I wish my company could run itself. Then I could relax, take a vacation, and pursue other goals.
I would love to exit my business. But who would buy it, and what is it really worth?
Sound familiar?
Almost every initial conversation we have with small and mid-sized business owners includes one of these statements. Your business should be built to work for you and serve your needs.
These defeatist statements were painful to hear from our hardworking clients. We wanted to create a better way of living the entrepreneurial life for people. Enter the Growth Model or Growth to Goal Model.
Growth Model: What is it?
The C&A Growth Model is a systematic process that businesses in any industry can use. It’s a roadmap to successfully create the reward, the payout, and the ultimate goal they’re looking for from their business.
We say reward because it varies for everyone. A business owner’s reward could be:
- Increased enterprise value
- Building a self-sustaining organization
- Creating an investable company, ready for new owners at max value
They’re big goals but doable. Fortunately, we can help these goals become a reality in about 12 to 18 months.
Funding the Growth Model
In most cases, business owners can substantially fund their business goals through various instruments — things like tax reduction, tax credits, and grant funding.
So, you can have your cake and eat it, too!
Getting Started with the Growth Model
Step One: Business Evaluation
The first phase in the C&A Way is a Comprehensive Assessment. We use various systems to measure your:
- Operational performance
- Financial performance
- A complete tax analysis
We’ll also complete a detailed industry comparison analysis with this data, including national and regional results.
Armed with our benchmark data, we can then define potential value and project success. The result is achieving your specific goal.
With your desired outcome in mind, we leverage our tax analysis to determine what savings or refunds can be generated. Often, we look at the tax incentives available through Research & Development Tax Credits.
Step Two: Organizational Strategy and Management Coaching
The next focus area of the C&A Way is People, Processes, and Organization. This is a natural progression from our assessment because we need to make sure your company is ready to accept change.
With people, we take a similar approach to the bus analogy Jim Collins used in his book Good to Great. First, we want to make sure you have the right people on your bus (company), followed by understanding whether they are sitting in the right seats (roles and positions).
Our personnel review is for leadership too. The leaders and owner(s) must understand where they need to grow and how their growth will impact the company.
Parallel to reviewing your people, it’s equally important to conduct a thorough review of your current systems and controls. The right people following the wrong system will only slow down your overall goal achievement.
Read More: Stages of Business Growth
Step Three: Achieving Your Reward
Once we get to the third stage, we’ll have a clear understanding of your current position, goals, and organizational strengths and weaknesses. Strategy: How to Reach Your Goals will define several critical items needed to ensure your reward is achieved.
If you have a one, three, or five-year strategic plan, kudos to you — you’re significantly further ahead than most. But we’ll need to revisit and rework those documents based on the first stages of our method.
Most owners don’t have any formalized documents created, and we will need to thoughtfully craft what needs to happen to meet your goals.
Strategic thinking is broken into several smaller sessions to craft a concise, one-page document that clearly defines where your company is going. This newly crafted vision will give a much better understanding of your core values, timeline, and required resources to complete the Growth to Goal Model and achieve your goals.
Step Four: Implementation
The fourth stage is Implementation, where we do exactly that — roll up our sleeves, get out of the conference room, and get to work.
In this step, we take all of the previously reviewed information, blend it with our strategic vision, and hit the ground running. Frequently, there’s a training program needed to increase the capacity of our people.
While we’re training our people, we’ll also implement new or revised systems and controls that reflect what the organization should look like. This will always include a reporting element.
Your people will need to be reporting, and C&A will be reporting as well. Key Performance Indicators are defined early on to help guide what reporting at all levels should look like. We can determine the results achieved by taking the reporting metrics, key performance indicators, trend analysis, and benchmark vs. present data.
This will be an ongoing mission to track, monitor, and control the desired outcome. Often, some aspects of the project will see success quicker than others. Frequently tracking results will allow us to either change the program’s components or charge forward toward the finish line — your reward.
Step Five: The Reward
The Reward stage of the C&A Growth Model is gratifying for all involved. We’re able to review your increased value or newly found liquidity. Or, maybe your reward is a virtual project review meeting from your vacation home — because now you can truly step away from your business. Regardless of your individual reward, you’ve got it now.
Your next big question is, do I take the reward or jump back a few stages, define a new goal, and repeat the process?
The Growth Model: Dig Into Your Piece of Cake
A business is an asset that should be designed to help you reach specific, measurable, and attainable goals. With a company built to work for you, you can achieve the lifestyle you want.
At Cunningham and Associates, we’ve helped many different companies achieve their just rewards. Contact us today to speak to a representative and embark on your Growth Model journey to achieve your goals.
