Increase Your Company’s Value by Taking a Vacation

Increase Your Company’s Value by Taking a Vacation

Yes, you read that title correctly. You can drastically improve the worth of your company and sit on a white sand beach sipping a margarita at the same time.

As an entrepreneur who has worked nonstop since the founding of your business, this probably sounds too good to be true, right?

Here’s why regular long vacations without cell phone service may be exactly what you need to prep your company for its future sale:

You’re Not a Saleable Asset

• Are you the CEO, chief salesperson, sole decision maker, and part-time janitor of your company? This doesn’t bode well for your future exit. If the company depends on you to bring in accounts, boost employee morale, make every decision, and clean up around the office, what happens when you leave? Your company needs to operate independently of you now to prove to your buyer that it can run without you in the future.

Proof of Independent Management

• Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of hiring intelligent, motivated leadership teams . . . and then not letting them do their jobs. If you’re out of the office on a regular basis, it shows future buyers that your managers’ skills are being fully utilized. A strong, independent management team who knows how to run things efficiently, effectively, and profitably will be your key asset in a future deal.

No Built-In Overtime

• A buyer doesn’t want your company so he or she can burn the midnight oil and work on the weekends. The fact that you can leave on a regular basis shows that the company doesn’t depend on your input on every single decision. It also reassures a future owner that your job description doesn’t include menial tasks like unlocking the office in the morning and making the break room coffee.

Good Processes and Procedures

• The company needs to run flawlessly with as little effort as possible on your part. In my book Walk Away Wealthy I share the story of Tim Nguyen, founder of InHouse Solutions. In only ten years he’s built a business that makes $20 million in annual revenues—while working only one hour per week. This is a great situation to be in. It shows to future buyers that Tim’s company operates on a solid foundation of company-wide processes and procedures that are sure to continue once he sells and stops putting in his one hour of weekly office time.