planning details, suggesting that real progress comes from engaging with potential customers and testing ideas in the market. Book a 20-minute Growth Chat with Troy Trewin to see if you qualify for our upcoming course. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your small business to new heights! Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey.     Quotable quotes from our special Grow A Small Business podcast guest: A business that depends on you is worthless to anyone but you – John Warrillow The most valuable businesses are the ones that do one thing exceptionally well – John Warrillow Focus on being great, not just big – John Warrillow

Gary Vaynerchuk and Steve Jobs both became the face of their brand, but could this marketing strategy cost you when it's time to sell your agency?  How can you avoid becoming the brand to build a ‘sellable' agency? Today's guest is an entrepreneur who has successfully started and sold four businesses. He discusses the value of personal brands in relation to company success and delves into the challenges faced by service companies in building assets compared to tech or SaaS startups. Tune in to learn about common mistakes made by agency owners when considering selling their businesses and the pitfalls of an obsession with scale. John Warrillow is the founder and CEO of The Value Builder System, a sales and marketing software for business advisors to find, win and keep their best clients. In addition to having started and exited four companies, John is the best-selling author, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You. In this episode, we discuss: How to add value to your agency. Build a ‘sellable' agency. Equity rolls vs. earn-outs. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources Copper: This episode of Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Copper, a CRM solution built specifically for agencies that use Google Workspace. Its CRM integration works seamlessly with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Drive, so you never have to switch tabs to add leads, track email conversations, find files, or manage tasks in your marketing or sales process. Head over to Copper.com/agencies to get a free trial just for Jason's listeners! How Businesses Fall into the Revenue Pitfall Agency owners and service-based businesses often fall into the trap of overvaluing their companies when considering selling them. This common mistake is rooted in their relentless pursuit of growth and expansion. As a public, we tend to idolize big companies as opposed to good companies. This can turn into an obsession that leads agency owners to focus solely on increasing revenue, rather than building systems and processes that can make the business less dependent on the owners and founders. This fixation on growth typically results in rainmakers focusing predominantly on their sales expertise, which, while driving business growth, also increases dependence on the founders. Paradoxically, this dependence diminishes the overall value of the business. For John, the obsession with growth does agencies a great disservice by creating a culture of focusing solely on revenue. Consequently, businesses become so intertwined with the owner's presence that they essentially create a job for themselves rather than an asset that can thrive independently. This realization can be a bitter pill to swallow for many agency owners, especially when they recognize that their ego often drives these attitudes. By subscribing to the notion portrayed in "Mad Men" that their primary role is that of the charismatic pitchperson, they inadvertently create successful jobs rather than valuable assets. An Easy Method to Add Value to Your Agency So how can you avoid the revenue pitfall? John recommends agency owners take their CEO hat off from time to time and replace it with that of the parent of the business. In this sense, rather than micromanaging employees to hit revenue goals, empower them to take ownership of their work. They will feel greater pride and engagement, enabling the agency to thrive with or without you. By prioritizing long-term sustainability you can increase your agency's value and make it more attractive to potential buyers. It's not just about winning big clients or receiving accolades, but about creating a valuable asset that can stand the test of time. John also introduces the concept of assessing agency services according to how "teachable, valuable, repeatable" (TVR) they are to make strategic business decisions based on this. The TVR framework encourages agency owners to assess each service based on how teachable it is to their team, how valuable it is in terms of differentiation from competitors, and how repeatable it is in terms of recurring revenue. According to John, aency owners should focus on services that score high on all three criteria, as these are the services that will ultimately lead to a more sustainable and scalable business. This is not necessarily easy. Getting rid of some low-scoring services may mean walking away from 90% of your revenue. If this is your case, you can jettison the lowest-scoring services at least once a year. Striking the Right Balance as an Agency CEO Building a business that can run without you and that you can eventually sell will also require you to make the transition from agency owner to CEO. This means assuming different roles like setting the vision for the agency, being the face of the organization, understanding the financials, and coaching and mentoring the leadership team. Personally, John disagrees with Peter Drucker's notion that the two key functions that a CEO should focus on are product development and sales/marketing. In the context of an agency, the CEO should prioritize activities that drive revenue and attract new clients. “If you're doing those two functions, your business is worthless without you” he argues. CEOs who are too public-facing and personally branded may undermine the value of their agency when it comes time to sell. This is because potential buyers may view a highly visible CEO as a risk factor, leading to a larger portion of the deal being tied to an earn-out agreement. Therefore, CEOS need to strike a balance between being the face of the organization and focusing on the core functions of sales and marketing. How to Avoid Becoming the Brand: Tips for Becoming a “Sellable” Agency Would VaynerMedia continue to thrive without Gary Vaynerchuk? Just like Apple continued to grow without Steve Jobs, the most important element of that business is Gary's framework and methodology. What people like Steve and Gary did very well in each case is that the brand supersedes the individual. In Gary's case, many people might not realize who he is as a creator or tie VaynerMedia to him. In any case, building a powerful brand that can grow even in your absence is all about branding processes and not just people. Of course, a strong personal brand can be beneficial but it is also essential to establish the processes that drive the business. By doing so, agencies can create value beyond the individual personalities of their founders or leaders. For agency owners who include their name in the agency name, John suggests branding the processes; for instance, “3 things we do before onboarding a new client”. Codify and brand these processes to create a more valuable and attractive asset for potential buyers. This way, agencies can demonstrate a level of consistency and professionalism that goes beyond any individual's involvement in the business. By establishing and branding the processes that drive the business, agencies can create value that is sustainable and transferable, ultimately leading to long-term growth and success. It's something you can do in stages and could take 2 or 3 years complete. It's an important element of reducing dependency on individual personalities and create a more valuable and attractive asset for potential buyers. Equity Rolls vs. Earnouts: One of these will cost you MILLIONS The classic way an agency is sold is you get approached by the buyer who says they're willing to pay X multiple for it. However, once you take a closer look at that price, it's really 40% upfront, with the other 60% tied to an elaborate earn-out component where you become an employee of another agency. Alternatively, John highlights how private equity companies are increasingly doing "roll-ups" to consolidate agencies, especially in ad tech and tech-enabled services. In an equity roll deal, the seller gets some cash upfront but rolls the remaining amount into an equity stake in the entity owning the agency. This provides pros and cons compared to an earn-out model and gives owners more control over the transition. Equity rolls like majority recapitalizations allow owners to sell just a portion of their shares to receive some liquidity. This payout offers financial stability to pay off debts or invest elsewhere while still having skin in the game to take risks growing the agency. However, selling a majority stake means giving up decision-making control. Owners must be comfortable with a new role and adapt to having outside stakeholders that may bring conflicting interests, especially regarding earn-outs or integrating services across divisions. For its part, an earn-out means you'll lose control of the agency, so be aware of the potential pitfalls of this structure. Instead, Jason suggests a different approach where the seller prioritizes receiving cash upfront and maintains control over the company until the earn-out or period of time is completed. This gives the seller more agency in the sale process and reduces the risk of losing control over their business. All in all, as a seller, be aware of what the acquirer is trying to do, their motivations, and how that aligns with what you want to determine whether or not an earn-out makes sense for you. Prepare Yourself Against the Potential Pitfalls of Acquisitions There are potential pitfalls in agency acquisitions and it's important to be cautious when considering selling or merging with another agency. Typically, as a seller, you have to be aware of the fact that you're becoming a minority shareholder and giving up entrepreneurship for a job. Just be vigilant and protect your interests. Do your due diligence when considering an acquisition and thoroughly evaluate the potential buyer and ensure that the terms of the deal are fair and beneficial to the agency. Furthermore, be wary of offers that may seem enticing on the surface but could ultimately result in a loss of control or value for the agency. The most important way you can protect yourself is to understand the true value of your agency before entering into any acquisition agreements. Don't allow yourself to be swayed by promises of high valuations or potential growth opportunities without thoroughly evaluating the risks and potential drawbacks of the deal and ensure that all parties involved in the acquisition are aligned in terms of goals, vision, and values to avoid potential conflicts down the line. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

John Warrillow is an entrepreneur and author with over 20 years of research experience into the small and medium business (SMB) market. He founded The Value Builder System™ to level the playing field for business owners as they approach their exit. Over 35,000 business owners have taken the Value Builder Questionnaire, and with the support of Certified Value Builders™, such as brokers, M&A professionals, and coaches, they're using the statistically-proven methodology to improve company value by up to 71%. John is the author of Built to Sell, which is the first in a trilogy of books on building, accelerating, and harvesting the value of a business. The final book in the series, The Art of Selling Your Business, is being released in January and provides a game plan for how entrepreneurs can punch above their weight in a negotiation to sell their business. Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience/ Website: https://jondwoskin.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin/ Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big!   Connect with John Warrillow: Website: valuebuildersystem.com Twitter: @johnwarrillow, @builttosell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-warrillow-a54b241/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValueBuilder/   *E – explicit language may be used in this podcast.

In this episode of the podcast, host Roger Knecht engages in a dynamic conversation with Sam Mendelsohn, a CPA and Mergers and Acquisitions expert. Together, they dive deep into the world of accounting, business valuation, and the critical role accounting professionals can play in helping business owners realize their company's true potential.6   Your Host: Roger Knecht, president of Universal Accounting Center Guest Name: Sam Mendelsohn, CPA Sam Mendelsohn is the President and Chief Operating Officer at The Value Builder System™. Sam is also a former Vice President within an operating division of the Constellation Group (TSE:CSU). Sam has led marketing for over 20 different brands and is a highly-rated MacKay speaker on marketing. He has also delivered over 500 software deployments ranging from marketing systems to full Enterprise Resource Planning systems and corporate performance management systems at companies including Microsoft, Merck, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Sun Media.   Highlights: Sam shares his journey from traditional accounting to specializing in mergers and acquisitions, emphasizing the importance of business valuation. They discuss how understanding a business's true value can make a significant difference in decision making, especially during a potential sale. Sam reveals how crucial it is for business owners to continuously monitor and improve eight key drivers of business value. Roger and Sam explore real-life scenarios where two seemingly identical businesses can have vastly different valuations. They emphasize the shift accountants can make into the CFO and advisory services space, helping business owners maximize profitability, navigate operational challenges, and achieve long-term growth. Sam introduces the concept of a "showroom-ready" business and discusses the pivotal role accountants can play in preparing businesses for potential sales. They share insights on how aspiring entrepreneurs can start an accounting business, a bookkeeping business, or a tax business, and highlight the importance of learning bookkeeping online and taking online tax courses. Discover how understanding business valuation and the eight key drivers can be the catalyst for both accountants and their clients to achieve extraordinary success in the world of CFO and advisory services. Notable Quotes from this episode: "Those eight drivers are similar to going and buying a home... You're going down this checklist of what that house is going to consist of. Well, it's the same thing with the business." "Your business should always be showroom ready." "Find a good framework that you're comfortable leveraging... show up and have that conversation with the client rather than being scared about what to talk about." "Accountants have such an opportunity to look beyond the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement and really do a lot of good for business owners on the operational side." Join Roger and Sam in this thought-provoking discussion as they highlight the untapped potential accountants possess to become indispensable partners in business growth and transformation. Discover how understanding business valuation and the eight key drivers can be the catalyst for both accountants and their clients to achieve extraordinary success while offering CFO and advisory services. If you're considering starting an accounting business, a bookkeeping business, or a tax business, or if you want to learn bookkeeping online and explore online tax courses, this episode is packed with valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs.   Sponsors: Universal Accounting Center Helping accounting professionals confidently and competently offer quality accounting services to get paid what they are worth.   Offers:   Now's the time to get your Business Score.  See how the 8 drivers mentioned in the show today apply to your business.  Learn what you can do today to work ON your business and improve your valuation to build the business you want.  CLICK HERE to start, it will only take 15 minutes.   It's time to compliment your accounting and tax services with quality CFO & Advisory services.  Become a Profit & Growth Expert, apply the Universal Business Builder principles with your clients and learn what you can do to be a Value Builder Provider.   Get The Unlocking Small Business Market whitepaper.  Understand how smart advisors position their services to protect, grow and realize the value of a business.  Learn what it is you can do to become an author, leveraging your expertise to market effectively your services and get the clients you deserve.  This is a webinar you don't want to miss.  Learn from Mike Capuzzi what a Shook is and how you can use it to position yourself as the Premier Accounting Firm in your area.  This is a must-see presentation so get ready to take some great notes.   In addition to becoming an author, see what you can do to follow the Turnkey Business plan for accounting professionals.  After more than 40 years we've identified the best practices of successful accountants and this is a presentation we are happy to share.  Check it out and see what you can do to be in business for yourself but not by yourself with Universal Accounting Center.   For Additional FREE Resources for accounting professionals check out this collection HERE!   Be sure to join us for GrowCon, the LIVE event for accounting professionals to work ON their business. This is a conference you don't want to miss.   Remember this, Accounting Success IS Universal. Listen to our next episode and be sure to subscribe.   Also, let us know what you think of the podcast and please share any suggestions you may have.  We look forward to your input: Podcast Feedback For more information on how you can apply these principles to start and build your accounting, bookkeeping & tax business please visit us at www.universalaccountingschool.com or call us at 8012653777

So excited to bring you this week's episode discussing something that would benefit business owners and aspiring business owners around the world - specifically on the topic of building a business that is able to thrive without you in it's daily operations.My guest this week happens to be one of my favorite authors. He makes this value-packed discussion possible by sharing his years and years worth of experience and expertise in:- Building successful businesses and selling them- Business valuation and owner dependence- Improving and preparing a business for a valuable exit- Employee engagement and compensation and how it ties to business outcomes- Recurring revenue models in different industries- Private Equity deals in a post-COVID worldAnd more!ABOUT OUR GUESTJohn Warrillow is the Founder and CEO of The Value Builder System™, a sales and marketing software for business advisors to find, win and keep their best clients. It combines tools and ready-made content for accountants, brokers, consultants, and financial advisors who focus on helping owners protect, grow and realize the value of their business. John is the author of the bestselling book, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, which was recognized by both Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best business books of 2011. Built to Sell has been translated into 12 languages. John's next book, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, was released by Random House in February 2015 and has since been translated into eight languages. In 2021, John released The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. This completes the trilogy of books which teach business owners how to build, accelerate, and harvest the value of their company.As the host of Built to Sell Radio, John has interviewed hundreds of founders about their exit. Forbes ranked John's podcast as one of the ten best podcasts for business owners. Before founding The Value Builder System™, John started and exited four companies.You can learn more about John and his work here: builttosell.comABOUT OUR HOSTKen Eslick is an Entrepreneur, Author, Podcaster, Tony Robbins Trainer, Life Coach, Husband of 35+ Years, and Grandfather. Ken currently spends his time as the President & Founder of The Leaders Lab where he and his team focus on Senior Leadership Acquisition. They get founders the next level C-Suite Leaders they need to go from being an Inc. Magazine 5000 fastest growing company to $100,000,000 + in revenue. You can learn more about Ken and his team at theleaderslab.coListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/ken-eslick/

In this insightful episode, I team up with Roxanne Coffelt, an experienced CPA and business advisor, to tackle the complexities of financial management and business valuation for small businesses. We start by addressing common financial pitfalls that business owners face, such as inadequate bookkeeping and financial management, which can lead to significant issues like IRS audits. I highlight the importance of understanding and optimizing the eight key drivers of business value, as outlined in the Value Builder System, focusing on aspects like financial performance, growth potential, and the diversification of revenue streams.We also explore, among other topics, the concept of recurring revenue and its influence on business valuation, using practical examples like security companies with ongoing services.Wrapping up the episode, we delve into the different approaches to business valuation, clarifying the distinction between valuation and calculation. Roxanne stresses the importance of considering a range of value drivers, including management depth and industry trends, in any valuation process. We also highlight the significance of clear agreements among business owners on valuation and sale processes, especially in multi-owner scenarios. Roxanne wraps up by advising listeners on the importance of long-term exit planning and maintaining robust financial statements.Roxanne Coffelt graduated cum laude from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in 1986 with an accounting degree.  Shortly after she left behind 10 years working in the printing/publishing industry to go into public accounting.After working for a local firm, a sole practitioner, and the “Big 6” firm Ernst & Young, Roxanne started her own practice in Des Moines in 1993.In 1999, in anticipation of the printing plant where her husband worked closing, Roxanne sold her practice.  She ended up relocating to Shanghai, China for two years.Returning to the United States in 2004 brought Roxanne to Warsaw, Indiana. In 2010 she received her CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst) designation. After working for another firm for many years, she decided to establish her own practice in the fall of 2017.After working for other firms, and watching people pay for financial statements that just end up filed in a drawer, Roxanne wanted to help her clients use the information in those statements to help improve their businesses.In 2022 Roxanne became a Certified Value Builder.Roxanne is married to her husband Bob of 38 years and has two grown children and two grandchildren.  Daughter Kelsey is a board-certified behavior analyst and son Sheldon is currently in school after serving almost 7 years in the U.S. 3rd Infantry Regiment honor guard (The Old Guard) at Fort Myer/Arlington Cemetery.You can find her here:https://www.coffeltcpa.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxannecoffelt/To learn more, visit:www.servingstrong.comListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:www.missionmatters.com/author/scott-couchenour

From the archive: This episode was originally recorded and published in 2021. Our interviews on Entrepreneurs On Fire are meant to be evergreen, and we do our best to confirm that all offers and URL's in these archive episodes are still relevant. John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. It's ok to sell. You're not a bad person for wanting to sell the company. 2. For the right buyer or acquirer, the word ‘partnership' means something different. 3. The right time to sell is when someone is ready to buy. When you get an offer, you're in a unique position - you're being offered a large amount of money. Negotiate Tune into interviews from entrepreneurs about their exit and some of the tips and tricks they have - Built To Sell Sponsors HubSpot The HubSpot Sales Hub supercharges your sales process so you can find, track, and close deals all in one powerful, easy-to-use platform. Make the switch to HubSpot Sales Hub at HubSpot.com/sales. Belay Download Belay's Delegation Guide for free and learn six specific things that busy leaders must start delegating to take their leadership - and results - to the next level. Text FIRE to 55123 today InsideTracker The scientific tools and personalized insights you need to optimize your health from the inside out. Visit InsideTracker.com and use the promo code EOFIRE to get 20% off your plan today

Elzie engages in a transformative conversation with Nana Bonsu, management consultant and business advisor at Infinite Horizons, Inc., who specializes in building high-performing teams for business leaders. Nana's mission is to provide adaptable solutions for business owners, offering peace of mind while reducing risk exposure, considering the significant wealth tied up in businesses. The discussion covers crucial aspects like effective delegation, scenario planning, and utilizing the Value Builder System. Nana emphasizes the pivotal role of strategic planning and value optimization for business owners. The episode also delves into the Value Builder System, which assesses businesses based on key drivers of success. Through insights on overcoming redundancy and embracing AI in business, this episode equips entrepreneurs with actionable strategies to enhance business value and minimize risk. So, don't miss this episode for a wealth of valuable business advice!Episode Highlights:03:27 - I think the main thing, in terms of not being comfortable, is starting to think about the future "what ifs?" How would you like to be able to take a three-month vacation without your business being impacted? If something were to happen to you, a family member, your business partner and whatnot, would your business survive and for how long? If you were to decide if there was some kind of emergency, whether it's divorce, disqualification, or disability, would your business be able to make it? If you start thinking in terms of that, then it just puts a whole different–because nothing is forever. Yes, you love your business, but we're all not going to be on Earth forever.04:53 - One is that the first thing is you want to have the people that you've identified as people you want to delegate. You want to have them watch you do it. And then as they watch, you want to then switch turns and have them do it while you watch over them. And then the next thing then is they go do it and then report back to you what is weekly status or whatever the frequency is. And then the final thing is they got it, they own it, they don't come to you anymore. So, those are the stages.08:25 - The first one is customer satisfaction. How satisfied? So, essentially we start with what do you buy or sell, your products and your services? And then the main thing is, how differentiated is that? And then how satisfied customers are with it. How dependent is your business on you, the owner or the owners, if there's multiple owners? How dependent your business is on key people, your suppliers, your customers, your employees? What does the cash flow picture in your business look like? Those are some of the things that basically, and then, of course, in terms of your business model, is it a one-time transactional business model? Or is it a business model that relies on recurring revenue?16:31 - I think the way to manage that is give them bigger responsibilities. Having them more involved in strategic planning and other brokering of relationships. That's when you start to realize we are trying to make sure you start to contribute to more value added activities. And so, giving them more and more responsibilities. Which is why, the reasons why you set it up. They start to feel like owners. You start to make them feel like they're owners, owners of certain areas of the business. So, you have, it's almost like an employee-owned business without making it official necessarily that way.Connect with ElzieLinkedInContact Nana BonsuLinkedIn

From the archive: This episode was originally recorded and published in 2021. Our interviews on Entrepreneurs On Fire are meant to be evergreen, and we do our best to confirm that all offers and URL's in these archive episodes are still relevant. John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. It's ok to sell. You're not a bad person for wanting to sell the company. 2. For the right buyer or acquirer, the word ‘partnership' means something different. 3. The right time to sell is when someone is ready to buy. When you get an offer, you're in a unique position - you're being offered a large amount of money. Negotiate Tune into interviews from entrepreneurs about their exit and some of the tips and tricks they have - Built To Sell Sponsors HubSpot The HubSpot Sales Hub supercharges your sales process so you can find, track, and close deals all in one powerful, easy-to-use platform. Make the switch to HubSpot Sales Hub at HubSpot.com/sales. Belay Download Belay's Delegation Guide for free and learn six specific things that busy leaders must start delegating to take their leadership - and results - to the next level. Text FIRE to 55123 today InsideTracker The scientific tools and personalized insights you need to optimize your health from the inside out. Visit InsideTracker.com and use the promo code EOFIRE to get 20% off your plan today

Let's talk about the intricacies of The Value Builder System with Nana Bonsu, where he describes it as a powerful approach that allows businesses to operate much like a product, enabling them to clearly identify their value. The primary objective of the Value Builder System is unequivocal – to elevate the worth of businesses. Nana details how this system evaluates businesses through a comprehensive lens. It focuses on eight essential drivers that serve as pillars for assessing a business's success. These drivers encompass vital aspects like customer satisfaction, differentiation, dependence, supplier relationships, customer base, employee performance, cash flow, and the business model.Understanding and optimizing these key drivers is pivotal in achieving the overarching goal of enhancing business value. Tune in to discover how The Value Builder System can propel your business to new heights in this engaging micro episode! Episode Highlights:01:46 - The first one is customer satisfaction. How satisfied? So, essentially we start with what do you buy or sell, your products and your services? And then the main thing is, how differentiated is that? And then how satisfied customers are with it. How dependent is your business on you, the owner or the owners, if there's multiple owners? How dependent your business is on key people, your suppliers, your customers, your employees? What does the cash flow picture in your business look like? Those are some of the things that basically, and then, of course, in terms of your business model, is it a one-time transactional business model? Or is it a business model that relies on recurring revenue?Connect with ElzieLinkedInContact Nana BonsuLinkedInPodcastMentioned in this episode:Podcast TownCheck out our services for your B2B brand! Grow With Podcast Town

Nana Bonsu introduces a practical four-step framework: first, watch and learn; then, switch turns and observe; next, report back regularly; and finally, let go. This structured approach empowers business owners to entrust tasks to others gradually, ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities. The Value Builder System emerges as a valuable tool in this process. It aids in pinpointing key activities that are ripe for delegation, highlighting the substantial time-saving potential. By incorporating this strategic approach, businesses can reallocate time towards higher-impact endeavors, driving growth and efficiency. Tune in to explore the transformative power of effective delegation with Nana Bonsu! Episode Highlights:00:32 - One is that the first thing is you want to have the people that you've identified as people you want to delegate. You want to have them watch you do it. And then as they watch, you want to then switch turns and have them do it while you watch over them. And then the next thing then is they go do it and then report back to you what is weekly status or whatever the frequency is. And then the final thing is they got it, they own it, they don't come to you anymore. So, those are the stages.Connect with ElzieLinkedInContact Nana BonsuLinkedInPodcastMentioned in this episode:Podcast TownCheck out our services for your B2B brand! Grow With Podcast Town

In this episode of the Millionaire Mindcast, we have an superb guest John Warrillow who shares a lot of valuable insights on strategies and ways to pull your business in a position to extract the most value out of it, why growing revenue is not always being the most important thing, how business landscape have changed since COVID, the difference between saleable and unsaleable companies, the three types of business owner profile, how long you need to commit to the business you want to build, and diversification of business trends moving forward! John Warrillow is an entrepreneur, investor, expert in setting up a business, the founder of The Value Builder System, a simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. He wrote amazing resources and books and information around businesses that are setup to sell. He authored The Automatic Customer, The Art of Selling Your Business, and the bestselling book, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, which was recognized by both Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best business books of 2011. Also, host of Built to Sell Radio that interviewed hundreds of founders about their exit. Forbes ranked this as one of the ten best podcasts for business owners. Starting a business with a proper foundation is vital in order to thrive and succeed. Majority of business owners focus on multiplying revenue and clients. Thinking it's enough to be called as high-value business. However, according to John, none of these matters if your business is relying on you because you can't sell it. Therefore, create a valuable company that is built to sell. He suggests to form standard operating procedures to follow your employees when you're not around. This will grow your company beyond your involvement. Moreover, sale a few things to lots of people. It is planning one thing that you can absolutely own and doubling down on. These are the main ways to boost the value of a company.   Some Questions I Ask: How you got into the game of building, executing, and selling businesses? (05:26) What is the most important variable in a successful business? (07:56) How do you guys audit the overall health or the ability to be a saleable company? (10:22) Is company valuation process something that people should be factoring into their business plan and their model? (17:51) Is there a perfect business model? (21:53) What are the best business frameworks that you've seen that have been built to sell? (28:54) What is the overall average timeline you see for these successful businesses? (40:16) What kind of mentality mindset should someone have in terms of commitment in building their business? (44:42) When is it time to thrown the town, pivot and adapt? (47:15) What is your diversification look like? (51:56) What are some of the opportunities or challenges that you see for businesses in the landscape post-COVID? (53:34)   In This Episode, You Will Learn: Monopoly control: the main way to boost the value of the company (12:10) The three traditional ways of company valuation (19:39) Three psychographic profiles of business owners (22:58) The aspiration that entrepreneurs must have in their companies (31:12) Definition of wealthy (34:31) Two common reasons why business owners decide to sell their company (59:03) Quotes: “Every additional service you offer is going to make you less attractive to acquire.” Connect with John Warrillow on:  Built to Sell Episode Sponsored By: HelloFresh: Visit https://hellofresh.com/50mindcast or Use the code 50MINDCAST to get 50% off plus free shipping! Stay in touch with Matty A: Website Facebook Instagram YouTube

John Warrillow (Replay Jan 2023) has built, scaled, and exited multiple companies and authored the best selling book "Built To Sell: Creating A Business That Can Thrive Without You"In John's Words:I'm the Founder of The Value Builder System™, a statistically proven methodology for improving the value of your business by up to 71%.I'm also the author of Built To Sell: Creating A Business That Can Thrive Without You, which was recognized by Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best books of 2011. My most recent book, The Automatic Customer, was selected by Fortune Magazine as one of the “5 Best Business Books” of 2015.Prior to starting The Value Builder System, I started and successfully exited four companies. Follow me on Twitter @JohnWarrillow.https://builttosell.com/Want To Quit Your Job, Build Your Own Business, And Travel / Impact The World?Check Out The Action Academy Community / Schedule A Free Intro CallLearn How To Buy Real Estate & Businesses In 5 Minutes Per Week:Join Our Weekly Newsletter Follow Me As I Travel & Build:Twitter @theactionpodIG @brianluebbenTiktok @brianluebben

In this episode, we explore the transformative power of delegation, a pivotal tool that grants founders the freedom they've always sought. Tune in to discover how releasing control over minor tasks can open up more space for life's significant experiences in your 4th quarter.KEY TAKEAWAYS:1. The Real-Life Delegation Experience: Hear a riveting story of a client who turned a chore into an opportunity by simply delegating. 2. The Hidden Potential in Your Team: How realizing and leveraging the capabilities of your team members, like assistants, can drive your business forward.3. John Warrillow's Hub & Spoke Concept: Delving deep into the Value Builder System and its implications for business owners.4. Unlocking Your 4th Quarter Potential: Why delegation is crucial for founders, especially as they transition into the latter stages of their careers.5. Barriers to Delegation: Addressing common fears and misconceptions founders often have about passing on responsibilities.MENTIONED RESOURCES:  - The Value Builder System by John Warrillow: A recommended read for any founder or entrepreneur wanting to increase the value of their business.CONCEPTS FROM THE EPISODE:- "Delegation isn't about relinquishing power; it's about recognizing where your power is best applied."  - "Your 4th quarter isn't a time to get lost in the minutiae; it's a time to soar, and delegation is the wind beneath your wings."YOUR CHALLENGE:Take a moment to identify one task you've been holding onto, which can be delegated. Pass it on and observe the shift in dynamics and the freedom you experience.CLOSING THOUGHTS:Your 4th quarter is precious. Make the most of it by giving yourself the freedom to focus on what truly matters. Delegation is not a sign of weakness; it's a strategic move for growth and fulfillment.Share your comments with me:coach@servingstrong.comVisit "The Pod" for more info: www.servingstrong.com/podTo learn more, visit:www.servingstrong.comListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:www.missionmatters.com/author/scott-couchenour

For anyone who owns a business, the process of passing down a company from one owner to the next can be quite challenging. Without proper guidance and careful planning, it can be difficult to know where to start when considering how best to transition ownership and ensure profitable continuity for yourself and future owners.  Furthermore, understanding the pitfalls of succession planning and developing clear exit options before any transactions occur is essential in creating positive long-term outcomes for all parties involved.  Join Matt DiFrancesco and Laurie Barkman, The Business Transition Sherpa, Author, and M&A Advisor, as they talk about how entrepreneurs can approach transitioning their businesses from transactional model efforts to more strategic initiatives —and what measures need to be taken to avoid common missteps along the way.   They talk about: (02:46) The story behind the name “Business Transition Sherpa” (03:51) What prompted Laurie to write the Business Transition Handbook (10:31) Why businesses that are very dependent on the owner will not create much value (11:56) What is a strategic readiness plan and why is it important? (15:49) The best time to start planning for business transition (19:58) A good place to start when transitioning your business (22:52) Why is hiring a Transition or Exit Planning Specialist important? Connect with Laurie Barkman Website: https://thebusinesstransitionsherpa.com Book: https://thebusinesstransitionsherpa.com/the-business-transition-handbook/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriebarkman/ Connect With Matt DiFrancesco: matt@highliftfin.com (814)201-5855 LinkedIn: Matt DiFrancesco LinkedIn: High Lift Financial Facebook: High Lift Financial  Instagram: @high_lift_financial Youtube: @highliftfinancial About Our Guest: Laurie Barkman, the business transition sherpa, is the former CEO of a $100 million revenue company that was sold to a Fortune 50. As a mergers and acquisitions expert, Laurie offers business owners a systematic method for organizing smooth transitions inside their organizations. Laurie is the author of The Business Transition Handbook: How to Avoid Succession Pitfalls and Create Valuable Exit Options, guiding business owners on their journey from transition to transaction, from creating value to letting go. She is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University and hosts the award-winning podcast Succession Stories, where she speaks with hundreds of entrepreneurs who have shared their journeys through succession. Laurie earned her MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University. She received certifications from The Alliance of Mergers & Acquisitions Advisors, The Exit Planning Institute, and The Value Builder System. Laurie currently lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two kids.  DISCLAIMER: The content posted here solely represents the opinions and views of the guest and may not be similar to the opinions and views of High Lift Financial. It is not a substitute for tax or legal advice or professional investment.

In 2006, Chad Rubin built Skubana, a tool specifically designed to streamline the operation of his e-commerce store across diverse channels. Sensing the software's potential, Rubin decided to offer Skubana to other online store owners. The platform rapidly resonated with e-commerce entrepreneurs, accumulating $5 million in annual recurring revenue by 2021. The company's success drew the interest of prospective buyers, eventually culminating in an irresistible offer from 3PL Central, a premier provider of warehouse management software. 

In today's episode, we're diving deep into a captivating business tale. The relationship between Alcoa and their vendor, LW Nash (the company my grandfather began), serves as a vivid illustration of the pitfalls a company can face when dependencies are unchecked. This story also showcases the importance and resilience of the Switzerland Structure from John Warrillow's Value Builder System.The inherent risks of over-reliance on any single customer, vendor, or employee and the strategies businesses can employ to protect themselves."When one vendor knows too much, the power dynamics shift, and the risks for your business amplify." "The Switzerland Structure isn't just a concept; it's a protective shield for businesses in an unpredictable marketplace."Dependencies can be silent killers in a business ecosystem. But with awareness and proactive strategies, companies can navigate and mitigate these risks. Alcoa's tale serves as a powerful lesson and reminder of that. Keep serving strong and building a business that stands resilient in the face of challenges.Always remember to safeguard your business against dependencies and ensure it's built for sustainability and strength. Until our next episode, stay strong!To learn more, visit:www.servingstrong.comListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:www.missionmatters.com/author/scott-couchenourSchool of Podcasting -Launch, Grow, Monetize Your PodcastYou're don't know where to learn to podcast. Now You do. Click the link.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Oberle Risk Strategies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the leading insurance brokerage and insurance diligence provider for the search fund community. The company is led by ⁠August Felker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (himself a 2-time successful searcher), and has been trusted by search investors, lenders, searchers and CEOs for over a decade now. Their due diligence offering (which is 100% free of charge) will assess the pros and cons of your target company's insurance program, including any potential coverage gaps, the pro-forma insurance pricing, and the program structure changes needed for closing. At or shortly after closing, they then execute on all of those findings on your behalf. Oberle has serviced over 900 customers across a decade of operation, including countless searchers and CEOs within the ETA community. * This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Symphony⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Symphony not only performs technical due diligence engagements for search funds, Private Equity firms, and strategic acquirers, but they also partner with those buyers on an ongoing basis on all things product (outsourced development, team augmentation, new product prototyping, UI refreshes, QA professionalization, and so on). Symphony is offering a full 15% off of any of their services for listeners of In the Trenches. Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact form on their website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and tell them that you're a listener of the podcast to receive this discount! * My guest today is John Warrillow, author of the bestselling book Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, and Founder & CEO of The Value Builder System, a sales and marketing software tool for business advisors to find, win and keep their best clients. Built to Sell was recognized by both Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best business books of 2011, and has been translated into 12 languages since its initial publication. John is also the author of The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry and The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. John is also the host of Built to Sell Radio, a hugely popular podcast where he has interviewed over 400 SMB founders about their exits. Forbes ranked Built to Sell Radio as one of the ten best podcasts for business owners. Before founding The Value Builder System, John started and successfully exited four companies.

In this Quick Fire Friday episode, Michael interviews John Warrillow, founder of the Value Builder System, a sales and marketing software for business advisors to find, win and keep their best clients. He's based in Toronto, Canada. Asides from being the founder of a successful company, John's also a host of the Built to Sell Radio, he's an esteemed author of cohesive books. All of his works are focused on having a common thought, increasing the value of a business.  Increasing the value of your business is essential, it's a critical piece in entrepreneurship. Value bares financial growth, competitive advantage, and, most importantly, an exit strategy. John's Value Builder System helps small-medium business owners build an asset as opposed to a job at a company, it assesses a business objectively based on the 8 Key Drivers of Company Value. Small-medium business owners should also balance their views on value and profit; to look more at the multiple, grow their profit, and grow the value of their business. The one thing that John Warrillow would recommend a small business owner does based on his knowledge and experience, is that small-medium business owners should think of themselves more as owners, parents, of their businesses rather than CEOs of their companies; to evolve a business into becoming independent as their biggest aspiration.  This Cast Covers:  The process and significance of making a company more valuable. The Value Builder System is software that helps entrepreneurs build their businesses as an asset. John's journey into becoming what he is now, a man focused on creating value. Different components that qualify a business exquisite for acquisition. Small and medium-sized business owners are frequently emotional about their business. The 8 Key Drivers of Company Value. Benefits of making your business differentiated as it increases sellability. Stories John shared to inspire business owners to cultivate the value of their businesses. Small-medium business owners celebrate revenue too much. Encouraging small-medium businesses to look at the multiple, profit, and value. Links:  John's Linkedin John's Company Website John's Twitter Additional Resources: Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry by John Warrillow Built to Sell Podcast    Quotes: “A business is transferable if it can run without the owner.” — John Warrillow. “You teach what you want to learn.” — John Warrillow. “Invest in companies with a deep and wide competitive moat.” — John Warrillow. “Ego is what drives us to want to be the biggest shot in the room.” — John Warrillow. “Evolving the way you think of your role as an owner of the business and thinking less as a CEO of your business and more as the parent of your business.” — John Warrillow.

“Productizing services is about controlling what's in it, what the pricing is, how the money moves - you own that system.” - John Warrillow   In this episode of The Widest Net Meet, Pam's guest is John Warrillow, a celebrated entrepreneur, bestselling author, and podcast host who has dedicated his career to guiding business owners towards building valuable, sellable companies. As the mind behind the Value Builder System, John has created a powerful sales and marketing software for advisors to support their clients in growing and protecting their businesses. His bestselling books, including "Built to Sell" and "The Automatic Customer," have been recognized by Fortune and Inc. Magazines and translated into multiple languages. John's firsthand experience in starting and exiting businesses gives him a unique perspective on the challenges and triumphs faced by entrepreneurs.   Here's what you can expect from this episode:  Identify how productizing services enhances business scalability and sellability Discover the power of hyper-niching to pinpoint a unified customer base. Learn techniques to transform unsellable service businesses into lucrative, attractive ones Discern how to build a service that mirrors a tangible product, elevating its appeal Master standardizing processes and outlining methodologies crucial for successful productized services Remember we all need each other - life and work is better together.   Resources mentioned in this episode:  Built To Sell - Website The Widest Net Podcast The Widest Net Book by Pamela Slim   Connect with The Widest Net Podcast If you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast. Published episodes will come directly to your favorite podcast app.  If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on Apple Podcasts with a short review. Doing so will help me reach more entrepreneurs and small business owners just like you.  Connect with Pam directly on LinkedIn

Learn on your terms. Get the PDF, infographic, full ad-free audiobook and animated version of this summary and a lot more on the top-rated StoryShots app: https://www.getstoryshots.com Help us grow and create more amazing content for you! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review the StoryShots podcast now.  What should our next book be? Suggest and vote it up on the StoryShots app. StoryShots Book Summary and Review of Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow Life gets busy. Has Built to Sell been on your reading list? Learn the key insights now. We're scratching the surface here. If you don't already have John Warrillow's popular book on business and entrepreneurship, order it here or get the audiobook for free on Amazon to learn the juicy details. Introduction Built to Sell is a compelling story of an entrepreneur's journey to create a valuable and sellable business. The story revolves around Alex Stapleton, a business owner who struggles with his advertising agency's dependency on him. With the guidance of his mentor Ted, Alex embarks on a transformational journey that turns his business into a valuable, sellable enterprise. Through Ted's advice, Alex could transform his company from a worthless asset into a successful business worth $5 million. This engaging narrative teaches entrepreneurs the crucial steps to building a business that can thrive without them, making it an attractive acquisition target. Warrillow explores the various factors that can affect a company's success and how to build a successful business without its owner. He also provides a step-by-step guide that will help readers follow their own path. In 2012, both Inc. and Fortune chose Built to Sell as one of their top 10 picks for business owners.  About John Warrillow John Warrillow is a successful entrepreneur, speaker, and bestselling author. He founded four companies, including The Value Builder System, which helps business owners improve the value of their companies. Warrillow's expertise in entrepreneurship and business management has made him a sought-after speaker at various events and conferences.   His other bestselling books include The Automatic Customer and Drilling for Gold. Warrillow's work has been featured in several publications, including The Globe, Mail, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.  StoryShot #1: Turn a Worthless Company Around StoryShot #2: Follow a Five-Step Design Process StoryShot #3: Sell the Process StoryShot #4: Build a Sales Team to Take Your Business to the Next Level StoryShot #5: Overcome the Challenges of Scaling Up StoryShot #6: Create a Business Plan to Achieve Future Growth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you exit your business successfully? How do you build a business that gets you the multiple that you deserve? John Warrilow is a sought-after business expert, known for his proven methodology, “The Value Builder System™,” which he created to help entrepreneurs build businesses worth buying. In this throwback episode of Negotiations Ninja, John shares some strategies to help you build and exit your business the way you want!

In this interview Jake and Gino sit down with John Warrillow. The three talk about how companies are built to sell, why some companies are valued more than others and what you can do as an entrepreneur to maximize the value of your company. John Gives us experienced insights on what types of buyers there are, what criteria they look to in order to assess a business' worth and shed some light on why you always need to look at your business as the asset / insurance policy it is. Check out John's website here: https://builttosell.com “A Sellable Company is the Ultimate Insurance Policy.” - John Warrillow About guest: John Warrillow is the creator of The Value Builder System and author of The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, and The Art of Selling Your Business. We're here to help create multifamily entrepreneurs... Here's how: Brand New? Start Here: https://jakeandgino.mykajabi.com/free-wheelbarrowprofits Want To Get Into Multifamily Real Estate Or Scale Your Current Portfolio Faster? Apply to join our PREMIER MULTIFAMILY INVESTING COMMUNITY & MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. (*Note: Our community is not for beginner investors)

John Warrillow has built, scaled, and exited multiple companies and authored the best selling book "Built To Sell: Creating A Business That Can Thrive Without You"In John's Words:I'm the Founder of The Value Builder System™, a statistically proven methodology for improving the value of your business by up to 71%.I'm also the author of Built To Sell: Creating A Business That Can Thrive Without You, which was recognized by Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best books of 2011. My most recent book, The Automatic Customer, was selected by Fortune Magazine as one of the “5 Best Business Books” of 2015.Prior to starting The Value Builder System, I started and successfully exited four companies. Follow me on Twitter @JohnWarrillow.https://builttosell.com/Listening To A Podcast Won't Help You Hit "Financial Freedom".If you want the community, support, accountability, mentorship, and step by step playbook for your freedom in 12 months or less, apply below!Join Us: Apply For The Action Academy CommunityFor Frameworks, Freedom Tips, and Millionaire Financial Breakdowns:Join Our Weekly NewsletterTo Watch These Interviews In Video Format:Subscribe To Our Youtube Channel Twitter @theactionpodIG @brianluebbenTiktok @brianluebben

As an expert at selling businesses, John Warrillow has had his fair share of ups and downs in making businesses attractive to potential buyers; however, his goal wasn't always to sell businesses. In fact, as a child, he wanted to be a host of 60 Minutes, and even suggests that were he not doing what he does now, he would absolutely seek working for 60 Minutes, finding a great thrill in investigative journalism. Nevertheless, it's undeniable that John has always had a streak for business. He reminisces about his grade-school days as “Johnny the Juice Man,” wherein he sold juice to the Grade 6 cafeteria. Albeit his motives for this childhood business weren't entirely work-motivated; he got to leave class early to set up shop to move his product. He has turned his ability to make businesses attractive in the market into a full business in and of itself, by founding The Value Builder System™, which is a sales and marketing program built with business advisors in mind. John also isn't shy to share his wealth of knowledge, hosting his own podcast Built to Sell Radio, and authoring multiple bestselling books: Built to Sell: Creating a Business that Can Thrive Without You, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, and The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hack for Exiting on Top. “Johnny the Juice Man” to “The Guy That Sells Companies” John recalls back to the first major business he owned, and when he was coming to the point of wanting to sell the business. He was very confident in himself – too confident, he implies – and in the business that he built. His perspective was that it appeared to be a virtual gold mine. He believed there was no way it wouldn't sell for top dollar, but when it came time to sell his business, he was quickly faced with the reality that due the business was too dependent upon him and his various mistakes, it was worthless on the market, and there was no way to market it to potential buyers. This stark reality caused John to reevaluate the company, his standing, and make major changes to his business model, including: Hiring an advisor Adding a subscription model Hiring sales experts and professionals These major adjustments to his business model allowed him to redesign his company's structure to later become more attractive to potential buyers, which ultimately allowed him to sell the company to Gartner Group Inc., a large tech company that advises smaller companies and entrepreneurs on how to strategize, decision make, and create insights for their future. This brazen self-assuredness displayed by John is one of the overarching lessons I teach: Do not let ego control you or lead you. By allowing his ego to run his decision-making, John was met with a blunt admonition, requiring him to take several steps back, and ultimately delay the ability to sell his company. Had John made wiser choices and not let his ego rule him, his business would've been ready for sale much sooner; however, this was a lesson learned, and John heeded the experience of reality, and found his passion in helping other entrepreneurs set up and sell their businesses in a smart, goal-driven way, without ego. (For more on the pitfalls of running with your ego: check out Authentic Negotiating: Winning vs. Success Part 1 & Part 2 on the DealQuest Blog.) “Revenue is Vanity” Your mindset is also a large component to preparing yourself to exit. As I've discussed many times, there's a different mindset for each position you're coming at regarding a business. For example, a seller isn't going to have the same mindset as a buyer. For John, he needed to shift his mindset from allowing hollow numbers to indicate success to him, because after all, his business wasn't marketable. This has caused John to opine that this learned mindset is detrimental to authentic growth. He swiftly learned that he was chasing vanity goals, and not the goal of authentic growth. Herein the adage of “revenue is vanity” reigns true. Some examples of chasing vanity goals: Employee count Only focusing on top-line revenue Striving to reach the Inc. 5000 Only focusing on yourself Obsessing over profitability Some examples of goals to chase for authentic growth, and tracking comprehensive value of your company: Earning and fostering equity Holding onto minority shareholders Not placing all your value onto your growth-rate Taking into consideration others within the company Various qualitative assessments (IE: “Am I happy or stressed about dealing with customer complaints?”) Focusing on recurring revenue, versus one-time profit. These examples are not to say that you can never take into consideration or care about top-line revenue, or set goals to be accepted into the Inc. 5000. Nor is it to say that you must entirely forgo your own interests for the interests of others within your company. It is merely to say: By keeping in check what's important, and focusing on authentic growth versus superficial growth, your business – and by extension you – will open many more fulfilling and genuine opportunities for success. John cites that his shift in mindset also aligned with the timing of him becoming a parent. He likens his need for lack of ego and selflessness in parenthood to what is required of him as a business owner, going so far as to allegorize himself as “the parent of his company.” The goal for him in business is much like his goal as a parent: Prepare the business with all the tools it needs to be successful, without dependence upon him. PROFITABILITY, VALUE, REVENUE Focusing on profitability isn't a negative thing in business, however anchoring your company's successfulness strictly onto profitability is the wisest move. While implementing authentic growth strategies is key to building more stable success, the value of a company in the market can often be oversimplified to just numbers. By understanding this reality -- while also maintaining authentic growth goals – you create a balance for yourself and your business, which increases your chance at lasting success. When taking into consideration the habit of processing the value of a company into numbers, it's important to make sure you're focusing on the right numbers. As previously pointed out: Obsessing over profitability isn't a good move; rather, you should focus on 8 key factors to compiling company value: Financial Performance Growth Potential Switzerland Structure Valuation of Teeter Totter Recurring Revenue Monopoly of Control Customer Satisfaction Hub and Spoke PROFIT MULTIPLIER If you focus solely on the top-line revenue, and not how you generate your company's overall profitability, you can easily get yourself stymied in the unreliable cycle of one-time revenue sources; whereas, if you focus on finding balance with the 8 keys to company value, your worth and market value begins to steadily rise with security. A sizable variable you need to focus on is the multiplier of your profitability; what multiple of your profitability would a buyer be willing to pay for your business. For example: $1m business sells for $1.5m: A 1.5x multiplier. $3m business sells for $15m: A 5x multiplier. Disney purchased Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2009 for $4 billion, Marvel's 2008 revenue report shows $676 million: A ~5.9x profit multiplier. In October 2022, Twitter was purchased by Elon Musk for $44 billion; Twitter's 2021 revenue report shows $1.18 billion: A ~24.44x profit multiplier. You want to build your business's rounded, sustainable profitability to be so attractive to potential buyers, that you can achieve as high of a profitability multiplier as possible. THE NAÏVETÉ OF ENTREPRENEURS Among the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face is their own naïveté and lack of informed knowledge in deal-making. John's proclaimed mission is to better educate entrepreneurs, so they do not fall prey to the first flashy deal that comes in their line of sight. John's goal is undoubtedly a noble one, but it comes from his own learned experiences. Many predatory buyers and VCs will pull out all the stops to woo a business owner, wine and dine, and slap a number with more than a few zeros on the end, enticing the lesser educated entrepreneurs into accepting a deal that may not be the most valuable, or have terms in the contract that traps you in (such as no-shop clauses). Here are some key topics John feels passionate about entrepreneurs knowing: How to value your business How to create competitive tension Why you should never sign a no-shop clause until you've created that competitive tension How to understand your profitability How to vet LOIs Not be lulled into a false sense of security by a predatory deal How to learn the dance that is deal-making Being a highly educated entrepreneur will greatly reduce your chances of being taken advantage of or leaving a significant sum of money on the table by agreeing to a deal that wasn't in your own best interest. John cites a study wherein it claims 74% of business owners have some form of regret a year after they sell their company. The last thing any entrepreneur wants is to wake up one day, second-guessing if they made the right decision, or to come to realize they left money on the table because they were too hasty, or not educated enough to make a beneficial deal. After all, “success” is not just closing a deal or the highest dollar amount- it's also making sure you've made a deal that is the most beneficial for yourself. Never sell yourself, or your business, short or accept any less than what absolutely you deserve. • • • Reach out to John for more:https://valuebuilder.com/http://BuiltToSell.comhttps://builttosell.com/radio/ • • • Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal-Ready Assessment today

Welcome back to “I'm a Millionaire! So, now what?”, where we are wrapping up our 10-episode masterclass on the subject of building value in your business. Over the past 3 months, in this series, we have focussed on the 8 drivers of company value using the Value Builder System as our framework.    Joining me for several episodes in this masterclass has been Louise Motuzas, Co-founder of Thrive Business Consulting, and an accredited exit planner. And between us we have focussed on the drivers; one at a time.   In this short and sweet wrap-up episode, I will refocus on the idea of making an intentional exit from your business. So as we head into another year of planning season, in a bear market, I want to encourage mindfulness and intentionality as it relates to the topic of business exits. And not just any exits but cash rich exits!   I touch on:  

Welcome back to “I'm a Millionaire! So, now what?”, where we continue our journey into building value in your business. Over the past 2 months, we have elevated the conversations around here (pun intended!) to focus on the drivers of company value using the Value Builder System as our framework. And today we're talking about monopoly control.   Joining me for the last time on this masterclass series, is Louise Motuzas, Co-founder of Thrive Business Consulting, and an accredited exit planner.   Louise and I dig into:  

In this Greatest Hits episode we're revisiting a conversation with John Warrillow about harvesting the value of your company and building to sell. John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a Top 10 Forbes Ranked Podcast host, and author of Built to Sell, a best-selling book that's helped over 50,000 businesses build more valuable companies. Throughout his career, he's founded and exited four companies and now dedicates his time to helping entrepreneurs sell their own for higher multiples. Listen now for John's most valuable advice on the secret to a successful exit, key pillars for being built to sell, how to create more value in your business, and the biggest mistakes he sees entrepreneurs make when trying to do this on their own. Episode Highlights: 6:49 The secret to having a successful exit 12:04 How much you should get for your business 19:26 The number one job you have as a business owner 23:58 Why so few entrepreneurs turn pro 28:49 Tactical ways you can increase the long term value of your business 36:20 The power of taking a pause in entrepreneurship 43:54 The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when selling their business 49:49 What to do if you are forced to take an earnout  Links and Resources: John Warrilow's Website (Click “Free Gifts” for bonuses from John) Built to Sell Radio Built to Sell The Automatic Customer The Art of Selling Your Business The Membership Economy Podcast 235: A Behind The Scenes Look At Pura Vida's Multi-Million Dollar Exit Podcast 296: The Keys To A 9-Figure Exit: How Moiz Ali Sold Native For $100MM @a_brawn on Twitter Review or subscribe on iTunes

PODCAST GUESTGordon Van Wechel, CEO of The Alchemy Group joins me to discuss how he works with business owners to enhance the value of their businesses and make them more attractive to purchasers. Gordon believes that even if selling the business isn't the goal now, every entrepreneur should analyze their enterprise as if they were a buyer, and today, this is the area that we delve into.Today we take a dive into some of the 12 modules of the Value Builder System to:1) Make your business more valuable than your competitors 2) Discover the companies hidden assets 3) Spot the companies silent killers)Website: https://www.alchemytransitions.com/Website: https://www.thealchemyconsultinggroup.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gordonvw/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonvanwechel/ABOUT THE HOSTMy name is Dave Barr.I have been working as a Purchasing Manager for well over 20 years and have had the joy of working in various manufacturing industries throughout this time.I have signed contracts for many millions of pounds Sterling over these years across a range of products and services with business from Asia to the USA and Europe.I am passionate about self development, business improvement, saving money, buying quality goods and services, developing positive and effective working relationships with suppliers and colleagues and driving improvement through out the supply chain.Now I wish to share this knowledge and that of highly skilled and competent people with you, the listener, in order that you may hopefully benefit from this information.CONTACT ME, The Real Life Buyer @Email: david@thereallifebuyer.co.ukWebsite: https://www.thereallifebuyer.co.uk/If you are a Purchasing, Supply Chain or Logistics professional why not apply to my private Facebook Group ? Just look for the "Purchasing and Supply Chain Community Hub".Find and Follow me @reallifebuyer on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterI am proud to say this podcast is now rated as in the top 40 in the UK. See position number 25 here  https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_podcasts/  for more.Click here for some Guest Courses - https://www.thereallifebuyer.co.uk/guest-courses/Click here for some Guest Publications - https://www.thereallifebuyer.co.uk/guest-publications/DisclaimerThe views, information, or opinions expressed during this podcast are those solely of the host and guest(s) involved and do not reflect the views of any other individual or company. This podcast does not constitute professional advice or services. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information is strictly at your own risk and we will not be liable for any losses or damages in connection with any information provided.

John Warrillow is a best-selling author and founder of The Value Builder System. His team helps businesses worldwide to build the value of their company using his software system and a team of independent advisory experts. His best-selling books include Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, and his latest is The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. John also hosts Built to Sell Radio, a podcast where he interviews hundreds of founders about their exit and is ranked as one of the ten best podcasts for business owners. Today, John shares the inspiration for his trilogy of books on building, accelerating, and harvesting a business's value. He reveals the one thing that makes a company more valuable and how you can happily exit when selling your business. He highlights what you need to know before starting the process of selling your company and the tricks to watch for from potential buyers. He shares information on the people you will need to help you and the biggest mistakes to avoid when selling your business. He also shares how you can position your company to increase the sales price and the most important thing you can do when selling a business. “The way you position your company and talk about it in the marketplace has a huge impact on its value.”- John Warrillow This week on SmallBizChat Podcast: Resources Mentioned: Connect with John Warrillow: This episode is sponsored by… Plastiq People and businesses everywhere use Plastiq to pay for virtually everything using their credit card, even where cards aren't accepted. From business expenses, suppliers, rent, taxes, raw materials, and more - Plastiq makes it fast and easy to pay for purchases. Plastiq allows you to rack up points from your credit card reward programs and offers global payments, the ability to pay in cash from your bank account, and more! Take two minutes and make a payment with Plastiq today at www.plastiq.com. Plastiq. It's the smarter way to pay. Become Your Own Boss Book GIVEAWAY! The 2020 pandemic has been so hard on America's small businesses - and America in general. If you're ready to start your dream business, then look no further! I'm currently giving away 1,000 free copies of my best-selling book: Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months. This book has helped over 100,000 people like you to start, build, and grow their small businesses… and now it's your time to shine. All you have to do to get your hands on a free copy is head over to www.beginmybiz.com/freeoffer to sign up for your free offer. You only pay shipping. Let's End Small Business Failure - Together! Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of the SmallBizChat Podcast - the show on a mission to improve small business success. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us a rating and review. Help us spread the word and end small business failure by sharing your favorite episodes with your friends and colleagues on social media. Visit our website or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube for more great content, tips, and strategies to improve your small business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Laurie Barkman talks with John Warrillow, best selling author of Built to Sell, Built to Sell Radio, and Founder of The Value Builder System, a company that provides business owners with a proven process for improving value and preparing for an exit. Prior to starting Value Builder, John started and exited four companies. John shares relatable stories - including his own - about personal readiness and having blind spots for the potential value of your business. John shares practical steps business owners should take to maximize the value of their business, and protect their business in both the short and long term. If you think you might sell your company one day, or want to know that you can, this is a great episode to dig into.    Listen in to learn more about: John's entrepreneur's journey and what inspired The Value Builder System Why a company that isn't transferable is worthless.  What drives the value of your business, and what you can do to prepare personally Finding out what your business is worth to see if you have a gap  Common answers to the question, “What's the biggest obstacle you're facing in transitioning  your company in the future?”  Some of the biggest mistakes business owners make when they go to sell.  How to find the right buyer for your business, working with a broker or intermediary versus on your own.     Show Links: The Value Builder System website: www.valuebuildersystem.com Personal Readiness to Exit assessment: getmyprescore.com Value Builder exit value assessment: getmyvbscore.com The Overlooked Owner eBook: https://bit.ly/overlooked_owner       Is this the year to sell your company? Don't leave your exit to chance. Stony Hill Advisors works with owners like you to get ready and maximize value when you're ready to sell. Visit www.stonyhilladvisors.com/podcast for a complimentary business valuation.       About Succession Stories Podcast Succession Stories is hosted by Laurie Barkman, the Business Transition Sherpa-- guiding business owners through the process from "transition to transaction." Learn more at https://smalldotbig.com  Book a 1:1 Advisory call: meetlauriebarkman.com  lbarkman@smalldotbig.com     We appreciate your support...subscribe, share, and post a review to share what you like about the show!

Ep #118 - This week on the podcast, I'm joined by bestselling author, world renowned speaker, and business thought leader John Warrillow. John is the founder of The Value Builder System™ and specializes in helping business owners build up the value of their companies as they prepare to exit. Before founding The Value Builder System™, John built and exited four businesses, of which one was acquired by a public company. He has since published several books and runs the Built to Sell Podcast, which Forbes named one of the "10 best business podcasts run by entrepreneurs." Recently, John published his new book “The Art of Selling Your Business.” To find out more about John Warrillow, go to www.BuiltToSell.com and sign up to receive John's weekly podcast.   Learn More About John Warrillow and Built To Sell: Visit the Built To Sell website at: https://builttosell.com/ Listen to the Built To Sell podcast at: https://builttosell.com/radio/ Follow John Warrillow on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwarrillow/   Also, please remember to subscribe, rate, and leave a written review for the show if you find value in it. Your reviews help this show to reach a wider audience and I appreciate everyone that has been leaving them. FOLLOW CHARLES GAUDET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow Charles Gaudet on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/charlesgaudet Follow Charles Gaudet on Facebook: https://facebook.com/charlesgaudet Follow Charles Gaudet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlesgaudet   VISIT THE PREDICTABLE PROFITS WEBSITE: https://PredictableProfits.com

In today's episode, John Warrillow shares who and what inspired and influenced him to write his bestselling book, Built to Sell! This was a special interview for me because John's book influenced, inspired, and guided me towards selling my company, Yashi, in 2015. ABOUT JOHN WARRILLOW: John Warrillow is the creator of The Value Builder System. He is also the author of The Automatic Customer and Built to Sell. WHERE TO FIND JOHN WARRILLOW:→ Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnwarrillow→ Buy "Built to Sell" book: https://amzn.to/3wVPGyiWHERE TO FIND JAY GOULD:→ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaygould/→ Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3CH2fyU/→ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jasondgould/WHERE TO FIND THE SHOW:→ iTunes: https://apple.co/2XDtFqp→ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3ksPgL2→ YouTube: https://bit.ly/2ZkCWV9→ BuzzSpout: https://bit.ly/3nUnqJV

This episode features John Warrillow, the founder of The Value Builder System™, a simple software designed for building the value of a company. The software is currently used by thousands of businesses worldwide. He is the author of the bestselling book, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, which was recognized by both Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best business books of 2011. John hosts Built to Sell Radio, where he interviews hundreds of founders about their exit. Forbes ranked his podcast as one of the ten best podcasts for business owners.

https://entrearchitect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JohnWarrillowOfficialHeadShot-scaled.jpg ()How To Sell Your Architecture Firm John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System, a simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. Offered by a global network of independent advisors known as Certified Value Builders, The Value Builder System incorporates several diagnostic tools, including the Value Builder Score. Those businesses that achieve a Value Builder Score of 90 or greater are worth double the average-performing business. His best-selling book Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You was recognized by both Fortune and Inc. as one of the best business books of 2011 and has been translated into 12 languages. John is the host of Built to Sell Radio, ranked by Forbes as one of the world's 10 best podcasts for business owners. In 2015, John wrote another best-selling book, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry. John completes the trilogy with his latest book, The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. Prior to founding The Value Builder System, he started and exited four companies, including one acquired by a public company. He lives with his family in Toronto.  This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, How To Sell Your Architecture Firm with John Warrillow. Connect with John online at http://BuiltToSell.com (BuiltToSell.com), or find him on https://www.facebook.com/BuiltToSell (Facebook), https://twitter.com/BuiltToSell (Twitter), and https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwarrillow/ (LinkedIn). Please visit Our Platform Sponsors https://arcat.com (ARCAT) is the online resource delivering quality building material information, CAD details, BIM, Specs, and more… all for free. Visit ARCAT now and subscribe to http://arcat.com (ARCATECT Weekly and ARCATAlert). http://EntreArchitect.com/Freshbooks (Freshbooks) is the all in one bookkeeping software that can save your small architecture firm both time and money by simplifying the hard parts of running your own business. Try Freshbooks for 30 days for FREE at http://EntreArchitect.com/Freshbooks (EntreArchitect.com/Freshbooks). Visit our Platform Sponsors today and thank them for supporting YOU… The EntreArchitect Community of small firm architects.   The post https://entrearchitect.com/podcast/entrearch/how-to-sell-your-architecture-firm/ (EA418: John Warrillow – How To Sell Your Architecture Firm) appeared first on https://entrearchitect.com (EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects).

John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System™, a practice management  software for business advisors. His best-selling book Built to Sell: Creating a Business That  Can Thrive Without You was recognized by both Fortune and Inc. as one of the best  business books of 2011 and has been translated into 12 languages. John is the host of Built  to Sell Radio, ranked by Forbes as one of the world's 10 best podcasts for business owners.  In 2015, John wrote another best-selling book, The Automatic Customer: Creating a  Subscription Business in Any Industry. John completes the trilogy with his latest book, The  Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. Prior to  founding The Value Builder System™, he started and exited four companies, including one  acquired by a public company. He lives with his family in Toronto. You can follow John's  work by signing up at BuiltToSell.com.

John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System™, a simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. John is the author of the bestselling book, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, which was recognized by both Fortune and Inc magazines as one of the best business books of 2011. Before founding The Value Builder System™, John started and exited four companies.

John Warrillow is an entrepreneur, author, podcast host as well as being the CEO and Founder of the Value Builder System. In this super conversation you can learn: Why he coaches entrepreneurs to consider selling from the outset Making yourself dispensable - your ultimate poker hand - so what is that? Why we should focus on value above all else “Parenting” your team and business can deliver great value   Join our Tribe at https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Find out more about John below: John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwarrillow/ Value Builder System Website: https://valuebuilder.com John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnWarrillow Full Transcript Below Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband or friend. Others might call me boss, coach or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker.   Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as the leadership hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you   Our special guest on today's show is John Warrillow. He's the founder of The Value Builder System, a practice management software for business advisors. His best-selling book, Built to Sell has been internationally recognized as one of the best business books. He's also the host of the Built to Sell Radio. But before we get a chance to meet with John, it's The Leadership Hacker News. The Leadership Hacker News So, as we head towards the end of the summer holidays, business leaders and team leaders are going to start thinking about how to get ready for 2022. Although we can't predict a future, we can say that next year will not be returned to business as usual. The pandemic, social unrest, cultural divisions, new remote, or hybrid working, schooling possibilities, all but guarantee that leading teams of businesses in the coming year will be anything but business as usual. The technological trends in which workers will need to learn new skill sets outside of their roles, combined with new ways of working. Remote, in person, or hybrid of the two, would require leaders to be nimble, empathetic, and inclusive as well as strategically focused. So how do we get ready for 2022 and beyond? Use technology in human ways and for human reasons, when it comes to even the near future, the ability to adapt to new technology is always going to be a priority. And the question often in its minds of its workforce, is this tool a force of good or the enemy? Professor Roshni Raveendran research explores the integration of novel technologies into the workplace and where those technologies intersect with the psychology of human behavior. With studies include an examination of monitoring technology and the use of virtual and augmented reality. Raveendran keeps focus on the use of new systems to augment human life and how to use those new technologies responsibly. For example, the use of avatars may relieve a sense of social threat through psychological distance or an organization's behavior tracking application may be used for better. If it's for the information for its employees to self-analyze, rather than making them feel monitored constantly, as companies start thinking about making remote work a long-term reality, one key challenge pertains to the missing social connection, the feeling of being part of the same group, said Raveendran. So, there'll be a lot more demand for immersive technologies like virtual reality. That's why it's important for us to understand the psychology that drives people to adopt some of those technologies. Let's look at maintaining and improving company culture. If a company does maintain remote work as a status quo, how can leaders nurture a sense of teamwork and company culture across a distance and the difference that might exist? Well, Darden Professor Laura Morgan Roberts is an expert in human potential, diversity and leadership development. She knows compassionate, responsive leadership is what every organization needs, whether it's face-to-face or screen to screen, because learning needs to happen so rapidly. The fastest route is often peer to peer through nonlinear ways of thinking. Even after a crisis, there will be a normal, normality and leaders need to map out old values and behaviors and norms, even especially the unspoken ones. And then contrast them with what we now know to be the normal as it is today, or as we'd like it to be. As companies compete and grow, the successful ones will emphasize with a culture of inclusivity, authentic ways of developing and retaining their talent. And the last thing I want to call out for how organizations and teams can get set up for 2022 is advance your diversity efforts and intelligent inclusion as we move forward next year or any year for that matter. Successful leaders will forge beyond diversity efforts and developing minority talent, pushing their organizations to embrace the importance of intelligent inclusion, ultimately the impact of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. However well-meaning will depend on how they're viewed. Professor Martin Davidson, who also serves as Darden's senior associate Dean and global chief diversity officer, said, create an inclusion climate is inherently ambiguous task, how organizations and to take inclusion matters is key. Decades of research in social psychology and organizational behavior show us that when individuals questioned the value of group identity, the social identity threats they register are massively damaging, not just to the individual, but to the individual's relationship with the organization they work in. Davidson and explores how those organizations can design and Institute programs and policies that work to eliminate racial inequality by reducing that psychological reactivity that arises in response to any racial friction. While Davidson's research was focused on racial equality. For me, intelligent inclusion is about any minority. Age, race, religion, sexuality, cultures. The more we can recognize that we're all in the same boat, heading in the same direction, the better we can serve each other. That's been The Leadership Hacker News. If you have any news, insights or any information that you'd like us to showcase on the show? Please get in touch. Start of Podcast Steve Rush: Our special guest on today's show is John Warrillow. He's an entrepreneur, a writer, he's a podcast host, and he's also the founder and CEO of The Value Builder System. John, welcome to The Leadership Hacker Podcast. John Warrillow: Hey, good to be with you Steve. Steve Rush: So, delighted to have a fellow podcaster and an entrepreneur on the show today. But for the folks that listening for the first time that may not have heard a little bit about your backstory, let's just give us a little flavor of how you ended up creating The Value Builder System and doing what you're doing now? John Warrillow: Oh man, it goes back 25 years ago. I had a market research business where we did quantitative market research for big companies. We had a decent sized company. I think we were five or six million in revenue, 20, 30% profit margin. So, it was a good business. I thought I was sitting on a gold mine and I went to see an M&A professional guy named Harry Mielly in Toronto. And I said, you know, what do you think it's worth? And I was kind of rubbing my hands together, waiting for his number. And he said, well, it kind of depends on the answer to a couple of questions and I said, shoot. He said, all right. So, like, you do research? And I'm like yep. He said who does the research. And at the time we worked with these massive companies, Bank of America, Apple and JP Morgan Chase. And so, I was involved. So, I said, well, I'm involved in the research. He said, all right, who does the selling? And I'm like, we're working with these giant companies. Of course, I'm doing some of the selling, right? He says, okay, well John, there is nothing here I could sell, your company is worthless. Steve Rush: Wow. John Warrillow: And man, that was tough to hear for me, especially going into that meeting, thinking, I was sort of sitting on this goldmine, kind of counting my shekels, so to speak. And leaving, realizing that I had built this business that was effectively unsellable. And I spent the better part of, I guess, three years, really trying to listen to what Perry had to say and others frankly, and transform that business, made much change we create. It's a subscription model I got out of doing the selling out doing research. Long story short, it was acquired by a New York stock exchange listed company in 2009. So, it had a happy ending, I think kicked off for me to sort of lifelong journey that I'm on to this day, which is to really discover what drives the value of a business. And hopefully, you know, you talking about purpose-driven leadership, hopefully helping other entrepreneurs you know, not have to experience what I felt and maybe save them some years off their lives by building a business from the start that's valuable. So, I've written a few books on that topic and of course, Value Builder is a software platform that advisors use to help their clients sort of understand some of these principles. So that's me in a kind of nut shell. Steve Rush: Was that kind of an epiphany for you at the time where you had a perception there was valuing the business because of its turnover, yet when it comes down to its underlying asset value, there was a real mismatch. Was that the kind of defining moment to set you on this path I guess? John Warrillow: Yeah, I walked around thinking my business is going to be valuable because it's profitable. And because we have great clients and people would say to me, they would say, wow, you work with Bank of America, you work with IBM, you know, fill in the blank, large enterprise organization. You're going to be, you know, this business is going to be valuable. And, I was under the impression that an acquirer would buy us for our client list. So, my focus for many years was to really win clients that were prestigious clients, right. We worked with British Telecom, biggest Telecom company in Europe at the time. And that was an aspiration for us. Not because they were necessarily great clients or the biggest revenue, but because we could put that logo on our PowerPoint slide deck to say, hey, we worked with British Telecom, and I was chasing the wrong stuff. What I came to learn was that clients are great and having kind of blue-chip clients can help the value of your company, but they're not going to make the value of your company. They're instiller tertiary to the overall value. So, it was a real learning experience for me. Steve Rush: What's your experience then John, in helping other entrepreneurs on this path, when they start to think and realize that value isn't derived from turnover? John Warrillow: Yeah, it can be a bit difficult, right? Because again, we have these yardsticks, I think as entrepreneurs. As a society, we celebrate top-line turnover, right? Like that's all the newspaper articles and the magazine articles are like this company's growing this quickly. And their top line revenue is this amount of money, yet it's generally not necessarily the most important driver for value. You mentioned Built to Sell radio in the intro of podcasts, where I interviewed different entrepreneurs. I did two interviews kind of back-to-back a few months ago. And one guy distributed a product and distribution companies by their nature, terrible businesses to sell, they're really difficult to sell. And he distributed product, built it up to $15 million in revenue turnover, and ultimately sold it for 25% of one year's revenue. Well, literally the next day I did an interview with a guy named Rob Walling who built a company called drip, which was a SAS product software and service product. And he focused exclusively on this one product, focused a hundred percent on recurring revenue and built it to just two million dollars of turnover. So, the day before I'd talked to the guy who had a business with fifteen million turn over, sold for twenty five percent of one year revenue. The next day I learned from Rob Walling that he sold his two-million-dollar turnover business for somewhere between nine- and thirteen-times top line revenue. He didn't show the exact number, it was a multiple of revenue, not a multiple of profits. And it was a large, high multiple of revenue. And it was just such a black and white contrast for me, of here's two companies. One is a fraction of the size of another. Yet the tiny company is trading at a much, much higher value than the large company. And so, I think we boast about and kind put out our chest and say, yeah, we get a million in turnover a week. You know, we got ten employees or we're at five million or whatever the boast is, but oftentimes it's kind of revenue sort of vanity, I think for a lot of entrepreneurs. And yet the real value oftentimes is not in the revenue, in the other elements of your business. Steve Rush: So, what are they John? What are the other elements that you would really drive conversations to focus on value? John Warrillow: Probably the biggest one, I think is finding something, an area where you can absolutely dominate. One feature, one product, one offering where you can be the dominant provider. Because again, when you look at an acquire, if you put your acquire hat on for a second, they've got generally tons of money. They've got tons of resources. If you're just selling a commoditized product, if you are offering something where you're competing on price, you're responding to RFP'S, you're selling by ounce or pound or whatever. That large enterprise organization is just going to basically come to the conclusion that it's a lot cheaper to compete with you than it would be to buy you. So, this is going to lower the price in the market for that service or product. Steve Rush: Right. John Warrillow: Get in a bidding war with you, and basically pick up your business. Whereas if you do something really unique, they're going to draw the conclusion that it would take years to replicate what they have bill. You know, if you go back to Rob Walling and Drip, he had a really beautiful, elegant email marketing software, which lead pages, which was ultimately his acquire didn't have. And he had some features that would have taken years to build out. And he had a two- or three-year head start, could lead pages with enough developers have replicated Drip, of course, but for lead pages where time was money, they thought, you know what, this is too unique. We can just acquire this. And I think, again, going back to distribution companies and why that fifteen-million-dollar distribution company was so difficult to sell and ultimately got such a huge discount is they're not selling anything unique. They're basically taking someone else's product and selling it. And again, if you're a fortune 500 or a large enterprise organization, you can simply do that without buying the company. Steve Rush: Right? Yeah. It's a pretty interesting perspective, isn't it? And also, there's been some recent articles around the human capital element that plays into that value stream. So that's the people on your balance sheet versus the assets on your balance sheet. How do you frame that in? John Warrillow: Yeah, look, the people on your team, again, a lot of acquirers will look at that and say, could we recruit all these people with some unique skillset? Yes, of course is yes. With enough money and time could, in many cases acquire will look at that and say, you know what, it's just going to be a lot cheaper rather than spent two years and many hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds on a recruiter. Why don't I just buy this company? Now, those valuations are referred to as acquihires in the industry, those generally are much lower than you would expect from a acquire who is placing value on other elements of what you do. So, I don't think you're going to get the highest valuation for your business if you're just looking at an acquihires, okay, effectively, you're selling your team. But you will get some value for that in particular, if they have some unique skill set that that is, you know, obviously if you have a bunch of people who are doing AI right now, or even people who have a real skillset in the area of digital marketing, those are very hard to come by. And so, someone might value that team of yours, but generally that's not going to be an astronomical multiple relative to having some sort of unique product that is more valuable. Steve Rush: Sure, is there anything in the value set that you look at that should be avoided by potential entrepreneurs? John Warrillow: Interesting, yeah. I mean, I think cross selling is probably one of the biggest mistake's entrepreneurs make and they come by it, honestly, because if you listen and talk to virtually any sales and marketing guru that gets the stage or writes a book, they'll tell you that cross selling an existing customer is like eight or nine times cheaper than going and winning a new customer. And so most entrepreneurs here that, they're focused on scale and growing and top line revenue and they say great, we've got a few customers, let's cross them. And by doing that, they're ultimately diluting their value proposition and ultimately making the business less sellable, certainly less valuable than it would be if they stuck to their knitting. I'll give you an example. There's a woman I interviewed on Built to Sell Radio named Stephanie Breedlove. She built up a payroll company and they had a special niche where they did payroll for parents who had a nanny, an HomePay to pay. And her niche was very small. And she reached a point at three hundred thousand dollars in revenue where it started to become harder for her to get new parents who had a nanny to pay. She was based in Texas. She was focused mostly locally. She reached three hundred thousand dollars in revenue, so tiny business, was just her and one employee. And she had this kind of fork in the road. She could go, and although it would be hard, find new parents who had a nanny to pay, or she could do what everybody else was telling her to do, which was to cross sell other services to her existing customers, right? So, what else did busy parents have a nanny need? They need, you know, lawn care services and meal deliveries, and you could go on and kind of brainstorm what busy parents need? And Breedlove was being told at the time that that's how you grow your business. Yet to her credit, she did not do that. She instead took the much harder road. She went and said, I'm going to double down and go find more parents who have a nanny to pay. Twenty-five years later, she built her business up to nine million dollars in revenue, ten thousand parents who have nannies to pay. Nine million in revenue over twenty-five years. It's not liked the next Tesla, right? Like it's not a super-fast growth company. It's a kind of twenty-five-year overnight success, it's a slow burn. Steve Rush: Yeah. John Warrillow: And she goes to sell it. She sells it to care.com, care.com, I'm not sure if they have it in the UK, but basically if you plug in your postal code and it will render babysitters and Au Pairs in your local market, that all be five stars rated. Have you seen that, Steve? Steve Rush: Yeah, yeah. Right. John Warrillow: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, she finds care.com and care.com at the time of the acquisition had seven million subscribers. So, she made the case, look, with just one percent of your seven million subscribers by my payroll service. That's seventy thousand customers. We're a nine-million-dollar company on the back of ten thousand customers. Long story short, Stephanie sold her nine million business for fifty-four million dollars. Steve Rush: Wow. John Warrillow: That's like six times revenue. That's like unbelief. It doesn't make any sense on any valuation table you could possibly conceive of. And it would never have happened, had she done what ninety five percent of gurus would have told her to do at a time, which was to go cross sell her existing customers because care.com wanted a very elegant solution to provide payroll to their seven million subscribers. They didn't want meal delivery services or lawn care services, right? Like they had a very specific need. And that's really were understanding what a strategic acquires looking for and sticking to your knitting. Doing one thing is where I think so much value can be added, but also undermined and lost if you sort of follow the mantra of growth is good. Top line revenue is our number one goal. I think you can, many cases hurt you more than it can help you. Steve Rush: That's super fascinating. Almost contradictory to what certainly I've heard. And most people have muted along the way because you build up a client base to cross sell more revenue. So, but I get the whole focus on the whole be great at your niche or your niche. And most importantly, be super, super good at that. And therefore, it just grows and develops and its strength and capability, right? John Warrillow: Yeah, and again, put your acquirer hat on for a second. And when you're looking at company, they closed the boardroom door, you're not invited to the meeting. And the head of corporate development sits down with the CEO and says, why are we buying this company again? And why don't we just compete with them? Are they doing something that unique, that's special that we need to acquire them because it'll be a lot cheaper and a lot less disruptive if we just get in a price war with them and for six months drop our price, ten percent below them, we can sustain that way better than they can? Why don't we just do it and get in a price war? And then the corporate development head as to fight back to the CEO and say, no, but you don't get it. They got something really unique that would take us years to build, you know, many millions of dollars to replicate. And that's the conversation that happens when you're not in the room. Steve Rush: Yeah. John Warrillow: And so, if you're just selling a bunch of, I mean, like, I don't know what it's like in the UK, but in North America, the cable providers had a monopoly and they would package up their television programming so that if you wanted like one or two channels, you couldn't buy the one or two channels, you'd have to buy like two hundred channels. And it was the most frustrating thing on earth, right. Because all you wanted was a couple of channels and you're paying for something you really don't need. Steve Rush: Yeah. John Warrillow: And then along comes Netflix and now Disney and all these discreet channels where you don't need cable anymore. And they're obviously losing customers in droves because people are like, all I want is ESPN, Disney and Netflix, and I'm good. And I don't two hundred channels. Steve Rush: It's exactly the same in Europe. John Warrillow: The Acquiror of a business makes the same. Steve Rush: Exactly the same. You have written the book Built to Sell. And it comes from that mindset of how you encourage entrepreneurs to consider building their business with the intention to sell at some point in the future. Tell us a little bit about what that mindset is and how we might need to reframe some of that thinking along the way. John Warrillow: Yeah, I mean, the essence of building to sell is you're creating a company that can thrive without you, the entrepreneur, founder, doing all the work. And when you've created a business that can succeed without you personally doing the work, you've got all of the options, like think of the poker player who gets like a royal flush. I mean, you can't lose basically. So, you can run your business without having to do the hard lifting, right? The hard yards, as they say. You can just simply be the CEO and letting your teams sort of run the business and take lots of time away from the company. You could bring in a manager and literally leave and have the manager run the business. While you kind of think of it as a passive asset, as it works, you could bring in a private equity group and sell sixty percent of the company, put some cash in your jeans and then continue to run and get a sort of second traunche of equity. When the private equity group sells, you can sell to a strategic. I mean, you've got every option available to you. If it can succeed without you personally doing the work and the inversus is not true. If the business is deeply dependent on you showing up for work, you've got very few options. You've got effectively a job, not to put too fine point on it, where you can't really get out of it. And then you're in this weird position where you got into business for the freedom, right. Freedom to do what you want, when you want, financial freedom, et cetera. Those were all, and for many of the entrepreneurs I speak with the aspirations. And yet, if the business is dependent on you, you actually have less freedom than most employed people. Steve Rush: That's very true. John Warrillow: Like if you go to work for Proctor & Gamble and you put in your fifty hours a week, and you're a good corporate citizen, you can have your weekends, you can have your evenings to do the things that you want to do with your family, et cetera. If you run a company that's dependent on you, your life sucks. You're not only putting in your fifty hours, but you're working all the hours in the evening, the weekends, you're on call for your customers, you're thinking about it constantly in your back of your mind, worried that this is going to happen, that's going to happen. So, you have none of the freedom and none of the benefits. So, for me, I think if you're going to create a business, really the aspiration should be, if freedom is your goal, to get it to survive without you. And that gives you the ultimate program. Steve Rush: Yeah, so you hold all the next play, don't you? And of course, if you are part of the play, so your part of that key human capital, then actually you could be at risk financially and probably the value of the business will be less, I guess. John Warrillow: Absolutely. Steve Rush: Yeah. John Warrillow: The other piece of this is, that you can get out more cleanly if and when you decided, just did an interview with a woman based in the UK, your name's Jodie Cook, she started a social media company and the beginning, it was her. It was actually JC Social Media or something. It was her initials in the name of the company. So, it was totally dependent on her. And over time she realized that really what she wanted to build was something that didn't actually depend on her. And she ultimately came a decision that she wanted to sell the business and what she did not want to do, which is what most, every entrepreneur in the marketing services industry has to do, was to sign up for an earn-out. An earn-out is when you have a portion of the proceeds of the sale of your company at risk in the future. And you've got to reach some certain goals that the acquire puts in place, and Jodie is an independent woman, and she just had no interest in that, right. Of kind of working for a company for three, five years and have some goals out there that she had. So, she said, I'm going to create a business, that's not dependent on me. And she focused on building out her standard operating procedures. These are like the processes that people need to follow to do the work. And she spent months building out these SOPs. I said but Jodie. I mean, for a young entrepreneur, like you, that must have been torture to spend all that time kind of systematizing your business and thinking about all the processes and so forth, Yeah, John think about this way, if you're going to go to jail, would you rather go to jail for four months or four years? Steve Rush: It's an Interesting philosophy, isn't it? John Warrillow: And her point was, I could sell the company, but then I'm going to have to be in a four, five year earn-out, while I'm working for some middle manager who reports to some senior manager, who reports to some division for some giant conglomerate and have no control over my destiny. Whereas if I do this work in creating standard operating procedures now, yeah It sucks for a few months, but man I'm much better off. And so, she sold her company,  She left two weeks later and that's almost unheard of in marketing services, almost all marketing services deals have some sort of burnout, but good for her for doing the work. Steve Rush: Totally, right. Yeah. So, what's the reason you think then John, that entrepreneurs fall into this trap? John Warrillow: You know, I think there's an element of ego to it, if I'm honest, I was just, you know, the same as I think many entrepreneurs. It feels good to be wanted, right? It feels good to be the Knight in shining armor, you know, that swoops in and saves the day and fixes the customer problem. And this, you know, this happens in virtually every industry where you, as the owner gets brought in to some really technical challenge or some difficult customer relationship, and you solve the issue. And for a few months or years, or a few weeks, probably. It feels good to be there and be the Rainmaker for your company. I got a chance; this goes back twenty years. So, bear with me, Steven. It was a while ago, but I got a chance to go to something called the birthing of giants. It's simply, it's been renamed, something different these days, but it was a group of sixty entrepreneurs who were invited to MIT's executive education center for a three-year program of entrepreneurship, it's called the birthing of giants. And we got to hear from these amazing speakers, like Patrick Lencioni who wrote The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and lots of other books in the area of leadership. He came in and spoke, and there's lots of speakers that came in. One day, this guy came in towards the end who just sold his company. And he started off the conversation with a ploy. Okay, raise your hand if you're involved in selling your product or service. And like every one of our hands went up. This is like sixty eager young entrepreneurs, we were all kind of, you know, the fourth grader got with the answer to the question when the teacher asks, like, we were all sort of like proud of that. And he said, all right, put your hands down. He says, here's the deal. You've all got the right skills. You're selling the wrong product, hire salespeople to sell your product. Your job is to use those same skills to sell your company. And it was like, for me, it was an epiphany. Like I felt like an amateur who had just seen a professional game for the first time. Like I actually saw that my job was not to do the work. It was actually to sell the company and I don't mean sell it transactionally. I mean, to promote it, to be having conversations with strategic investors, people who might one day want to buy the company, that's the job of the CEO. I'll never forget that meeting again. It goes back twenty or so years now, but it was a real light bulb for me. Steve Rush: Yeah, it's interesting that a lot of the principles that you've created within your writing and your books are all around that kind of take stock and be thoughtful about your role as the business owner, the CEO, rather than being the practitioner inside the business, right? John Warrillow: Absolutely. I think one of the things that helps people get their head around that, or start the journey down the road of getting it to not be so dependent on them is this concept of recurring revenue, because for a lot of businesses, there are some transactional business models, right? So, you kind of run around bidding on jobs, finding clients, responding to RFP's to win the project, and then it takes it two or three months to delivery. And then you kind of wake up, you delivery the project and then you've got nothing on top to follow and you're on this kind of hamster wheel that gets really frustrating over time. Because you kind of have the sense, I think, at least I did at the time when I was in a kind of a business transaction model where you just not making any progress. Every month, you kind of dread the beginning of the month. Because you know, you have to go create the magic again next month, right. And, you know, sell everybody. And so, I think one of the things in addition to finding one thing that you're really good at, Stephanie Breedlove did, I think the other thing is, is to create some recurrent revenue, put your company as much as possible on an annuity stream where customers have to opt out versus opting in. Steve Rush: Yeah. John Warrillow: And I don't mean that in a nefarious way, but I do mean, like if you're a carpet cleaning company, you know, don't wait for your customer to call you to come in and clean their carpets. Most customers frankly have better things to do, then think about how clean their carpets are. And most people only remember to clean their carpets well past the date where they should've had them cleaned, right. Whereas if you say, look, once a month, we'll come in on the third Tuesday of every month and clean your carpet, let us know, if you ever don't want us to, but we'll be here on the third Tuesday of every month. And all of a sudden, first of all, taken something off your clients or customers to-do list to remember, to have the carpet clean and come in every period of time. And number two, you've got recurring revenue. Now you can decide how many people you need? How many trucks you need on the road? et cetera. It creates this sort of domino effect where it makes a much more predictable business and ultimately a whole lot more valuable. So, I'm a big believer in this notion of recurring revenue as an important element to building a valuable company. Steve Rush: Of course, if it's recurring revenue, it's also bottom-line value on the balance sheets as well. John Warrillow: Absolutely. I mean, I just looked at this recently, the security companies, you know, the folks we use to secure our homes and offices, you come in and they put together the sensors on the windows and they call the fire brigade if there's a fire. Those companies have two forms of revenue. They've got their installation revenue where they come in and do the initial setup for the system. And then they had their monitoring revenue. And you have the kind of thirty, forty, fifty-dollar revenue a month, they charge us to come on the system. Those companies, when they go to sell a typical acquire will pay about 75 cents for every dollar of installation revenue, because it's kind of one and done transactional, not very valuable. They'll pay between two and three dollars for every single dollar of monitoring revenue. Another way your recurring revenue is worth like kind of three, four dollars for every dollar of installation revenue you have. Steve Rush: That's really fascinating, yeah. John Warrillow: We see it in virtually every industry. Carpet cleaning, you can look at HVAC, you know, heating and air condition, any industry. Your recurring revenue is going to be what acquirers place the highest value on. Steve Rush: You know, it's just struck me actually, there are a number of different businesses taking the same approach. I have the same now with coffee beans. So, I have a coffee machine. It knows broadly that every two months, I need another three kilograms of coffee beans. And every three months I get a box of coffee beans. So same principle, right? John Warrillow: Absolutely. Think about? For that coffee company, how much more valuable you are then sitting around, waiting for the phone to ring or buying Google ad words, trying to get you to stimulate your purchase because that's what most people do. They effectively manufactured demand through advertising. Whereas you're locking in, actively demand by subscribing. It makes it easy for you. You don't have to worry about that, you know, the morning you wake up and there's no coffee beans, it's like the dreaded morning of my life. Steve Rush: Absolutely right. John Warrillow: And so, knowing that you're going to get that order every two months or whatever preemptively allows you to just kind of sit back and relax and know what's coming. So, it's good for the customer. It's not something nefarious thing. It's good for the customer. Not only that, it makes it way, way easier for the coffee company, because they're probably not, you know, they're probably not growing their own coffee beans. They're probably buying them from a supplier. And when you're at the mercy of a transaction business module, you never know how many coffee beans to buy. I reminded of a company I wrote about in the automatic customer called H. Bloom, and they do flowers on subscription. They focus on hotels that want to have like a fresh cut bouquet of flowers on their reception table. Typical flower store, at least in North America. I'm sure it's the same in the UK or similar. Typical flower store in north America, will throw out sixty percent of its inventory every single month. Why? Because it's dead, rotting in your refrigerator, right? Like you guess wrong, you guess how many people are going to come in and want gerbera daisies, verses roses, verses daisies or whatever. And so, you've got a bunch of inventories you can't sell and you throw it out. 60% of the inventory, a typical flower store is thrown out. H. Bloom comes along and says, we're not going to sell flowers in some retail shop. We're going to sell flowers on subscription, were going to focus on hotels, four- or five-star hotels that just want that bouquet of flowers fresh cut every two weeks on the reception table. There spoilage rate, in other words, the percentage of their flowers they throw out every month is less than 2%. Steve Rush: Wow, that's amazing. John Warrillow: I mean, if you think about, which company would you rather own? Which company would you rather invest in? I mean, it's not even an argument. A company have a predictable revenue where you only buy the number of flowers you need to fulfill the subscribers you have is a much different model than worrying about guessing how much you need every month. And again, for your example, same thing. They're probably buying their beans from a third-party provider and beans have a shelf life. And if they guess wrong, they've got a bunch of beans that can't sell. Whereas if they get guys like Steve to subscribe, they only buy the coffee beans they have for subscribers, they need to fulfill. And it just changes the business entire. Steve Rush: Yeah, it really does, yeah. So, when it comes to that moment where I'm now going to sell my business, walk away and leave it, is there ever a perfect time to sell it out? John Warrillow: Well, you might make the case that right now is pretty good. I mean, I think, you know, interest rates are very low and of course, acquirers, in many cases in particular, private equity groups are one of those common acquires for SMEs right now. They make their business model work on debt. Like it doesn't work without debt. So, they take on a bunch of debt to buy a business and they try to sell it later on for higher multiple. And they put a little bit of equity in, but they give a lot of debt and that allows them to choose their return on investment for their investors. Private equity is fuel on interest rates. And right now, we're at a point in the history of our world where interest rates are still very, very low. And so that's creating an enormous sort of volume of sort of acquisitions. I think on the flip side of that. I think we're also in a point where a lot of SME owners have come through the worst of the pandemic, I realized as we record this, the pandemic is not over, but there is a lot of entrepreneurs that have kind of come through the worst of it and said, enough is enough. I can't do this anymore. And they're willing to leave their company for less than they might have prior to the pandemic. And, I see that again, I do this Built to Sell Radio episode or Podcast. And in the last few weeks I've had that sediment two or three times where people said, yeah, you know, I was just at my wit's end. I wanted out and, you know, almost at any price. And so, I think those two things are off setting one on the right now. On one hand, you've got a lot of demands. On the other hand, you've got a lot of really burnt-out owners who are effectively willing to sell for lower prices. So, I think they're balancing right now, but you might make the case, at least economically that right now is a pretty good time. Steve Rush: So, as we start to transition into me hacking into your leadership brain, the last time you and I met, we had a really fascinating conversation around Fortnite and how kids were getting dragged into Fortnite and consumed by video games. And that you had a great parallel to this, which is this whole concept of leadership being a bit like a parent. There's tell our listeners a little bit about that. John Warrillow: Well, I think a lot of SME owners, small business owners, think of their role as being the leader of their company, the CEO, oftentimes they're involved in doing some of the selling, the rainmaker, the driver of their company, right. And that's all fine. I think a lot of us would be better served thinking of ourselves, not as the CEO of our company, but as the parent of our company. And again, I'm sure a lot of your listeners are parents. And if you think about your job as a parent, it's, you know, some people want their kids to go to Oxford or Harvard or some fancy school, but for most of us, we would be happy if our kids got out of the basement. They went into the world as adults and they were happy functioning, independent adults and like box check that as a parent, if you're able to succeed and do that. And so, you know, despite the fact that many parents are sitting there with their, you know, kids play a lot of Fortnite and wondering, will they ever sort of get out of the house? I think that's the job as a parent is to kind of nudge them and cajole them and teach them to be independent functioning adults. And if we're successful in that, then we've done our job. And again, I think if we go back to our job as the owner of a company, I think if you can get your business to thrive without you, to be independent of you, it is the most rewarding thing in the world psychologically, but it also gives you all the cards when it comes to the value of your company. So, I think we'd be better served in a lot of ways, not thinking of ourselves as a rainmaker, as the CEO, but more as the parent of our business. And our main goal is to get it to become an independent thriving adult. Steve Rush: Yeah, it's a really great reframe. I love it. So, we're going to now start to tap into your leadership brain, having led and run businesses and coached other businesses for over twenty years, I want to hack into that leadership brain of yours. So, if you had to distill your top three leadership hacks or tips, what would they be John? John Warrillow: I'm a big believer in journaling and really reflecting on what's working and what's not. And whether you do that in a sort of formalized program or just a white paper or white board every week or so. So, I'm a big believer in journaling and having the people you're leading also journal, I think is big win. So, I think it helps you, one for yourself personally. And two, for the people you're leading. I guess, you know, to take that hack to another level. I think there are some really good journaling tools out there. I know I'm a user of the high-performance planner, I this its Brendon Burchard product. I mean, there's nothing magical about it per se, but it's a good journal. And I think having some sort of system around that can be super helpful. So, I'm a big journaling guy. Steve Rush: Me too. So, the next part of the show we call it Hack to Attack. So, this is typically where something has gone wrong and as a result of it going wrong or not working out well, you've now used the experience as a driver and a positive force in your life and work. What would be your Hack to Attack? John Warrillow: You know, I would actually go back to the very beginning of our conversation. And I think my hack was when I really got punched in the nose by a Perry figuratively. And he told me in no uncertain terms, that what I built was not a successful, not a valuable company. And so, I take that, although it was really strong cheese for me to hear at the time and very, you know, difficult, frankly for me to hear, I have now taken that. And also, you know, it's really informed everything that we do professionally, out the books and so forth. So, I think that's been super helpful and I'm also maybe inspired a little bit by that fairly straightforward with business owners, probably it's sometimes offensive at times where, you know, I make the case hopefully gently that a business isn't as valuable as they perceive it to be because it's too dependent on them personally. So, I think I've tried to sort of to honor that as time has gone on. Steve Rush: Awesome. Last thing we want to do, give you some time travel. So, if you could go and meet John at twenty-one and give them some words of wisdom, what would your advice to him at twenty be? John Warrillow: Stop chasing other people's approval. At twenty-one, I had graduated, I'd left university early because I hated university and I was trying to get a job. And I was in this funny zone where, you know, my father had worked for company all his life and I thought, okay, that's what I should do. I should go get a job and climb the corporate ladder. And so, I also knew at the time that I wanted to do my own thing, be an entrepreneur. And I was in this kind of really conflicted zone where I wasn't sure which path to take. And I spent a couple of years working for a company and probably three years actually. And I wish I had, if I can rewind the tape basically just started as an entrepreneur at twenty-one. I think I would have learned more. And I think I would have, you know, in retrospect gotten as much, if not more experience just doing it. So, if I was twenty-one again, I would say, look, this one time in your life where you don't have dependents. You don't have stresses; you can live on a couch. That's the time to start something and really go all in. Steve Rush: Yeah, isn't it? John Warrillow: Some people have the opinion, oh, you should work for a company for 10 years, get experience, understand the corporate world and then start a business. Well, good luck doing that when you've got, you know, a spouse, a mortgage, kids on the way, the whole idea just seems so much less attractive. But at twenty-one, I think that's a great time to start something. Steve Rush: That's great words of wisdom. Thank you for sharing that, John. So, we're very fortunate, in the fact that in order to keep our conversation going and keep our listeners connected with your work, you're going to create a URL for us. So, we can get some free resources to share with us a little bit about how our listeners can get hold of some of that stuff. John Warrillow: Yeah, just builttosell.com/hacker. We put together a landing page where you can get free video series on the eight key drivers of value in a company. We've also put the nine Subscription Models at the whole recurring revenue theme was sort of resonated with you. We've got a checklist that you could identify, which of the nine models might work for you. And then the art of selling your business workbook, which again is a digital workbook. You can work through to help you think about what you need to do to get prepared to sell your company. So, it's all free and it's builttosell.com/hacker. Steve Rush: Thank you for doing that, John. And that's some great resources and we'll make sure that, they in our show next too, and of course, outside of the corporate arena, you blog, you're regularly quoted in lots of different articles. So, we'll make sure that your social media links are in our show notes as well. John Warrillow: Thanks Steve. It was fun being with you. Steve Rush: Love chatting, John. Good luck with the new book. Good luck with The Valuable Builder System continuous growth and thanks for being on the community. John Warrillow: It's my pleasure. Steve Rush: Thanks John.   Closing   Steve Rush: I genuinely want to say heartfelt thanks for taking time out of your day to listen in too. We do this in the service of helping others, and spreading the word of leadership. Without you listening in, there would be no show. So please subscribe now if you have not done so already. Share this podcast with your communities, network, and help us develop a community and a tribe of leadership hackers.   Finally, if you would like me to work with your senior team, your leadership community, keynote an event, or you would like to sponsor an episode. Please connect with us, by our social media. And you can do that by following and liking our pages on Twitter and Facebook our handler there @leadershiphacker. Instagram you can find us there @the_leadership_hacker and at YouTube, we are just Leadership Hacker, so that is me signing off. I am Steve Rush and I have been the leadership hacker.  

 When most people start a business their core focus is on product development, driving sales and creating customer loyalty.Few think about selling the business.  Or more importantly, “if some day I wanted to sell this business what would make it attractive to investors?”By the time they start to think about this, it's often too late.  Turns out, that what's a great business for the owner, is not necessarily that appealing from an investor's point of view.If you're looking to ensure that your business is saleable - if or when you want to sell it - then John Warrillow is your man.John started and exited four companies, and is the author of bestseller, “Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive without You” and host of Built to Sell Radio.He is also Founder and CEO of The Value Builder System, a blue print for companies that shows you exactly what you need to do to build a business that some else would want to buy.John has helped countless business owners build more valuable companies.  In this podcast he shares critical insights that point out what to start doing now to build a company that's Built to Sell.Before we get started, if you're looking to develop knitwear collections that will standout in the market, then SPINEXPO is the place to go.  It's the primary exhibition for yarns and knitwear.The fair is a rich resource featuring well-edited, high quality collections, as well as cutting edge technical innovation.  Not to mention outstanding  trend information that can not be found anywhere else.  You can learn more at www.spinexpo.com. Also checkout our website.  You can find all of the previous episodes of a Seat at The Table, the show notes, news about our upcoming workshops and lots of other useful information.  You can find it at www.seat.fm.USEFUL LINKSLearn more about SPINEXPO:  www.spinexpo.comGet the Value Builder “Cheatsheet” and workbook that John mentioned in the podcast:  www.builtToSell.com/seatRead John Warrillow's book “Built to Sell”:  https://bit.ly/builtToSellList's to the Built To Sell podcast:  https://builttosell.com/radio/Connect with John Warrillow:  - Built To Sell website:  www.BuiltToSell.com-  LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwarrillow/Our A Seat at The Table podcast website:   seat.fmLearn more about the Current Situation in Sourcing reports:  bit.ly/current_situtation

How should you go about selling the business that you worked so hard to build? What are the steps you must take to ensure that you are able to capture maximum value while exiting your business? We have John Warrillow for you today. John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System™, and author of the bestselling books: Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. Warrillow is also the host of Built to Sell Radio, ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the world's 10 best podcasts for business owners. Before founding The Value Builder System, John started and exited four companies, including one acquired by a public company. He lives with his family in Toronto. Get Warrillow’s latest book, The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top: https://wealthwithoutbaystreet.com/theartofsellingyourbusiness    IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:  0:00 Introduction  1:20 The idea behind John's new book  6:43 The freedom entrepreneurs experience when selling their companies 14:18 The message behind “Built To Sell”  27:39 The Value Builder software to valuate your company 37:00 Who John wants to be a hero to  

Today we're talking to John Warrilow, founder of Value Builder and author of The Art of Selling Your Business. John's newest book teaches entrepreneurs tactics to make the most of their business sales and how to avoid predatory offers. He also wrote Built to Sell about ten years ago and had such interest in the principles described within that he started the Value Builder System to help entrepreneurs reach their desired results when it came to an exit strategy. Today he shares many examples of some great exits and some not so great. -- The Exit - Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

John Warrillow is a best-selling author and founder of The Value Builder System. His team helps businesses worldwide to build the value of their company using his software system and a team of independent advisory experts. His best-selling books include Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, and his latest is The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. John also hosts Built to Sell Radio, a podcast where he interviews hundreds of founders about their exit and is ranked as one of the ten best podcasts for business owners. Today, John shares the inspiration for his trilogy of books on building, accelerating, and harvesting a business's value. He reveals the one thing that makes a company more valuable and how you can happily exit when selling your business. He highlights what you need to know before starting the process of selling your company and the tricks to watch for from potential buyers. He shares information on the people you will need to help you and the biggest mistakes to avoid when selling your business. He also shares how you can position your company to increase the sales price and the most important thing you can do when selling a business. “The way you position your company and talk about it in the marketplace has a huge impact on its value.”- John Warrillow This week on SmallBizChat Podcast: Resources Mentioned: Connect with John Warrillow: This episode is sponsored by… Plastiq People and businesses everywhere use Plastiq to pay for virtually everything using their credit card, even where cards aren't accepted. From business expenses, suppliers, rent, taxes, raw materials, and more - Plastiq makes it fast and easy to pay for purchases. Plastiq allows you to rack up points from your credit card reward programs and offers global payments, the ability to pay in cash from your bank account, and more! Take two minutes and make a payment with Plastiq today at www.plastiq.com. Plastiq. It's the smarter way to pay. Become Your Own Boss Book GIVEAWAY! The 2020 pandemic has been so hard on America's small businesses - and America in general. If you're ready to start your dream business, then look no further! I'm currently giving away 1,000 free copies of my best-selling book: Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months. This book has helped over 100,000 people like you to start, build, and grow their small businesses… and now it's your time to shine. All you have to do to get your hands on a free copy is head over to www.beginmybiz.com/freeoffer to sign up for your free offer. You only pay shipping. Let's End Small Business Failure - Together! Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of the SmallBizChat Podcast - the show on a mission to improve small business success. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us a rating and review. Help us spread the word and end small business failure by sharing your favorite episodes with your friends and colleagues on social media. Visit our website or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube for more great content, tips, and strategies to improve your small business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Warrillow is the Founder and President of The Value Builder System, a cloud-based assessment tool that business owners use to assess their company's scalability. He has helped more than 55,000 business owners improve their company's value by up to 71%.  John is also the author of Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, which has been recognized as one of the best business books by both Fortune and Inc. Magazines. He also wrote The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business In Any Industry and is the host of the Built to Sell Radio where he interviews founders about their exit journeys. He just released his latest book, The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top, this 2021. John Warrillow, Founder and President of The Value Builder System, is John Corcoran's guest in this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast where they talk about the art of selling businesses. Warrillow explains the difference between strategic and financial buyers, the concept of business owners pushing versus pulling when selling their businesses, and the difference between valuing a business based on revenue and on EBITDA multiples.

John Warrillow is the President of the Value Builder System and the host of Built To Sell radio. He's also the author of numerous best-selling books.  In this episode of Specified Growth Podcast, John discusses the inspiration behind his latest book, The Art of Selling Your Business. He also discusses how you can improve the value of your company as you're going to market, and much more. Don't miss this episode of Specified! Please reach out if you have any feedback or questions. Enjoy!    Twitter: @TatsuyaNakagawa Instagram: @tats_talks LinkedIn: Tatsuya Nakagawa  YouTube: Tats Talks www.tatstalk.com www.castagra.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About This Episode: John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System™, a simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. Offered by a global network of independent advisors known as Certified Value Builders, The Value Builder System™ incorporates several diagnostic tools, including the Value Builder Score. Those businesses that achieve a Value Builder Score of 90 or greater are worth double the average-performing business. His best-selling book Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You was recognized by both Fortune and Inc. as one of the best business books of 2011 and has been translated into 12 languages. John is the host of Built to Sell Radio, ranked by Forbes as one of the world's 10 best podcasts for business owners. In 2015, John wrote another best-selling book, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry. John completes the trilogy with his latest book, The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. Prior to founding The Value Builder System, he started and exited four companies, including one acquired by a public company. He lives with his family in Toronto. Find out more about John at: The Art of Selling Your Business - https://builttosell.com/selling/ Check out our YouTube Channel: Jeremyryanslatebiz Make Extraordinary a reality: jeremyryanslate.com/extraordinary See the Show Notes: jeremyryanslate.com/836 Sponsors:Gusto: This episode is sponsored by Gusto. Run your payroll the easy way, the same way we do at Command Your Brand. You'll get a. $100 Amazon Gift Card just for running your first payroll! http://www.jeremyryanslate.com/gusto Audible: Get a free 30 day free trial and 1 free audiobook from thousands of available books.  http://www.jeremyryanslate.com/book  

John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System™, simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. His best-selling book Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You was recognized by both Fortune and Inc. as one of the best business books of 2011 and has been translated into 12 languages.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest on this week's Over 50 Entrepreneur Podcast is CEO of the Value Builder System, John Warrillow. John is also the host of the Built to Sell Radio podcast as well as the author of Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, The Automatic Customer, and The Art of Selling Your Business. John says, “Society places a tremendous premium on business ownership, so I think in many cases, we get a bit addicted to that sense of fulfillment that comes with running a company, even though in many cases we've stopped feeling the freedom.”We chat about Built to Sell, as well as: The importance of taking risks in business Becoming risk-averse when you are spearheading your business Always considering the next chapter Buying and selling with private equity groups  And more