Seek, and you shall find.

Seek, and you shall find – it’s an age-old adage for a reason. There is nothing you can’t find if you truly put effort into looking for it, and this is true for businesses as well.

If you’re looking for a solution or an exit strategy, it is more than likely that you won’t have the (complete) answer to it.

One of my first suggestions to business owners is to talk to as many people as possible who have experience and expertise on this topic. This is going to include a business broker, your advisor, your lawyer, and other trusted advisors. It doesn’t mean you have to do what they say, but their perspective helps to enrich the owner’s view of the world and make their own decisions.

Even when you are convinced that your preferred course of action is the way to go, test that conviction by talking to the right people. If you start to run a process and it ultimately fails, for whatever reason, it may be too late to get an expert’s help to recover a position. The damage might already be done. Getting the right input from the right advisor right at the start of a process is a no-brainer. And sometimes, it is a very brief conversation, but at least this provides a chance for a quick course correction if needed.

So one of the very first steps you need to take is to find yourself a business broker and then consider yourself well on the path to getting the outcome you want.

For some, this approach might be a bit confronting as it is a step away from the safety net of their own personal, and at times very private, advisors.

And it pays to look past the stereotypes and any pre-conceived ideas that you may have. Business brokers have experience, contacts, and independence, so having an outside third party like them on your side can help you see things a lot more clearly. They help business owners develop a more objective outlook on their situation and problems.

Business brokers also have the right kind of experience in transactions that most business owners don’t. This is simply because business owners often don’t start their businesses with the intention of selling them or they might be second or third-generation owners. They’re focussed on growing their business and how make operational and profit improvements. And most business owners will probably transact only once or twice (or maybe never!) in their lifetime. Business brokers on the other hand, well, transactions are all they deal in. They’ve seen and experienced what has worked and what hasn’t.

Of course, you will need to find the right business broker with a professional approach you are comfortable and compatible with.

This may sound far simpler than it is, but business brokers play an extremely important role in helping business owners come to decisions they themselves can’t.

So, owners who are in a position where they want to sell or they’re struggling should immediately seek a business broker.

Your advisors are there to help you. Make use of them.

They are experts in their field of work because that’s all they do, day in and day out.

Oh, and they’re far easier to find than a four-leaf clover!

Visit www.carwardin.co.nz for more info.