Start-ups have more barriers to entry and exit

by Alan Hargreaves in the Australian Financial Review

The market for start-up capital is being squeezed at both ends.  On one hand, soft valuations have put exit sales into limbo. On the other, nervousness about a successful exit stops investors from entering in the first place.  It also means less capital returning for reinvestment.

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Recharge Your Management Batteries

by Alan Hargreaves in Management Today

If you're personally mired in a state of inertia, achieving momentum requires a bold rethink.

Why does a business lose momentum? There can be structural reasons: shifts in economy, technological change, the age of the business or its people.  Mostly, however, it's management.  All those structural things can be managed, but in challenging times management batteries can run low. Over time, inertia sets in.

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Surfing the business life cycle

by Alan Hargreaves in Flying Solo

Like many other aspects of life, business is full of cycles. Being aware of the business life cycle you’ll be better equipped to respond, and to reignite your energy during the inevitable downward turns.

As the recent GFC has shown, the economy moves in cycles, with a recession and subsequent recovery roughly every five or six years. There’s the life cycle of your products, which don’t remain fashionable forever. There’s also the life cycle of your business: it might begin as an exciting start-up but in most cases, decline is probably out there some day. 

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Selling a business at a better price

by Alan Hargreaves in the Australian Financial Review

In the final article of his succession planning series, Alan Hargreaves looks at valuing a business for exit.  The shorthand method for valuing a business is the so-called multiple, or price/earnings ration (P/E). It's the common way of evaluating quoted shares. It's familiar and easily understood as a result.

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Valuation all-important to a sale

by Alan Hargreaves in the Australian Financial Review

Third in a series of four about succession, by Alan Hargreaves.  For owners of a business, succession invariably involves a transaction.  The simplest succession plan is selling your business.  What about the transaction itself? How does that affect value?

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