Most business owners run their businesses without giving business valuation and exit planning much thought. Building business value and ultimately transitioning that business is a process that is very different from running a business. Roughly 83 percent of businesses that attempt a transition never complete a transaction. That means that only 17 percent of business owners exit successfully - and most of those have one thing in common. They are prepared. This book provides the road map business owners need to build massive value and start moving toward a successful transition.
Whether to continue using traditional cost and benefit analysis methods such as systems and software engineering standards or to use a relatively new family of software development processes known as Agile methods is one of most prevalent questions within the information technology field today. Since each family of methods has its strengths and weaknesses, the question being raised by a growing number of executives and practitioners is: Which family of methods provides the greater business value and return on investment (ROI)? Whereas traditional methods have been in use for many decades, Agile methods are still a new phenomenon and, until now, very little literature has existed on how to quantify the business value of Agile methods in economic terms, such as ROI and net present value (NPV). Using cost of quality, total cost of ownership, and total life cycle cost parameters, The Business Value of Agile Software Methods offers a comprehensive methodology and introduces the industry's initial top-down parametric models for quantifying the costs and benefits of using Agile methods to create innovative software products. Based on real-world data, it illustrates the first simple-to-use parametric models of Real Options for estimating the business value of Agile methods since the inception of the Nobel prize winning Black-Scholes formulas. Numerous examples on how to estimate the costs, benefits, ROI, NPV, and real options of the major types of Agile methods such as Scrum, Extreme Programming and Crystal Methods are also included. In addition, this reference provides the first comprehensive compilation of cost and benefit data on Agile methods from an analysis of hundreds of research studies.The Business Value of Agile Software Methods shatters key myths and misconceptions surrounding the modern-day phenomenon of Agile methods for creating innovative software products. It provides a complete business value comparison between traditional and Agile methods. The keys to maximizing the business value of any method are low costs and high benefits and the business value of Agile methods, when compared to traditional methods, proves to be very impressive. Agile methods are a new model of project management that can be used to improve the success, business value, and ROI of high-risk and highly complex IT projects in today's dynamic, turbulent, and highly uncertain marketplace. If you are an executive, manager, scholar, student, consultant or practitioner currently on the fence, you need to read this book!
"The EXITpreneur's Playbook is the ultimate guide to selling an online business. We all need to transition our businesses someday, and those that learn from this book will have a smoother experience, an improved deal structure, and a stronger bank account." -Walker Deibel, bestselling author of Buy Then Build Most people start an online business for the freedom, autonomy, and money that come with entrepreneurship-but what they often find instead is the feeling that they're running on a hamster wheel and can't jump off. If you were looking to exit your business, would you know how? Do you know what your business is truly worth? This book will shift your mindset from entrepreneur to EXITpreneur. After all, the majority of all the money you'll ever make from your business comes on the day you sell-so it's important to get the exit right. In The EXITpreneur's Playbook, Joe Valley shares his experience in all facets of exiting an online business through direct experiences and real-life examples, with clear math and logic. You'll learn to: ● Assess the value of your business and reverse engineer a path to an incredible exit ● Avoid the "ignorance discount" when selling a business on your own ● Negotiate favorable deal terms and conditions ● Calculate the all-important seller's discretionary earnings ● Create rock-solid pillars every buyer wants The EXITpreneur's Playbook is the definitive guide to achieving your own incredible exit, at the right time and value, and with the best deal structure that allows you to move on to your next adventure-with not just money in the bank, but satisfaction and peace of mind.
Run your company. Don’t let it run you. Most business owners started their company because they wanted more freedom—to work on their own schedules, make the kind of money they deserve, and eventually retire on the fruits of their labor. Unfortunately, according to John Warrillow, most owners find that stepping out of the picture is extremely difficult because their business relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Without them, their company—no matter how big or profitable—is essentially worthless. But the good news is that entrepreneurs can take specific steps—no matter what stage a business is in—to create a valuable, sellable company. Warrillow shows exactly what it takes to create a solid business that can thrive long into the future.
In business, driving value is a key strategy and typically starts at the top of an organization. In today’s digital age, driving software value is also an important, and often overlooked, key strategy. Executives, and the corporate board, need to expect the highest level of business value from the software the organization is developing, buying, and selling. In today’s digital transformation marketplace, it is imperative that organizations start driving business value from software development initiatives. For many years, the cost of software development challenged organizations with questions such as: How do we allocate software development costs? Should these costs be considered an overhead expense? Are we getting the most value possible for our investment? A fundamental problem has been built into these questions – the focus on cost. In almost every other part of the organization, maximizing profit or, in the case of a not-for-profit, maximizing the funds available, provides a clear focus with metrics to determine success or failure. In theory, simply aligning software spending with the maximizing profit goals should be sufficient to avoid any questions about value for money. Unfortunately, this alignment hasn’t turned out to be so simple, and the questions persist, particularly at the strategic or application portfolio level. In this book, Michael D.S. Harris describes how a software business value culture—one where all stakeholders, including technology and business—have a clear understanding of the goals and expected business value from software development. The book shows readers how they can transform software development from a cost or profit center to a business value center. Only a culture of software as a value center enables an organization to constantly maximize business value flow through software development. If your organization is starting to ask how it can change software from a cost-center to a value-center, this book is for you.
You've built an amazing business...now what? Do you really know how much it is worth? Selling a business for millions of dollars is a dream for many and a reality for few. With the help of Linda Rose's Get Acquired for Millions, rest assured you can be one of those few. This insider's guide to designing the most lucrative exit strategy is the "go-to" book for Technology Service Provider business owners who need answers to questions like: What's my company worth and is it the right time to sell? How can I increase my company's value now and for the long-term? What buyer type finds my company valuable and how do I locate them? Should I sell the company myself or use a broker? How long will it take to prepare my company for sale? The book contains access to two valuable assessments to help you determine your current company valuation as a Technology Service Provider and your readiness to exit your company on a personal level. In addition, this one book is packed with insights from buyers, sellers (strategic and private equity firms), over 100 seller tips and tactics, downloadable spreadsheets, plus Linda's proven "8 Value Maximizers" -- all to help you become one of the successful few who can Get Acquired for Millions.
The ultimate guide to assessing and exploiting the customer value and revenue potential of the Cloud A new business model is sweeping the world—the Cloud. And, as with any new technology, there is a great deal of fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding cloud computing. Cloudonomics radically upends the conventional wisdom, clearly explains the underlying principles and illustrates through understandable examples how Cloud computing can create compelling value—whether you are a customer, a provider, a strategist, or an investor. Cloudonomics covers everything you need to consider for the delivery of business solutions, opportunities, and customer satisfaction through the Cloud, so you can understand it—and put it to work for your business. Cloudonomics also delivers insight into when to avoid the cloud, and why. Quantifies how customers, users, and cloud providers can collaborate to create win-wins Reveals how to use the Laws of Cloudonomics to define strategy and guide implementation Explains the probable evolution of cloud businesses and ecosystems Demolishes the conventional wisdom on cloud usage, IT spend, community clouds, and the enterprise-provider cloud balance Whether you're ready for it or not, Cloud computing is here to stay. Cloudonomics provides deep insights into the business value of the Cloud for executives, practitioners, and strategists in virtually any industry—not just technology executives but also those in the marketing, operations, economics, venture capital, and financial fields.
A woman looking to retire said to author and valuation expert Tim McDaniel, “I need to sell my business for $2.5 million to support my country club lifestyle.” The reality was that her business was worth $750,000. How could she have been so wrong? As McDaniel—a veteran of over 2,000 valuation engagements and dozens of M&A deals—knows all too well, most owners work in their businesses and not on their businesses. He has seen the look of surprise on client faces far too often: “It’s only worth that much?!” In the rush of day-to-day work and decisions, business owners sometimes forget that their business is an investment—and something they need to watch, nurture, and care for just as they would a valuable antique vase or painting. Know and Grow the Value of Your Business: An Owner's Guide to Retiring Rich shows readers how to develop the “investment mindset,” value the business, bolster that value and maximize the return on their investment, and, finally, exit the business either through a sale to outside parties or by passing it on to family or other business insiders. This information couldn’t be more important: Typically, 60–80% of a business owner’s wealth is tied up in the value of the business. This is their most important asset, but they usually guess at its value and have no concrete plan to increase it. That’s why this book shows: The importance of treating your ownership interest in a business as something deserving near-daily attention. How a company is valued, and how others outside the business view that value. Steps you can take immediately to increase the value of your business. The different kinds of potential buyers and what attracts them. How to remove yourself from the day-to-day work of the business to plan for a brighter future. How to exit the business on your terms. In short, this book helps business owners get the most for their business when they decide it’s time to move on. What you’ll learn The importance of treating your ownership interest in a business the same way you would treat the shares in your stock portfolio: “Like an Investment.” How a company is valued, using terms that business owners can understand. The ways you can increase the value of your business and how an outside buyer will view your company. Existing exit strategies, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Why timing might be the most critical component of your exit strategy. How to begin the succession planning process and knowing the critical components of a good succession plan. Who this book is for Those with businesses with revenues up to about $30 million—90 percent of all business owners in the U.S., according to the United States Census Bureau. This amounts to over 12 million businesses in the United States alone. The principles the book espouses will be just as valid in countries besides the U.S. except for the tax advice author Tim McDaniel offers. Table of Contents Country Club Lifestyle The Investment Mindset Valuation Fundamentals Valuation Approaches Growing Your Value Selling Your Business The Hardest Step: Succession Planning Know Your Exit Options Know your Exit Strategy Time for Action Epilogue IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60 Sample Engagement Letter Sample Due Diligence Request Sample Family Business Creed AICPA Statement on Standards for Valuation Services No. 1
The number one guide to corporate valuation is back and better than ever Thoroughly revised and expanded to reflect business conditions in today's volatile global economy, Valuation, Fifth Edition continues the tradition of its bestselling predecessors by providing up-to-date insights and practical advice on how to create, manage, and measure the value of an organization. Along with all new case studies that illustrate how valuation techniques and principles are applied in real-world situations, this comprehensive guide has been updated to reflect new developments in corporate finance, changes in accounting rules, and an enhanced global perspective. Valuation, Fifth Edition is filled with expert guidance that managers at all levels, investors, and students can use to enhance their understanding of this important discipline. Contains strategies for multi-business valuation and valuation for corporate restructuring, mergers, and acquisitions Addresses how you can interpret the results of a valuation in light of a company's competitive situation Also available: a book plus CD-ROM package (978-0-470-42469-8) as well as a stand-alone CD-ROM (978-0-470-42457-7) containing an interactive valuation DCF model Valuation, Fifth Edition stands alone in this field with its reputation of quality and consistency. If you want to hone your valuation skills today and improve them for years to come, look no further than this book.
A practical approach to business transformation Fit for Growth* is a unique approach to business transformation that explicitly connects growth strategy with cost management and organization restructuring. Drawing on 70-plus years of strategy consulting experience and in-depth research, the experts at PwC’s Strategy& lay out a winning framework that helps CEOs and senior executives transform their organizations for sustainable, profitable growth. This approach gives structure to strategy while promoting lasting change. Examples from Strategy&’s hundreds of clients illustrate successful transformation on the ground, and illuminate how senior and middle managers are able to take ownership and even thrive during difficult periods of transition. Throughout the Fit for Growth process, the focus is on maintaining consistent high-value performance while enabling fundamental change. Strategy& has helped major clients around the globe achieve significant and sustained results with its research-backed approach to restructuring and cost reduction. This book provides practical guidance for leveraging that expertise to make the choices that allow companies to: Achieve growth while reducing costs Manage transformation and transition productively Create lasting competitive advantage Deliver reliable, high-value performance Sustainable success is founded on efficiency and high performance. Companies are always looking to do more with less, but their efforts often work against them in the long run. Total business transformation requires total buy-in, and it entails a series of decisions that must not be made lightly. The Fit for Growth approach provides a clear strategy and practical framework for growth-oriented change, with expert guidance on getting it right. *Fit for Growth is a registered service mark of PwC Strategy& Inc. in the United States
