A family had been in business for about 5 years. He’d left his job in corporate life after 20 years and decided he wanted to pursue his dream of having his own business.
His wife supported him. Together, they both knuckled down and got on with it.
The returns weren’t too bad. They drove nice cars. They lived in a nice home. However, it lacked something..
At this point, Dean became a part of their business. Straight away he enforced accountability.
We made them focus on quarterly financial reporting. To monitor how they were doing and where they were achieving (and underachieving) in their business.
Dean helped them to focus on accountability. They came up with an idea – and he held them to task on it. Because they’d said it out loud, they’d committed themselves to it. Dean’s detailed Action Plans at the end of each meeting enforced the commitment.
And gradually, the business grew..and grew..and grew.
It moved locations. It employed people. Family members became a part of the deal. It picked up new customers. It took on new suppliers. It developed products and quickly came to be seen as a business that was a thought leader in its industry.
All the time, revenues continued to grow. Profits continued to grow. And this business set up inside of the garage of the family home was worth something.
As the years passed, the family decided they wanted to sell the business.
Mum and Dad had entered their early 60s. They wanted to do other things with their lives. They enjoyed the business. They loved the rewards. However, they’d each lost parents and determined that life was a little shorter than it once was. It was time to move on.
With Dean’s help, the business was prepped for sale.
In actual fact, the business had been prepped for sale for a while. The ongoing accountability that had been initiated in the business had meant the focus was on achieving regular, consistent growth. Performance was the key focus. There’d been no slide in the business – accountability had ensured itself of that.
In the end, the business was sold for a very reasonable seven figure sum. Accountability created profitability, which creates a saleable business asset.
CASE STUDY 2: TRANSITIONS |
CASE STUDY 4: FORECASTING
