General Owner/ Operator Questions

  1. How well is your business doing in your industry and in the context of our current economy?
    Indicators:
    • Sales up or down in last 5 yrs? Profits up or down?
    • Making more or less with core services/products?
    • Inventory?
    • Capital structure (thinly capitalized or overcapitalized)?
    • What are you doing that competition is not?
    • What is your human capital investment strategy (hiring, retaining, paying and developing talent)?
    • How do you see technology changing the way you do business?
    • What other assets/resources do you have that can be leveraged?
  2. What is the best way to develop a long-term strategy to get you and your business to where you want to be over the long term?

  3. How can you generate more capital needed to grow and satisfy the demand placed on your business? How will you finance growth (borrow, sell a part of the business, sell part of stock, joint venture, acquisition, etc.)?

  4. How do you decide, if you should pass on the business? Sell the business? Develop a family member and/or key employee to run things? Hire an outside CEO/General Manager to run it? Merge, acquire or liquidate? What are the relevant criteria for "owning" versus "managing"?

  5. What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? 10 years? 15years?

  6. What are the primary catalysts/trigger events that would cause you to do want to make a change?
    For example:
    • Increased competition
    • Health
    • Age
    • Divorce
    • Burn-out
    • Offer to buy your business
    • Change in lifestyle
    • Pressure from family or key employees
    • Other
  7. What are your current thoughts about transitioning your business? What are the critical success factors for you to achieve "peace of mind"?

  8. What kind of an exit strategy do you envision for your self? What kind of planning would it take to ensure this effectively happens?