How 2 Yorkshire Companies Increased Their Business Value

As part of this blog, I’ve spoken with 2 Yorkshire Companies that have increased the value of their business recently. 

Everyone wants a valuable business.  Whether it’s to sell or not.  But how do you find out how valuable it is and what you need to increase its value? 

The 8 Drivers Of Business Value 

I work with the Value Builder System which gives you a comprehensive assessment of your business, helps your company to grow, and helps you to achieve your personal goals. The System has been proven to increase the value of a business by up to 71%. 

As part of the Value Builder System there are 8 Value Drivers of Business. 

My last 8 blogs have been about each of these 8 drivers as measured using the Value Builder Assessment. 

The value is measured from the eyes of a buyer of your business. You might be thinking that you’re not selling your business but don’t stop reading, there are important reasons as to why the drivers take a buyer’s point of view 

  • If you’re not even thinking of selling now, you may well want to sell your business sometime in the future. The more attractive to the buyer, the more £value you are likely to get. Also, your exit is likely to be faster and easier; 
  • If you are not considering selling it, having the business built to sell will definitely increase the profit available to you. Also, importantly you will have more time for yourself and much less stress than you have now.  

The 8 value drivers are “joined up” in an assessment algorithm that gives you a Value Builder Score out of 100. Your score is compared to the other 40,000+ assessments completed by business owners like you. That will give you an EBITDA profit multiple, allowing you to get a valuation of your business. To get your score and valuation, follow this link.  

The 3 Most Influential Value Drivers 

Of the 8 value drivers, there are 3 that influence the score and valuation more than the others. They are: 

Financial Performance: having a history of increasing turnover and profit, a reliable method forecasting future income and reliable accounting system. 

Recurring Revenue : having a business model where customers subscribe for your products or services and make regular payments. 

Hub and Spoke: organising and operating the business where you, the boss, aren’t in the middle of it. The business can work without you when you have standard operating procedures, an organisation and management structure and an engaged workforce. 

The best way to emphasise and demonstrate the importance of the 3 drivers is to share with you the stories of 2 Yorkshire Business Owners. 

Chris Shaw and Andrew Park are owners of Yorkshire based companies whom I’ve had the privilege to work with recently to help them increase the value of their businesses.  Below Chris shares his story:

Chris Shaw – Overview Studios 

After taking the Value Builder Assessment, Chris and his team worked on several of the value drivers, especially Hub and Spoke, Growth Potential and Financial Performance. He describes it in his words. 

My business, Overview Studios, produces imagery for the Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom (KBB) market and had made the move from Photography to CGI, which is a very different process. We had purchased a new studio building 18 months previously.  

We found ourselves in a situation where we were unable to increase turnover and had employed two new members of staff without benefiting from any extra revenues. The team seemed to be on a downward spiral with unhappy and confused employees. We were also finding it very difficult to win new clients even though the quality of our work was good. We were also trying different directions where we had no experience to find extra work. 

felt confused and worried as there seemed to be a difficult road ahead with no obvious route to success. I was also struggling to stay within my overdraft facility”. 

New Focus 

We started working with the Peter and the Value Builder System and had a low score to start with. As part of the system, Peter interviewed each member of staff in confidence and managed to put together a picture of where things were going well and where the root of our problems lay – me being the hub of the business was a big issue 

He held meetings with all employees and discussed the direction we should go. Peter helped us by putting improved processes in place by analysing the CGI process. He clearly defined my role which meant me moving into sales as I knew the about the business inside out. I had good relationships with our customers and after over 15 years in the KBB market I knew where to look for new work.   

Next Peter took me through the Growth Quad Options and it became very clear that offering CGI imagery to the Home Furniture Market was a good extension from the KBB market”. 

The Result – Adding Value 

Chris now feels good from adding value to his business and also his life. 

I noticed that my employees were happier and enthusiastic about the business – they were far more engaged. Also, they were keen to help and liked been involved in Peter’s meetings and plans.  Wnow had standard operating procedures and I delegated more to the team. We very quickly began to win new work looking for growth in the area we knew best (KBB) and gradually working outwards from there but not trying to venture into areas where we had little experience. 

Finally, we completed a Net Promoter Score exercise with our customers. The business got a tremendous 80+ score of appreciative feedback from our clients and we were overwhelmed. Just check out our website for those really positive comments – www.overviewstudios.co.uk. 

I have always been aware of Peter’s accounting background and when he advised me to move my accounting records onto an accounting system, especially in time for Making Tax Digital, I didn’t think twice as I know he has a wealth of real-life experience.  I now use Xero and see my financial reports in real time, which is much better than waiting for yearend results. 

In conclusion, I no longer struggle financially from monthtomonth and cashflow is much better which has negated the need for our overdraft facility.  

Today I thoroughly enjoy the work we undertake, and I have a very high-quality enthusiastic team working for me. Our turnover has doubled and we have created three new positions within the business.   

We’re in a much better position from working with Peter”. 

The Power Of The Value Builder Assessment  

Chris and Andrew both took the Value Builder Assessment at the beginning of our relationship. They both want to have a business that they have the option to sell sometime in the future. They also want to make sure there aren’t any silent killers in their businesses – issues or problems that lie under the surface and are making the business less efficient, more stressful and less valuable.  

The Value Builder Assessment gives you an objective outside view of your business through the eyes of a potential buyer.  It has been completed by over 40,000 business owners just like you.  It helps you check how you’re doing and allows you to see where there are growth opportunities as well as showing how you could reduce the business’s reliance on you and where to focus your efforts. 

To see if you have a business Built to Sell, follow this link.  It only takes 13 minutes to answer the questions and get your score out of 100 and you’ll be well on your way to increasing the value of your business.

Also don’t forget to watch out for part 2 of this blog, where Andrew Park from Swan Energy shares his story.

Back to all posts