Selling a business or company built over years of toil can be the last thing that any entrepreneur or business owner may wish for. But on the contrary, it’s not easy to sell your business if only you can run or manage it. The worst part is that there won’t be any takers when you decide to sell it or expect change of ownership. It is time to form well-documented, iterable or repeatable processes that would require employees taking them all to heart, and applying them consistently. Here is how any business owner can create iterable processes in his/her business:

Structuring Workflow:
The first step is to create a structured workflow; remember not every entrepreneur per se can model business workflow though he/she may excel in other aspects of a business. It is important to have an experienced hand in-house that is practically process-centric and work out on an optimal workflow for everyone, including the business owner, in the company. Only the best business practices should be put together in the design of the workflow and the individual-in-charge, either an insider or outside consultant, must be critical of the current flow and help implement the transformation.

Process Documentation:
Once the workflow process has been defined, the document must detail the optimal flow and shared electronically across the company. If the company is using any project management app or software, the document can be integrated into the tool. Digital formats work better than print versions as they come with extensive features including alerts, dashboard and workflow scheduling. You can also use free sharing applications including Google Docs, Dropbox, Notability, MS Office, Evernote, etc.

Employee Training:
Next, the employees should be trained on using the document and care must be taken by the executive-in-charge or outside consultant to ensure full compliance with the process flow. Deviations must be identified, measured, and updated accordingly to avoid gaps and establish greater consistency.

Lean process:
All efforts must be implemented to make the process leaner in approach with process automation for 100% efficiency. Automation can reduce redundancy, human errors, iterate most process cycles and generate feedback for process improvement.

End goal is process compliance:
Finally, review the business process to see if it can stand on its own without the fulcrum to support, namely the business owner. The entire exercise is to foster process creation, compliance and management, without which any business is liable to fail even in the case of a small disruption in industry. 

Are you looking to buy or sell an existing business, but don’t know how to start working out? You’ve come to the right place. Talk to us as we take you through the complete process involved in the transition for business buying and selling.