Three deals, three new owners and three sets of happy employees. The following is equally valuable for buyers and sellers.
Too often there is simmering below the water line. The employees aren’t all that happy. They may love what they do, love the customers and not want to change (their employment) but they are fed up with the attitude and culture. To them, a new owner is like a breath of fresh air.
New owners tend to come in and ask the employees their opinion. They ask for suggestions on how to do things better. They aren’t caught up in 15 or more years of, “That’s the way we’ve always done it so that’s the way we’ll keep on doing it.”
Any business owner contemplating a future exit should look at their company from the outside (that’s why advisors can be so valuable, they aren’t wrapped up in the day-to day). If you don’t like everything you see it’s time to change. In any event, it might be time to ask the employees what they think the company can do better.
