Is There Life After Your Cleaning Business! (Part I)

Does the thought of escaping to a sunny, remote beach, getting away from all of stress of running your cleaning business cross your mind more often than ever? Do you feel drained and tired each day no matter how much sleep you've had? Does the fact that you drink 4 pots of coffee a day for a jolt and it doesn't work anymore ever scare you?

Maybe it's time to think about life after your Cleaning Business. You may be ready for a change and not even know it. You may have had selling your business in your plan from day one. Whatever your situation, there are some common warning signs that you might be ready to move on. Ever feel like this?

• Your patience with employees is VERY short
• The excitement you once felt for facing challenges has diminished
• You drag yourself into your office
• You procrastinate and find reasons NOT to get things done
• Outside demands from family become overwhelming
• Personal issues take over and there is no one else to manage so business declines

Does any of this sound familiar? So what can you do when these feelings become overpowering?

You have some thinking and soul searching to do and basically 3 options from which to choose:

• You can do nothing; don't make a plan, let whatever happens happen, business deteriorates and a distress sale is eminent
• You can turn your business over to your children; this works only about 50% of the time, can cause family problems, and if the business fails, family relationships are in jeopardy
• You can sell your business for a handsome profit; this option is easiest to do when the business is not in distress, most desirable when systems and structure are in place, easiest to get your price when you don't HAVE to sell.

Whether you have made the decision to sell in the near future or may be thinking about it at some point years ahead, there are things you can do today to make your business more valuable when the time is right for you to sell. All business owners will be faced with the fact that a day will come when they no longer own their businesses. A decision will be made either BY you or FOR you. Whether it's the decision to sell, close the business, pass the business to a family member, at some point, you will no longer be involved as the owner.

There may be an unfortunate illness that prevents you from continuing as owner. There may be a family member who depends on you for care for an extended period of time. No one knows what lies ahead in terms of their business and life cycle. So, now is the best time to prepare for the decision making day.

Making a smooth exit and enjoying the financial rewards of your hard work is the pot at the end of the rainbow. That's what you have been working so hard to attain. Now how do we make that happen? What steps do we have to take today to ensure our secure future and an exit that is rewarding?

A few simple steps put into place now can make it happen. It's what I call S-O-S

Systems Operations Structure

Let's look at how each one of these important elements and see how it impacts the lucrative exit from your business.

Systems:
What systems do you have in place today? Solid systems show a buyer that you have an operational business to sell. It shows you have a plan for success and have an organized enterprise. Here are some systems you will need to have in place:

• Marketing and advertising plan for the year and a system for attaining your market share
• Financial budgets in place
• HR system for attracting, hiring and training employees; discipline and termination
• Training and Safety programs in place
• Record keeping and accounting procedures and systems to assure accurate reporting and tracking
• Quality assurance program that is effective and pro-active

Operations:
A buyer will most always want to get started with your current employees and enjoy a turnkey operation. Having employees in place who have been trained and are supervised are important to a smooth transition. Company policy books and employee handbooks show organization and structure and these help with employee retention. Corporate structure helps define the roles of all employees and make it easier for a new owner to step in.

• Do you have an employee handbook?
• Company policy manual in place
• Job descriptions for each position in your company
• Organizational chart clearly defining positions
• Supervisory structure
• Signed service agreements with clients
• Can you produce 3 years of tax returns, P&L's, Balance Sheets and Bank Records?
• Turnkey office systems

Structure:
A professionally structured company will always bring more interested buyers. Rarely does a potential buyer want to go through the start up phase when purchasing a business. Whatever information you have with regard to business structure and employees will be helpful. Community involvement is important to a buyer.

• Corporate structure; LLC, corporation, sole proprietor
• History of company
• Personnel with background and longevity on each
• Field supervisors, office staff, cleaning technicians
• Professional services; accountants, web professionals, graphics
• Professional affiliations

Many readers with newer, start up businesses will feel that the day for thinking about these things is far off and doesn't really apply to their current business situation. They will put off taking the steps today that will assure them of a lucrative sale in the years ahead. In the end, they will be short changing themselves of the possible great return and sales price they could have realized for their businesses. If only they had taken simple steps early in the life cycle of their business.

Potential buyers will pay a higher price for an ongoing business that has all of the structure, operations and systems in place. The easier it is for the prospective buyer to step into an existing smooth running business, the more he/she will pay for it. If it's disorganized and in disarray, the price drops respectively.

Don't be one of the business owners who isn't aware of the value of what he/she has in their business and who feels selling is so far off you don't have to think about it now. Follow the above suggestions and if you are missing one of the links in the S-O-S program, now is the time to put it together.

And speaking of the value of your business; we will talk about that in Part II and give you some ideas about what affects the $$ value of your business and how to get the most for what you have.

***

Sharon L. Cowan is the former CEO of a multimillion dollar regional commercial and residential cleaning company. A 25 year veteran of the industry, Sharon is a popular speaker and workshop leader. She has been a guest speaker and seminar leader for BSCAI and ARCSI and a two time award winner from the BSCAI. Sharon holds workshops throughout the country for cleaning business owners. She is a designated Industry Expert for The Janitorial Store and has written industry eBooks and white papers. Sharon conducts seminars for Jon Don Stores, is on staff at Indian River State College and a Board member for Cleaning For A Reason. Sharon can be reached at 772-563-7320 or www.cleaningbusinessconsultinggroup.com Email: [email protected]