1 week Ago
Welcome to SmartCompany ‘s new monthly book review where we’ll review a business book to help you thrive in business. This month we’re talking about Buy, Grow, Exit by Australian author, Joanne Oakey. Oakey is a lawyer, owner and managing director of Aspect Legal , based in Sydney.
She’s had years of experience helping business owners to buy and sell businesses and this book captures the key learnings from this work. Buy, Grow, Exit was the 2023 Australian Business Book Awards Book of the Year in the Entrepreneurship and Small Business category. This book is a must-read for business owners who want to develop a solid exit strategy.
What is the focus of Buy, Grow, Exit ? Buy, Grow, Exit is divided into three central parts or sections. The first is focused on the successful purchase of a business. Oakey identifies the five pillars of successful business acquisition: preparation, primary value, protection, process and purchase structure.
Each pillar is detailed to help highlight key purchasing requirements every buyer should seek out. The second theme of the book unpacks the stage most business owners are familiar with – growing the business. However, rather than addressing typical growth strategies and metrics, Oakey frames key performance indicators as essential to demonstrating the robustness, and therefore value, of the business.
She argues that a good growth strategy begins with the end in mind (sorry Stephen Covey, I just had to pinch this idea!). Oakey underlines the importance of understanding your key company assets and implementing good risk-prevention strategies. The book details how to fortify your business and thereby protect your most valuable business asset.
Finally, Oakey details key business metrics and practices that make a business attractive to a potential purchaser. When I sold Billie Goat Soap this was a topic that garnered high levels of interest from other business owners. They wanted a road map to understand what was needed to successfully sell their business.
Oakey provides that in Buy, Grow, Exit . Part three of the book, Exit, discusses deal structures, the importance of highlighting the value of the business, and the actual sale process. Readers can choose to read any one of the three parts depending on where they are in their own business journey.
So why should you read Buy, Grow, Exit? Buy, Grow, Exit is a comprehensive guide to navigating a successful business sale. But rather than focus just on the sale, Oakey takes the reader back to the very start of the process, acquisition. If you plan to buy a business, this book is an excellent resource.
Of course, nobody wants to work forever and the book describes the many ways a business owner may choose to exit their business. However, to exercise these choices preparation is essential, and this makes the book a useful read for all business owners. If you are not looking to exit right now, you still need to read this book because it identifies sound business practices you can implement now that will add value to your sale when the time comes to finish work.
Is it easy to read? The three distinct parts of this book make it a very easy and convenient read. There is something for everyone in this book – just identify what stage of business you are at and begin reading. Leanne’s bookshelf rating: (Five stars equals a must-read) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Where can you buy Buy, Grow, Exit ? The business book specialist Rereadable or any major bookstore.
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