Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow

Lots of valuable info and all told in the form a story of a graphic design business.

Notes:
– Always build a business with the intent to sell it for profit.
– Specialise but no one client should be more than 15% of your income.
– Don’t be afraid to say no to work that does not fit what you specialise in.
– 2 sales reps are better than one due to competition.
– Hire people good at selling products not services. Goes more into the differences.
– Ignore profit loss statement, consistent cash flow and 2 years worth of statements to show it is important.
– Find a broker for whom you wont be the biggest or smallest client and that they have more than one buyer for your business.
– Client (sell services) vs customer (sell products). Basically reword everything. Make a 3 year business plan and change lingo respectively.
– Once you sell your business pay dedicated staff a stay bonus in instalments so they don’t just take the money and run.
– A business reliant on owner can’t be sellable.
– Isolate product or service that can be scalable, taught to employees, valuable to customer and that they buy more than once. Scalable, teachable, valuable, repeatable.

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Contents:
– Foreword
– Acknowledgements
1 – A Company in Chaos
2 – A Worthless Business?
3 – Putting the Process into Practice
4 – Pressure from Within
5 – The Test
6 – The Candidates
7 – Growing Pains
8 – The Number
9 – Gaining Momentum
10 – A Blank Check for Growth
11 – Telling Management
12 – The Question
13 – A Sellable Company
14 – The Finish Line
– Implementation Guide: How to Create a Business That Can Thrive Without You
– Summary of Ted’s Tips
– Recommended Reading and Resources