OWL 611: Key Factors to Drive Up Business Value

Adrianna Smith and Lana Hout, Provisors members and Brokers at First Choice Business Brokers, specialize in industry-agnostic business sales for transactions under $25M. After meeting at USC, they found themselves continuously applying for the same finance jobs and eventually working at competing firms. They briefly worked at the same firm and ultimately seized the opportunity to start their own branch of First Choice Business Brokers together 6 years ago. Together, Adrianna and Lana help business owners prepare for sales by driving up their business value. In their interview, we go in-depth about what to expect before and after a sale, as well as how to best prepare. Adrianna and Lana discuss the impact of COVID on buyers and sellers, as well as how to deal with some of the setbacks. They share powerful tips for driving up business value, common mistakes business owners make leading up to a sale, and ways you can become more attractive to buyers. Adrianna and Lana’s information will help you build a much stronger business, whether you plan to sell or not. 1-Minute Sections: 5:59-7:09: Impacts happening to sellers due to Covid and how they might prove value. 9:12-10:18: Some factors which can drastically affect the value of a business. 11:14-12:06: Flexibility can increase value as business will be more operable despite circumstances - becomes more attractive to buyers.  13:12-14:15: The necessity of incorporating technology in order to be more attractive to buyers. 16:46-17:41: Reasons why you shouldn’t scale back, and should sell your business at its high point.