Re-building the business you deserve

When your house gets damaged by a disaster, you need to re-build. Would you re-build exactly as it was? Or would you build something you’ve always dreamed of in its place?

The COVID-19 crisis may still be pummeling your business, but there will come a time when the storm starts to ebb. That's when you have a unique opportunity. Without the forces of inertia pushing you in the direction you've always gone, you have a moment to decide where you want to be. It's an opportunity to rethink how you approach your company — to rebuild your business into what you've always dreamed it could be before little decisions, stacked on top of each other, became too hard to undo.

Most businesses evolve over time into a patchwork of products, processes and people serving a mishmash of customers. That’s perfectly normal, but there may be only some products, process or people that truly add value to your company because of the one immutable law of business valuation… Acquirers only pay a premium for a business when it would take too long, or cost too much, to build it on their own.

Now is the time, before you re-start your business as it was before, to reorganize the products, processes and people that suck resources, complicate your life and may not add much value to your business. In fact, now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-focus your business on offering something acquirers will ultimately value. The first step is answering 7 critical questions…

It all starts with the problem your company is uniquely set up to solve…then defining the ideal customer for whom the problem is felt most acutely. Then describing, in the simplest terms possible, how your company solves this problem for the people who experience it. Then describing why you are uniquely set up to solve this problem. In other words, what give you an unfair advantage? As you look out into the future, how will the world look when you’ve solved the problem you’re embarking on attacking? What quantitative, objective, yardsticks will you use to know when your mission is complete? Finally, what is your business model?

Answer these question and you are well on the way to re-building the business you deserve.