As of today, if you Google “businesses for sale” in New Zealand, the total is 1461 or 4321 depending on where you look.  How will your business stand out from the crowd?

There are any number of reasons you might decide it’s time to sell your business:

• Cash in what you’ve built
• Time for an easier life-style
• Time to move onto something new
• Life emergency

Whatever the reason, it’s a process with several steps that need a lot of thought and pre-planning. You don’t need to go it alone.  Business Support Studio Limited is here to provide assistance and help make sure you end up in the best position and with the best deal possible.

 FESTINA LENTE – Loosely translated as ‘Don’t be rash!’

 Decisions to offload a business made in haste rarely result in a good deal for the seller. It really does pay to take professional outside advice, even if it’s just to kick a few ideas around and make sure you’re on the right track.

Ideally, the steps to ensure a business is in the ideal state for sale are instigated a good 1 – 1.5 years in advance, and involve finding the answers to 4 basic questions:

 HOW?

What is the actual process for selling a business? What legal and financial obligations do I have to fulfil? Whom do I need to notify and at what stage of the overall process?

WHEN?

When will be the best time to sell my business: short- mid- or long-term? What do I need to do to get my business up to scratch so that it becomes as attractive as possible to potential buyers?

WHO?

Where will I find a buyer for my business or, more importantly, where do I find a buyer who will give me the best price for my business? How do I avoid tyre-kickers and time wasters and zoom in only on parties who have a serious interest in buying my business?

HOW MUCH?

What is the value of my business? What criteria govern that valuation and how can I optimise them? How can I be certain I am getting the best return for all my effort and hard work?

IT’S A BIG CALL TO MAKE THE DECISION TO SELL
AND WE CAN HELP YOU TICK ALL THE BOXES

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP SMOOTH THE PATH?

It’s important to understand that we here at Business Support Studio are not Business Advisors ourselves, so we’re not going to shove any of this down your throat. But we do work alongside trusted Business Advisors who specialise in a wide range of trades and industries – and that’s why we think you should come to us first.  Because . . .

Business Support Studio is a company that uses modern techniques alongside old fashioned values. We respect the qualities of courtesy, integrity, and reliability, and work alongside only those Business Advisors who have demonstrated to us that they share a similar mind-set.

At no cost or obligation to yourself, we will put you in touch with a Business Advisor who knows your trade and industry, and, again at no cost or obligation, they will meet with you so that you can ascertain whether or not you want to work with them.   It doesn’t have to be today, or tomorrow, or next week, or even next month. If you fill out the form below, we will call you back at the time you specify. No pressure, no hassle. We’ll only contact you when the time is right for you, even if all you want to do at this stage is kick a few ideas around.

THE BENEFITS OF GETTING A BUSINESS ADVISOR INVOLVED

• Access to an up-to-date pool of potential purchasers

Our associates have been around the traps and have their finger on the pulse of who is looking to buy, acquire, or expand. They can match you up with the best potential new owner for your organisation.

• First-hand experience of what makes your organisation desirable to purchasers

We will connect you with an advisor who has a track record of on-selling businesses just like yours. They’ll help you get your company into the best state to attract buyers, and they know exactly what and how you need to pitch to get the best return.

• Ensuring all the legal and financial loopholes are ticked off

This can be incredibly time consuming and draining, especially if you are still operationally active while the sales process progresses. Our advisors know exactly what steps need to be taken and at what stage.

• Have an independent and neutral resource to oversee the sale

Open and honest communication between seller and buyer  is essential from the outset. All our associates have done what you need doing many times before. They know exactly where the potential pitfalls lie, and they know exactly how to avoid them.

 So, if you feel you may need to talk to somebody about selling  your business, whether it’s now or in the future, please feel free to contact us by completing the form below.

Or, simply give us a call on 09 930 8463.

Employee Takeover or Staff Buyout

Full or Partial 

Why the staff buyout option?

Inviting one or more current employees to buy into your business on a partial or full takeover basis is becoming an increasingly popular strategy amongst business owners. It can be an appealing alternative to passing ownership onto the next family generation, looking for an outside buyer, or simply winding down the operation for any number of reasons:

• You avoid the hassle and expense of locating an outside buyer
• The new owners or part owners are people you are familiar with – no nasty surprises
• The new owners or part owners are already familiar with the organisation and staff
• You have the option of retaining a share, or even a role, in the company
• There are tax benefits to be taken into consideration

 Am I getting a fair price for my business?

This is a consideration that needs to be arbitrated between yourself and the employee(s) interested in becoming owners or part owners. It has been known to lead to acrimony and ill-feeling later on if dealings are not conducted in a fair and equable manner from the word go. The best advice we can offer here is to involve a neutral third-party advisor in negotiations right from the start to avoid any unnecessary accountancy and legal fees further down the track. Open and honest communication in all dealings is the name of the game here. 

Will it be a full or only partial sell-out (ESOP or Employee Share Schemes)?

Get this absolutely clear in your head from before takeover negotiations begin. If you’ve had enough, your heart’s no longer in it, and you just want a return for all the hard yakker you’ve put in over the years, get out completely. Staying on in an advisory capacity to ensure a smooth transition is fine as long as both parties are happy with the arrangement, and the terms of the engagement are negotiated beforehand.

Staying on in some sort of permanent capacity is a much more involved and potentially problematic scenario. The new corporate structure and responsibility demarcation lines must be firmly drawn up before changes take place. 

In both above scenarios, our advice is to take on a third-party arbitrator to oversee the transition and ensure all steps in the procedure are followed to the letter with integrity and transparency.

Is the business in the state stipulated in the takeover terms? Are the financial arrangements and legal requirements for the takeover firmly in place?

It goes without saying that, unless all predetermined arrangements and agreements are strictly adhered to, a company can expose itself to all sorts of legal and financial repercussions. Our highly experienced advisors are fully trained to identify and avoid any potential pitfalls in this area.

Are the new owners genuinely capable of taking on the business? How will the other staff react? Do I need to organise a confidential staff survey?

This consideration is all about the staff who are not involved in the company buy-out. Have they been kept in the loop? Do they fully comprehend what the change in ownership hierarchy means for them, their jobs, and their working conditions? What do they think about it? Will, for instance, their loyalty to you as a long-term, well-respected boss, result in a mass exodus when a new management structure appears? 

Years of experience have taught us here at Business Support Studio that an invaluable tool in lobbying genuine staff opinion in these situations is a totally confidential staff survey conducted by an independent third-party such as one of our advisors. Remember, the longer-term success of a take-over is directly commensurate with the buy-in of the employees who are affected by it. An independent staff survey is the first step in nipping potential personality clashes and perceived feelings of betrayal in the bud. The very last thing a company needs is employee disgruntlement and ill-feeling at a time of transition. Our advisors will conduct, analyse, and report on a staff survey, and then assist in remedial action if required. 

Customer Surveys

Customer surveys are as powerful a tool as client surveys. Again, our advisors can conduct them on your behalf by lobbying your customer base for how (if at all) the management change has impacted service levels, and consult on any necessary remedial action.

We work with a select team of highly experienced Business Advisors, all of whom have strong, pan-industry expertise in all aspects of business exit strategies. 

If you get in touch with us, we will match you up with the most appropriate advisor for your industry and situation. What’s more, you can check them out in a no-cost/no-obligation initial meeting before you commit to any ongoing relationship – an ideal scenario if, for now, all you want to do is kick around a few ideas with an expert.

So if you think you may need a hand with selling your business to your employees, please contact us here at Business Support Studio. It doesn’t have to be today. It doesn’t have to be tomorrow.  Just visit our website and we’ll get in touch with you when you tell us you’ll be ready.

What happens when your current contracts expire?

What happens when the referrals run out?

• It takes on average 3 to 4 attempts to contact a business owner
• Once reached, only 2 – 3 owners in every 100 will agree to a meeting first off
• Up to 15 owners in every 100 will agree to a call back within 12 months (nurture)

How can you stack the odds in your favour?

The answer is very simple – create and nurture a leads pipeline.  Read on:

Very occasionally, a business may find itself requiring the urgent assistance of an advisor to address an unexpected development, but this is very much more the exception than the rule. Making appointments, like much else in business, is subject to seasonal fluctuation. 

As experienced lead generators we are fully aware of the factors in the NZ market-place that determine the most advantageous conditions in which to secure face-to-face meetings.

As an advisor, coach, or mentor, if you haven’t been looking after your leads pipeline, you will be dead in the water. We cannot over-emphasise the importance of maintaining a leads pipeline.

Starting again from scratch can be really costly. Your old client target inventory will be horribly outdated. The time investment alone in getting your original prospect list up to scratch will be prohibitive. And depending on what time of year you find yourself in the work doldrums, unless you are really lucky, it can be some months before you start to refill your book.

Generally, companies are most open to engaging with a business advisor in the first 3-4 months of the year; that is, as they take stock of one business year coming to an end and starting to plan for the next. As the new financial year begins in earnest, organisations become decreasingly interested in seeking outside advice as they are wary about muddying the waters and interfering with already laid plans. Appointments gradually tail off until, by December, they become very few and far between. Even in the period May through November, variables such as school holidays must be taken into account as business owners are often away with their children.

Securing appointments – considerations and statistics

Getting the decision-maker on the phone is the crucial first stage in this process yet this alone may involve several calls and take several weeks. As a general rule of thumb, once they have finally been reached, out of every 100 conversations with business owners only 2 to 3 will result in a face-to-face meeting, while a further 15 or so will request a call back at some stage in the future. Those in the latter category are the prospects that we put on nurture; and thats when the odds start to improve

Once placed on nurture, the prospect of securing a face-to-face appointment with a lead increases by 50% although it must be noted that the appointment may not materialise for up to 2, 6, or even 12 months. In a way, this type of appointment is the most productive as it is made with owners who are fully conversant with your skills, have been prepared for you, and, perhaps most importantly, are themselves now ready and therefore more receptive to hearing your pitch. In other words, for the prospect it’s just a matter of timing.

Once we have made an appointment, we hand the lead over to you to work your magic. Some advisors may get lucky and convert a client at the very beginning of the process, but a more realistic time frame is anywhere between 3 – 12 months before you start a paid engagement.

Advisor lists – how you can help us to help you

Our experience in lead generation has taught us some valuable lessons. Some advisors attempt to ‘carpet-bomb’ in that their approach is to target any company in any industry so long as they meet minimum dollar turnover and staffing level criteria. That can be a counter-productive approach. The most successful and long-term client-advisor relationships are formed when we match your experience and skill-set to the industries and companies you are in the strongest position to help. Having business owners immediately resonate with your own strengths vastly improves our chances of scoring you an appointment.

To give us the best chance of filling your book, then, we would suggest a leads list of around 500 companies limited to those industries in which you have some previous experience, training, or interest. To keep down travelling costs, you may also wish to stipulate the geographical areas within which you are willing to operate.

If you wish to supplement our in-house database with your own leads lists, we are happy to pursue them on your behalf. If you choose to do so, however, we require that you supply a minimum of business name, physical address, decision maker’s name and phone number, e-mail address, and NZ Companies Office website record.  These details are imperative if you want us to reach the business owner/decision maker, but it is just the start of the process for us.  There is only so much we can glean from websites and a NZ Companies Office search. Quite often such research does not reflect the true nature of a business, which is why our professional telemarketers are so important, because it is their job to fully investigate prospects and dig below the surface for the critical background information to give you an edge in a face to face meeting.

Why it is often hard to get appointments?

There are many reasons why a company will not commit to a one-on-one meeting. Some companies are superbly run and require no outside input. Others have an owner or board member who already performs the function of mentor, coach, and advisor. One of the most common reasons we encounter for an outright refusal to agree to a face-to-face meeting from a company on your list is that they either already have an incumbent outside BA or have tried out business advisory/mentoring services in the past and been unimpressed. And then there are other business owners who simply detest cold callers.

But there’s another category, one that we consider to comprise a good 15 – 20% of companies we contact. They are the ones who clearly need help in some area – be it staff, cash-flow, sales and marketing, whatever – but are either too proud or too ashamed to ask for it. That is the category that we put on our softly-softly nurturing programme.

The growing importance of the Chinese Market

We at Business Support Studio have received many enquiries about how we can help NZ companies in their dealings with the Chinese market. Our response has been to acquire  in-house native Mandarin and Cantonese speaking resources (and Thai as well should it be required) whose skill-sets are made all the more formidable by their decades of experience importing and exporting from the Chinese mainland. The presence of these resources allows us not only to prospect for leads in the growing trade sector between NZ and Chinese companies but also to contribute native language and Sino trade know-how to augment the offerings that you as an advisor bring to the table.

Timing is everything- make sure your pipeline is ready

The telemarketing prime-time for Business Advisors and coaches tends to be immediately after the Christmas/New Years break when businesses are beginning to look forward to the end of the financial year, take stock, and begin planning for the new one.   This should result in a very busy period for Advisors where they make contact and  convert the prospect.

After the end of the financial year, owners are looking at their results and are open to speaking to someone about their issues but this is a flattening out of the appointment cycle.

From September until late November, we find that owners are reluctant to make a commitment to meet, however this is when the astute telemarketer will set up nurture calls for the New Year.

If the advisor understands this cycle they can work with the telemarketer to ensure a continuous supply of clients – but we must stress that only a pipeline that is assiduously nurtured over a 12 month period is likely to result in a steady crop of appointments and clients.

And that’s where we come in. Business Support Studio will keep your prospects warm for you, and liaise with you so that, when the time is right, we can reel them in and keep your book ticking over.  Get in touch or see our pricing for Pipeline on our brochure.

Family Takeover

THE OPTIONS:

• Buy In – One or more family members buy into the business
• Buy Out – One or more family members buy you out of the business completely
• Inherit – One or more family members simply take over the reins

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP SMOOTH THE PATH?

THE BENEFITS OF GETTING A BUSINESS ADVISOR INVOLVED

Ensure whoever is coming into your business is the right person

Ensure that correct and adequate training is in place

Have an independent and neutral resource to oversee the transition

And it doesn’t have to stop there

ENGINEERS AND MANUFACTURERS FACE UNIQUE CHALLENGES

At Business Support Studio we acknowledge the important and specialised niche occupied by the engineering and manufacturing industry in New Zealand. Particularly where it intersects with new and growing markets such as China.  We tailor our services to meet your individual requirements.

DEVELOP YOUR OWN BRAND – IT NEEDN’T COST THE EARTH

In the business world, anonymity is not your friend. It’s got to be your business that stands out from the crowd. Even when clients are not seeking your own services, it still pays to catch their eye so that, when the time comes, they’ll know immediately where to find you. And when you engage with Business Support Studio to elevate your business profile, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how reasonably it can be achieved.

Why develop your own brand?

New Zealand is absolutely chock-full of small to medium enterprises going for a slice of their own sector’s pie. A few businesses are lucky enough to keep ticking over through word-of-mouth and other referrals, but the reality is that most aren’t. That majority has to compete with an ever larger, hungrier, and digitally more competent pack. And you need to have an edge to stand out from the pack.

Elevating your company’s visibility by developing your own brand has a push and pull effect. You push your individuality and message when you need to market, while standing out as a high profile beacon to attract clients actively seeking out your particular goods or services.

If you have no point of difference, if potential clients can’t readily identify who you are or what you do, the whole thing becomes a game of chance and you have to hope that it’s your company name that gets randomly picked out from all your competitors.

Simply put, building a recognisable brand adds several inches to your business height.

The importance of brand consistency

Brand comes in all shapes and sizes. The emphasis can be on colours, a logo, slogans, a location, a product, even staff – essentially, whatever works for you and what you do. Some operations, like Coca-Cola or McDonalds, hit on a massively visible symbol which never changes, and use other branding techniques like slogans – It’s the Real Thing, I’m lovin’ it – to run individual campaigns.

And brand doesn’t stop at your website or e-mail campaigns. It is most effective when it permeates all your client-facing interactions and communications. When you pitch to prospective clients, when you send invoices to existing clients, when you supply supporting documentation; it is an opportunity to advertise who you are and what you do.

The important thing, though, is that, whatever technique or combination of techniques you adopt, it is instantly recognisable as representing you and nobody else. With branding, there is no room for confused messages. At Business Support Studio, we have design specialists with decades of collective experience across multiple industries. We know what works and what does not, and we keep it all up to date with the most recent research into branding enhancement techniques such as colour psychology.

Maintaining brand

Taking care of your brand is like taking care of your physical appearance. The better and fresher you look, the more attractive you become to others. But make sure you keep an eye on your brand. Don’t let it go stale and don’t let it become irrelevant to who you are because people will notice. It is absolutely vital to have your brand in hand, because when you are on your promotional game, people do notice you.

Consider also that brands can evolve. What works for one phase in your company’s evolution may not necessarily be appropriate for the next. Be willing to metamorphose your image to keep pace with changing markets, audiences, and technologies thereby keeping your company one step ahead of the competition. Business Support Studio can help you with all of that.

Chinese Language Support

An increasing number of NZ businesses are either already involved in, or reaching out to, the Chinese market. At Business Support Studio we have the facility to tailor that aspect of your branding to appeal to a Mandarin or Cantonese speaking audience. Our Hong Kong born resource is also very experienced in Chinese export and import procedures and regulations. 

Please contact us to learn more about this unique asset in our company’s offerings.

You can view our full range of services on our website or if you haven’t time to wade through that, then please feel free to read through our latest brochure.

And if you can’t find what you’re after in our brochure or on our website, get in touch with us and let’s work out something that works just for you.

And remember:

• You only pay for what you use
• No joining fee
• No monthly subscription

WE’VE BEEN HELPING ALL SORTS OF TRADIES GET AN EDGE

Think of Business Support Studio as your off site labourer.  We can make you a stunning leading edge website or raise the bar on your existing one.  In addition we take on all those admin chores that you find get in the way of what you do best. Interested? Have a quick look at a couple of the companies we are involved with.

DEVELOP YOUR OWN BRAND – IT NEEDN’T COST THE EARTH

In the business world, anonymity is not your friend. It’s got to be your business that stands out from the crowd. Even when clients are not seeking your own services, it still pays to catch their eye so that, when the time comes, they’ll know immediately where to find you. And when you engage with Business Support Studio to elevate your business profile, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how reasonably it can be achieved.

Why develop your own brand?

New Zealand is absolutely chock-full of small to medium enterprises going for a slice of their own sector’s pie. A few businesses are lucky enough to keep ticking over through word-of-mouth and other referrals, but the reality is that most aren’t. That majority has to compete with an ever larger, hungrier, and digitally more competent pack. And you need to have an edge to stand out from the pack.

Elevating your company’s visibility by developing your own brand has a push and pull effect. You push your individuality and message when you need to market, while standing out as a high profile beacon to attract clients actively seeking out your particular goods or services.

If you have no point of difference, if potential clients can’t readily identify who you are or what you do, the whole thing becomes a game of chance and you have to hope that it’s your company name that gets randomly picked out from all your competitors.

Simply put, building a recognisable brand adds several inches to your business height.

The importance of brand consistency

Brand comes in all shapes and sizes. The emphasis can be on colours, a logo, slogans, a location, a product, even staff – essentially, whatever works for you and what you do. Some operations, like Coca-Cola or McDonalds, hit on a massively visible symbol which never changes, and use other branding techniques like slogans – It’s the Real Thing, I’m lovin’ it – to run individual campaigns.

And brand doesn’t stop at your website or e-mail campaigns. It is most effective when it permeates all your client-facing interactions and communications. When you pitch to prospective clients, when you send invoices to existing clients, when you supply supporting documentation; it is an opportunity to advertise who you are and what you do.

The important thing, though, is that, whatever technique or combination of techniques you adopt, it is instantly recognisable as representing you and nobody else. With branding, there is no room for confused messages. At Business Support Studio, we have design specialists with decades of collective experience across multiple industries. We know what works and what does not, and we keep it all up to date with the most recent research into branding enhancement techniques such as colour psychology.

Maintaining brand

Taking care of your brand is like taking care of your physical appearance. The better and fresher you look, the more attractive you become to others. But make sure you keep an eye on your brand. Don’t let it go stale and don’t let it become irrelevant to who you are because people will notice. It is absolutely vital to have your brand in hand, because when you are on your promotional game, people do notice you.

Consider also that brands can evolve. What works for one phase in your company’s evolution may not necessarily be appropriate for the next. Be willing to metamorphose your image to keep pace with changing markets, audiences, and technologies thereby keeping your company one step ahead of the competition. Business Support Studio can help you with all of that.

Chinese Language Support

An increasing number of NZ businesses are either already involved in, or reaching out to, the Chinese market. At Business Support Studio we have the facility to tailor that aspect of your branding to appeal to a Mandarin or Cantonese speaking audience. Our Hong Kong born resource is also very experienced in Chinese export and import procedures and regulations. 

Please contact us to learn more about this unique asset in our company’s offerings.

You can view our full range of services on our website or if you haven’t time to wade through that, then please feel free to read through our latest brochure.

And if you can’t find what you’re after in our brochure or on our website, get in touch with us and let’s work out something that works just for you.

And remember:

• You only pay for what you use
• No joining fee
• No monthly subscription

DEVELOP YOUR OWN BRAND – IT NEEDN’T COST THE EARTH

In the business world, anonymity is not your friend. It’s got to be your business that stands out from the crowd. Even when clients are not seeking your own services, it still pays to catch their eye so that, when the time comes, they’ll know immediately where to find you. And when you engage with Business Support Studio to elevate your business profile, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how reasonably it can be achieved.

Why develop your own brand?

New Zealand is absolutely chock-full of small to medium enterprises going for a slice of their own sector’s pie. A few businesses are lucky enough to keep ticking over through word-of-mouth and other referrals, but the reality is that most aren’t. That majority has to compete with an ever larger, hungrier, and digitally more competent pack. And you need to have an edge to stand out from the pack.

Elevating your company’s visibility by developing your own brand has a push and pull effect. You push your individuality and message when you need to market, while standing out as a high profile beacon to attract clients actively seeking out your particular goods or services.

If you have no point of difference, if potential clients can’t readily identify who you are or what you do, the whole thing becomes a game of chance and you have to hope that it’s your company name that gets randomly picked out from all your competitors.

Simply put, building a recognisable brand adds several inches to your business height.

The importance of brand consistency

Brand comes in all shapes and sizes. The emphasis can be on colours, a logo, slogans, a location, a product, even staff – essentially, whatever works for you and what you do. Some operations, like Coca-Cola or McDonalds, hit on a massively visible symbol which never changes, and use other branding techniques like slogans – It’s the Real Thing, I’m lovin’ it – to run individual campaigns.

And brand doesn’t stop at your website or e-mail campaigns. It is most effective when it permeates all your client-facing interactions and communications. When you pitch to prospective clients, when you send invoices to existing clients, when you supply supporting documentation; it is an opportunity to advertise who you are and what you do.

The important thing, though, is that, whatever technique or combination of techniques you adopt, it is instantly recognisable as representing you and nobody else. With branding, there is no room for confused messages. At Business Support Studio, we have design specialists with decades of collective experience across multiple industries. We know what works and what does not, and we keep it all up to date with the most recent research into branding enhancement techniques such as colour psychology.

Maintaining brand

Taking care of your brand is like taking care of your physical appearance. The better and fresher you look, the more attractive you become to others. But make sure you keep an eye on your brand. Don’t let it go stale and don’t let it become irrelevant to who you are because people will notice. It is absolutely vital to have your brand in hand, because when you are on your promotional game, people do notice you.

Consider also that brands can evolve. What works for one phase in your company’s evolution may not necessarily be appropriate for the next. Be willing to metamorphose your image to keep pace with changing markets, audiences, and technologies thereby keeping your company one step ahead of the competition. Business Support Studio can help you with all of that.

Chinese Language Support

An increasing number of NZ businesses are either already involved in, or reaching out to, the Chinese market. At Business Support Studio we have the facility to tailor that aspect of your branding to appeal to a Mandarin or Cantonese speaking audience. Our Hong Kong born resource is also very experienced in Chinese export and import procedures and regulations. 

Please contact us to learn more about this unique asset in our company’s offerings.

You can view our full range of services on our website or if you haven’t time to wade through that, then please feel free to read through our latest brochure.

And if you can’t find what you’re after in our brochure or on our website, get in touch with us and let’s work out something that works just for you.

And remember:

• You only pay for what you use
• No joining fee
• No monthly subscription