At my Rotary Club meeting recently Tim Gibbons, co-founder and president of PharmacyOneSource, spoke about the evolution of the company and its sale to a large, multi-national firm. I noted three key points regarding his successful strategy and they are:
Have a good team of advisors from the beginning. Yes, it costs money but it comes back to you. He specifically mentioned their CPA firms and their investment banking firm.
It is very valuable to have an outside pair of eyes look at your company, regularly. I’ll add that this can be a coach, a consultant (generalist or specialist) or being a member of a CEO group that meets regularly.
When selling, be prepared for the buyer to delve deeply into all aspects of the company. Don’t be surprised or shocked at the detail they may want to get into. I’ll add that this often starts with the financial statements so for small businesses it pays to have at least reviewed statements and if you’re selling to a large corporation as Tim’s firm did audited statements are required. However, buyers and sellers should not ignore the non-financial factors as they are just as important.